CPU upgrade

[ekezz]

Today I performed the exciting dangerous first step towards upgrading my CPU.
I have the highest available CPU for the 939 socket in my posession an AMD X2 4200.
However it's not a simple case of plug and play. I needed to upgrade my chipset drivers and subsequently also my BIOS. Never done that before...yikes. BIG RISK. Fortunately it went well, enven the (re-)activation of XP. Apparantly the BIOS upgrade enables multiple core support on this board and XP treats this as a huge change to the system (the new processor isn't even in there yet). Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow evening to plug in the new processor with the Artic Silver coolant. Performance should be much better on FSX. Next I'm saving for a nvidia gforce 8800 GTS 640 DDR3 (waiting for the prices to drop to approx 250 Euro) and for a Matrox triplehead 2 go. Not sure if I should go to Vista...

[dnoize]

Kezz,

According to the benchmarks on the link you gave before the 320 MB 8800gts has an extra few frames over the 640 Mb version (!!!).

And the 320 MB version can be bought for around 250 euros over here.

Regarding Vista, if you want to use the DirectX10 update we all are waiting for you will need Vista !

Stef

[ekezz]

Stef, thanks for the tips. I'll have to go for Vista in this case.

The 640 Mb version is recommended because my resolution with the 3head2go needs to cover three screens (each 1280 x 1024 totalling 3840 x 1024 ) and for that res the additional MB's are recommended. I read it somewhere on that site in the august VGA advisory.

The GeForce 8800 GTS is the little brother of the 8800 GTX, with both being based on the same Nvidia next-generation DirectX 10 GPU. The 8800 GTS is slightly crippled compared to the GTX, but it will still beat powerhouse cards like the dual-GPU 7950 GX2 in many cases. The biggest downside to the 8800 GTS 640MB is that its cheaper 320MB cousin offers very close performance for much less scratch. However, if you plan to play your games at high resolutions - 1600x1200 or above - it's worth the extra money to get the 640MB version.

[Prof Bill]

I should have mentioned this before when I first saw the discussion on BIOS upgrades!

I you ever upgrade your BIOS it is most advisable to completely reinstall your Graphic Card Drivers.

Long experience and many resultant problems are the background to this piece of advice!!

Bill.

[Westozy]

Hi Kester,

I now have a quad core with GTS 8800 + TH2Go. With all sliders maxed in FS9, the average FPS is around 30-35. UK2000 scenery = 20-25, Megascenery KSFO = 30. It is a fantastic improvement and the worst I have seen is about 18FPS with UK2000 airport ground traffic activated. It cost me AUD$2,300 for everything.

Gwyn

[ekezz]

Hey Gwyn,
That is fantastic! Must be an awesome experience to fly like this. I's amazing how much power the new CPU's and graphic boards unleash. Who would have predicted this a few years ago? Quad CPU's ....

Before you know there will be a motion platform under your sim
Kezz

[Westozy]

Hey Gwyn,
That is fantastic! Must be an awesome experience to fly like this. I's amazing how much power the new CPU's and graphic boards unleash. Who would have predicted this a few years ago? Quad CPU's ....

Before you know there will be a motion platform under your sim
Kezz

LOL, I don't think I'll ever do motion platforms, when my side curtains are in place it feels like motion anyway. I've had quite a few visitors bailing out feeling unwell and that makes me grin like a Cheshire cat!

I am considering building an A320 and a GA sim to add to the fleet and maybe start a sim hire business when I retire. Airbus TQ orders are out of control and that is keeping me busy for now, I can't get near my sim to work on it although it is good to just enjoy it for a while.

Great to see you're still contributing mate.

I have another article coming up in the December CP mag - "Fighter pilot for the day". Hope you like it!

Gwyn

[o76o]

Today I performed the exciting dangerous first step towards upgrading my CPU.
I have the highest available CPU for the 939 socket in my posession an AMD X2 4200.
However it's not a simple case of plug and play. I needed to upgrade my chipset drivers and subsequently also my BIOS. Never done that before...yikes. BIG RISK. Fortunately it went well, enven the (re-)activation of XP. Apparantly the BIOS upgrade enables multiple core support on this board and XP treats this as a huge change to the system (the new processor isn't even in there yet). Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow evening to plug in the new processor with the Artic Silver coolant. Performance should be much better on FSX. Next I'm saving for a nvidia gforce 8800 GTS 640 DDR3 (waiting for the prices to drop to approx 250 Euro) and for a Matrox triplehead 2 go. Not sure if I should go to Vista...

Best advice i can give you is less is more with thermal paste. you want a tiny amount, then spread it around the cpu heatspreader with a credit card (old unused one )
The idea is to fill in the microscopic holes not to completely douse it.

Good luck. Welcome to the world of self upgrading, its addictive