FSX : I7 4790K vs I5 4690K (Without Overclocking)

[lacrimosa09]

Hello everybody,

I am thinking to buy a new PC only for running FSX. I do not want to overclock (family pc) due to bad past experiences... Do you know if a i5 4690K without OC will be ok with addons such as REX, GEX, FS GLOBAL, PMDG? Need to make a decision on a tight budget.

Is there any a strong difference of performance between the I7 4790k and I5 4690k CPUs?

 

[RealBeast]

If you are definitely not going to overclock, it makes no sense to pay extra for an unlocked (K) CPU.

HERE is a comparison between the two that you listed.

Either will for fine for FSX and add ons, but so will comparable non-K CPUs.

Are you doing a complete build or just an upgrade?

 

[lacrimosa09]

I am doing a complete build... So do you recommend i5 4790? (No K)

By reviewing the benchmark there is no difference (or very few) between both CPUs.

 

[RealBeast]

I agree that an i5-4690 (no K) would be a good choice for your build and you will save a few dollars for the non K since you are not overclocking.

The only other decision would be if you want to go with an i5-6600 and move to the latest socket and DDR4 memory with this build. The newer Skylake CPU is a little faster and a few dollar less.

 

[lacrimosa09]

Is the I5 4790 ok for FSX+addons running with a 34" ultra widescreen, 2560x1080 Resolution?

I will select a GTX 960 2gb graphic card.

 

[RealBeast]

Is the I5 4790 ok for FSX+addons running with a 34" ultra widescreen, 2560x1080 Resolution?

I will select a GTX 960 2gb graphic card.

Sure, should work great.

 

[lacrimosa09]

WHat is the difference between Overclocking and Turbo Boost? I7 4790K goes up to 4.4 ghz. Is the same performance as OC at 4.4 ghz?

 

[RealBeast]

No, it is not the same. Turbo Boost is dynamic and depends on the current CPU load and conditions. Overclocking keeps the CPU at the higher speed for all tasks and for all the cores that are set to be overclocked.

HERE is some Intel discussion on Turbo Boost.

 

[lacrimosa09]

No, it is not the same. Turbo Boost is dynamic and depends on the current CPU load and conditions. Overclocking keeps the CPU at the higher speed for all tasks and for all the cores that are set to be overclocked.

HERE is some Intel discussion on Turbo Boost.

So Turbo is less efficient than overclocking and I will have less FPS.

 

[CompuTronix]

lacrimosa09,

It's important to understand that unlike gaming titles which are typically GPU intensive, FSX is an extremely CPU intensive simulation. It will use all the CPU horsepower you can possibly afford to throw at it. Higher clock speed means higher frame rates. Also, FSX became multithreaded with Service Pack 1. Unlike many gaming titles, Hyperthreading improves frame rates on FSX, so performance is better with an i7 than an i5.

I run FSX and X-Plane at 4.7GHz on an i7 4770K, and it's still not possible to max out the settings without FSX becoming a slide show. The key to the best frame rates in FSX is a highly overclocked i7 with high-end cooling, and a solid understanding of how to tweak the settings and the FSX.cfg file to get the best balance between frame rates and image quality.

If you don't want to overclock, the i7 4790K has a base clock of 4.0GHz and Tubo's to 4.4. The i7 6700K also has a base clock of 4.0, but only Turbo's to 4.2. Nevertheless, since 6th Generation processors are about 5% faster per clock than 4th Generation processors, both of these CPU's are fairly evenly matched for FSX. If you do overclock, then I recommend the i7 6700K, which runs cooler.

As for GPU's, FSX runs better on nVidia cards, but since it's not GPU intensive, a mid-range card works fine. The GTX 1060 was just released yesterday, but the partner cards aren't yet available. If you need to build now, then the GTX 960 would still be a good choice. If you want to save a little money, then the GTX 950 would be your best choice.

CT

 

[lacrimosa09]

lacrimosa09,

It's important to understand that unlike gaming titles which are typically GPU intensive, FSX is an extremely CPU intensive simulation. It will use all the CPU horsepower you can possibly afford to throw at it. Higher clock speed means higher frame rates. Also, FSX became multithreaded with Service Pack 1. Unlike many gaming titles, Hyperthreading improves frame rates on FSX, so performance is better with an i7 than an i5.

I run FSX and X-Plane at 4.7GHz on an i7 4770K, and it's still not possible to max out the settings without FSX becoming a slide show. The key to the best frame rates in FSX is a highly overclocked i7 with high-end cooling, and a solid understanding of how to tweak the settings and the FSX.cfg file to get the best balance between frame rates and image quality.

If you don't want to overclock, the i7 4790K has a base clock of 4.0GHz and Tubo's to 4.4. The i7 6700K also has a base clock of 4.0, but only Turbo's to 4.2. Nevertheless, since 6th Generation processors are about 5% faster per clock than 4th Generation processors, both of these CPU's are fairly evenly matched for FSX. If you do overclock, then I recommend the i7 6700K, which runs cooler.

As for GPU's, FSX runs better on nVidia cards, but since it's not GPU intensive, a mid-range card works fine. The GTX 1060 was just released yesterday, but the partner cards aren't yet available. If you need to build now, then the GTX 960 would still be a good choice. If you want to save a little money, then the GTX 950 would be your best choice.

CT

Great answer. I will consider it

 

[jfletch87]

i love my 4690k. its stable at 4.5ghz oc with 1.25v. the i7 is $100 more and not much more muscle. its (i7) 8mb cach vs(i5) 6mb cache and teh i7 has 8 threads vs i5s 4 threads.....thats the only difference and its really not taht big of a difference. if your not getting a gpu and are a light gamer then prob go with the i7 (the i5 would be sufficient too) but if you want to play good games and a bang for the buck get the i5 (k) and use the $100 you saved for a cooler ($25 evo 212) and get a good graphics card. 4690k is solid and will oc to 4.5ghz anything over that and you wont see much change in visual performance. check out my stats http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3137029/4690k-overclocked-5ghz-screenshot.html