Hi all,

I have been having problems with my PC running FSX recently. I had been running the CPU overclocked and although it was not overheating or overly overclocked (if there is such a phrase!), after having my IT friend test and look at the PC set up, he advised that as a first generation Intel i7 and a motherboard which cannot cope with what I require, he advised it may be best to replace. He advised me of 3 Novatech motherboard bundles and told me to ask you guys out there, the FSX users, which would be best. Obviously I expect the most expensive and powerful to be best, but what I don't want to do is pay for something which would be overkill. The options he suggested are as follows:

1) Novatech Intel Core I5 7600 Motherboard Bundle [MBB-76008] - Intel Core i5 7600 / 2 x 4GB DDR4 2133MHz / Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H Motherboard

2) Novatech Intel Core i5 8600k Motherboard Bundle [MBB-586008] - Intel 8th Generation Intel® Core i5 8600K 3.6GHz Processor / 8GB (1x8GB) DDR4 2400MHz Single Module / Gigabyte Z370 HD3 Motherboard / Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler

3) Novatech Intel Core i7 8700k Motherboard Bundle [MBB-870016] - Intel 8th Generation Intel® Core i7 8700K 3.7GHz Six Core Processor / Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit / Gigabyte Z370 HD3 Motherboard / Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler

Even better, if anyone knows of a better bundle for price, then please advise.

Richard

Hi Richard. For optimal FSX performance (and P3D as well), the generally accepted consensus seems to be an i7-8700K and a GTX-1080TI along with the fastest RAM you can afford that is supported by the motherboard you choose.  Anything you choose with lesser spec'd components will yield less performance.  The only component in a new PC that may qualify as "overkill" is a larger PSU than is really needed for your components.

So, it really boils down to how much money you are willing to spend for performance you feel is acceptable.  An i5-8600K teamed with a GTX-1080TI will certainly be significantly better than I presume you have now, but won't be the best performance money can buy at this time.  That's entirely subjective and will be up to you. 

Are you opposed to building your own PC?

24 minutes ago, dmiannay said:

Hi Richard. For optimal FSX performance (and P3D as well), the generally accepted consensus seems to be an i7-8700K and a GTX-1080TI along with the fastest RAM you can afford that is supported by the motherboard you choose.  Anything you choose with lesser spec'd components will yield less performance.  The only component in a new PC that may qualify as "overkill" is a larger PSU than is really needed for your components.

So, it really boils down to how much money you are willing to spend for performance you feel is acceptable.  An i5-8600K teamed with a GTX-1080TI will certainly be significantly better than I presume you have now, but won't be the best performance money can buy at this time.  That's entirely subjective and will be up to you. 

Are you opposed to building your own PC?

That card is a massive overkill for fsx. 

4 minutes ago, zmak said:

That card is a massive overkill for fsx. 

It depends on how many scenery, texture, aircraft, traffic, and weather add-ons you are running.  You are absolutely correct if you're describing default FSX, but a heavily loaded FSX will do much better with a powerful GPU.

2 minutes ago, dmiannay said:

It depends on how many scenery, texture, aircraft, traffic, and weather add-ons you are running.  You are absolutely correct if you're describing default FSX, but a heavily loaded FSX will do much better with a powerful GPU.

I only run heavy payware airports ,orbx, pmg, etc with settings cranked up high on fsx se and thats using steves DX10 fixer which pushes more of the load onto the GPU.

Im still using a gtx 780 and rarely see more than 60% load unless Im in 8/8ths active sky overcast and then will occasionally nudge 100% but those conditions are way to rare.

You do realize FSX is CPU intensive right? The 1080ti is highly recommended for 64 bit P3D platform but its dead money for fsx 32 bit.

10 minutes ago, zmak said:

You do realize FSX is CPU intensive right? The 1080ti is highly recommended for 64 bit P3D platform but its dead money for fsx 32 bit.

I won't argue with facts nor your experience, my friend.  I withdraw my recommendation of a GTX-1080Ti for FSX, but wholeheartedly recommend it if Richard ever plans to switch over to Prepar3D.