New PC to run FSX

Nickhtafc

Nickhtafc

Nickhtafc

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Hi guys and gals, new to the forum so bare with me.

I tried running FSX (Flightsim 10) the other day and my computer basically ground to a halt (between 1-10 FPS on low settings), not too surprising really as I have had it since 2003 and have not upgraded it at all.

I have looked at various options, upgrade / new-build / buying pre-built.

If I upgrade I would need a new Motherboard (mine is not PCI-E), Graphics Card, aswell as upgrading the memory and I dare say a new power supply would be essential also.All that new technology would then probably struggle to fit in my current case, so a new one would be needed..... basically a complete rebuild.

Have been looking at various gaming machines and have done some background reading.

Budget, well ideally 700-1000GBP ish.

Not interested in AMD based machines, Intel all the way for me personally.

Don't mind whether its Nvidia (260 /280 )or Ati powered.

Should I be going for DDR2 or 3?

I have a Sumsung (21 inch?) flat screen if that makes any difference.

Can anyone suggest a machine/spec that would run FSX in its sleep? :)

Thanks
 
You wont get anything to run it in its sleep for £1k on maximum settings, but it will be a HUGE inprovement over what you got.

Some say get a quad for FSX, but I'd suggest the E8600(clock it) and have a higher clock speed. They say the quad offers a better visual look, but my dual core in my rig gives out a great picture and I've increased my FPS's loads by clocking it.

You'd prob be better off getting DDR2 for your budget and spending the savings over DDR3 on other better parts.
 
Run in its sleep was a bit tongue in cheek lol

A solid 25-30fps would be a huge improvement for me right now, at the moment the sim is unflyable.

Ideally I want a PC that I don't have to tinker with too much during the next 2years.

I'm not a huge gamer on my PC, purely FSX really, so I don't want to go above 1000GBP unless it truly is worth it.
 
My E6600 @ 3.4 with 4gig ram and 8800GTX will run 25-30fps easy, depending on clouds, water effects and autogen.

But I can have it looking pretty damn nice. So anything of the latest tech upto £1k is going to be better than mine :)
 
Rodders do you have any complex addons running with FSX, or just the stand-alone sim?
I intend to run some power sapping stuff on mine, but will obviously reduce in-game settings to increase FPS.

Overclockers do some nice ready made PC's, I might take the easy option.

Thinking long-term I might go for an over-clocked quad, FSX is mentioned on another thread and some say the quad is utilised by the programme.

Nvidia versus ATi is a tough one for me. The GTX260 is the card I would most likely plump for as I have read the 280 is not worth the extra cash.
 
Oh yea, I had an airport add on with a eurofighter. It seems to absolutley kill my PC. was about 10fps or something. Dunno why cause it was not that detailed. Think it might have been dodgy?
I have other sceneries I've d/loaded which seem ok. I have one a PHNL which is photo scenery and is great.
I have a Wilco 777 thats pretty thirsty on the fps. But this is mainly when theres lots of buildings.

I kind of change settings on where im flying. But I keep around 30fps ish.
60,000feet up in a SR71 my FPS is great, lol.

Someone put up a chart on each 4 cores. core 1, 100% core 2 was something like 20%, cores 3&4 were like 3%.

Like I said, they say the quad gives a better visual experiance. But I'd personally perfer a higher clock speed as my picture looks damn good.

The g/card only does the pretty things in FSX, its the CPU that gets the hard time. A GTX260 would be fine.
 
Ok, somthing like this could run it in its sleep :) Not sure exactly how much you wanted to spend so plumped for the middle. If you wanna spend a bit more put a Raptor HDD in and have it for OS and apps

Overclock the Q6600 and it'll fly

ggggggggggggea4.jpg



edit, I know that FSX is suppose to be a mainly single core game but appartenly SP1 added decent dual and quad support (dunno if this is out or true as I don't play), If you want to change to a Dual core so you could get it a s quick as poss get somthing like E8500 and clock it up to 4ghz!!


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793&name=Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB) - Retail
 
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spec above looks fine, FSX is very CPU dependant.

A tomshardware benchy showed a 7600GT only a few frames behind a 8800GTX :eek:
 
Always go for the quad IMO for FSX. Clock it as high as you can too as the game is soooo CPU dependant.
 
To give you an idea what you need, the below specs with run FSX here with everything on high, 50% on all density levels and I just manage to crack 25fps.

I have many, many Aircraft added on and they all run fine.

A good Wolfdale clocked to 3.6Ghz+, 4Gb DDR2 Ram, P45 Mobo, 4870 and a fast Hard Drive (Sammy F1 or WD Black) and you will see a massive improvement with 25fps easily.

All a Quad will do is run your background tasks easier whilst you play FSX but it makes very little difference.
 
Wiggins said:
To give you an idea what you need, the below specs with run FSX here with everything on high, 50% on all density levels and I just manage to crack 25fps.

I have many, many Aircraft added on and they all run fine.

A good Wolfdale clocked to 3.6Ghz+, 4Gb DDR2 Ram, P45 Mobo, 4870 and a fast Hard Drive (Sammy F1 or WD Black) and you will see a massive improvement with 25fps easily.

All a Quad will do is run your background tasks easier whilst you play FSX but it makes very little difference.
Click to expand...

+1 :D
 
Thanks for all the advice.

I think I will most likely plump for an overclockers pre-built unit.

If I theoretically pushed my budget up to the 1300GBP mark, which one would you go for?

I would rather buy a machine for a few quid extra that will last longer without an upgrade if I can.

Cheers

How about this one.....................?

"Ultima OC GTX 260 SLI" Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz @ QX6950+ 3.00GHz+ Quad Core DDR3 System"

I would look to upgrade the memory to 4GB DDR3 and get Vista 64 home premium.
 
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Busa666, that is one system I have been looking at. How is your FSX performance?

I have asked a separate question in a different thread, comparing that one, with one with DDR3 and 2 x 260GTX.
 
Wiggins said:
To give you an idea what you need, the below specs with run FSX here with everything on high, 50% on all density levels and I just manage to crack 25fps.

I have many, many Aircraft added on and they all run fine.

A good Wolfdale clocked to 3.6Ghz+, 4Gb DDR2 Ram, P45 Mobo, 4870 and a fast Hard Drive (Sammy F1 or WD Black) and you will see a massive improvement with 25fps easily.

All a Quad will do is run your background tasks easier whilst you play FSX but it makes very little difference.
Click to expand...

go for the quad Q6600 and clock it. By the way it does make a difference, mainly when it comes to texture loading and bluries.
 
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