Hardware advice please

[boeingaviation 0]

Hi there,

 

Am looking at getting P3D 2.4.

 

Currently Specs are:

Core i7-2600K at 3.8ghz, 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz Kingston Ram, EVGA GTX 570 Super Clock 1.2gb card.

 

I ran v2.4 and found that my cpu was only sitting about 35% usage with all sliders maxed, however GFX couldn’t cope and only had 20mb of free ram left available so I understand my GFX is the bottleneck.

 

I am wondering, I’m torn between two options for the best upgrade. I have been looking at both the AMD R9 290x and the EVGA 970 FTW, both have 4gb ram but there are so many mixed opinions around which card performs better.

 

I want to be able to run P3D on reasonably high settings and get minimum of 30fps smoothly.

 

Can this helpful community advise me on what my best course of action would be?

 

I did read that someone else was running the very 1st core i7 870 and they were able to achieve very good results with orbx scenery getting a minimum of 30fps with max settings so I’m just wondering what I can expect to get and whether it’s worth upgrading the GPU now.

 

Many Thanks.

Chris

[Appliance 51]

 

 

both the AMD R9 290x and the EVGA 970 FTW, both have 4gb ram but there are so many mixed opinions around which card performs better.

 

Each card is excellent in its own right.

 

According to expectations AMD is shortly to introduce their R9 390x.  Disputed and hotly debated BUT the feeling was that, at one time,  FSX and P3D were better suited to nVidia solutions.  However I understand AMD drivers are presently more suited to P3D than nVidia's recent efforts ... unless you want to take advantage of DSR that is.

 

The 970 is cheaper, uses less power, generally quieter and overclocks like a champ.  New versions are frequently released by vendors as they take advantage of the overclocking headroom.

 

If you can afford to ... wait.    :rolleyes:

[boeingaviation 0]

Thank you very much for your response. I'm not looking to upgrade until about may of 2015 so I could very well look at the 390x.

 

From what I understand I exceed the recommended specs on the p3d site for v2.4 and having run it previously at max and it was just The GFX that wasn't able to cope and the cpu usuage was much the same as fs9 at around 40%.

 

I don't want to have to upgrade the whole computer and from what I understand its just my graphics card which needs more memory and needs to be faster so am I correct in thinking that I can just leave the cpu till another time.

 

Many thanks.

[Appliance 51]

Both FSX and P3D are essentially CPU bound although, being DX11 compliant, P3D certainly benefits from having larger ram and speed.  From your specs it seems you are not overclocking your 2600K to typical ( ) levels.  That is one way to get a boost in performance without expenditure.

[boeingaviation 0]

What are typical levels for 2600k

[sgreen91 182]

I just upgraded my video card to a MSI GTX 970 gaming edition and its night and day compared to my old 580GT.

 

I run a 4 year old 2600K oc 4.2 and along with the new card it brings tears to my eyes.

 

I run moderate settings as I'm not much to push everything to the right but I lock my frames at 24 and even with ORBX Norcal and sweetfx along with 4x supersampling (the NI profile from simtweak.com) my fps stay at 24 and the sim is smooth.

 

Don't expect 50-60 fps as it won't happen but try to settle with a moderate setting that is smooth in flight and beautiful out the window.

[boeingaviation 0]

I have an h60 corsair cooler and @ 4ghz it goes to about 60 degrees under load.

 

What do you run cooling wise at 4.2ghz.

[sgreen91 182]

My processor is liquid cooled.  Its an Alienware build that is 4 years old.

 

Not sure the cooler type but I've not had a single issue from this computer.

[boeingaviation 0]

Do you mean water cooling or a closed all in one liquid cooler. What sore of temps do you get at 4.2ghz

[ryanbatc 12,833]

I have an h60 corsair cooler and @ 4ghz it goes to about 60 degrees under load.

 

What do you run cooling wise at 4.2ghz.

60 is nothing to worry about

80 would make me more worried about significantly shortening the life span of the cpu.

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

 

I ran v2.4 and found that my cpu was only sitting about 35% usage with all sliders maxed, however GFX couldn’t cope and only had 20mb of free ram left available so I understand my GFX is the bottleneck.

 

 

You actually have to look at all four CPU cores to determine the CPU load.

 

P3D, like FSX before it, is heavily dependent on a single core which typically runs at 100% load.

 

If there is no scenery loading going on, your CPU could be showing 25% usage, with one core fully loaded and the

other three idle.

[boeingaviation 0]

Hi guys,

 

Done some testing but I can't work out what is wrong. I can't even get through 30mins of prime95 blend tests at 4ghz as cpu hits 79degrees c. Ambient room temp is approx 25c.

 

I have a p8p67 pro mobo and I have set the following in BIOS:

 

AI Overclock tuner=manual

Bclk/pcie freq=100

Turbo Ratio=40 By all cores can adjust in is

Internal pll overvoltage set to enabled.

EPU Power saving mode set to enable.

Load line calibration set to ultra high.

Vrm frequency set to 350.

Phase & duty control set to extreme.

Cpu voltage set to offset mode - 0.030.

 

Sgreen91 could you advise maybe what settings you have been able to get to 4.2 and what temps you get?many thanks.

[TurboKen 221]

Cpu voltage set to offset mode - 0.030.

 

This should be + .03

 

But the bigger issue is your heat. Try re-applying the thermal paste (a VERY small vertical line) on the CPU and reseat your cooler. I dont think I hit 80c @ 4.8ghz. I am using an antec kuler 920 which I think is basically an H60. Even At 80c with prime that should only be 60c for FSX. Let us know what you find out.

[sgreen91 182]

 

 

Sgreen91 could you advise maybe what settings you have been able to get to 4.2 and what temps you get?many thanks.

 

Sorry for the late reply.  Mine was factory OC.  I did not do it myself but Alienware set it up for me as I specified.

 

Sorry can't help you with the overclock.

[boeingaviation 0]

CPU is @ 1.30v. Have been doing some research and from what I've read the Corsair H60 doesn't have good performance to cool an Overclocked i7-2600K as at 3.8ghz the max temp reached was 72 with radiator fans at maximum speed.

 

Did some research and I'm thinking about getting a corsair H80i as this is recommended over the antec 950.

 

Is it worth spending $190 on the h80i just to cool my PC to overclock as primary reason is to run PREPAR3D flight simulator.