overclocking a pre-built computer

[rufowler 2]

I recently got into flight simming, purchased FSX, and quickly realized how demanding it can be on your machine, especially once you start collecting addons.  I have an OK system but it's nothing spectacular, and I'm feeling the strain on my framerate every time I play.  :-/

 

From what I've read so, FSX needs good ol' fashioned CPU power rather than a blazing fast video card to help with performance .  And it seem that lots of people in the forum who are overclocking, which is something which I know little about at this point ... so little that I'm not even sure if it's possible with pre-built computers.

 

Here's info on my setup:

 

• Hewlett Packard Pavilion p7-1446 / Windows 8 / AMD A10-5700 @ 3.4 GHz / 8 GB DDR3 / 4 cores (specs from HP about this model: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c03500676&lc=en#N90)
• GPU: Radeon R7-260x / 2 GB / DDR5 @ 1600 MHz
• Addons: Orbx's FTX Global Base, FTX Global Vector, Ideal Flight 10, plus a traffic addon (to be determined soon)

So I guess the question is whether it's possible to overclock a prebuilt computer in the first place.  And if it is, do you think it will even be worth trying considering the basic hardware I have?  (And btw, I know there's a whole world of improvements I can make by tweaking my config file, but as you can probably tell I'm a newbie and I figured I might as well get my hardware running as best as it can before I start tweaking.)

 

Thanks for the input!

[Jude Bradley 659]

Normally any pre-build machine  will have a BIOS which disables overclocking - to protect the company from shelling out money for burnt CPU's.

You really need a home-build or from a company who specialises in such PC's for flightsim - such as jetline.

 

For best results,you really need an Intel CPU and Nvidia graphics card.

[enrico68 3]

Hello rufowler, 

 

can you overclock that chip? Sure you can, just make sure you know what you're doing.

Overclocking has to be done in the proper way, just remember: any overclocked PC will never be 100% stable, no matter how many software you run to test stability. Are you able do deal with this, in case you run into any problem? I am not saying you should not overclock, just make sure you know exactly what it is you're doing. Overclocking does not involve increasing the CPU clock only, that is just the start. Will your RAM keep up with a faster clock, is your RAM stable, have you tested it? These are just a few questions you'll have to answer before doing any overclocking.

 

And, as a rule: you never want to overclock a system after installing anything else, besides the Operating System. You already installed quite a few add ons, and that is doing things backwards. If you want to overclock, do it on a clean computer, no FSX, no add ons, The system has to be stable before you do anything else.And the RAM has to be stable, and tested before anything else.

 

As for config file tweaking, the least you add to your config file, the better off you'll be. Do not get in the mindset that tweaking will make FSX run faster, or smoother. You say yourself you're a newbie, and want to overclock and tweak your set up....not a good choice. 

 

To run FSX smooth I am afraid you'll need a rig with better and faster components. It is not by overclocking and tweaking that you'll make your PC a faster one, to get a decent overclock, you need the right components. The i7 cpu is the one you want if you're after a faster PC, and pair that with a good GPU. Or an i5 cpu can do the trick as well, again with a good GPU. 

 

Hope this clears things up a bit for you

 

Enrico

[rufowler 2]

Thanks for all the tips, guys.  Enrico: I hear ya.  The little I've read about overclocking has pretty much confirmed what you described ... which is why I'm pretty hesitant to mess around with it.  the machine is not under warranty and I use it for day-to-day stuff too, so I definitely don't want to see it explode.

 

I'm not really a big gamer, and I only just got into FSX.  If this hobby sticks (which I think it will) I'll probably start thinking about building something from the ground up this summer .. in which case you'll see my name popping up here in the forum a lot I'm sure.  

[enrico68 3]

Hi rufowler, 

 

wise decision! Keep your present PC for every day work, and when the time comes, build a new PC just for FSX. My suggestion: before buying parts that might not be considered well suited for FSX, come back here and ask, you'll get a lot of tips and suggestions. You'll find out you do not need to spend 5 grand on a PC for FSX. 

 

Enrico