Any Flight Simulation Nuts here?

Andy__C · 27 Mar 2011 at 11:06

Morning all, how are we?

Just wondering if there are any flight simulation guys here? - Into the full hardware as well - yoke, pedals, instrument panels etc....

Grandfather__C is 85yrs old and a civilian pilot... He lives for flying and spends every spare minute either at the flying club or in the air.

In his own words, knows his 'days are numbered' age wise and passing his medical to keep his licence.

He's pretty tech literate and we've been talking about building a PC and piecing together some hardware this year to try and stand in when the sad day comes that he doesn't pass the medical.

Are any of you guys into this kinda thing?

RazorBlade · 27 Mar 2011 at 11:56

I am getting into this. Well, I fly flightsims all my live but these were usualy millitairy flightsim. I am now also getting into civilian flying. If your grandfather wants this than I suggest that he joins a flightsimulator club. They usualy are very happy to see people like your grandfather coming with so much real life experience. This can be an online club or a club that you goto in the weekends or both.

The online clubs work often with human ATC globaly. So during a flight you enter and leave the control area's of several ATC's and you make contact with them and they give you directions as if you were in a real plane.

If your grandfarther did not pass his medical than that does not have to mean that he can't fly anymore once in a while. I flew in a flightclub and we had one member who was deaf and could therefore not pass his medical. He flew however with friends who had a license. Your grandfarther would not be able to log the flight as his own flight anymore, but he could still controll the plane. With a deaf person this is however easier then with somebody who is physicaly worse every year. Although a real pilot has to be next to him, it might get less safe if your grandfarther gets older and loses the oversight of the flying. I know my grandmother went up in the air in a glider when she was 91, but that was pure as a passenger.

If your grandfarther joins a flightsim club then he gets bragging rights as soon as he comes in and he might help some younger guys (usualy they are guys) with their first flying experience. I am sure that keeps your grandfarther young.

Liquid · 27 Mar 2011 at 12:23

FSX is very cpu/ram hungry and fully supports multi core cpu's post sp1 update, gpu less so but still relevent obviously. Dual gpu's are not a good option tbh as FSX doesn't utilise SLI/Crossfire very well, if at all.

lukext · 27 Mar 2011 at 16:22

Get a new sandybridge chip and clock it. For graphics, you probably want an Nvidia card (FSX perfers nvidia over ATI/AMD) although I have a ATi5850 and its fine on pretty high quality. Ram wise, 4-6 GB. Also, you may wish to get an SSD to put the FSX instal on as it improve load times and makes the game a smoother experience in flight.

You may want to consider having a 3 screen setup such as ati eyefinity or nvidia surround, its more "cockpit like" that just one screen. Controls wise, check out the Saitek range. They have sticks, throttle and yokes to choose from and are pretty good quality.

FSX addons to consider: well this is almost an endless list, but REX 2.0 (Real Enviornment Extreme) is a must. I'd recommend googling it as I cant do it justice in words here.

Cookeh · 27 Mar 2011 at 16:59

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK ATI Radeon 6970 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £259.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE Shogun 2 Game £173.99
3 x BenQ G2420HDBL 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £161.99
1 x MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £104.99
1 x Saitek Pro Flight Yoke System - PC (PZ44) £103.19
1 x Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1) £99.98
1 x Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals - PC (PZ35) £83.74
1 x G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) £71.99
1 x XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply £65.99
1 x Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £29.99
Total : £1,556.86 (includes shipping : £27.55).

How's this? Granted it's not the cheapest, but you do have an Eyefinity set-up - great for FlightSims, a top end controller set, very powerful CPU that will make mincemeat of the game, and an SSD to help those load times.

spankingtexan · 27 Mar 2011 at 17:08

Sandybridge with overclock, Nvidia GTX 580, 4 GIG ram minimum, Saitek yoke or x52 pro, saitek switch pannel, saitek multi pannel, Saitek radio pannel pref two of them, 120hz 3D ready monitor, nvidia 3d vision because this will transform your flying, Horizon Generation X V2 scenery for UK, SSD drive to install the sim on and a meaty psu at least 700 watt to be on the safe side.

Andy__C · 27 Mar 2011 at 17:14

Fantastic guys - some good recommendations there. I love the 3-monitor eyefinity.... hadn't occured to me!

Are any of you running kits like this?

@ Razorblade - getting along to a club is a great idea. i've picked up a few from google and we'll certainly be heading to one of these for a look.

rpmmatt · 27 Mar 2011 at 17:15

Just to add on here,

If you want less in terms of shinyness, FS9 (Or 2004 Century of Flight to give it its full title) is still very well supported in terms of mods, add on planes and scenery and is still very active in online play. It is an excellent sim, and would run on a much cheaper machine and full detail with extra scenery on top. A great option if you want to keep costs down.

As others have said, Saitek controllers are the way to go, and there are some good 2nd hand deals around(I sold my yoke, pedals and 2xquadrants for close to £180). Track IR head tracking is a great immersive addition, if you dont mind looking slightly silly with bits attached to your headset. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AO0F5sLdVM Track IR 4 is now quite cheap but is more than adequate.

If you go for FSX, make sure you check out the A2A simulation software, their "Accusim" software is simply excellent, one of the best addtions to FSX I can think of.

spankingtexan · 27 Mar 2011 at 17:45

Tip, I can't emphasise the 3D enough here, Nvidia graphics is the only way to go with FSX, If 3d is not considered and nvidia graphics is chosen then you can still experience FSX in 3D by just using those cheapo cardboared 3d glasses and a standerd monitor by going into nvidia controll panel, click on "set up stereoscopic 3D" then the monitor tab, select 3D vision discover and apply it. Now start FSX and put on your cheapo goggles and be prepared to be blown away, awsome.

powelly · 27 Mar 2011 at 18:23

bit expensive but it will be hard to beat, and a very good system

Andy__C · 28 Mar 2011 at 13:14

Thanks again guys.

Am visiting the family on Sunday - will run over all this with Grandfather__C then.

I have a feeling there may be some sceptisim from him on the 3D though.

As mentioned, I'll see if we can get along to a club and see this in action. Have a feeling though he'll prefer 2D with the instrument panels etc.

Eye-Finity though - when coupled with the TrackIR - I can see that grabbing his attention.

TO summarise the rest - the Saitek hardware (prob what he is most interested in rather than 'under the hood' PC spec) seems to the most reputed/of choice.

Moving on, FSX is CPU/RAM hungry so yes - i5 sandybridge 6GB DDR3 minimum.

Roughly £1500-£1600 all in if going 3 monitors.

Cookeh · 28 Mar 2011 at 13:26

Both specced systems offer i5, SSD for OS/FSX and 8GB of ram.

However, powelly has selected a GTX480 and I've gone for a HD6970.

The GTX480 can't do triple monitor set-ups, you'll need a SLI set-up for that. Reading through the latest CustomPC magazine there are also several issues with nVidia's method of triple monitor set-ups - they're terribly buggy and the SLI set-ups runs very hot.

King Damager · 28 Mar 2011 at 13:53

I'd say go for Eyefinity over 3d Surround, mostly due to cost.

If he's going to be sceptical of price...

Basically, yeah as Cookeh has said, nVidia's 3 monitor capability isn't too great at the moment.... Not something you probably want, where as ATI have got Eyefinity nicely set up.

Definitely Saitek controllers are the way to go for flight sims though

Hope he gets a lot of fun out of this though

I'd change Cookeh's build slightly though....

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
OcUK Motherboard Bundle - Intel Core i5 2500K & Asus P8P67 Intel P67 Mainboard **B3 Revision** £263.99
(£219.99) £263.99
(£219.99)
XFX ATI Radeon 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99
(£166.66) £199.99
(£166.66)
Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1) £173.99
(£144.99) £173.99
(£144.99)
BenQ G2420HDBL 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £161.99
(£134.99) £485.97
(£404.97)
Saitek Pro Flight Yoke System - PC (PZ44) £103.19
(£85.99) £103.19
(£85.99)
Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals - PC (PZ35) £83.74
(£69.78) £83.74
(£69.78)
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) £71.99
(£59.99) £71.99
(£59.99)
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply £65.99
(£54.99) £65.99
(£54.99)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1155/ 1156 / 1366) £17.99
(£14.99) £17.99
(£14.99)
Sub Total : £1,284.00
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £27.55
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £262.31
Total : £1,573.86

Only slightly more expensive, couple of changes:
6950 can be unlocked to 6970 performance, there's a guide on how to do this in the graphics forum.
Swapped out the CPU and Mobo for the bundle, works out cheaper this way, and better motherboard. Also before he says anything about possibly being able to sell on Shogun 2, yes you do get it with the bundle xD
Finally, I've taken the money saved and bought a bigger SSD, meaning he'll have room to easily fit on FSX and W7, without having to worry as much about running out of space

kd

Cookeh · 28 Mar 2011 at 14:01

King Damager said:
I'd say go for Eyefinity over 3d Surround, mostly due to cost.

If he's going to be sceptical of price...

Basically, yeah as Cookeh has said, nVidia's 3 monitor capability isn't too great at the moment.... Not something you probably want, where as ATI have got Eyefinity nicely set up.

Definitely Saitek controllers are the way to go for flight sims though

Hope he gets a lot of fun out of this though

I'd change Cookeh's build slightly though....

SNIP

Only slightly more expensive, couple of changes:
6950 can be unlocked to 6970 performance, there's a guide on how to do this in the graphics forum.
Swapped out the CPU and Mobo for the bundle, works out cheaper this way, and better motherboard. Also before he says anything about possibly being able to sell on Shogun 2, yes you do get it with the bundle xD
Finally, I've taken the money saved and bought a bigger SSD, meaning he'll have room to easily fit on FSX and W7, without having to worry as much about running out of space

kd

Issue is, the ASUS P67 boards are getting some many reports of issues it's ridiculous. I'd go for MSI or Gigabyte - you are right though it is cheaper!

I thought the Rev.2 HD6950s couldn't be flashed? :confused:

That's why I went HD6970 in the first place

Please correct me though!

128GB for OS and FSX? :eek:

I'm not even using that much for my OS + Steam folder