Deciding between an overclockable processor

[virtualflying 2]

Hi all,

 

I'm on a budget and trying to decide if I should go for an overclockable Intel processor. Is it worth it? I'm new to Intel processors.

[martin-w 3,234]

Yes it is worth it. You could go for a 6600K. They tend to overclock nicely. 4.6 GHz should be easy enough and some achieve right up to 5GHz.

 

You will obviously need good cooling though. I favour the Noctua NH-D15S.

 

Max turbo frequency is 3.9, so if you achieve 4.6 that's an 18% improvement.

[scottb613 1,186]

Hi...

 

Yeah - I think CPU clock speed buys you the most in FSX/P3D... I've been running my 2700K at 4.7 Ghz on air for years (Noctua Cooler) - and it still manages to do pretty well with the latest software packages... If I back off to the default clock of 3.5 Ghz - frame rates go right down the drain... I did upgrade my video card on this box from a GTX570 to a GTX970 and the performance boost was hardly noticeable... Upgrading my memory to faster speeds seemed to buy me a few more frames...

 

Regards,

Scott

[virtualflying 2]

I own a Corsair H75 for my FX8350 currently, so I don't think cooling will be a problem. Thanks for the replies!

[martin-w 3,234]

H75 isn't the best. It's about 12 degrees warmer than my cooler and much louder. Best thing is though, if you do upgrade to a new CPU, try your H75 and see how you get on.

[virtualflying 2]

H75 isn't the best. It's about 12 degrees warmer than my cooler and much louder. Best thing is though, if you do upgrade to a new CPU, try your H75 and see how you get on.

 

Will do!

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Do you think this would work as a P3D machine?

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vBDm2R

 

I have all those parts, except the Mobo, RAM, and CPU. Would it run the NGX and 777 well?

[Luke 782]

You're going to need two RAM sticks, not one.

 

Cheers!

[virtualflying 2]

2 sticks of 4GB? or 2 sticks of 8GB? I can't afford 16GB right now, which is why I am going to get just 1 stick of 8GB now and buy another stick later.

[Luke 782]

If you only go with one stick, you're cutting your RAM bandwidth in half because it uses dual-channel RAM. I suppose you could get the 2x4GB, but I'd see if I can conjure up an extra $45 to double the RAM.

 

Cheers!

[stans 702]

For FSX and P3D, a fast multi-core CPU will still provide more performance than a slow multi-core CPU, so even with CPU's at or near 4Ghz as their normal operating frequency, a good overclocking will still provide benefits.  My experience with overclocking and FSX is that CPU speed and frame rates are almost perfectly linear, so for every 10% increase in CPU speed, I saw a 10% increase in frames.

 

RAM, dual channel RAM works best in pairs.  With a 64-bit operating system, these days I would consider 8GB to be the bare minimum.  If you can, go ahead and install a matched pair of 8GB sticks to give you 16GB.  No, FSX and P3D will not recognize nor use all that RAM, they are limited to using 4GB, but background processes and other programs can make use of the additional RAM, leaving FSX its full 4GB of virtual address space.

[martin-w 3,234]

 My experience with overclocking and FSX is that CPU speed and frame rates are almost perfectly linear, so for every 10% increase in CPU speed, I saw a 10% increase in frames.

 

 

 

Yep, my experience too, and that of many.