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pred02

Is it worth upgrading from i7-4790k

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Hi,

I have nearly 4 year old I7-4790k overclocked to 4.6ghz with Corsair H80 water cooler. I am finally moving from FSX to P3D and am interested in getting the best system for performance.

Is it worth upgrading the GPU from GTX 770 to GTX 1070 and ram from 8GB to 16GB to 32GB or upgrading the processor and motherboard?


Thanks

 

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I’m using overclocked i4770K to 4,5ghz with Corsair H100. I’ve recently upgraded from Nv780 to Nv1080Ti and I’m very happy with performance of P3Dv4 and DCS World 2.5.

 

, Rado

 


Rado

i7 4770K@4,1Ghz HT on since release of MSFS
1080 Ti 11GB 
32GB DDR3 RAM
Samsung SSDs

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That 4790k is still one helluva processor, especially a bit overclocked like you have. Latest benchmarks still show it in the top echelon.

Upgrading your graphics card will make a noticeable difference. I upgraded from a 770 2Gb to 1080, and especially on P3D V4 I had a substantial improvement.

I would also suggest going for minimum 16Gb Ram. I upgraded from 16 to 32Gb ram, but did not perceive any difference, 16Gb should do it.

And, always keep your drivers updated to the latest, especially chipset, graphics and sound. I found outdated sound drivers can lead to stuttering, especially on the later versions of Windows 10. Intel also launched chipset drivers to be more compatible with Win 10 16299 and later, download and install their chipset version 10.1.1.44 and later. (The latest version is 10.1.1.45, but I could only find it on Asus's website, see driver downloads for their Z370 motherboards).

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Thanks everyone for the input.

 

1. Is 1080 GTX the go to card? It seems very expensive at $600+

2. Should I upgrade for 8GB to 16GB or 32GB?

3. I am on Win-7 64 bit, is there a benefit of upgrading to Win10? I like the old interface

 

 

 

 

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1- yes

2- 16

3- Win10/64 ....  I'm totally happy with Win10. There is a learning curve to finding your way around in it.

*** Your cpu is still very good.

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24 minutes ago, pred02 said:

Thanks everyone for the input.

 

1. Is 1080 GTX the go to card? It seems very expensive at $600+

Depending what your taste in scenery and performance. In recent days VRAM has become important when it comes to scenery detail. More you have the higher your setting you can use without compromise your performance. Many have purchase cards with 6 or more GB of VRAM due to the demands on the scenery detail and the sim itself. P3D requires 2 GB of VRAM but recommends 8 GB.

You will need to decide what is your priority when it comes how you are going to use your sim. If your the type who likes to try to max out your setting and expect to maintain good performance in high detail airports, highly detailed scenery or other graphically demanding addons, than you going need to have the enough VRAM you support it.

 

2. Should I upgrade for 8GB to 16GB or 32GB?

It depends on what version of Windows your using.

Windows home premium max is 16gb max.

Windows professional is 192gb max

Coming from FSX to P3D  I would start off with 16 to be safe and 32 for immediate future proof. 

 

3. I am on Win-7 64 bit, is there a benefit of upgrading to Win10? I like the old interface

For P3D no.   if your using Home premium or professional.

P3D uses DirectX 11 and Windows 10 supports DirectX 12.

I would only change the OS if there is a something specific I need with DirectX  12 support. Otherwise I would save myself the headache and the expense of upgrading the OS until I am ready to build new rig.

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

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I think you could upgrade just the GPU and find you have a decent performing system with P3Dv4. 

P3Dv4 moves a significant amount of workload from the CPU to the GPU, and with any of the better aircraft and airport add-ons you do really need 4GB of VRAM as a rock-bottom minimum and really 6GB or more to maintain a comfortable amount of headroom.  A 1080 or a more powerful 1080Ti is expensive, but a pretty much necessary step up over a 770 when moving to the 64-bit P3D environment. 

The 4790K Devil's Canyon CPU is still very capable when stacked up against the current front-line consumer CPUs (e.g. i7-8700K), probably within 10-15%, and not screaming for an upgrade.

If I were building new, I would go with at least 16GB of RAM, but honestly, I'd try it out with your current 8GB config first, because it's likely you don't really need more, and if you do, you'll want to replace (not add to) the 8GB you have with a larger set, as mixing and matching RAM is a generally bad idea, and it's not likely you can find a good match for your current older DIMMs now.

I absolutely would NOT switch to Win 10 until you have to (e.g. because you build a new PC with a motherboard that's sporting a chipset not supported by Win 7).  There is no advantage to running Win 10 over Win 7 when running P3D, and plenty of butt pain associated with Win 10's nannybot automatic unwanted OS and driver updates, learning the new interface, etc.

Regards

 


Bob Scott | President and CEO, AVSIM Inc
ATP Gulfstream II-III-IV-V

System1 (P3Dv5/v4): i9-13900KS @ 6.0GHz, water 2x360mm, ASUS Z790 Hero, 32GB GSkill 7800MHz CAS36, ASUS RTX4090
Samsung 55" JS8500 4K TV@30Hz,
3x 2TB WD SN850X 1x 4TB Crucial P3 M.2 NVME SSD, EVGA 1600T2 PSU, 1.2Gbps internet
Fiber link to Yamaha RX-V467 Home Theater Receiver, Polk/Klipsch 6" bookshelf speakers, Polk 12" subwoofer, 12.9" iPad Pro
PFC yoke/throttle quad/pedals with custom Hall sensor retrofit, Thermaltake View 71 case, Stream Deck XL button box

Sys2 (MSFS/XPlane): i9-10900K @ 5.1GHz, 32GB 3600/15, nVidia RTX4090FE, Alienware AW3821DW 38" 21:9 GSync, EVGA 1000P2
Thrustmaster TCA Boeing Yoke, TCA Airbus Sidestick, 2x TCA Airbus Throttle quads, PFC Cirrus Pedals, Coolermaster HAF932 case

Portable Sys3 (P3Dv4/FSX/DCS): i9-9900K @ 5.0 Ghz, Noctua NH-D15, 32GB 3200/16, EVGA RTX3090, Dell S2417DG 24" GSync
Corsair RM850x PSU, TM TCA Officer Pack, Saitek combat pedals, TM Warthog HOTAS, Coolermaster HAF XB case

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Lately, I've been thinking about upgrading from my 4790K (just finished my third 8700K build on spec... that is a great CPU) but I'll be staying with it for another year or so.  The 4790K/1080/16GB combo still runs P3Dv4 very well.  If you want to get more out of your current system you should definitely consider a new GPU (I went from a 970 to the 1080 after moving from FSX to P3D, and the 1080 brought so much more out of P3D) and fast memory (at least 2400 and then overclock it).

HTH and good luck,

Greg

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On 4/22/2018 at 8:41 AM, pred02 said:

1. Is 1080 GTX the go to card?

On 4/22/2018 at 9:04 AM, dbw1 said:

1- yes

On 4/22/2018 at 10:00 AM, w6kd said:

I think you could upgrade just the GPU and find you have a decent performing system with P3Dv4.

Regards

What about the 1080TI?  Would that be any better?

Edited by HUSSAR

\Robert Hamlich/

 

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1 hour ago, HUSSAR said:

What about the 1080TI?  Would that be any better?

I would surmise, yes. 

That said, because the prices have gone crazy due to the 1080Ti's popularity for use in virtual currency mining, I'm not sure if the cost-benefit tradeoff on the Ti is there while prices remain bid up so high.

Regards


Bob Scott | President and CEO, AVSIM Inc
ATP Gulfstream II-III-IV-V

System1 (P3Dv5/v4): i9-13900KS @ 6.0GHz, water 2x360mm, ASUS Z790 Hero, 32GB GSkill 7800MHz CAS36, ASUS RTX4090
Samsung 55" JS8500 4K TV@30Hz,
3x 2TB WD SN850X 1x 4TB Crucial P3 M.2 NVME SSD, EVGA 1600T2 PSU, 1.2Gbps internet
Fiber link to Yamaha RX-V467 Home Theater Receiver, Polk/Klipsch 6" bookshelf speakers, Polk 12" subwoofer, 12.9" iPad Pro
PFC yoke/throttle quad/pedals with custom Hall sensor retrofit, Thermaltake View 71 case, Stream Deck XL button box

Sys2 (MSFS/XPlane): i9-10900K @ 5.1GHz, 32GB 3600/15, nVidia RTX4090FE, Alienware AW3821DW 38" 21:9 GSync, EVGA 1000P2
Thrustmaster TCA Boeing Yoke, TCA Airbus Sidestick, 2x TCA Airbus Throttle quads, PFC Cirrus Pedals, Coolermaster HAF932 case

Portable Sys3 (P3Dv4/FSX/DCS): i9-9900K @ 5.0 Ghz, Noctua NH-D15, 32GB 3200/16, EVGA RTX3090, Dell S2417DG 24" GSync
Corsair RM850x PSU, TM TCA Officer Pack, Saitek combat pedals, TM Warthog HOTAS, Coolermaster HAF XB case

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Indeed, $500-600 difference in price between the two, not sure if it would be worth the cost.  I have been thinking of updating my 980TI but at the current price I think I'll hold off.  Thanks for your reply Bob.


\Robert Hamlich/

 

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I went from a 770 to a 1070 when I moved to P3DV4 and am very happy with the performance.


Bert

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5 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

I went from a 770 to a 1070 when I moved to P3DV4 and am very happy with the performance.

+1


regards, Andy

MSFS/P3Dv4.5/| i7 9700K @5.0 | ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F |32GB3200C16 | ASUS 2080Ti OC connected to 3 x LG 27" monitors 5780x1080 | EVO 970 2TB M2 for sim, EVO PLUS 970 500GB M2 for W10pro64bit | VirtualFly YOKO & TQ6 |  MFG crosswinds | T16000M |

 

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