I stated earlier in this blog that I was going to "upgrade" (downgrade?) my AMD x4 9600 (2.3 GHz) Pehnom processor to an Intel E5200 Wolfdale (2.5 GHz) Dual Core processor. I have made the transition and now want to share my findings.
In a nutshell... GET THIS PROCESSOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
The improvement in FSX is astonishing! Using an Intel E5200 O/C (Over Clocked) to 3.0 GHz on the stock retail heatsink that comes with the chip, I saw an overall increase in my frames per second and an averaging of my frames per second that gives me a much smoother in-flight experience than before.
As a point of reference, using the native resolution of my 22" LCD monitor (1680x1050 w/ 4xAA and 2xAF) flying the PMDG 747-400, I would average around 20 FPS in the 2D cockpit, and around 15 FPS in the Virtual Cockpit (VC). Frames would drop to around 7 to 8 FPS in the VC whenever I (or the autopilot) would bank while making a turn.
Using the O/Ced E5200, I now average 45 FPS in the 2D cockpit and around 24 FPS in the Virtual Cockpit. That is an average increase of about 50% in the 2D environment and 10% in the VC environment. Not only that, but textures redraw much faster now, too. Switching from various points of view no longer gives me a gray shaded airplane, or interior because there is no more delay in the redrawing of the 3D environments and exteriors.
In addition to the overall performance gain in FSX, the E5200 has the advantage of not requiring a lot of additional power to be over clocked. This in turn means less heat. I was able to obtain a stable over clock of 3.0 GHz (from the stock 2.5 GHz) by raising the voltage a single volt. I am sure I could even go higher than 3.0 GHz, but see no need to yet. This is significant because most processors require two, three, or even four volt increases just to come close to what the E5200 is currently running at, and with a lot more heat (requiring after market heatsinks and cooling solutions). This is the real world benefit of Intel's 45nm engineering and why the E5200 is still classified as Wolfdale core, the same cores as the faster E7200, and E8000 series Dual Core chips currently dominating the consumer desktop market.
So, for virtual pilots on a tight budget looking for the best "bang for their buck"... I highly recommend the E5200 Wolfdale and the Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 (revision 1.0, or 2.0) motherboard in combination with a PSU (Power Supply Unit) of 600 Watts, or more. Make sure the PSU has good 12 Volt rails (or rail) to make sure the CPU has enough power to be over clocked and still provide plenty of power to the rest of your system. Also, be sure you have good DDR2 RAM that can also be over clocked as well.
In closing, I cannot stress this enough: This is one of those rare occurrences where the price/performance ratio lives up to the hype and is worth the initial investment. A simple upgrade of just the processor and motherboard can run you less than $150 total (depending on where you buy and what brand of motherboard), but you will receive approximately $350 to $400 in comparable performance.
WARNING: Over Clocking a processor is for experienced "Power Users" only.
I do not recommend it be done by those new, or unfamiliar with computers, or computer hardware. If you feel you would like to try over clocking an E5200 with the components I recommended, please, make sure you research the process of over clocking thoroughly before attempting it. Over clocking hardware voids the warranty and can damage hardware permanently if it is not done carefully.
I cannot stress this enough: If you are not familiar with over clocking, I highly advise against it unless you have researched it and or have an experienced friend who(m) might be able to help and guide you as you go.
1/9/2009 - UPDATE:
I have now successfuly O/Ced my E5200 to 3.6 GHz stable using the stock heatsink. It is still very cool and gives outstanding performance in FSX. I can now have AI Traffic set anywhere from 60 to 80% and still get flyable (20-30 FPS) frame rates even at busy airports like Chicago Midway, or Los Angeles, International. I am now officially running FSX "at the suggested hardware level of performance".
