I am planning to rebuild or replace my current gaming PC next summer. I will be using the rig for a mixture of gaming and drone simulation software. The primary drone simulation software that I will be using is Phoenix R/C Pro Simulation Software Version 5.5. Right now I am using an Intel i5-4670k and an ASUS GTX 970 to run both games and the drone software. My next rig will either use an Nvidia GTX 1070, 1080, or 1170 depending on the latest model available or a Radeon equivalent. Does the Phoenix R/C software or drone and flight simulating software in general use hyper-threading? I am asking this because the answer to this question will determine whether I go with an Intel i5 or i7 CPU. Thanks in advance.
Solution
Ecky
Illustrious
- Feb 3, 2013
- 7,592
- 2
- 38,960
There isn't very much difference between Haswell and Skylake. You'll get about ~10% better performance per clock, which you probably won't even notice. I see no point in a rebuild for 10% more performance, just replace your video card.
iCompute-doU
Reputable
- Apr 25, 2015
- 81
- 0
- 4,660
I would say skip Skylake altogether... Intel is releasing the new Kabylake architecture in the second half of 2017. Intel has switched from their "Tick Tock" road map to a three-step roadmap; being Architecture, Process, Optimization. There may only be a 10% increase in performance from Haswell and Skylake, but I'd imagine that 10% jump will happen again between Skylake and Kabylake.
I have just recently upgraded my setup by adding another GTX 970 for 2-way SLI. I bought a used card off Kijiji (equivalent of Craigslist or a local Ebay) for $220 CAD and virtually doubled my graphical performance. My next step will be to upgrade the backbone of my system (CPU, MOBO and RAM) to really bump up the performance. Then, the GPU will be switched out when the GTX 11XX series comes out.
I'd suggest considering something like this, as the i5 really does pull its own weight, and then some; especially if water cooled. The only *major* performance differences that you'd notice would be in heavy computing tasks, such as rendring, 3D modelling/rendering, encoding or running mathematical simulations. I am not familiar with the Pheonix software you are referencing, but if it *IS* a true simulation, then yes it will benefit greatly from the extra threads.
HOWEVER, doing a quick read on their website it says a "1.0GHZ Pentium 3/4 or AMD equivalent" is RECOMMENDED. This leads me to conclude that it won't use the extra horsepower of the i7 to the best of it's ability, and you'd basically be caging a wild stallion.
TL;DR: Use the i5. Consider getting a second GTX 970 for cheap. Wait for Kabylake.
I have just recently upgraded my setup by adding another GTX 970 for 2-way SLI. I bought a used card off Kijiji (equivalent of Craigslist or a local Ebay) for $220 CAD and virtually doubled my graphical performance. My next step will be to upgrade the backbone of my system (CPU, MOBO and RAM) to really bump up the performance. Then, the GPU will be switched out when the GTX 11XX series comes out.
I'd suggest considering something like this, as the i5 really does pull its own weight, and then some; especially if water cooled. The only *major* performance differences that you'd notice would be in heavy computing tasks, such as rendring, 3D modelling/rendering, encoding or running mathematical simulations. I am not familiar with the Pheonix software you are referencing, but if it *IS* a true simulation, then yes it will benefit greatly from the extra threads.
HOWEVER, doing a quick read on their website it says a "1.0GHZ Pentium 3/4 or AMD equivalent" is RECOMMENDED. This leads me to conclude that it won't use the extra horsepower of the i7 to the best of it's ability, and you'd basically be caging a wild stallion.
TL;DR: Use the i5. Consider getting a second GTX 970 for cheap. Wait for Kabylake.
Ecky
Illustrious
- Feb 3, 2013
- 7,592
- 2
- 38,960
Kaby Lake is an "optimization". It's actually the exact same CPU as Skylake, but it will have native USB 3.1 support, and will likely come with slightly higher clocks from the factory. Kaby will be a lot like Haswell Refresh was to Haswell, so 10% is very optimistic.
That's a little over the top Compute-doU... waaay too complex for a simple solution.
Kaby lake will only be a small improvement as well, wait for cannonlake to even consider an upgrade OP.
Overclocked it will offer better performance than a stock speed kaby lake i5 and will last you at least another 5 years.
It won't bottleneck a 1080 at all.
11 series cards are about 1 1/2 to 2 years off, don't hold out, get a 1070 imo.
No that software won't take advantage of HT, although it might use it.
The software is very basic.
Don't bother rebuilding your rig, just get a new graphics card.
Kaby lake will only be a small improvement as well, wait for cannonlake to even consider an upgrade OP.
Overclocked it will offer better performance than a stock speed kaby lake i5 and will last you at least another 5 years.
It won't bottleneck a 1080 at all.
11 series cards are about 1 1/2 to 2 years off, don't hold out, get a 1070 imo.
No that software won't take advantage of HT, although it might use it.
The software is very basic.
Don't bother rebuilding your rig, just get a new graphics card.
azaran
Splendid
- Feb 17, 2010
- 3,594
- 0
- 26,960
Since their requirements list a base of a CPU thats 16yrs old, I'm doubting multithreading is an issue. But if you want to confirm if its a factor or now, I'd write their support. Like Ecky said, there is only a small percentage of performance difference between Haswell/Skylake. The only reasons I'd say to upgrade would be if you truly needed the updates to motherboard specs (DDR4, NVMe support, etc). Since Kaby Lake is due out soonish, I'd wait before doing a major system update and see where the performance's are when it launches.
azaran
Splendid
- Feb 17, 2010
- 3,594
- 0
- 26,960
Unless you really need to, I'd wait till at least Kaby lake launches. But if you have the itch to upgrade (I have friends that do, I get it) then an i5 will likely be just fine. If you want to get deeper in to programs that offer true simulations, then an i7 would likely be a better choice.
Ecky
Illustrious
- Feb 3, 2013
- 7,592
- 2
- 38,960
DDR4 offers no major benefits. It uses slightly less power, and has slightly more bandwidth, but it would be impossible to notice a difference between two otherwise identical systems.
If you feel the need for an i7, drop a 4790K into your existing board, it performs practically the same as the 6700K, and it would cost you half as much, all said and done.
If you feel the need for an i7, drop a 4790K into your existing board, it performs practically the same as the 6700K, and it would cost you half as much, all said and done.
I thought in general the rule was that if you're not doing High performance computation or heavy multimedia processing/transcoding, etc. That an i7 was simply a waste of money, when an i5 with an unlocked multiplier could get you close to equivalent performance when overclocked.. Are any of your games/apps particularly CPU bound?
- Oct 31, 2015
- 8,749
- 1
- 54,965
I'm currently running DroneSimPro on my 6600k and it performs flawlessly. I suspect these programs aren't quite as CPU intensive as true flight sim software. I would suggest running the software on your current rig and see how it does, you might be pleasantly surprised.
TRENDING THREADS
-
-
-
News Introducing the Tom’s Hardware Premium Beta: Exclusive content for members
- Started by Admin
- Replies: 43
-
Question Can my PC handle a NVIDA 3060 TI without upgrading anything else?
- Started by hexzero13
- Replies: 8
-
-
-
Discussion What's your favourite video game you've been playing?- Started by amdfangirl
- Replies: 4K
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram