Potential overclocking rig

[pipersam]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for advise on my planned future build.

My current situation is this:
I have a Q6600 at 3ghz on a P5KC P35 motherboard with 4GB (4x1GB) OCZ 800mhz 2.1v CL4 ram and a 8800GT graphics card. Its perfectly stable in its current form but I've tried overclocking to 3.4 where Prime95 doesnt run for more than a minute without giving me a "fatal error" and I have tried 3.6 where I get a BSOD as soon as I start Prime95 small FFT's. I've tried numerous different Core voltages and NB voltages with no success. Personally I feel my system is a little outdated and I am looking at starting again.

At this point I should note that I mostly play Flight Simulator X, but also play COD, Crysis and Bioshock most of the time too.

This is what I am thinking of:

I7 930 (Which I will want to overclock as much as possible on air)
Asus P6TD Deluxe Socket 1366
Corsair 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz XMS3 Memory CL9 (9-9-9-24)
GTX470 OR ATI 5870

Now, I'm confident in the processor and mobo, as I've read plenty of reviews of them and their overclocking abilities. What I am worried about is the compatibility of the RAM (Should I be looking at a lower MHZ if I will be overclocking the I7??). The graphics I am torn between. I know the 5870 is probably the better card, but for flightsim Nvidia has always had the better compatibility and drivers.

Any advise would be gratefully listened to, and I'm sure you guys get these questions all the time so thanks for taking the time to read through my post. I really do need an expect oppinion on this one so I dont get it wrong!!

Many Thanks
Sam.

 

[xxenergyxx]

Yeah, your current PC seems pretty cool, minus the DDR2 and 8800GT graphics card. But if you threw a 5870 in it, it would def. annihilate any game on the market.

The DDR3 and i7 would get you how many more frames per second then your q6600 and ddr2, uh 10-15fps?

Not worth the extra 400$+ lol

But if you really want DDR3 and 1156 or 1366 socket then do it.

 

[pipersam]

Q6600 now at 3.4ghz is STILL not enough for FSX I can get away with 20-24fps without ANY AI with standard scenery, and about 18-20FPS at Aerosofts Heathrow again with no AI. I need some more juice and im guessing by overclocking a 930 to 4ghz is gunna get me there.

 

[pipersam]

Everything is smack bang in the middle. 1980x1050 with in game AA and anistropic filtering. No AI at all - planes/cars/animals. I may try play around with nhancer see if i can improves frames by not using in game AA.

 

[pipersam]

But FSX relies heavily on the CPU rather than the GPU? Benchmarks show a very good GPU only adds 5 frames max to FSX.

 

[pipersam]

Its probably the add-ons I use dogman, i can easily get 60-80FPS on stock aircraft but when loading PMDG and Level-D aircraft in virtual cockpit, thats when i get the low FPS.

 

[pipersam]

Yeh all the Microsoft Flightsim titles have always been processor dependant. I know its hard to believe, and its a nightmare for a system builders. FSX users are always looking for ways to increase their FPS.

 

[ZEPd3Z]

if you Want to go AMD, you can get a hexacore for 300 bucks, wouldn't hurt so much if you fry the chip, get the Black Edition (unlocked multipliers) since you're overclocking.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=amd+x6&x=0&y=0
and for compatibility with the 5870's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435&cm_re=890gx-_-13-128-435-_-Product
in the end it's all up to you.

 

[pipersam]

Thanks for your suggestion ZEP, i've always been an Intel and nvidia guy, so i would be hard pressed to change. I'm also thinking about holding off and waiting for the 6 core processors to come out.

 

[pipersam]

Thanks for the info, didnt even know an X6 existed, this will definately change my perspective. But how about its overclocking ability?

 

[ZEPd3Z]

Thanks for your suggestion ZEP, i've always been an Intel and nvidia guy, so i would be hard pressed to change. I'm also thinking about holding off and waiting for the 6 core processors to come out.

Welcome, if that is your preferred brands are, anyway I don't think the performance of the AMD PII X6 1090T's are even close to Intels i7 980x, But I dont think the performance advantage is worth $600+, you can buy more stuff with that(watercooling perhaps). oh and there's an Overclocking event by AMD on the 30th its on tom's news section, maybe well see how far they can OC AMD's X6's, hope there's an aircooled part, to see real world OC potential.

 

[pipersam]

brilliant, thanks for the heads up, will definately keep an eye on that. Thanks very much for everyones input on this thread, its very helpful!