Discussion My 2013 build with 2020 bottleneck challenge: I need your help!

Jan 14, 2022
4
0
10
Hello everyone.

Over the years I've relied on this forum for great information from the vast pool of knowledge here.


My 2013 >Micro-ATX< build at Micro-ATX Aerocool DS Cube (265x411x381mm) case:

0. 750W PSU ENERMAX REVOLUTION 87+
https://www.enermax.com/en/products/revolution-d.f.-750w

1. Intel Core i7-4770K Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz)
https://intel.ly/3A22dS1

2. ASUS Maximus VI Gene Gaming MB
https://bit.ly/3tpYrkb

3. 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3 DRAM 1866MHz C9 Memory Kit CMY16GX3M2A1866C9R
https://bit.ly/3KaATpA

4. ASUS GeForce GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5
https://bit.ly/3quXRjw

5. Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB+512GB / Seq Read 540MB/s Write 520MB/s

6. Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

7. Pioneer BDR-208EBK

I originally built this >Micro< ATX "cat" back in 2013 and for almost 10 years she handled everything (gaming) with ease.

2021 tipping point and first bottleneck challenge: "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020".

The GTX 770 is a pretty decent graphics card, but sadly its Achilles Heel is the 2GB of VRAM. That just will not cut it with FS2020. The problem with FS2020 (and what makes it so awesome) is that all terrain data is unique. All the buildings you see in the game actually exist in real life. So no two are exactly the same. Trees, water and grass are generic and rendered to approximate the real thing, but the uniqueness means that fewer texture files can be re-used over and over again as is the case in video games.

I don't know if I've reached the limits so before I start thinking about new rig, will you please be so kind to suggest the best directions to upgrade my build?
I would gladly take your suggestions for GPU and maybe add something at M2 (M-Key 2242, PCI-E 2.0 x1, SATA3) slot.

My questions:
  1. How would you upgrade to maximize the performance, having in mind FS2020?
  2. How would you upgrade to maximize the performance, overall?
Upgradable parts:
a. GPU (clearance 320mm or 350mm if I remove the front fan.)
https://aerocool.io/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/DS-CUBE-EOL-min.pdf
My MB ASUS Max VI GENE supports: Quad GPU tehnology (two dual or
AMD Crossfire and Nvidia SLI.

Available Slots:
1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x16
1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x8
1x PCI-E 2.0 x4 @ x4
1x PCI-E 2.0 Mini PCI-E @ x1
*(x16 if single, x8 if dual GPUcard)

b. Monitor DEll U2412M 1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz
https://www.dell.com/en-is/work/shop/cty/pdp/spd/dell-u2412m

c. M.2?
d. RAM of course.
Thank You!

2013 vs 2022
4.jpg
1.jpg
 
Last edited:

Zerk2012

Titan
Ambassador
Hello everyone.

Over the years I've relied on this forum for great information from the vast pool of knowledge here.


My 2013 >Micro-ATX< build at Micro-ATX Aerocool DS Cube (265x411x381mm) case:

0. 750W PSU ENERMAX REVOLUTION 87+
https://www.enermax.com/en/products/revolution-d.f.-750w

1. Intel® Core™ i7-4770K Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz)
https://intel.ly/3A22dS1

2. ASUS Maximus VI Gene Gaming MB
https://bit.ly/3tpYrkb

3. 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3 DRAM 1866MHz C9 Memory Kit CMY16GX3M2A1866C9R
https://bit.ly/3KaATpA

4. ASUS GeForce GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5
https://bit.ly/3quXRjw

5. Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB+512GB / Seq Read 540MB/s Write 520MB/s

  1. Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
  2. Pioneer BDR-208EBK
I originally built this >Micro< ATX "cat" back in 2013 and for almost 10 years she handled everything (gaming) with ease.

2021tipping point and first bottleneck challenge: "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020".

The GTX 770 is a pretty decent graphics card, but sadly its Achilles Heel is the 2GB of VRAM. That just will not cut it with FS2020. The problem with FS2020 (and what makes it so awesome) is that all terrain data is unique. All the buildings you see in the game actually exist in real life. So no two are exactly the same. Trees, water and grass are generic and rendered to approximate the real thing, but the uniqueness means that fewer texture files can be re-used over and over again as is the case in video games.

I don't know if I've reached the limits so before I start thinking about new rig, will you please be so kind to suggest the best directions to upgrade my build?
I would gladly take your suggestions for GPU and maybe add something at M2 (M-Key 2242, PCI-E 2.0 x1, SATA3) slot.

My questions:
  1. How would you upgrade to maximize the performance, having in mind FS2020?
  2. How would you upgrade to maximize the performance, overall?
Thank You!
Your video card is old as dirt that would be the first thing then the rest if needed.

EDIT Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020" is a very demanding game perhaps the most demanding right now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KraFT__MKD

punkncat

Champion
Ambassador
If you have no near term plan for upgrading the rest of the system it would probably be best to concentrate on something like a 1080 as your highest performer. New, something in the 1660 realm.
If you plan to update the system itself within the "near" term and are set on moving forward with a GPU, then really it comes down to what you wish to afford and can find.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KraFT__MKD
Jan 14, 2022
4
0
10
@rgd1101 , @Why_Me , @Zerk2012 , @punkncat and others.

Thank You all for your interest.
I added some additional information and some images.

Upgradable parts:
a. GPU
(clearance 320mm or 350mm if I remove the front fan.)
https://aerocool.io/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/DS-CUBE-EOL-min.pdf
My MB ASUS Max VI GENE supports: Quad GPU tehnology (two dual or
AMD Crossfire and Nvidia SLI.

Available Slots:
1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x16
1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x8
1x PCI-E 2.0 x4 @ x4
1x PCI-E 2.0 Mini PCI-E @ x1
*(x16 if single, x8 if dual GPUcard)

b. Monitor DEll U2412M 1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz
https://www.dell.com/en-is/work/shop/cty/pdp/spd/dell-u2412m

c. M.2?
d. RAM of course.
Thank You!
 
Last edited:
Here are the minimum and recommended hardware:
Recommended is 9700K which has 8 threads and a passmark rating of 14561/2909.
A better current gen processor would be a i5-11400 with 12 threads and a rating of 17319/3051.
With a good budget, look at the i5-12600k with a rating of 23949/3946.

Love the maximus gene matx motherboards.
But, alas that line seems to be no longer.
Asus and others do have good matx Z690 motherboards but they are pricey.
The new B660 based motherboards should do just fine but there woud be no cpu overclocking.
Not that you would want to OC anyway. Normal turbo is likely better.

32gb ram is recommended, and today DDR4 seems to be the way to go.
It performs equal to ddr5 is priced much lower, and is very available.


The m.2 size format is becoming the norm.
Because it is a bit harder to swap out a m.2 compared to a 2.5" ssd, buy a m22 plenty large enough.
Puget systems thinks highly of samsung ssd devices:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/hardware-reliability-puget-systems-2021

Your challenge will be the graphics card.
A good 2070 class card like a 3060ti or 3070may be hard to find.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KraFT__MKD
Jan 14, 2022
4
0
10
Thank You for your reply.
Yes, MAX Gene VI was excellent mb.

I wont change CPU and MB.
Upgradable parts are GPU, monitor, m.2 and RAM only.
Yes, I am hoping to get some more enjoyable (more acceptable) gaming experience with MS-FS2020.

I am trying to identify the best possible (single card) GPU upgrade that is supported by this MB.

My main concern that I am trying to identify?
- Spending lots of $ for the latest and greatest GPU while my MB operates as bottleneck (not sure about this) and their performance is downgraded.

Thanks again!



Upgradable parts:
a. GPU (clearance 320mm or 350mm if I remove the front fan.)
https://aerocool.io/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/DS-CUBE-EOL-min.pdf
My MB ASUS Max VI GENE supports: Quad GPU tehnology (two dual or
AMD Crossfire and Nvidia SLI.
Available Slots:
1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x16
1x PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x8
1x PCI-E 2.0 x4 @ x4
1x PCI-E 2.0 Mini PCI-E @ x1
*(x16 if single, x8 if dual GPUcard)

b. Monitor DEll U2412M 1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz
https://www.dell.com/en-is/work/shop/cty/pdp/spd/dell-u2412m

c. M.2?
d. RAM of course.

Thank You!

2013 vs 2022
 
I just took a turn on trying fs2020.
Be advised it takes forever to download updates.

See my sig for hardware.
With task manager open and a free flight over NYC I observed 100% usage of my 3070 gpu.
I had all of the details turned up. Performance, I think was very good.
I am not experienced with this.

With task manager open on a side monitor, I observed 3 or 4 threads of the P cores were very heavily utilized.
All of the E threads had some minimal activity.

My guess would be that a 12600K processor would be suitable, and that at 1080P a 3070 may be more than you need.

Still, if budget is not an issue go a bit stronger so you do not second guess yourself later on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KraFT__MKD
Jan 14, 2022
4
0
10
Nice build, congratulations, and yes.
- FS2020 is very demanding.

I wont change my CPU and MB since I don`t plan to go with higher resolutions and Hz. I all leave that out for my next build. Currently considering: used 6GB version of:

  • RTX 2060 , GTX 1660 Super , GTX 1660Ti , GTX 1070, GTX 1660
  • RX 5600XT , RX 5500XT 8GB (no tracing)
Availability is the trickier part and probably decision maker.

My next thing that i need to figure out: how to get the best use out of this slot?

M.2 Slots / M.2 Connections
AmountSlotSizesSpeeds
1xM-Key2242,PCI-E 2.0 x1, SATA3,

1.jpg



I am open to suggestions,
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I think the mini m.2 slot is intended for a wifi module or such.
There really is no need to avoid a normal sata port and a 2.5" ssd.
All ssd devices, including pcie and sata perform about the same in small random I/O.
That is what we do mostly.
The synthetic sequential benchmarks of pcie devices look compelling, but the reality is that you would not notice the difference.
Here is an amusing video on that:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA