i7 920 Upgrade overdue ... what do you think to this planned setup?

pete_agreatguy · 13 Mar 2017 at 12:56

Hi all,

I'm due an upgrade (as you'll probably agree).

Current Setup is in my signature (minus a new HGST 2TB enterprise ultrastar 7600k Hard Drive which is on it's way).

Keeping:

Hard Drives and Optical Drive (Sony DVD-RW DL)
CPU Cooler (Thermalright have assured me it is compatible with 1151 socket)
750D Case
HCP 850W PSU
Optical Drive
NZXT Hue lighting
OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64 - I do not wish to upgrade to windows 10 yet!
Samsung 27" 1080p HDMI monitor
TrackIR v5 with pro clip [recent investment and not disappointed]
G29 Logitech wheel, pedals and shifter

Current *Possible* Upgrades:

motherboard = Asus TUF Z270 Mark2
CPU = i7 6700k
RAM = best value for money 16GB DDR4 2x 8GB (currently best to get G Skill Ripjaws V DDR-3400)
GPU = EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3 or the new ICX model
If required new CPU Cooler = Noctua NH-D15S
Blu ray writer = Pioneer BDR-209DBK
May upgrade current Saitek Joystick [wired Evo Force]

Future Planned Upgrades:

OS to Windows 10 Pro x64 bit
M.2 SSD hard drive for OS and applications (would probably go with a Samsung 960 Pro)
upgrade CPU to 7700k or new model if Z270 supports it (hence the Z270 chipset)
New GPU

What I use PC for at the moment:

Gaming at 1080p (mainly Flight Sim 2004 [with plenty of addons] and Train Sim [with plenty of addons]. But I also play: Cities Skylines, Planet Coaster, C&C Generals, Star Trek Starfleet Command 3, OpenTTD, Transport Fever, OMSI 2, GTA V, F1 Games, Dirt 3, Grid 2, ETS2, ATS, Kerbal Space Program and Classic Stars game)
General internet usage and emails
General office work
Streaming media drive to tablet over wifi
occasional web site design using Dreamweaver CC
occasional Photoshop editing (not often and it's only basic stuff these days tbh)

Future Planned Usage:

want to get back into making YouTube videos of my gaming, so learning and implementing video editing
including all of current usage; however, I plan to upgrade to Prepare 3D 64 bit Flight Sim and buy a load of addons for that as this will be my main usage
ripping blu rays to store films on current 8TB hard drive

Should I consider the AMD Ryzen architecture?

The reason I ask is my main usage is gaming on Flight Sim and Train Sim. My current Flight Sim is very much depending on high frequency of the single core performance - hence the Intel option above.

Thank you for your time and advice

AiiR · 14 Mar 2017 at 00:44

pete_agreatguy said:
Should I consider the AMD Ryzen architecture?

Yes I would go down the Ryzen route for your future planned usage.

pete_agreatguy · 14 Mar 2017 at 10:28

AiiR said:
Yes I would go down the Ryzen route for your future planned usage.

Why though?

From my research so far Ryzen gaming performance, especially in Flight Sim is not great at all. I'd rather sacrifice multicore over gaming performance.

ED209 · 14 Mar 2017 at 11:02

If you are considering a I7 6700K why not get the 7700K instead? you are already getting a Z270 mobo that supports the processor and the 7700K is cheaper!

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £359.99
1 x Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz (Kaby Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £338.99

Total: £698.98
(includes shipping: £0.00)

pete_agreatguy · 14 Mar 2017 at 11:04

Easy answer, I want to remain on Windows 7 until it's end of life

As far as I am aware the 7700k doesn't support windows 7?

Kurgen · 14 Mar 2017 at 13:46

dont see any point in staying with a 7 year old OS, so you prefer to have a slower running/booting PC?.. Ryzen doesnt support windows 7 either, so you will have to go skylake

pete_agreatguy · 14 Mar 2017 at 13:49

The reason I do not wish to update to Windows 10 is due to my Flight Sim 2004 and all the addons I got for it. I spent over a grand on this setup.

From my research done online FS2004 with the addons I have runs better on Windows 7 than Windows 10.

I plan to upgrade to Prepar3d once it's 64 bit version has been released.

I also like to play old games such as C&C Generals etc (listed above).

Putty · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:08

Before forking out for your new kit have you thought about trying a 5650 in there?

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/1366-x58-xeon-5650.18618052/

pete_agreatguy · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:11

Putty said:
Before forking out for your new kit have you thought about trying a 5650 in there?

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/1366-x58-xeon-5650.18618052/

A server chip for a gaming rig?

Putty · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:15

Yup

People have found it hit and miss however so far for me it has been pretty nifty (overclocked to a steady 4.4) - have a trawl through the thread as there are quite a few discussions on the benefits.

Phemo · 14 Mar 2017 at 16:08

Yeah, a £50-60 Xeon is a pretty good upgrade for anyone still on a socket 1366 i7 system. They overclock nicely and you'll have 6 cores/12 threads. I picked up an X5660 a couple of weeks ago (for £55) to put in a secondary 1366 system and it's running happily at 4.2GHz without any effort at all and it's not a bad performer overall. Given the whole PC a new lease of life.

M1k3H · 14 Mar 2017 at 16:20

I am going to echo the words of the people above. Was in the same boat as you with an i7 920 and 6gb RAM. Bought a second hand x5650, overclocked to 4GHz without any issues (can push higher, but not a lot of gain for what is a lot of temp/voltage extra) and then bought 16gb RAM to keep me going. Phenomenal upgrade as the Xenon has a slightly faster IPC, plus 6 cores.

Kelt · 14 Mar 2017 at 16:34

pete_agreatguy said:
A server chip for a gaming rig?

Oh yeh baby, you'd better believe it!

Awesome chip, no multi-core game I run even remotely stresses this chip.

pete_agreatguy · 15 Mar 2017 at 11:44

Hi guys, I've not had chance to read through the thread yet as I've been busy reinstalling FS9. Anyway, with regards to a server chip, what are the frame rates like in games? examples would be appreciated.

Mrjobby · 15 Mar 2017 at 15:24

The 1366 platform is still a cracker and a Hex core Xeon is a great chip for peanuts.

However the game you mention you play the most FS2004 might not use the extra cores and as such you may seen benefit from CPUs that are more efficient with their clock speed, say a i5 7600 or similar due to their high instructions per clock combined with high stock clock speed.

Are you definitely CPU limited currently?

Kelt · 16 Mar 2017 at 16:10

pete_agreatguy said:
Hi guys, I've not had chance to read through the thread yet as I've been busy reinstalling FS9. Anyway, with regards to a server chip, what are the frame rates like in games? examples would be appreciated.

Here's a piccie of Crysis 3, running at 1080P, fully maxed out on a 1070.

You can see the CPU usage (this game has the heaviest load I've seen in my collection), still plenty left in the tank.

iamtheoneneo · 16 Mar 2017 at 17:20

I would upgrade your GPU to 1070/1080 and CPU to a Hex core Xeon.
Zero reason to go further than that at present.

pete_agreatguy · 21 Mar 2017 at 14:37

Hi all,

Just an update.

Prepar 3D is going to be releasing a 64 bit version (Flight Sim), finally ... it's been well overdue if you ask me.

So, I'm going to wait for now until I see what brand works best and then decide what I will upgrade to.

Still unsure on the xeon but I will not rule it out from reading that thread

yoyo59 · 21 Mar 2017 at 15:19

iamtheoneneo said:
I would upgrade your GPU to 1070/1080 and CPU to a Hex core Xeon.
Zero reason to go further than that at present.

listen to this guy! hex core xeon and 1070 I reckon I would say 1080 is too good for gulftown imo

edit after reading your OP fully, I would say maybe a 6800k? maybe you want something newer and faster and to get away from x58.. my bro seen huge improvement from going to skylake from his xeon x58

Gixer · 26 Mar 2017 at 14:26

pete_agreatguy said:
Hi all,

Just an update.

Prepar 3D is going to be releasing a 64 bit version (Flight Sim), finally ... it's been well overdue if you ask me.

So, I'm going to wait for now until I see what brand works best and then decide what I will upgrade to.

Still unsure on the xeon but I will not rule it out from reading that thread

I was just about to post as well as upgrading hardware why don't you upgrade to Prepar 3D as it shouldn't be too far off releasing a 64bit version. Like yourself I have masses of addons for FS2004 however I still updated to FSX. I have some addons for this too however not as many though if I did total up the price I've spent on addons I'm sure I'd be quite shocked. Some of the addons I have for FSX (PMDG T7) were quite expensive however so I'm holding off for Prepar 3D 64bit before I change flight sim software any more. Like yourself I to need to build a new PC as mine is showing its age now sadly

I'm unsure if I'll go the VR route yet however I have read it's pretty much the way forward for simulators. Until then as well as PC upgrade I'll be wanting a Dell Ultrasharp U3415W 34" monitor which annoyingly seem to have gone up in price recently. It should however be immersive enough for simulators without going the whole multi monitor setup route.