CPU Confusion

[TerryW]

Have been an obsessed flight simmer since picking up a copy of FS2K2 Standard Edition, my first computer (Celeron 766 mhz) and a "Gamepad!"...shows what I knew!!

I've decided to buy my 4th....and last....Flightsim computer. Current is a Q6600 which stumbles through FSX fairly satisfactorily most of the time.

I have read through the sticky at the top of the page,....but with the new CPU's being released lately (and not wanting to pay $500 to $700 for a new CPU), I am a bit confused which might be best for me.

My computer is a flight simulator (FSX Deluxe/Accel) with an internet connection....no other programs or use for it. I'm happy with 20 fps....don't need much eye candy, just a solid experience flying for my va's with ai set quite high and no dratted freezes.

I am okay with power supplies, motherboards, ram, vid cards, etc., but the CPU's have me buffaloed. I've seen three CPU's that fit somewhat into my budget...I've read their specs.....Googled for reviews, etc., on them. I understand that FSX needs CPU clock speeds (along with a decent vid card and copious ram). Anyways, if anyone could offer advice on the best of these three for FSX (or a better alternative in a similar price range), I'd be grateful:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE Quad Core @ 3.4 GHZ
Intel Core i5 670 Dual Core Clarkdale @ 3.46 GHZ
Intel Core i7 860 Quad Core Lynnfield @ 2.8 GHZ

(Some of my confusion comes from the i7 getting such great reviews as a solid performer since it's clock speed is lower than the other two).

The rest of the machine will be: a good motherboard with oc features,a strong power supply, lots of cooling, a 1 gig video card and 64 bit Win 7.

Sorry for rambling, but any advice as to which CPU and why, would be much appreciated.

All the best,
Terry

[Speed of flight]

After reading a little, it seems like that i7 860 is quite a processor for the $. It looks like that might be the one to go with, over the i7 920 that was a bargain blowout last month.

I'm an AMD guy, and I went with the Ph II 965 about 2 months ago. Got the Asus Crosshair III and 8GB DDR3. I love thee garbage out of that setup. Runs like a champ. Great frames and the scenery looks great, too.

However, Intel has been on the top, with their i5s and i7s. If you prefer Intel, that would be the way to go. Also, Asus makes a Rampage II board for intel chips that seems to be the equivalent of the one I got, and promises 2x16 PCI-e performance. I think the i7 860, though, has a dedicated PCI-e manager-thingy that limits 2 cards to 2x8, even though it seems to otherwise ROCK. I should say, however, that if you only plan to run 1 card, you wouldn't need to worry about that.

Personally, I always went with AMD just because it's ALWAYS been cheaper, and so comparable, the price wasn't justifiable. Besides, I usually go with the underdog. Imagine if there was no AMD...

If you run at stock speed, I think the differences would be a little more subtle. If you OC it, that's where you'll see differences more clearly. This one will do this better, but that one does that better, all over the board.

I like to overclock the garbage out of mine, and the Phenom II seemed to handle it better (at least when I read the reviews that were out there then). I'm not using liquid nitrogen like the wierdos with the world record did, but the fastest OC and highest 3d mark score was made with Phenom II @ just over 7GHz. That was my deciding factor. If they did it with that, then certainly, it'll handle what I throw at it.

This year, Intel for the win, that is until AMD makes their next BIG move on something. ANd specifically, that 860 seems to be quite a performer

Hope this helps...

[TerryW]

Speed of Light....thank you for your thoughtful and comprehensive response.....it is very much appreciated.

Although not a "fanboy", I've only ever had Intel chips....Celeron, P4 and the current Q6600. Guess I'll go with the i7 860 and get my order in before the Missus changes her mind!!!...Again, thanks,
Terry

[LeeC]

I've got the i7 920, one of the bonuses of that chip is the overclocking potential. I have mine running at 3.1GHz (up from the stock 2.66) on a bigger cooler, with no problems. There are reports that people have them up to 4GHz+ with hefty cooling.

From doing a bit of reading last night, the only thing I did notice was that the 860 supports dual channel memory addressing, and the 920 supports triple channel addressing. Don't know if that affects your choice in any way.

I used to use AMD, back in the old DX2-66/DX4-100 days. But when 3D Studio (as it was back then, now 3DS Max) demanded Intel only processors, I switched and have stuck with Intel ever since. It didn't help AMD when they went through the "CPU's that burst into flames" period, but they seem to have recovered from that okay.