Grateful for feedback on spec for video editing and playing flight simulator

[brijon]

I would be very grateful for comments on the spec below. I intend to use the desktop for converting about 100 hours of Hi8 analogue video (convert to digital, edit and then save to DVD or Blu-Ray) and playing FSX and XPlane. The other project I have is to convert 500+ vinyl LPs to digital. This is the reason for the SSD for the operating system and gaming files and the other two HDD (for video and music storage)

It would be very helpful for specific advice on Hybrid HDD compared to SATA-III HDDs. Also I have always had a separate sound card (currently a 5 year old Sound Blaster card (5.1)). Will I notice much difference using the onboard sound card only?

My build cost is approx £2000.

Does the GEFORCE GTX 1060 graphic card come with any free gaming freebie software?

Case FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-6800K (3.4GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s, RGB Ready
Memory (RAM) 16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 2666MHz (4 x 4GB Kit)
Graphics Card 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk 960GB HyperX SAVAGE 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 2TB SEAGATE 3.5" SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)
3rd Hard Disk 4TB SEAGATE 3.5" SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 5900 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader EXTERNAL MEMORY CARD READER (READS MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling INTEL SOCKET LGA2011 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans 1x 120mm Apache Black Quiet Fan (fitted to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options 2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Many thanks

 

[Frank100]

Hi,

It might be worth looking at some of the computers in the Reviews section because these preset (already configured) machines might meet your needs and generally offer about £200 savings over a custom build. I do have a few questions first of all though.

Firstly, what programs will you be using for video editing and conversion? The answer to this question would determine what graphics card I would recommend. The GTX 1060 is an excellent card for pretty much everything but the RX480 might be better for you depending on the software you use.

How will you be ripping the vinyl to digital? Do you have an external device into which you are plugging in a normal turntable or will you be using a dedicated straight to USB turntable?

Have you considered getting a NAS instead of two additional internal disks for storage? Having the flexibility of accessing those files without the computer being on is handy and most NAS' can be configured for access when out and about via an App on your phone.

To tackle your questions I don't rate hybrid disks anymore. They are previous generation technology and need updating. I would say for storage keep the SSD and get some sort of standard spinning disk storage instead. By opting for a NAS or using a large capacity USB hard drive you reduce power consumption for the computer and therefore reduce heat and dust build up. The PC is also quieter and the NAS can sit anywhere else on your network where it isn't intrusive. For internal disks the Western Digital Black are excellent but a lot more expensive than the standard disks of similar capacity. PSC have a few NAS options on offer and they aren't that much more expensive. I think they offer greater flexibility.

As for sound quality the on-board chips are much better than with motherboards of old. The motherboard you've chosen is quite premium and that might mean a slightly better chip than with a more basic board. Either way I would suggest trying it first and you could add something later on. If it is music you are most concerned with an external DAC is a better option than a soundcard. I have digitised over 1000 LPs and 2000 CDs and I use an external DAC and a pair of proper monitor speakers for listening to music. Soundcards are better for gaming.

For FSX I believe I am right in saying that there are elements of the game where it doesn't use multiple cores particularly well and so higher clock speed but fewer cores would result in better performance. Have a look at a 4GHz i7 6700K that's been overclocked by PCS. I believe there is an overclocked i7 in the Reviews section running at about 4.6GHz. I think that might be your better option.

Definitely get an aftermarket CPU cooler as the standard one is noisy and not that great at cooling. Any of the aftermarket ones is a big step up.

The silver warranty is only £5 more and worth getting.

I might be able to help more if you can answer the couple of questions I had.

Frank100

 

[brijon]

Hi Frank100

I really do appreciate the time you have spent providing the advice. It has been most helpful. As I hadn’t received a reply before you did, I have placed the following order this morning:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-6800K (3.4GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s, RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
960GB HyperX SAVAGE 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
3rd Hard Disk
4TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5900RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
EXTERNAL MEMORY CARD READER (READS MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

The video editing software I use is Adobe Premiere Pro 5.0. I am hoping to capture the analogue video from a Sony Hi8 video camera via a device called a Canopus Picture Controller 300 using ADVC300 software. This is a very old analogue capture device and I haven’t used it yet. If you have a better method/suggestion for capturing and converting Hi8 analogue video in digital this would be very, very helpful. Presumably the 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 will be fine for video editing?

For photo editing I use Photoshop CS5 or Photoshop Elements 14.

Is the performance difference between the 6GB GTX1060 (quote) and the 8GB GTX1070 (order) worth the £223 price difference? You mentioned FSX preferring high clock speed, rather than making effective use of multiple cores. The only other game programs I use is XPlane. Ship Simulator and Train Simulator. I think I am a frustrated driver of land sea and air!

I already have a NAS drive which is connected to my router downstairs. The reason for the two large HDD is to store video files which I will backup to the NAS via a Wi-Fi connection as well as an external HDD attached to the desktop. (Sorry, I am paranoia following a unrecoverable large loss of data following a HDD failure several years ago).

Thank you for your advice about:

• The hybrid HDDs; as you can see I have replaced them with SATA III HDDs on the order
• The aftermarket CPU cooler; I have gone for the Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler.
• Silver Warranty

As the order has not yet commenced build, it can be changed. Hence I really do appreciate your help to get the final build right.

Kind regards

Brijon

 

[Oussebon]

I think I am a frustrated driver of land sea and air!

Fly navy, sail army, walk sideways, as they say

It's my understanding that a quad core i7 will offer better performance for those sim games than the 6800k. It will also give better performance in photoshop. At stock clocks the 6800k would be better for video editing, but given that the 6700k systems are cheaper it could let you look at a pre-overclocked 6700k with faster RAM (which further improves performance in a lot of CPU-bound games) for the same or less money, which will narrow the gap in video editing performance (10-15% difference) and extend the lead in the other tasks (30%+ better single threaded performance). http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1549?vs=1727

You can also get a 1tb Samsung PM961 M.2 PCIe NVMe which would be ludicrously faster for £15 more than the 960gb Hyper X.

The GTX 1070 is significantly more powerful than the GTX 1060. Whether that's worth £223 is up to you. There's a guy who bought one for XPlane discussing it and the extra eye candy they can use here:
http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/105000-my-system-with-the-new-gtx-1070/

Although you've placed the order, it would be possible to amend it as you say, or cancel and submit a new one.

e.g.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-6700k Quad Core (4.00GHz @ upto MAX 4.60GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® Z170 PRO GAMING/AURA: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs, RGB Lighting
FREE MAFIA III game code with select ASUS*® Motherboards!
Memory (RAM)
32GB HyperX PREDATOR QUAD-DDR4 3000MHz X.M.P (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
FREE GEARS OF WAR 4 with select GTX 10 Series GPUs!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Hard Disk
4TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5900RPM, 64MB CACHE
M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3000MB/R, 1700MB/W)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
EXTERNAL MEMORY CARD READER (READS MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £2,117.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-skylake-overclocked/TKahQzfYv2/

 

[brijon]

Hi Oussebon,

I thought the air force walks sideways as fast as they can to stay in their overnight hotel? Just an observation!:tank:

Many thanks for your reply.

I too have read that Quad i7 Core CPUs are slightly better suited to flight sim games than 6 core CPUs. However, I don’t understand the details and will probably not understand a long technical explanation. If you say the i7-6700K (4GHz) is better for playing MS Flight Sim and X-Plane than the i7-6800K, then I cannot argue the point.

The reason I went for the 6 core i7-6800K was the benefit I thought this would have on converting analogue to digital video and the subsequent editing. I don’t know if 6 core is better than 4 core for such processing. Also I have always thought overclocking decreases the life of the CPU, increases the power consumption of the CPU exponentially and necessitates liquid cooling or multi-noisy air coolers. You may be able to provide advice on the comparable processing of video processing and the additional risks of overclocking.

Thank you for your advice of the RAM memory (change FURY to PREDATOR) which I will think very seriously about. The additional cost for your suggestion is £66.00. On the PCS website, 2 x 16GB PREDATOR RAM is not an option, only 4 x 8GB. I can discuss this with PCS.

The Samsung PM961 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD Drive was not option on the drop down menu for changing the SSD on my order amendment web page. I understand this particular SSD Drive is in very short supply. I’ll talk to PCS tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you for the link to the forum comparing the GTX 1070. It seems a bit of a no brainer regarding getting the latter.

I do appreciate your contribution.

Kind regards

Brijon

 

[Oussebon]

1) X99 / Z170
I should point out that the spec I posted above is configured through an entirely different PCS configurator. (This one: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-skylake-overclocked/ ) That’s why you can’t simply amend your order to that spec on the website – you’d have to cancel and submit a new one, or phone PCS and change your order with them. It's based around a different CPU family and a different motherboard.

It’s also why you can’t see that RAM option. The X99 motherboards are quad channel, which means they prefer RAM in sets of 4. The Z170 motherboards are dual channel and prefer RAM in sets of two.
My point was also that because the 6700k is cheaper, you can get the 6700k, 3000MHz DDR4, better PSU, and all the stuff in the build I specced for about the same price as the stock clocked 6800k build with slower RAM, lower quality PSU, etc, as per your most recent build above.

The Samsung M.2 is available under the “M.2 SSD Drive” section rather than the various “Hard Disk” sections, as they use a different connection (i.e. M.2 rather than SATA III).


2) 6700k vs 6800k

The reason I went for the 6 core i7-6800K was the benefit I thought this would have on converting analogue to digital video and the subsequent editing. I don’t know if 6 core is better than 4 core for such processing.

The i7 6800k would be better for video editing, yes. But the i7 6700k is still very capable and once overclocked would be within 10-15% of the 6800k’s stock multithreaded performance, while being overwhelming better for applications that benefit from better single threaded performance (e.g. many simulators, and Adobe Photoshop – everything else you’re using the PC for).

So the 6700k overclocked is almost as good for video editing, while being very superior for all the other things you’re using it for.

I already linked the Anandtech benchmarks of the two above, comparing a 6700k at 4.6ghz vs a 6800k at stock. There are a lot of numbers on that page but the main ones to look at are the Cinebench Single and Multithreaded scores. You lose 12% multithreaded performance, but gain 32% single threaded performance. And faster DDR4 for little to no increase in the overall build price.


3) Overclocking lifespan / cost:
I’ll use a summary I put in another post:

Overclocking is making something run faster than it normally does. This increases its performance. The tradeoff is higher temps and a need for higher quality components (higher cost). But you're buying higher quality components anyway (things like Z170 motherboards and higher end PSUs) and the Noctua should be easily capable of managing the temps. Overclocking would also theoretically reduce the lifespan of the CPU, though you're unlikely to notice as the chances are you will have gotten rid of the PC due to extreme old age long before that happens. And the overclock PCS apply is generally a relatively tame one.

Intel 's -k CPUs (e.g. i7 6700k) are made with overclocking in mind, and it's quite a common thing for gamers to do. PCS allow overclocking under their warranty (see terms and conditions for exact details) but buying a system like the Define X1 which is pre-overclocked means PCS are actually guaranteeing the overclock and components under the warranty. They'll have done the overclocking for you.

In real terms it's a 'free' performance boost.
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...kay-for-gaming&p=373949&viewfull=1#post373949

The Define X1 was a specific model that’s not available any more (limited edition deal), but the point is that it’s pretty safe even for a total novice, and getting a pre-Oced machine that PCS have set up the OC on means that it’s covered under PCS’s guarantee as well.

4) Cooling
The Noctua is more than capable of handling overclocked temps on Skylake. Overclocking at that level doesn't necessitate liquid cooling, and Noctua are known for making some of the most effective but quiet air coolers on the market.

This is a benchmark of a Noctua NH U14S matching a Corsair H100 cooler: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NH-U14S/6.html
And another of it matching the Corsair H90 (liquid cooler) and beating most of everything else: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/noctua_nh_u12s_u14s_review,11.html
And another where it beats the H90 and most other things once more: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5434/noctua-nh-u14s-cpu-cooler-review/index8.html
You can see it generally do pretty well in the acoustics stakes as well.


5) Power Consumption
As for power consumption, it's pretty negligible as a consideration. First, the 6700k seems to use less power than the 6800k at stock frequencies under max load. The 6800k has a TDP 50W higher (though that doesn't actually mean 50W higher consumption under all loads ofc). Overclocking a CPU does increase its power consumption, certainly:

This shows a difference of 40W more overall, when under max load for an i7 6700k 4.6ghz OC at 1.35v. The voltage needed for a given OC will vary between each individual CPU (the so-called silicon lottery) but I think more often that not a 6700k won't need 1.35v for that OC. Also Prime 95 is a torture test that puts it under 100% load, a scenario far more demanding than gaming or most other things.

To put that in context, a GTX 1070 can easily use 150W+ just by itself when under load. If you ran an OCed CPU using 40W more under 100% load for 6 hours per day, 365 days per year, and paid 17p per kwh, it would cost an extra ~£15 per year over stock frequencies. Gaming /photoshop load will be significantly less.

The TL;DR version is that power consumption isn't really a factor.

 

[Scott]

For FSX 6 cores is better than 4 if you are using the latest version (Either Acceleration or Steam). It needs configured using the AffinityMask option in the fsx.CFG file. I'm currently using all 4 cores to full capacity on the 6700k @ 4.2Ghz and getting fairly good results with a few ORBX addon packs.

An overclocked 6850 would be my choice though.

 

[Oussebon]

Any evidence that the stock 6 core perform will be better than a OCed 6700k? i.e. that it scales well beyond 4 cores.

It might well be able to use multiple threads in that it can assign some things to other cores/threads, but it's my understanding that what limits the performance is still the main load is placed on one thread, in which case a 6700k with fast DDR4 will win pretty convincingly against a 6800k with slower memory. In a similar way that WoW uses more than one core but what really counts is still the performance of where it puts the main load.

All I can see is the internet being awash with comments to the effect that while tinkering with the config file can make additional cores be used, it doesn't always increase performance and the game's main thread is what seems to influence performance most.

 

[brijon]

Hi Oussebon,

Many thanks, again, for your comprehensive and helpful reply.

I have explored the PCS desktop configuration and found the overclocking section.

Were I to upgrade the RAM memory in my order from 32GB HyperX FURY to PREDATOR, the cost increases to £2,300 cf. the £2,117 for your provided spec. So there is a considerable savings to be made for arguably better performance.

A couple of follow on questions arise:

Do I have to manually adjust the CPU’s overclock for the various software programmes, eg. Adobe Premiere Pro, X-Flight, MS Flight Sim, or does the CPU automatically determine what the best settings should be?

Assuming I will have the new computer for 4 or 5 years, which is likely to be the more future proof between the:

o The overclocked Intel® Core™i7-6700k Quad Core (4.00GHz @ upto MAX 4.60GHz) and SUS® Z170 PRO GAMING/AURA: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs.

or

o Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-6800K (3.4GHz) 15MB Cache and ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s.

You have reassured me about the overclocking lifespan / cost issues and this is no longer a factor in my consideration.

Thanks again.

 

[Oussebon]

Do I have to manually adjust the CPU’s overclock for the various software programmes, eg. Adobe Premiere Pro, X-Flight, MS Flight Sim, or does the CPU automatically determine what the best settings should be?

PCS would configure the overclock so that you shouldn't need to touch it. I believe they will have it set up so that the CPU's frequency only increases when it needs to rather than being fixed at ~4.6ghz the whole time.

As for future-proofing that's a crystal-ball job, so all you can really get is speculation / opinion. And it also depends on your own tastes for the future and what you end up doing - if that's different in 3 years time to today.

It doesn't strike me as terribly likely that simulators will all magically thread really well in the next couple of years. XPlane and P3D certainly seem to benefit more from single threaded performance than loads of cores. Steam simulator games (even big-ish ones like Train Simulator) are generally pretty single-threaded afaik, and that's not very likely to change in the immediate future (imo anyway - if it were they wouldn't still be so single threaded now...). It's a bit questionable whether even AAA titles will tbh, early DX12 has been pretty 'meh' on the CPU performance front. And new games are often released on older engines (Skyrim in 2011 was DX9.. FO4 in 2015 used the same engine.. TW titles are still based on the same engine afaik..) which means that what's good for many current titles / uses now will probably still be so for a while to come even with changes in tech like new DX versions.

You can see similar gradual change in other, non-gaming spheres e.g. the introduction of GPU acceleration for photoshop being met with a lukewarm reception due to its relatively limited benefits at first:
http://www.diyphotography.net/adobes-gpu-acceleration-is-not-that-great-after-all-yet/

So I do think the Skylake CPU + faster DDR4 offers the best balance of performance for your uses. Though if anyone has benches of the 6800k at stock really knocking the socks off an OCed 6700k in FSX I might review that.

 

[brijon]

Hi Scotster

I do use the Steam version of FSX and X-Plane. My current computer is coming up to 5 years old and although it was good back in 2011, I am looking forward to playing such simulators with my new computer.

Oussebon has convinced me to upgrade my 32GB RAM Memory from HyperX FURY to PREDATOR and change the SSD from the 960GB HyperX SAVAGE SSD 6GB/s to the 1TB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe.

So now I am considering the option of changing the i7 Six Core Processor i7-6800K (3.4GHz) 15MB Cache and ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s that I have ordered to Oussebon’s recommendation of the overclocked Intel® Core™i7-6700k Quad Core (4.00GHz @ upto MAX 4.60GHz).

You mentioned FSX is better with 6 core providing the FSX.CFG file is reconfigured. Is this easy to do? I have found this link: https://fsxtimes.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/affinitymask/. But this does not explain where in FSX.CFG you insert (my FSX.CFG does not have the line [JOBSCHEDULER]):

[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=n

and whether ‘n’ is just the number, eg. ‘255’, or you type in ‘255=11111111 = ALL 8 cores’

Do you have a link to advice on which option to select for re configuring FSX.CFG and how to do it?

Regarding the upgrade to an overclocked 6850, I think the additional cost is the limiter to this option.

 

[brijon]

Hi Ossebon

Do you ever sleep?

As you can see to my reply to Scotster, you have convinced me about upgrading my RAM and changing my SSD.

I intend to talk to PCS reference the overclocking option.

I am grateful for your input and help.

 

[Scott]

Hi Scotster

I do use the Steam version of FSX and X-Plane. My current computer is coming up to 5 years old and although it was good back in 2011, I am looking forward to playing such simulators with my new computer.

Oussebon has convinced me to upgrade my 32GB RAM Memory from HyperX FURY to PREDATOR and change the SSD from the 960GB HyperX SAVAGE SSD 6GB/s to the 1TB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe.

So now I am considering the option of changing the i7 Six Core Processor i7-6800K (3.4GHz) 15MB Cache and ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s that I have ordered to Oussebon’s recommendation of the overclocked Intel® Core™i7-6700k Quad Core (4.00GHz @ upto MAX 4.60GHz).

You mentioned FSX is better with 6 core providing the FSX.CFG file is reconfigured. Is this easy to do? I have found this link: https://fsxtimes.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/affinitymask/. But this does not explain where in FSX.CFG you insert (my FSX.CFG does not have the line [JOBSCHEDULER]):

[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=n

and whether ‘n’ is just the number, eg. ‘255’, or you type in ‘255=11111111 = ALL 8 cores’

Do you have a link to advice on which option to select for re configuring FSX.CFG and how to do it?

Regarding the upgrade to an overclocked 6850, I think the additional cost is the limiter to this option.

[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=1365

I believe the above is correct for 6 cores not using hyperthreading. It just gets added to the top of the fsx.CFG file.

the 6700k is fine, it's just not as good as the 6800 or the 6850 for multiple thread applications. The 6800 and 6850 both need to be overclocked similar to the 6700 to reach their potential though. The reason for recommending the 6850 is that it's effectively a better binned chip than the 6800 from what I can see, it just gives a little more headroom with the overclock etc.

The RAM and drive suggestions are spot on. FSX is always CPU bound though so as much as the drive will help with loading, it won't improve performance during gaming.

More recent simulators make much better use of the GPU and are less CPU bound so you shouldn't have the same constraints with Flight etc.

 

[brijon]

Hi Scotster

Many thanks for the clarification regarding tweaking the FSX.CFG file.

I have changed my order to reflect the suggested changes to the RAM memory and SDD. I have also gone for the Overclocked i7-6700K (4.00GHz - 4.60GHz and ASUS® Z170 PRO GAMING.

Thank you to you all for your advice and help.

 

[Scott]

Hi Scotster

Many thanks for the clarification regarding tweaking the FSX.CFG file.

I have changed my order to reflect the suggested changes to the RAM memory and SDD. I have also gone for the Overclocked i7-6700K (4.00GHz - 4.60GHz and ASUS® Z170 PRO GAMING.

Thank you to you all for your advice and help.

No worries, best of luck with it and enjoy it. Oh, don't use the 1365 tweak with the 4 core processor, it'll do funny stuff. I think the tweak for the four cores is 85.

Cheers

Scott