Help please

Hello there!

I would like your input if that's ok?

I'm looking to gather some info on having a comp built to run FSX. Seeing as I am no good with the spec side of things I thought I'd ask my fellow sim lovers. I have around £1500-£2000 to spend. If you could list your opinions on good specs for that sort of budget it would be much appreciated.

Many thanks!

Craig

Get the fastest CPU you can buy for the money. 6 or more cores is a waste of money.

3 GHz or less = poor

3.4 GHz t0 3.6 GHz = OK

4.0 GHz - nice

Over 4 Ghz = very nice.

No one can buy a computer which can run FSX at maximum settings with maximum weather in detailed scenery and maximum add-ons without stutters.

You will have to shop around. Find the computer which has the fastest CPU your money can buy. The price/feature can vary greatly. Generally, factory built computers are not as strong for the money. Get a custom built game machine if you can find one. Building it yourself of course allows you to get the fastest computer for the least expense.

You know what a car salesman thinks to himself when you say you want to spend 2000 tops? "I can sell him a 3000 car."

-Pv-

Tags: New computer system specs run FSX budget fast settings

My advice, make sure you get a fast Intel processor. At same clockspeeds the Intel is way faster then the AMD.

Get one that can be overclocked (****-k series). Not saying you should overclock. Definitly not right away. But it's very nice to have the option down the road.

Overclocking is setting a higher then normal processor speed. It means you lose the warrenty on the cpu, the cpu gets hotter and it can easily get damaged and die. But, it does make the pc faster.

Spend at a minimum 3 to 6 months getting to know the pc very well, discovering the limits and making sure all is well before thinking about overclocking, so you know it inside and out. And make absolutely sure you know what you are doing as it's at your own risk!

Building a pc yourself isn't that difficult anymore these days. Parts simply snap together, plus there are many illustrated "how to build a pc" guides on the web.

That way you know all the parts well, before they arrive. No need to spend a year wondering "what's really inside the box". If there's ever a problem you will know how to fix it. It is really Your Personal Computer. A great feeling. :):):)

..I'm looking to gather some info on having a comp built to run FSX..

I've got a spare desktop PC you can have free if you want to collect it, I live in Plymouth UK, its specs are not bad, I used to play FSX and strategy games on it fine.

Intel core2 E8600@3.33Ghz

3 Gb RAM

Nvidia Geforce 9800 GTX 512Mb

WinXP Home

It cost me £800 5 yars ago but since then I've bought a more powerful PC.

If you're interested mail me- pooroldspike(at)aol(dotcom)

I agree with the gentlemen posting above that you should get the fastest Intel processor you can get - this is where the main focus needs to be. The graphics card is actually less important than the processor - for FSX purposes. A good graphics card can't hurt, though! Get a system with 8 GB of RAM and a 64-bit OS, Windows 7 or 8 doesn't matter, and if it fits within your budget, SSDs, one for the OS, the other for FSX.

Jorgen

With an i7 , 16gb ram and a 780ti gfx card

How would this run?

What's the i7 clock speed?

Any RAM size 6-8 Gb is suitable. Over that and you are buying RAM FSX is not going to use.

Any modern card with 1+Gb RAM will work fine with FSX. The most important thing is the CPU speed. That's where your money should go as long as the other components are base line or better.

No mater how good your hardware is, if the machine is put together bad, and the OS is set up bad, bad drivers, and FSX is set up bad, it's all for nothing.

-Pv-

4770k?

Thanks

I'm looking to gather some info on having a comp built to run FSX...I have around £1500-£2000 to spend.

And make sure whoever's going to build it for you knows their onions.

For example my local Plymouth UK shop Computerbase are very good, they've been building PC's for me for 13 years.

Speaking of prices, they built my latest PC last year for £1100 and it runs FSX smooth as silk, here are its specs for the record, I simply said to them "build me a super-duper PC that can handle all high-end sims and games", and left it to them to choose all the components etc, but I did specify I wanted tried-and-tested Win 7 rather than the newer Win 8-

Case: ZAL Z3

PSU: cx600m

M/board: H87

Processor: I5 4670 3.4 Ghz

RAM: 16Gb 1600 ram

Hard drive: 240 Gb SSD

Graphics: GeForce gtx 770

Optical: DVDRW

O/S: Win 7 SP1 64-bit

PS- Before i gave them the go-ahead to build it, I got a price quote and that list of the components from them and posted it in a PC technical forum to ask their opinion (I know zilch about techy stuff) and they said it looked good, so I gave the shop the green light.

I suggest you get second opinions too before parting with your cash..;)

i7-4790K

At Newegg it's $5 cheaper than the 4770K and it is 4.0GHz(4.4GHzTurbo) bone stock.

If you have a case with very good cooling, you might be able to overclock it to 4.5GHz 24/7 on the stock cooler, with stock voltage.

The quality of the motherboard also enters into that. $150+ Z97 mobo will be pretty good.

The Haswell CPUs like fast RAM. The difference between DDR3-1600 and -2400 on my rig was 2-3FPS and much smoother. Want best performance? Don't skimp.

Save ~$100 and get a GTX 970 rather than the GTX 780Ti. The 970's performance is roughly equivalent, runs cooler, quieter, and, has less power draw.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1072?vs=1355

A small(120-128GB) SSD for Windows(and other smaller apps), and another SSD for your flight sims. Add a large mechanical drive for storage and back-up.

These guys are highly recommended and much cheaper than the big box outfits.

DESKTOP STANDARD WARRANTY: 3 Year Labour, 2 Year Parts, 1 Month Collect and Return plus Life-Time Technical Support. http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Cyberpower_Z97_I7_Configurator

This is my suggestion:

i7-4790K on an ASUS Maximus VII Ranger INTEL Z97 Mainboard

Corsair Hydro Series H100 Performance Liquid Cooling system

Corsair 750 Watts CX750 Gaming Power Supply

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB

16GB HyperX Savage DDR3-2133mhz Memory

120GB Samsung 840 EVO, and a 250 GB Samsung 850 EVO(SSDs)

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

With all of the above in a Coolermaster HAF X case it's just over £1560 inc VAT

You'll have to use their "Online Sales Chat" or, call them to add the third hard drive.

That rig will be about as good as it gets without getting into exotic cooling and heavy overclocks. Good Luck...Don

Ive sent you a private message my friend. I'd be interested in chatting to you as I'm not too far from Plymouth myself!

QUOTE=ScatterbrainKid;1904159]And make sure whoever's going to build it for you knows their onions.

For example my local Plymouth UK shop Computerbase are very good, they've been building PC's for me for 13 years.

Speaking of prices, they built my latest PC last year for £1100 and it runs FSX smooth as silk, here are its specs for the record, I simply said to them "build me a super-duper PC that can handle all high-end sims and games", and left it to them to choose all the components etc, but I did specify I wanted tried-and-tested Win 7 rather than the newer Win 8-

Case: ZAL Z3

PSU: cx600m

M/board: H87

Processor: I5 4670 3.4 Ghz

RAM: 16Gb 1600 ram

Hard drive: 240 Gb SSD

Graphics: GeForce gtx 770

Optical: DVDRW

O/S: Win 7 SP1 64-bit

PS- Before i gave them the go-ahead to build it, I got a price quote and that list of the components from them and posted it in a PC technical forum to ask their opinion (I know zilch about techy stuff) and they said it looked good, so I gave the shop the green light.

I suggest you get second opinions too before parting with your cash..;)

Okay Craig, you asked me in your PM what FPS I'm getting.

If you mean with my new super-duper £1100 PC, I leave it on 'Unlimited FPS' and it ranges from about 45 FPS over cities like New York, to more than 100 FPS over countryside and coasts.

Here are some standard FSX screenshots without any scenery or weather addons of any kind, my settings are fairly high and I use low traffic density.

You can cycle on/off the FPS readout and other info (red letters at top left of ingame screen) with presses of Shift/Z

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub2/FSX-frame4_zpsrobxrbsm.jpg~original

New York, 45 FPS seems about the average and is fine, it fluctuates continually around that number

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub2/FSX-fps45A_zpszhkuzmgk.jpg~original

Countryside- FPS fluctuates around 130 FPS

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub2/FSX-fps140B_zpsuqu9phkg.jpg~original

Coasts- Fluctuates around 100, maybe the high water detail has an effect.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub2/FSX-fps105C_zpsaaieuvvi.jpg~original

Can the experts tell me why the FPS numbers always fluctuate so much anyway?

And why do some people set their FPS limit lower than 'Unlimited'?

Incidentally in all the years I've had FS9 and FSX, I've never bothered monitoring FPS, all I know is they've played smoothly on all the PC's I've ever had, and that's good enough for me, so don't get over-obsessed with FPS..:)

fsxtteb

That's as specific and good a parts listing for FSX applications as I think I've ever seen. However, at the risk of picking the nit, I suggest the power supply would be better if a 1000watts.

I always seem to end up doing more more than I intended or adding on later and probably later again. For someone who really is just getting their feet wet, the extra headroom on the power supply is good insurance.

fsxtteb

 

That's as specific and good a parts listing for FSX applications as I think I've ever seen. However, at the risk of picking the nit, I suggest the power supply would be better if a 1000watts....

No foul! I'd have agreed 5 years ago, but the energy efficiency of the Haswell CPUs, chipsets, and the latest GPUs, has significantly dropped today's PSU requirements.

EVGA's recommended min PSU for the GTX 970 is 400w. 200w less than their GTX 580.

I've built a couple budget machines using a 600w PSU, but, that won't allow for future expansion. The rig in my sig draws ~550w maxed(Kill-A-Watt), barely stressing my PSU.

As SLI doesn't scale well with FSX, the need for dual GPU power is kinda moot...Don

I agree with Don on the PSU, no value in using an oversized unit.

I do disagree with him on the 16GB of RAM.

For a PC intended for FS only, anything over 8 is a waste. It will sit there idle.

Unless you want to have a backup handy should the first DIMM fail.

peace,

the Bean

Hey Craig, as you'll have noticed by now, people have different opinions on what computer specs we need to play FSX, so when you have one built the shop may also have their own opinions (depending what components they have in stock), so there's always some flexibility and you don't need to stick exactly to any specs, just make sure you tell the shop you want to play high-end sims and games, and leave it to them..:)

Hey techy guys, can I ask you a question?- I'm not an expert but I've always believed there were three vital specs that were more important than any other-

1- Processor strength

2- amount of RAM

3- Graphics card strength

Would you agree with that?

... just make sure you tell the shop you want to play high-end sims and games, and leave it to them..:)

 

...

 

Would you agree with that?

Not at all.

FSX is so different from other games that you need to be specific as to what you want, based on your expectations.

Every week we see post from people who do not understand why they can run other games full blast and cannot get FSX to run good.

peace,

the Bean

...I do disagree with him on the 16GB of RAM.

 

For a PC intended for FS only, anything over 8 is a waste. It will sit there idle.

I often forget that most of you guys don't do CAD rendering, or, A/V editing...Don

Spot on my friend! CRS syndrome strikes again. lol

I often forget that most of you guys don't do CAD rendering, or, A/V editing...Don

CRS,.....I used to know what that meant.........

CRS,.....I used to know what that meant.........

You have CRS syndrome like the rest of us!.....What was I saying?.........

..FSX is so different from other games that you need to be specific as to what you want, based on your expectations..

Yes that's why I'd advise PC dummies like me to tell the shop they want a PC capable of handling top-notch flight sims and games, and get a price quote and list of components they intend putting in it.

Then post the list in the FSX forum to ask the experts what they think, and if they give it the thumbs up, go ahead..:)

What do you think of these specs from the PC builders in Plymouth?

Thanks