Simviation Forums

I am looking into doing a budget build with mainly using the build for FSX. After doing a little looking around I found the Phenom II x4 975 Black Edition is regarded quite well for gaming. Out of the box its a 3.6, and many safely OC it to 4.0, tho I likely wont even bother with OCing. I know newer AMD FX CPU's seems to be not too great, so I will stay away for now even though the 6 core is inticing. So I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this CPU? Looking to mate it to an ASUS mobo, and use 8GB G.Skill Sniper 1866 memory... video card is undetermined so far, but I want to keep this a budget build.

My computer has an i7 2600 at 3.4GHz. On benchmark scores, its score is about twice as high as the Phenom you're looking at. That processor barely fusses at FSX on full detail (combined with a total of 6GB DDR3 1033, and a nVidia GT545). I think it probably goes at about 20-30% usage.


I'd say that it would be plentiful for FSX. I consistently get 25-30FPS in the air and 20-25FPS at the airports. 8GB RAM might be overkill, I have 6GB as I intend to use it for hefty graphics and video editing, but I doubt I need all of it.

You see, I can get the CPU, mobo, and memory all for the price of that I7. And being that this is a budget build, I dont want to spend a ton of cash. Sure, the I7 is a very good CPU, and later on when I can I may go that route.

The memory... well the 8gb really isnt too expensive. May be more than I need, but it cant hurt! 

Oh no, I'm not trying to convert you... Merely saying that the processor you've chosen would be a smart move. It is clearly not the best in the world, but going off the numbers, it should perform well in the game. It shouldn't be saturated by the high detail graphics.

If you're not overclocking try to get a Core i5-2---- if you are overclocking get Core i5-2500K. If you cannot afford the i5-2500K and want to overclock get the Phenom II x4 975.

i5-2500K is what I recommend. Performance is very similar to i7-2600K but $100 less.

I am running The 965 Black Edition.

The best CPU I ever had.

I am running stock speeds but yes, these processors over-clock extremely easy, they are dirt cheap and of high quality.

As for the 975. You will not regret buying it.

Do try and get the C3 stepping model 

I did a budget build... got a very decent pc for only $600... If you look around you can get good deals... I am using the 965BE and its a great chip! VERY easy to OC with the included software, so yes I think it would be a good buy... if you can afford it, Intel always seems to do better with FSX and most other things but the 975 should be a very decent chip at an extremely reasonable price!