Upgrade advice sought, please

martinlest · 12 Sep 2021

Thank you again for taking time to help me with this.

On the whole, I think I will let the spec stand as I posted. I am trying to keep within a budget of £1000 sterling (the £ doesn't go as far as the $ on this kind of thing, to say the least!). The Intel and AMD comparison does not strongly suggest the latter to me - and I am kind of used to Intel. This PC, as I mentioned, is specifically for X-Plane (in VR mostly): XP tends to perform better with hyperthreading turned off, so...

GTX1070 to RTX3070 is a big £££ jump. The 1070 does very well at the moment - at the moment it kind of outclasses my current CPU (when I see the timings, that is clear): the situation may be reversed with the i9.. we'll see. I can perhaps upgrade later. I only bought the 1070 last year as an upgrade to a 970, so I am not to keen to get rid of it quite just yet.

Am reusing my current NH-L12 cooler for the CPU.

bobkn · 12 Sep 2021

tonez said:

Top up the GTX 1070 to a 3070 and you are good to go buddy

Yeah. That'd only add $1kUS+. GeForce RTX 3070,In Stock Desktop Graphics Cards | Newegg.com

bobkn · 12 Sep 2021

martinlest said:

(snip)

Am reusing my current NH-L12 cooler for the CPU.

I wondered whether that would be compatible with an LGA 1200 CPU, but Noctua claims that it is. Good.

martinlest · 15 Sep 2021

OK, ready to give the go-ahead for this upgrade to existing PC (remember it only runs X-Plane 11, in essence).

Case: Fractal Meshify C Mini Dark TG
Motherboard: Asus Z590M-Plus
CPU: Intel i9-11900F
Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 (retained from current PC)
RAM: 64GB (2x 32GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200
GPU: nVidia GTX 1070 (retained from current PC)
Power: CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES (retained from current PC)
Addons: PCIe 5x USB3 and 2x USB-C card

Would a conservative overclock on the CPU be a good idea?

One can always tweak specs forever.. but I think this spec should suit my needs? Please do beg to differ..

Thanks

bobkn · 15 Sep 2021

Are there forums for X-Plane? It may be possible to get more relevant opinions there. We're PC/Windows enthusiasts (and some experts) here. I know nothing at all about X-Plane.

martinlest · 15 Sep 2021

Hi again. Yes, indeed, there are forums and I have been asking there too, before I 'sign the cheque'.

One question that has been raised in why an i9-11900F and not an i9-11900K? The latter, as I understand it, has integrated graphics, (and will overclock). I wasn't convinced I needed either - but I guess the ability to overclock slightly couldn't be anything but an advantage.

One real question I have though (and I will go and Google this meanwhile too) is how does a CPU with integrated graphics like the Intel i9-11900K work with the computer's GPU? If I bought a Intel i9-11900K, would the integrated graphics in any way add to the overall graphics performance of the PC? Just how does such a CPU and GPU work together? Or don't they, the CPU's graphics being redundant?

The shop going to carry out the upgrade for me has suggested the i9-11900F rather than the i9-11900K, as it is a socket 1200, whereas the 'K' is socket 1151, which they pronounce as virtually 'dead' (would that matter to me in practice?). They suggest that I would not need integrated graphics, or an overclock. Not so sure now.

Many thanks for your continued input - much appreciated!

bobkn · 15 Sep 2021

martinlest said:

Hi again. Yes, indeed, there are forums and I have been asking there too, before I 'sign the cheque'.

One question that has been raised in why an i9-11900F and not an i9-11900K? The latter, as I understand it, has integrated graphics, (and will overclock). I wasn't convinced I needed either - but I guess the ability to overclock slightly couldn't be anything but an advantage.

One real question I have though (and I will go and Google this meanwhile too) is how does a CPU with integrated graphics like the Intel i9-11900K work with the computer's GPU? If I bought a Intel i9-11900K, would the integrated graphics in any way add to the overall graphics performance of the PC? Just how does such a CPU and GPU work together? Or don't they, the CPU's graphics being redundant?

The shop going to carry out the upgrade for me has suggested the i9-11900F rather than the i9-11900K, as it is a socket 1200, whereas the 'K' is socket 1151, which they pronounce as virtually 'dead' (would that matter to me in practice?). They suggest that I would not need integrated graphics, or an overclock. Not so sure now.

Many thanks for your continued input - much appreciated!

The onboard graphics of the I9-11900K would be redundant.

Some laptops use a technology nVidia calls "Optimus" to use the integrated graphics for low-powered applications and switch to a the discrete GPU for games. I don't know if that's ever done on desktops. (No battery life issues there.) Regardless, it's either/or, not additive.

I get a little nervous about the shop you've chosen to build the PC. The K suffix indicates an unlocked multiplier. It is definitely an LGA1200 CPU. See the link below. I wonder whether it was a deliberate lie, for purposes I can't guess? Or is it just an example of what I call MSU (making stuff up, although not "stuff").

Intel Core i911900K Processor 16M Cache up to 5.30 GHz Product Specifications

You may be able to OC the 11900F slightly using the base frequency, although I wouldn't count on that. Using the multiplier (when possible) is easier and (IMHO) likelier to succeed.

martinlest · 16 Sep 2021

My fault re. the socket type, sorry - I can see that what they said was ambiguous in the way it was written: in fact they were referring to the i9-9900K as being socket 1151, not the i9-11900. I thought it was odd for the K variant to be one socket and the F another! I should have investigated that more before posting.

I wonder then about a 'KF' rather than the 'F' variant... no graphics (which I don't need, as you say) but it's unlocked (like my current i7-4790K). The KF is a bit more expensive, but not wildly so. The base clock speed is a lot higher in the KF, but the turbo speed about the same.

Thanks again - nearly at the ordering stage so this probably the last thing to be sorted out.

- - - Updated - - -

Hi again...

As I thought they probably would, the shop putting this together for me has replied in response to my saying I want the KF variant, fixed to turbo speed - (is that really safe?? That's 5.20GHz. I wouldn't think of overclocking that high. I haven't o/c'd a CPU for years though so I might be well out of date in my thinking, and 5.20GHz is the innate turbo clock speed after all. I just don't want it to die after six months!). They tell me that I would in that event need a different MB with more power and that the Noctua heatsink would need to be replaced. They suggest water-cooling, not something I like the idea of much (for the obvious, silly reasons probably, involving wet patches on my floor, or encountering sudden explosions!).

Does anyone have a similar CPU setup? What is your cooling solution please?

BTW, some kind person on the X-Plane forums has offered me a free 'loan' (for as long as I want it, he says) of an unused RTX2070S GPU he has gathering dust (probably not literally!) after he upgraded his system. He's posting it off to me this week. That will make a huge difference and needless to say, I am very grateful for his thoughtful generosity.

Thanks, as ever.

MaloK · 16 Sep 2021

I don't think that there would be a problem there as long as Your Heat sink has matching or higher TDP Capabilities and you use Good thermal paste.

But I Leave Speed Steps OC the CPU as needed and Run at lower speed when iddle. Running from 3.6 to 5.5 GHz. Saves up to 50% in Electricity.

With a constant 38-55% load. Normal temp 50-60C and at 100% 75-85C on a I7-11700K. . With a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo and Artic Silver Thermal Paste.

Upgrade advice sought, please-screenshot00007.jpg

martinlest · 16 Sep 2021

Thanks. I am (as is par for the course) getting conflicting advice on different forums. I am wondering about the wisdom of overclocking the CPU at all. Would it not reach its max turbo speed anyway, when needed, and when not needed, as you say, why run it at full whack, sasving electricity (and bit by bit, the planet!).