Where do I start? Anyone using a Mac?

[elks21]

Hello everyone. I am a 52 year old male whose wife insists I find a hobby. So this will be it. I have only goofed around with flight sims in the past and never really learned to fly. I will be much more serious this time around.
So here is what I have. I have a copy of FSX. I don't know if it has the accelerator pack and I am not sure what that brings to the party. I will get some type of joystick as I think it is unlikely I can fly using a keyboard or mouse.
But here is the big thing. I am soon going to purchase a new retina Macbook Pro with a 2.3GHz i7 quad core, 8 GB memory, 256 GB SSD and 1 GB DDR5 Video memory for a nVidia Geforce 650m. Does anyone have any feedback as to whether this can run in a Parallels VM environment? I'd rather not boot solely into Windows to run this. Can't afford a dedicated FS computer. I imaging I will have to use some type of external drive as I will have limited space. Is it possible to run add on scenery and such from a fast SDXC memory card?
Aside from the hardware, what are to "go-to" software packs for this. Service Packs? Maybe a "No CD" program if that still applies? Also, I love eye candy. Maybe the top mesh/scenery packs? I am only interested in North America at the time.
Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[PAULCRAIG]

For a start, you could buy a non Mac, decent desktop or a high end laptop that would run FSX much better than a Macbook & for the same money?

[rhhenson4]

elks21,
If your Mac has an Intel processor, you can run FSX on it. I have an iMac and all I did was partition a section of the drive with Boot Camp. You should have this feature on your MacBook (you may be able to download it from Apple). All you need is Boot Camp, a copy of one of the following Windows OS (Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or higher, Windows Vista or Windows 7) and FSX. You will also have the option of starting up your Mac in either Windows or Apple. FSX is the only program I'm running on that partition. I have not ran FSX on either VMWare or Parallels, but I can tell you, FSX runs great. If you go the Boot Camp route, I suggest an antivirus program like Microsoft Security Essentials (free from microsoft.com), and a lot of space for your add-on programs and aircraft.

[loki]

I am soon going to purchase a new retina Macbook Pro with a 2.3GHz i7 quad core, 8 GB memory, 256 GB SSD and 1 GB DDR5 Video memory for a nVidia Geforce 650m.

With the 2.3GHz CPU, the sim won't run very well with more than mid-range settings at best.

Does anyone have any feedback as to whether this can run in a Parallels VM environment?

Does it run? Yes. Will it run well? No. If you are going to run FSX on a Mac, you should be using Apple's Bootcamp to run Windows directly on the computer. Running a virtual machine program like Parallels means you have two operating systems running before you even get to the flight sim.

Another option if you are buying a Mac is X-Plane as it has a native Mac version. They have a demo you can try out.

Is it possible to run add on scenery and such from a fast SDXC memory card?

It is possible, however, SDXC cards are not very fast which will cause problems such as blurry scenery. An external FireWire or USB3 hard drive would be far better.

Aside from the hardware, what are to "go-to" software packs for this.

You will need SP1 and SP2 for FSX. Or look for a copy of the Acceleration expansion pack, which includes both service packs and some new content. Use the guide below to setup everything properly.

http://www.simforums.com/forums/topic29041.html

Maybe a "No CD" program if that still applies?

First, FSX uses Microsoft's Product Activation much like Windows and doesn't need a disc in the drive once installed. Second, see the link below.

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showth...rack-files-etc

[CapitalBill]

Little bit of advice you could get better performance with a HP or dell for a lesser price. Check out rc planes loads of fun.