Please help me understand CPU performance

[Shibbyland]

I've recently upgraded to an i7 14700k. I don't overclock so it's clock speed is 3.4gHz. This is below the recommended settings for many terrains in DCS and yet I'm able to run them reasonably well.

I only play at 1080p but with textures high and pretty good shadows. How come I'm able to achieve this performance when my clock speed is so much lower than recommended.

Should I be overclocking and how do I do this without damaging parts? I've got water cooling.

 

Edit: The CPUs base clock speed is 3.4gHz but it's obviously capable of higher. Does it boost to a higher frequency automatically if demand is high?

 

System specs:

i7 14700k, z790 mobo, 32gb DDR5 RAM, GeForce 4070. DCS on standalone nvme with 500gb space free.

Edited Friday at 09:55 AM by Shibbyland

[Hiob]

That would be only the base clock. The CPU will automatically boost up to around 5ish GHz based on its temp headroom and load. If you disabled the boost completely (which I doubt because you would kind of know what you’re doing), that would be a weird move.

There is no need for you to overclock unless you have fun doing so for the sake of it. Overclocking (and double so water cooling) is an (expensive) hobby on its own. Not worth it if your only goal is increased performance for DCS.

You would barely notice a difference in fps. 

Edited Friday at 11:46 AM by Hiob

[SharpeXB]

I suppose you were looking at this on the eStore:

“Recommended system requirements (HIGH graphics settings): OS 64-bit Windows 10/11; DirectX11; CPU: Core i5+ at 3+ GHz or AMD FX / Ryzen; RAM: 32 GB ; Free hard disk space: 500 GB on Solid State Drive (SSD) + extra space for paid content ; Discrete video card NVIDIA/AMD with 8GB VRAM+; joystick; requires internet activation.”

Or this for the Germany map: “CPU: Intel or AMD 4.5Ghz+”

Indeed those descriptions are pretty worthless. They could mean anlmost any CPU and clock speed alone isn’t so relevant. The 14700K you have is very good for DCS. You definitely should not overclock it though with the troubles these have had. Running it with the default BIOS settings and stock speed is fine. 

Edited Friday at 02:14 PM by SharpeXB

[diego999]

Your CPU will boost its clock when it needs to. You don't need to overclock or do anything, your 14700k is great for DCS.

[Markus77]

But the i7-1400K (like any other processor) reduces its boost (sometimes significantly) when it gets too hot. Therefore important! Good cooling. This means at least a 280 or 360 water cooling system or an alternative CPU cooler with a TDP classification of at least 250W.

[Shibbyland]

I've got water cooling but it's only a 240mm, Corsair nautilus. It's TDP is 250watts. Price was becoming an issue with this build and looking at my case, I think i'd be struggling to fit anything much bigger than 240 coolling. I'm not running DCS maxed out tho. Next move is to increase to 64gb RAM but where I live, RAM is actually pretty expensive so I wait.

I was previously running an i7 9700k but that was only air cooled and I haven't increased my settings since the upgrade. I just wanted to be able to run the more intense maps at the same settings.

I build my PC for DCS as thats the most intense thing I run, otherwise I'm playing games that require only half the performance.

 

Cheers for all your input.

Edited 15 hours ago by Shibbyland