Hi folks,

My rig has an NF750-G55 Mobo and an AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz CPU. GPU is a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. 8 GB RAM.

I built the rig 8 years ago before I knew anything about what FSX demands from a PC.

I know the CPU is pretty much the weak link for performance in FSX.

What I'm wondering is; Can I just upgrade to a new mobo and cpu? I don't want to do an entirely new build if I can just upgrade those two things.

My current rig does "okay" but I would like higher quality graphics and better performance, especially with payware planes.

I'm thinking maybe I can just get an i5 cpu and a new mobo and use everything else I already have.

Is this a common, reasonable way to upgrade apart from doing a whole new build? Anyone else upgraded this way and if so how did it work out for you?

Thanks,

Tom

 You will be keeping your ram and GPU , cant see any problems. If you plan to OC then get a "k" cpu

Make sure your RAM is compatible

Edited April 26, 20188 yr by zmak

If you change the Motherboard you will probably lose your Windows 10 licence.

You can get away with changing most of the other.

9 hours ago, SirTommy said:

I'm thinking maybe I can just get an i5 cpu and a new mobo and use everything else I already have.

You'll definitely need new RAM as well if you go for a modern CPU and MB.

Thanks for the responses.

I like my case, so I want to keep that. I'm assuming a new mobo will still mount properly into it, unless that has changed a lot in the past 8 years. 

This is what I use for cooling:

https://www.amazon.com/Hyper-TX3-Cooler-Direct-Contact/dp/B005HIRDUA

Has worked well, so I'll probably keep that too (as apposed to worrying about whether or not another cooling system will fit in my case properly).

17 minutes ago, SirTommy said:

This is what I use for cooling:

https://www.amazon.com/Hyper-TX3-Cooler-Direct-Contact/dp/B005HIRDUA

That cooler was ok in it's day but it's fairly basic and I'd really advise getting something better, particularly if you think you're ever likely to overclock.

9 hours ago, harrry said:

If you change the Motherboard you will probably lose your Windows 10 licence.

You can get away with changing most of the other.

 

No, you won't. You just activate it again. Either online or via the telephone. Should be just online. Microsoft have no issue with upgrades. We all upgrade or replace defective components, including boards. 

 

Agree with Vortex re cooler. You need something better if you intend to overclock. 

 

Quote

I like my case, so I want to keep that. I'm assuming a new mobo will still mount properly into it, unless that has changed a lot in the past 8 years. 

 

An ATX board fits in an ATX case, Mini ITX in a Mini ITX case etc. Nothing has changed. 

 

You haven't said how much you have to spend, but an i5 8600K is a nice CPU. 16 GB of DDR4 at around 3200 MHz would be nice. GSkill Ripjaw is my choice, or Trident Z. Asus motherboards I favour. 

Edited April 26, 20188 yr by martin-w

4 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

No, you won't. You just activate it again. Either online or via the telephone. Should be just online. Microsoft have no issue with upgrades. We all upgrade or replace defective components, including boards. 

 

Agree with Vortex re cooler. You need something better if you intend to overclock. 

 

 

An ATX board fits in an ATX case, Mini ITX in a Mini ITX case etc. Nothing has changed. 

 

You haven't said how much you have to spend, but an i5 8600K is a nice CPU. 16 GB of DDR4 at around 3200 MHz would be nice. GSkill Ripjaw is my choice, or Trident Z. Asus motherboards I favour. 

 

Currently, I'm using Win 7, which I have the registration key for. Do I need to use Win 10 with the newer mobos?

Is the extra cost worth getting an i7? How much more performance will that get me over the i5 8600K? For that matter, how much improvement should I expect going from the AMD to the Intel?

My case is an Antec 900 ATX mid tower. Old, but still decent. Not sure which new cooler would fit the best.

I'm a little "overclock phobic." Tried it with my current build using the MSI "easy overclock switch" and never was able to get it stable. Set everything back to default in BIOS and since then it's been stable. I know there are better ways of overclocking, but I just haven't taken the time to learn it all and tinker with it.

Edited April 26, 20188 yr by SirTommy

Okay, so far this is what I've come up with for a possible upgrade to my rig: What do you think? 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157790&ignorebbr=1

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117825&ignorebbr=1

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233771&ignorebbr=1

Haven't decided about the cooler yet. And I'm assuming Win 7-64 bit will work with this(?) When mobo specs say "OS Win 10-64bit" does that mean "only" Win 10? Or will Win 7 work also?

Edited April 26, 20188 yr by SirTommy

SirTommy, that RAM is a no go.  You want 3200mhz stuff, and if you are going with 8gb, you want a 2x4gb kit, not a single stick

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231900 would be perfect

Edited April 27, 20188 yr by Charlatan

4 hours ago, Charlatan said:

SirTommy, that RAM is a no go.  You want 3200mhz stuff, and if you are going with 8gb, you want a 2x4gb kit, not a single stick

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231900 would be perfect

Yes, I see what you mean. Good call. Thanks for the heads up and the suggestion! 😊

Here is what I've narrowed it down to. PC Part Picker system builder showed no compatibility issues (including the parts I'm reusing and Win 7 64-bit).

Still open to opinions/suggestions before I pull the trigger. I really appreciate the input 😊.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117825&ignorebbr=1

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX6HD6923&ignorebbr=1

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231900&ignorebbr=1

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181029&ignorebbr=1

I'm hoping this will be a respectable upgrade that will give me a decent performance boost with FSX. I honestly am not sure how much improvement this will give me over my current rig. I'm upgrading based on what I've read about the advantages of intel over amd where cpu is concerned. I hope this will give me a decent "budget build" for FSX. I don't want to spend thousands for a new, powerhouse build. I'm actually still on the fence about whether or not the $580 this upgrade will cost me will be worth the performance gain.

So, you won't hurt my feelings if you say, "Tom, you're wasting your money. That upgrade won't make enough difference in performance to be worth the cost." Or, you might say, "That seems like a decent upgrade that you'll likely be happy with." I know it's somewhat subjective, but I welcome the opinions. That's why I come here: for the wealth of experience everyone has that I lack.

So, bring on the opinions 😁.

That looks really good. The CPU will give you a huge bump in FSX FPS and your ready to go should you switch platforms to 64 bit P3d or DCS or whatever else pops up

 

I would pull the pin on that no worries.

edit

I would go for the twin fan set up with corsair. Its a big improvement on your choice if your serious about overclocking

 

https://www.corsair.com/ww/en/Categories/Products/Liquid-Cooling/Single-Radiator-Liquid-Coolers/Hydro-Series™-H80i-v2-High-Performance-Liquid-CPU-Cooler/p/CW-9060024-WW

Edited April 27, 20188 yr by zmak

Am I going to have issues running Win 7 with this upgrade? I'm trying really hard to avoid Win 10 due to negative things I'm reading like forced updates, bloatware, etc. Is WIn 10 really that bad?

Am I just going to have to grin and bear it and upgrade my OS as well?

Anyone here running Win 7 with newer mobo?

 

 

https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=1202301

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=does+the+latest+mobo+need+w10&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b

Edited April 29, 20188 yr by zmak