i need to know what kind of processer to get to run flight simulator x smoothly

[airlinelover]

i need to know what kind of processer to get to run flight simulator x smoothly because the processer i have not is a intel pentium 4 processer and it does not run it very smoothly so if anyone knows of a good processer please tell me.

[angels355]

March over to the PC Hardware forum to get the BEST answer. There's at least one person over there that is a superlative expert in this area, and I would hate to have you miss out on such expert advice. Not that the FSX users here are not up to snuff, just to say that you're missing out if you don't go over to the pc hardware forum.

Good luck. My vote is for the Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

[Stealth JAG]

Most of the experts are going to recommend the same thing - An intel Core 2 Duo and trying to get an E6600 or better if you can. A lot of the expertise people rely on are from Al (lalex) and Noell. I think I have heard both of them recommend the Core 2 Duos. AMD and Intel trade places every few years with who has the better processor. Right now it is intel with the price v performance.

You will definitely benefit from a better processor, but you should not set your expectations too high. Even an overclocked processor in a top end system is going to have difficulty running FSX with all sliders to the right in a big city airport. However, the better your processor, the more of those sliders you move further to the right. I think most people with good systems have had a real positive experience with FSX. I have an AMD X2 dual core 4600 and don't have any complaints.

The people that had really good systems who were disappointed dropped about $3000.00 into a computer system and expected FSX to get 30 FPS on takeoff from a busy big city airport during a thunderstorm. The hardware isn't quite there yet. Just wanted to make sure your expectations were reasonable in trying to get a new processor.

Rob

[angels355]

Thanks for that input Rob, I agree completely. It is very important that you realize that you can drop a ton of money into a computer at this time and moment! And still get only mediocre results with FSX. What I mean by that is, users with top end machines right now, can absolutely tromp the computing requirements of FS9 (2004) and get very high frame rates with all the sliders maxed out. Users with top end computers right now can run FSX OK and that's it, I believe the good computers are getting 10 to 20 fps. If you've ever run a simulator at 10 fps, you would know that the experience is a big compromise, and to pay a ton of money for compromised performance is not a lot of fun. And to pay a ton of money for only 20 fps, well, I just thought I would give you some warning.

I believe a Core 2 Duo will probably run FSX at moderate settings at 20 fps, the Core 2 Duo dual core processor right now beats everything by a wide margin. My own personal strategy, due to my being a cheapskate, is to build a cheap game computer, see how well FSX runs, if unacceptible, then uninstall it, and install FS9 (2004), or X-Plane, and wait until next year hoping for some new much more powerful chips. The old AMD chips were really amazing for their time, right now the Core 2 Duo beats the pants off of the AMD's, perhaps something better will emerge next year.

I don't want to discourage you from FSX, just the opposite, if you know what you're getting into you can approach it better for more satisfactory results. Like, I'd imagine if you spent 5 or 6,000 right now expecting to blow the doors off FSX, you might be upset at the poor results.

Just thought I would give you a better idea of what you're dealing with. Good luck. Feel free to ask questions. Noell, lalex, and loki, are all very knowledgeable in this area over at the hardware forum. Just be cautious about parting with your money this year.

[iwantmydc3]

Intel Core DUO 2ghz minimum BUT you have to mate that with 2GB ram and at least 512mb of video to get good results. You don't have to spend 6,000, but realistically, if you're getting a new machine, to run FSX well is about $2500 (you may do better if you can build your own) Memory and hard drives are fairly cheap; what will cost in buying the parts is mostly a good case/power supply, quiality board, the CPU and the graphics board, you do NOT want to skimp on the graphics board (NVIDIA 7900 series at LEAST with 512MB or more). A couple hundred more dollars invested in the monitor will also pay off-i got the 20inch Dell UltraSharp (1600x1200), its gorgeous.

Beware of "off the shelf" computers (Best Buy, CompUSA, etc). They are good brand machines, and well configured EXCEPT-on board, or minimal video. (I guess they want you to pay another 300 buck to upgrade the video later). Its kind of a shame too because they'll have, like a Core Duo 2.8, 2GB Ram, 500GH HD, and then stick ya with some little weak generic 128mb video card. Ugh.

another important thing is, minimize the processes you have running!!! people "buy those 4,000 computers and are disappointed by the performance" because they are loading packet writing programs, tne winzip picker, quicktime, realplayer, hello, the yahoo messenger, and who knows what all. every uneccesary applet is going to impact your system resources even with 1 or 2gb of memory! All i have going is my volume control, pc cillin and firewall.

good luck!

[Alcatraz]

Recent test done on:
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/651-1/intel-core-2-quad-q6600.html
in french. As you can see, even Intel Quad and Extreme chip
have little effect on FS-X.

[larshall]

And in english as well

http://www.behardware.com/articles/642-1/intel-core-2-extreme-qx6700-quad-core.html