the latest incarnation of msfs is a lovely piece of work,although it has caused some frustration for
users with regards to hardware,system tweaks,overclocking,upgrading,etc.PC pilot magazine is
a great resource for info.but still the question arises,can i fit a huge graphics card into my over the counter reasonabily priced packard bell?..er probably not. which is of course a real pain.
what follows ,are my own opinions as a system builder and tweaker for all manner of flight sims,
and should not be taken as in any way a denigration of anyones valuable opinion…
hardware..these are the systems available..laptop.over the counter desktop,over the counter gamers
desktop, custom build desktop, and of course the best, self build. why self build?, if you can change a fuse you can build a system, you will learn a lot, you will know whats in it, you can spread your budget, and build at your own pace, you can probably save some money, or get a better system for less. laptops. a laptop for fsx is going to be expensive, upgrading a laptop is not a sensible option in
terms of cpu,psu,gpu..that leaves ram and hdd, not always possible, external drives and moniters, are fraught with problems…that really only leaves system and app tweaks, but i do get pretty good results running xplane, and fs9 on a sony laptop, less good with lock on gold..
over the counter reasonably priced systems..i am writing this on a packard bell very reasonably priced box, it used to run fs9 but now runs linux. its a single fan system passively cooled graphics card, pentium d 820 cpu, minimum watt psu system, if it wasnt for linux it would be in a skip.but with system and fs tweaks it ran fs9 quite nicely..what can you do to improve this type of system..can it run fsx.. ? i will be back…jim
the answer is, not a realistic option. the best thing to do is stick with fs9. theres alot of life left in fs9, with system tweaks, app tweaks, and alacrity pc, it is pretty good, add ons are abundant the 9 dragons kai tak in pc pilot is as nice as anything ive seen in fsx…so fsx what to do, over the counter gamers rig yes if you know what to look for, there are some excellent bargains to be had…custom build yes, the people building it for you should know what you want, and supply it thats what your paying them for..build your own system ? yes most deffinately..its easy, mor later jim..
By: BlueRobin - 7th October 2008 at 22:39
Sounds a bit excessive in even in old build terms :p
By: Arabella-Cox - 6th October 2008 at 00:49
my fsx system
thermaltake armor case. 1000, watt psu. 2x 500gb hdd sata. one vista hp, one xp. asus p5k premium black pearl wi fi mobo, e6750 cpu o/c to 3.4. 4 gb matched 1066, 8500 corsair dominator ram.asus extreme 8800gtx 768 mb gpu
thermalright ultra 120 extreme heatsink with fan. extra case fans..riva tuner.
alacrity pc..fsx acceleration..fsx sdk..fsds design studio.trakir, trakclip.saitek
x52 pro, with throttle…but this is last years system, what interests me is my
new build, cooling?, liquid nitrogen is impractical, peltior cooling looks a bit heath robinson, water or air?, as a system starts work at ambient temp, and water ends up being cooled by a fan the only advantage seems to be less noise, and your system not filling up with dust, wasps, and ring pulls. air is easy to work with and eases upgrading and hardware swops..how about a case with ducted airflow, a large cube, allowing the mobo to lie horizontally.
this would allow an insanely large cpu cooler to be vertical as apposed to hanging precariously from the vertical mobo supported by cable ties. seperate
compartments for components. each with its own ducted airflow..and would the beurneulli effect come into play,,plexiglass sheet and aluminium angle would make for an ugly case but the harrier isnt a pretty bird, but it flies…
back soon jim
By: Mike_NZ - 25th September 2008 at 04:33
It would help if you post the specs mate. What’s the mobo? CPU? How much memory? And how big’s the HDD?
If you’re planning on a latest gen Gfx card like the ATI HD4870x2 or the GTX280, you’ll need a new PSU with at least 650W rating and at least 40Amps on the 12V lead. Plus you’ll definately need a new case with 4-5 fans and good airflow cos those Gfx cards run hot!!
Cut a long story short, you’ll want a new comp, and it’s best to build your own. I’m in the process of building one myself at the moment, so I’m full of reviews/opinions of various comp parts. I’d be happy to chat with ya.
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September 24, 2008 at 7:46 pm