FSX on sandy bridge CPUs?

Traches wrote:

Anybody running fsx on the new intel 25/2600k? I'm looking at building a new system in the next few months and I don't know what kind of performance to expect!

If you want out of this world performance, get the Intel I7 990X extreme edition.
It's one fast mofo of a CPU.

And it also costs almost a grand compared to the 2600k's $350... Not to mention it doesn't have the insane overclockability of the 2600k either.

Keep us informed what you find out about the issue once you've dug a bit deeper Bob. Only the other day I was reading about the different Intel processors currently on offer and frankly my head started spinning causing me to take a well deserved rest... I'm still in hibernation in case you wonder. 😛

I can't help myself but point out again that never before in the history of MSFS has it been necessary for the ordinary hobbyist to study computer science just to get the damn software running satisfactorily.

Do keep us in the loop and for what it's worth, your posting this topic in the Hardware forum is appreciated.

Haha I'll be sure to report back if I ever manage to put together the cash for this build. It keeps getting more ambitious...

Have you thought about working with a Intel X58 series motherboard? I heard that they are very good.

Also, if you can handle it, take a look into the EVGA Classified SR2 motherboards. Its an investment, for sure, but roughly a grand will set up for anything software developers can throw at you for a long, long time. Couple that with a pair of Xeon E3110 Wolfdale 3.0 GHz Processors for 184.00 and throw in 48GBs of RAM and you will shut everyone up for years to come!! 😂

BTW: That little set up (minus the 48 GB of RAM) costs around 800 dollars.

I've looked at the 1366 processors and they're nice, but they're only really faster than the new 1155s if you get the $1k 6-core version, and even then only for certain applications that can actually use 6 cores.

And 48gb of ram? 😳

Ordered a 2500k setup the other day, it should show up on monday. I'll let y'all know how it works out 🙂

It'll be interesting because before I had to be very sparing with traffic sliders and the like; now I'll be running a top of the line CPU on a 4 year old GPU. I'll probably have to dial textures back, but I'll be able to max out traffic and weather and the like. Crazy!

Traches wrote:

Ordered a 2500k setup the other day, it should show up on monday. I'll let y'all know how it works out 🙂

How's it going then, any news?

Well, I can't quite max everything but that's probably because of my older graphics card. It's definitely quite a bit better than my old AMD processor!

Traffic sliders at ~30%, scenery and weather 85% max, and all the pretty stuff like light bloom and AA turned on.

You've never struck me as the coy type yet... ...because of my older graphics card.. conjures up images of Captain Ahab when he recruited the crew for his 'mission impossible'....

Have I lost my mind or am I on to something 😳

Now won't you be so kind and enlighten us as to what your older graphics card is... was - so klutzes like myself won't be lured into non-existing pleasures like those sailors of old who expected unimaginable riches, fame and pleasures were they to succeed in bagging Moby-Dick....

...the plot thickens

Hahaha well older as in 4 years old... No buried treasure here, and I'm hundreds of miles from the coast so no white whales to be found either 🙂

It's an 8800GT, the 512mb version.

Oh my... guess what? I have currently:

Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (512 MB)

Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (512 MB)

in SLI which I gather means two of the same ergo twice the power... yet I find myself strapped into a cotton gin whenever I want to run FSX just to make the graphics tick over.

Incidentally, my box of horrors is by now 4 years old - guess the 8800 GT 512 must have been the Ferrari back then.
I guess I'll have to upgrade to an 8801 GT... if there is such a thing

Haha it was, there were a couple different versions but they were THE graphics card to have. Right now it's the GTX 580, but that's a $500 card and overkill for FSX. You could get a 480 or a 570 (Approximately the same performance and price) for about $150 cheaper and that would STILL be overkill... Graphics cards have come a long way in the past 4 years.

I think the reason you're having trouble running FSX is that it doesn't benefit from SLI unless you're running at a crazy high resolution (1600x1200 or something) with a lot of AA... There's a lot of work involved in splitting the work up between two cards, which will actually hurt performance in some cases!

Is it groundhog day?

After submitting my previous post I was suddenly overcome by the kind of leaden tiredness which manifests itself by falling of your chair. Time to go back to bed. But... one final clear thought entered my mind: What if I never wake up again and die in bed without ever having procured another graphics card...??
I had a quick look at Tom's Hardware but being dazed and confused I didn't understand much of what was being said so I simply went on procuring --- wait for it: A 1.25GB GTX 560 😳

After having read your previous post about the price tag and the overkill I figured never mind the overkill. Living in the rough part of town I can get killed by just opening the fridge door... on the upside, the type of trucks which tend to lose merchandise off their backs turn up around here with a regularity as if they were powered by Swiss watches 😀

I appreciate your remarks on the SLI setup. I'd read something of the kind previously, never forgot it but of course failed to save the article or misplaced it. It really makes sense. You have so many options with the SLI that unless you dedicate hours of fiddling you'll never get anywhere and end up bogged down as I did.

Now I'm just hoping that the friendly trucker didn't accidentally drop two GTX 560s 😛

I wouldn't worry too much about overkill.... I am running 3 GTX 465's in SLi and have 24GB of RAM running with a Intel i7 multicore processor. All sliders to the max and am still trying to squeeze out more!!! 😀