Shopping list for an FSX boost?!...

[ARCO 245]

I am about to reconfigure some of my four-year old setup. My selection has yet to be finalised and I would welcome any suggestions that our flightsim gurus may have on the following:

• MBO: Asus X99-A LGA 2011 v3. Is socket 2011 any better for FSX than LGA 1151? This was my initial question since I really have no idea whether this is an overkill for our old but resource hungry FSX. 
• CPU: I7 6700 4GHz overclocked to 4.6 stable... or more? (I have read another thread here demonstrating that OC up to 4.5 or 4.6 were reasonably doable)
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 MHz CL15
• GPU: Gigabite GeForce GTX 1070 G1 Gaming

I'll keep my 1TB Samsung SSD and my cooler. I presently have a 3770 K OC at 4.2, very stable, and a Nvidia GTX680.

Is it reasonable to expect a drastic improvement in performance with the above proposed setup? (The trick is to be able to quantify "drastic" which I would expect to reach 20% over my present setup).

 

Thank you for your comments and suggestions.

With kind regards,

[magnetite 38]

I assume you mean the 6700K, and not the non-K version?

 

The LGA2011 socket is mainly used for the extreme 6+ core CPUs from Intel. Might give you better texture loading, but it won't increase your FPS. 

 

The GTX 1070 should be a nice boost over the GTX 680 when it comes to handling autogen, water, clouds, etc. I would get a 1080 if you could afford it though. 

[ryanb1986 5]

People will say I'm crazy I'm sure... but I run an i5 Haswell OCed to 5Ghz and it's great! I can't recommend it, you understand, but I love it

[ARCO 245]

Yes Jeff, I do mean the 6700 K, sorry I missed it... 

[martin-w 3,235]

MBO: Asus X99-A LGA 2011 v3. Is socket 2011 any better for FSX than LGA 1151?

 

 

 

Thee have been a lot of individuals, including myself,  here on the forum, that have upgraded to Skylake. All are very happy with the choice. Flight sim seems to be running very well on the new platform. 6 core plus CPU's won't offer a significant enough improvement to warrant the cost, in terms of the sim. Any improvement in texture loading is minor in my opinion. Skylake is a proven upgrade path!

 

 

CPU: I7 6700 4GHz overclocked to 4.6 stable... or more? (I have read another thread here demonstrating that OC up to 4.5 or 4.6 were reasonably doable)

 

 

 

6700K overclocks have been very consistent since launch. You should expect 4.6 to 4.8GHz dependant on the silicone lottery and your cooling.

 

However... you say you wish to keep your cooler, but you haven't told us what your cooler is, so it's not possible to give you an estimate of the overclock you would achieve until you do. If you have something less efficient, like a 212 Evo, then 4.4 - 4.5 you should expect.

 

 

 I presently have a 3770 K OC at 4.2

 

 

 

 

3770K to 6700K in terms of single core performance, should give you 25%. With adequate cooling to enable a 4.6 GHz overclock [achievable for most chips] more like 28%. Add to that any improvement from your graphics card upgrade. 

 

Only a rough estimate, all systems are different.

 

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-6700K-vs-Intel-Core-i7-3770K/3502vs1317

 

In case you're interested, in games other than the sim... 

 

My son has my old 3770K system. My new 6700K system, with a GTX 980 Ti, runs WAY better. Ultra settings and very high frame rate. Super smooth. Elite Dangerous is superb. Max AA, ultra settings and super high frame rate.

 

My cooling is courtesy of the amazing Noctua NH-D15S. CPU temps are super low at 4.6 GHz.

[stans 703]

People will say I'm crazy I'm sure... but I run an i5 Haswell OCed to 5Ghz and it's great! I can't recommend it, you understand, but I love it

It's crazy only if it doesn't work.  If it works, then it's genius.

[ARCO 245]

Many thanks for all the feedback and the link to the benchmark. that was indeed useful. I take note of the cooler recommendation, I will have to check that, cooling was indeed an issue when I initially bought the 3770K.

The real challenge now is: will Acronis allow me to transfer my "well-oiled" FSX to the new setup without fail?... Is my selection of saved drivers good enough to restart my new system? Answer in next episode I guess...

[ryanb1986 5]

[snip]

 

The real challenge now is: will Acronis allow me to transfer my "well-oiled" FSX to the new setup without fail?... Is my selection of saved drivers good enough to restart my new system? Answer in next episode I guess...

 

 

Hmm, my guess would be that Acronis will transfer it OK, but that what is "well-oiled" on your old hardware may not be on the new hardware. With the new stuff, you'll probably want to do some re-tweaking to take advantage of the newer hardware.

[ARCO 245]

Hmm, my guess would be that Acronis will transfer it OK, but that what is "well-oiled" on your old hardware may not be on the new hardware. With the new stuff, you'll probably want to do some re-tweaking to take advantage of the newer hardware.

 

You bet I will! But that won't be a real hurdle, the transfer itself - if it works - may save me over a week (perhaps more given the number of add-ons I have) of re-install and tweaking to get back to where I have been for the past year or so, a very stable and pleasant FSX, except of course for its limitations in performance where a new hardware will unleash its full potential. Spending a lot of time on Acronis forum now...