CPU upgrade advice, compatibility with MSI gaming motherboard

SimonB80

SimonB80

SimonB80

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1 Jul 2020
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Hi everyone,

I am hoping for some sage advice please.

I recently upgraded my graphics card from NVIDIA GTX 770 to NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER, but am now wondering whether I should also change my CPU?

I play Microsoft Flight Sim X (a lot) and Elite Dangerous/Horizons (a bit). With the flight sim, the upgraded graphics card had little effect on FPS as the game is so CPU reliant. However, I felt that the GPU upgrade would stand me in good stead for the next few years/ new FS releases.

Current CPU is an Intel i5-4670K CPU @ 3.40GHz overclocked to 4GHz
Current motherboard is an MSI Z87-G45 (MS 7821).
NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER
Installed RAM 16GB
(Triple Monitor display)

I have a couple of pretty basic questions (as a relative newbie to this sort of stuff)

1 - Which CPU upgrade (compatible with the motherboard) is likely to result in the best improvement in FPS for FSX? The MSI website says that the max support for CPU for this motherboard is an i7. Does this mean any i7, or is it limited to (eg) 4 cores?

2 - Should I really be thinking about also upgrading my motherboard at this point? This is not my preferred option financially but I realise that it may make sense in terms of future proofing my system?

3 - My budget (for now) is around £500. Should I hold off buying anything else until I have £700 to spend at which point I may be able to replace motherboard and CPU at the same time?

4 - Is increasing the RAM a good idea?

Let me know if you need more current system specs!

Cheers,

Simon
 
Thanks for this. What's your thinking?

Is doubling the RAM is more important than getting a higher end (c.£500) CPU? Would the lack of an onboard Graphics unit in the Ryzen make any difference in reality given I have fitted an RTX 2070 Super graphics card?

I wouldn't have considered a "B Grade" product. I'm sure these are tested before they are resold. Is there a risk involved in purchasing B Grade? Will there be information provided with the individual product to confirm why it is "B" (eg missing items/ pre-used etc)?

Cheers,

Simon
 
As far as i'm aware the MS flight sim uses a lot of ram so better to go with 32gb and it also add some futureproofing if you planning to keep the system for a while.

Since you already have a GPU in the 2070 super you wont need any onboard.

The only difference with a B-grade is it may be missing the backplate which most the time it wont as its usually just been brought and someones changed there mind or the packaging has been damaged etc. You can still return within 14 days no questions asked if your not happy and you get a 3 month warranty and the saving in this case is £55 on new.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £140.45 (includes shipping: £10.50)
​
 
I appreciate your advice so far. As far as I’m aware fsx being a 32 bit program only uses a max of 4gb RAM so I am already well over that. Microsoft have published the ideal specs for the forthcoming release of flight sim 2020 and I have put them below.

Interesting and good to know that Ryzen is coming top of your recommendations. Are you purely basing this on budget? I would far rather spend an extra couple of hundred quid now to ensure I am well set up for the future. If the budget were 700 how would that change your recommendations if at all?

Based on what you have said, I’d be happy to buy a b grade product. Here are the ideal specs for fs 2020:

CPU AMD Ryzen 7 Pro or Intel i7 9800X
GPU Radeon VII or NVIDIA RTX 2080
VRAM 8GB
RAM 32GB
HDD 150 GB SSD

Recommended specs are obviously a bit lower than this but I would prefer to aim higher than lower.
 
For FSX you want as fast an Intel chip as possible. This may change more with MSFS2020, but we won't know until it's out. A few people on the Alpha program say FS2020 is excellent on Ryzen. Personally I'dd wait til it comes out, but certainly FSX or P3D you want a fast intel cpu
 
Thanks Charlatan - I have also been trying to tap into this kind of info re FS2020. The "testers" have to sign an NDA so not much real info that I have found.
I agree that waiting would be a good idea (and easier on my pocket short term!)
The Ryzen 3950x seems to be a possible choice of CPU. It is expensive, but I would rather go over than under. I'm a bit concerned it might be overkill though. If this were the route I took, would anyone have any thoughts about compatible motherboard?


Thanks!
Simon
 
I would say the 3900x would be more than enough. Saying that, Zen3 chips should be out by the time FS2020 makes an appearance. Personally, I'd be hanging fire until FS2020, Zen 3 and the new Nvidia 3xxx cards are out
 
For FSX I would suggest you go for the CPU offering you the fastest possible core. You are probably also using an affinity calculator to spread the load across the cores, aren't you?

If you want to be future-proof and use your rig for any type of load and new games, Ryzen is the best option. It may be so also for FS2020. But for FSX with add-ons if this is what you still want to use for a while, probably getting the best i7 for your motherboard is the best to do, at least until FS2020 is out together with the new generation Ryzen with upcoming graphics cards in the autumn.

I am with an i7 6850K overclocked to 4.5GHz, 32GB 3200MHz RAM with tightened timings and a 1080Ti, all drives are either NVME or SSD. With ORBX & Vector, FS Global, all settings at maximum apart from auto generated traffic, ships, leisure boats and cars at up to 15% and the scenery density slider at 90%, I can hardly get 18-20 fps at airports such as Innsbruck, Quito or other detailed add-on airports. My CPU is also going crazy despite the great cooling reaching sometimes 80 degrees when it's hotter. Prime95 or handbrake can't load it as much as FSX. At the same time the 1080Ti stays at 49-50 degrees and it is hot only because of the heat CPU is generating as FSX does not rely on the GPU too much, if at all.

Even a single core at 4.7GHz, if achievable in your rig, with other running at lower frequency will bring you more fps than newer multicore CPUs such as Ryzen as FSX predominantly relies on one core at maximum frequency. Not certain about your storage but it matters quite a lot also as FSX uses thousands of tiny little files being assembled and loaded as it goes, as well as RAM timings.

Not certain what the new FS2020 will be but considering latest versions of P3D and X-Plane, FSX with add-ons still beats them all with all tweaks, scenery fixers and add-ons. It simply looks real and the level of customisation is immense. The only thing I hate, hopefully FS2020 will fix it, are the flat runways but there are (kind of) fixes for it too with the realism add-ons...
 
Hi there,
Thanks Charlatan - I will look into this.
3clips3 - your detailed and FSX specific response is much appreciated as this topic is really driving my upgrading. I use my PC for work too, but it can easily handle what I throw at it from that perspective.
My AffinityMask = 14 as calculated.
I am using GEX, GTX, UT Live and AS16 with FSX and whilst with very similar settings to yours, I can usually achieve 28-30 FPS (limited to 30), when it comes to scenery/AI hungry locations like LHR, CDG, Innsbruck etc, I am barely achieving 11-14 FPS. So I am a little limited in terms of flight planning if I want a smooth ride! My PDMG 737 NGX (and even the default 747) often cause the memory to max out half way through a flight causing FSX to shut down, so I am using the A320 and Default 737 as my stock planes. These are the issues driving me to look at upgrading. My storage is 1.81 TB (1.38 free) so I think I am ok there?
If only we had a date for FS 2020, it would make my decision about what to do a lot easier! If its not going to be released until the end of the year, I may as well go with a compatible i7 according to your advice and then upgrade again early next year!
Agree with your comparison of Xplane to FSX. I tried it and whilst certain things are better, the immersion with FSX is far greater.
Cheers,
Simon
 
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