7700K, 8700K, 7740X?!... That is the question.

[Bernard Ducret 790]

I have read a number of threads here on AVSIM regarding the best CPU to run P3D v4 and remain perplex as to which CPU I should acquire for my next PC (exclusively for P3D) to be ordered shortly. Hence my list of CPU above in the title.

The latest Intel CPU i7 8700K would seem to be the logical choice, but some recent performance comparisons with the 7700K were less than convincing, I read also that the i7 7740X would comfortably top it in single core performance of - 485 vs 535 in the benchmark test of Guru 3d - which P3D (if I understood correctly the various informed comments) would capitalise on. Is this a correct assumption or did I misunderstand this debate since the multicore performance test was 3702 vs 2725, that is the opposite result...?

Lastly in terms of OC, it would appear that 5.0GHz is about the maximum one can expect regardless of the CPU, is that a fair assessment?

I would really appreciate any precise input from the knowledgeable few, which I - unfortunately - am not part of.

[MarkW 1,490]

Good questions.  Has anyone on these forums actually reported their results with the Coffee Lake 8700K or is this all speculation?

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

There are already some terrific discussions on these processors here in the forums.  I'd check them out as there is some very important information - including some heat issues with one of those processors.

Best wishes.

 

[Bernard Ducret 790]

1 hour ago, DaveCT2003 said:

There are already some terrific discussions on these processors here in the forums.  I'd check them out as there is some very important information - including some heat issues with one of those processors.

Best wishes.

 

Believe me Dave, I did, but after reading pages and pages of conflicting opinions, I have yet to be in a position to make an informed decision, be it only because of what is still unclear to me between the "one core" or the "multi-core" performances as per my question above, until I understand what P3D actually requires, with FSX we knew what was necessary, now that I am jumping to P3D v4, I am in uncharted waters so I need first to understand (from the various comments, it is far to be clear even to specialists) and then decide on my own what is best...  

[mikealpha 266]

After having read a lot in forums I finally decided for an 8700. Seems best compromise regarding price, single core speed and amount of cores. So just waiting for that to arrive next week...

Prozessor: Intel Core i7-8700K (6 x 3.70 GHz / 4.70 GHz)

RAM: 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4 SDRAM 2400 MHz

HD : 500 GB SSD WD Blue / 2 TB HDD WD Blue

Grafik: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB GDDR5X ASUS ROG STRIX OC-Edition

Mainboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z370-F Gaming

 

Mike

[Slayer 190]

Running a 7740x comfortably here @ 5.0Ghz. To be honest I think you'll find maybe a frame or two of difference between these chips in V4. Hardly worth losing sleep over. For me the choice was one of being able to replace it and go to a higher end processor later. I don't think you could go wrong any way you go. 

For the minimal price diff I'd go with an 8700k if your going with a mainstream board... 

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

Ah, understand!

You're right, at the moment there is some discontinuity with reports in our community.

Still, upgrading to more cores seems a logical next step (I'll be doing it next year) and one can always use Affinity Mask or Process Laso to keep the sim at 4 or 6 cores IF the sim hasn't efficently made use of the extra cores.  I'm confident it will eventually.

Why am I waiting?  Both the 7700K and 8700K have serious heat issues even when running at stock speeds, and Intel's response to irate customers was "don't overclock, don't change voltages, and don't delid these processors (pretty much standard warrant stuff) even though one of the main selling point of these processors was the ability to overclock.

I'm waiting for the dust to settle on all of this, and I'm also waiting to see how the solderless processor thing works out for Intel.  Additionally, I find my self a little curious about AMD processors after many years of shunning them. I'm not sold by any means, nor am I brave or rich enough to buy one to find out if it plays well with FSX/P3D.  I have contacted AMD though, and maybe they will send me a unit to test (I'm a former hardware computer engineer, so MAYBE they'll consider that and give me a system to test).

Best wishes!

 

 

[ahsmatt7 1,199]

39 minutes ago, mikealpha said:

After having read a lot in forums I finally decided for an 8700. Seems best compromise regarding price, single core speed and amount of cores. So just waiting for that to arrive next week...

Prozessor: Intel Core i7-8700K (6 x 3.70 GHz / 4.70 GHz)

RAM: 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4 SDRAM 2400 MHz

HD : 500 GB SSD WD Blue / 2 TB HDD WD Blue

Grafik: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB GDDR5X ASUS ROG STRIX OC-Edition

Mainboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z370-F Gaming

 

Mike

Mike,

I'm in the same boat as you as far as upgrading goes. I'm coming from a 2700k though. I don't know what your upgrading from.

I see thst you chose 32 8gb of ram. I have been mulling over whether or not to go with 16gb or 32gb of ram. Do you honestly foresee p3d v4 needing thst amount of ram? Or is it more just the fact that you can afford it? I can save over 150 bucks using 16gb of ram but I really want to make sure thst It's enough because I won't be building amother pc for a minimum of 6 years.

[Bernard Ducret 790]

Thanks to all who took the time to answer my query. I now understand that there is not a vast difference performance wise between all three CPU. I come from FSX run on a 3770K, so I decided to move on to P3D v4 since at long last we have a stable 64bits platform with most my add-ons from FSX that can be upgraded even at a marginal cost, except PMDG...

The other main components I am selecting are RAM: 32GB G.Skills Ripjaws V DDR4 3200MHz, MB: MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon, HD: Samsung SSD 960 Evo M2 1 TB, Noctua NH-D15, GPU: I already have a Nvidia EVGA 1070 (to be upgraded next year with the new Volta).

Does anyone have comments on those elements, for RAM I gave precedence to lower frequency vs faster timing, for HD I opted for the M2 version giving at least 4 times better performance both in writing and reading. 

 

[MarkW 1,490]

1 hour ago, mikealpha said:

After having read a lot in forums I finally decided for an 8700. Seems best compromise regarding price, single core speed and amount of cores. So just waiting for that to arrive next week...

Prozessor: Intel Core i7-8700K (6 x 3.70 GHz / 4.70 GHz)

RAM: 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4 SDRAM 2400 MHz

HD : 500 GB SSD WD Blue / 2 TB HDD WD Blue

Grafik: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB GDDR5X ASUS ROG STRIX OC-Edition

Mainboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z370-F Gaming

 

Mike

Mike,

Any reason you have elected to go with 2400 MHz RAM vs. 3200 ?  Maybe it makes no difference for P3D, I don't know.

[SpiritFlyer 987]

1 hour ago, DaveCT2003 said:

Ah, understand!

You're right, at the moment there is some discontinuity with reports in our community.

Still, upgrading to more cores seems a logical next step (I'll be doing it next year) and one can always use Affinity Mask or Process Laso to keep the sim at 4 or 6 cores IF the sim hasn't efficently made use of the extra cores.  I'm confident it will eventually.

Why am I waiting?  Both the 7700K and 8700K have serious heat issues even when running at stock speeds, and Intel's response to irate customers was "don't overclock, don't change voltages, and don't delid these processors (pretty much standard warrant stuff) even though one of the main selling point of these processors was the ability to overclock.

I'm waiting for the dust to settle on all of this, and I'm also waiting to see how the solderless processor thing works out for Intel.  Additionally, I find my self a little curious about AMD processors after many years of shunning them. I'm not sold by any means, nor am I brave or rich enough to buy one to find out if it plays well with FSX/P3D.  I have contacted AMD though, and maybe they will send me a unit to test (I'm a former hardware computer engineer, so MAYBE they'll consider that and give me a system to test).

Best wishes!

 

 

I like your thinking and style Dave, as I am waiting for the dust (and/or smoke) to settle too.

If for some reason Intel/AMD does not pick you as a tester with your qualifications, I will humbly submit my name as I don't have any whatsoever. 

Kind regards,

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

20 minutes ago, SpiritFlyer said:

If for some reason Intel/AMD does not pick you as a tester with your qualifications, I will humbly submit my name as I don't have any whatsoever.

You probably have a better chance than I do!  :)

[jmig 100]

2 hours ago, DaveCT2003 said:

Ah, understand!

You're right, at the moment there is some discontinuity with reports in our community.

....

I'm waiting for the dust to settle on all of this, and I'm also waiting to see how the solderless processor thing works out for Intel.  Additionally, I find my self a little curious about AMD processors after many years of shunning them. I'm not sold by any means, nor am I brave or rich enough to buy one to find out if it plays well with FSX/P3D.  I have contacted AMD though, and maybe they will send me a unit to test (I'm a former hardware computer engineer, so MAYBE they'll consider that and give me a system to test).

Best wishes!

 

 

I too, am interested in the AMD Threadripper as an option to the Intel products. I did build a couple of AMD based computers some years ago for FSX. I found them to work well with FSX. I have priced components through Newegg. Reuising my box and PSU it will be $2300-$2500 for either a 8700 or AMD 1900X. What you might save on the CPU you will lose on the MOB. However, the extra cores in the AMD might lead to a better life, provided PD3 get better and better at multicore usage.

I do not pan on doing anything until after the new year. Maybe, by them we will have a better idea on the best direction to take.

 

[jmig 100]

2 hours ago, ahsmatt7 said:

Mike,

I'm in the same boat as you as far as upgrading goes. I'm coming from a 2700k though. I don't know what your upgrading from.

I see thst you chose 32 8gb of ram. I have been mulling over whether or not to go with 16gb or 32gb of ram. Do you honestly foresee p3d v4 needing thst amount of ram? Or is it more just the fact that you can afford it? I can save over 150 bucks using 16gb of ram but I really want to make sure thst It's enough because I won't be building amother pc for a minimum of 6 years.

You can buy 16Gb in 8Gb sticks and then add two more later, if needed.

[SpiritFlyer 987]

27 minutes ago, jmig said:

I do not plan on doing anything until after the new year. Maybe, by them we will have a better idea on the best direction to take.

 

I agree. I can not afford to make the wrong choices in the fog of uncertainty and without clear direction forward.

There is no compelling reason for me to jump just because I have that particular itch.

Smarter for me to just scratch it and wait to see what comes next! 

Kind regards,