PC suggestion for FSX / FSX STEAM

Dear community,

I need to upgrade my desktop PC for a machine capable of running FSX much better.

At the moment, I'm looking for a PC with the following specs:

Any comments/suggestion?

Btw, I also look into All-in-One PCs with 23" but I couldn't find one with decent specs to run FSX smoothly?

Intend to use some PMDG aircraft addons and some sceneries. Aim for the better graphic performance as possible without compromising the performance (frame-rates).

Thank you!

Any input?

thanks

Hi HF_ALT, this is Jarrett. I found a decent 27inch all in one: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55604

It seems to have pretty decent specs (but you should probably research it a bit more I do not have that miuch experienced with computers, I just got my first gaming computer yesterday and I did not build it)

Also another way you could go is you could build it yourself (if you now how to). One last option is if you don't know how to build your own computer you could get a company to build it for you (you will get everything you want), that is what I did at: http://www.memoryexpress.com/SystemConfig/Default.aspx

So you have 3 options: All in one, build it yourself or get someone to build it for you. I hope this helps you make your decision:D. Let us know if you have any other questions.

-Jarrett

My specs are close to this computer: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55667

Hi HF_ATL,

Welcome to the forum!

The specs you stated look good to me - it's better than my set up (self-built) and I get very good frame rates and smoothness.

The more complex the addons (Aircraft/scenery/etc.), the more they may impact performance.

If you haven't picked an Operating System (OS) yet, try to stick to Win 7 64 for FSX. I had to switch to Win 8.1 Pro, and although 8.1 works with my FSX, there are some small, but annoying, quirks that occasionally come up that I didn't experience under Win 7.

I also recommend getting the largest screen you can afford, or even better, multiple screens for a more immersive experience.

But, that discussion can be for another time. Like, after you get your new rig set up properly and FSX is running as smoothly as possible.

Good luck!

E-Buzz :pilot:

Thanks for the reply E_Cakes.

Indeed that AIO seems to be a good solution but its cost is far above my budget. I don't want to go above $1500.

I know that a high end will cost much more than this but my aim is to look for 25+fps not the best of the bests which I can't afford.

I realized that for the same specs I can get a desktop for ~half price compared with an AIO.

I have built PCs although never with some stuff like water cooling and so on, just the basics so I can go that route if the total cost will be a bit reduced.

Thanks E-Buzz for the reply and tips.

Indeed I plan to buy a PC without any O.S. installed as today seems that they all came with Windows 8 which I never liked. Moreover your experience also agrees that Win7 64 will be the best OS so I'll go certainly that way.

My currently CPU is a Intel Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz and a graphics card that can't even support directx11 (nvidia 9600GT). I'd like to have a significative boost from my current PC in FSX performance. Some addons make the FSX currently not exceeding 10fps even at mid settings...

I have a 22" monitor which is not the best I know. The other monitor I have is a 19".

It will be worth upgrading to a 27" monitor? I have never played FSX with such a big monitor.

If you have experience building PC's, I personally would go that route because you get to hand-pick your parts and it's usually less expensive.

With the new water kits that are available, it's very easy now to add water-cooling. I have a very inexpensive H55 from Corsair that was just about as easy to add to my CPU as another non-stock air-cooler. Now, I know I don't get the lower temps as the more advanced water coolers, but I have not had any heat-related issues with my CPU overclocked to 4.7 (24/7) and running FSX for hours.

Also, I find that my water-cooler is near silent, as compared to the air-coolers.

I hope this helps.

E-Buzz :pilot:

HF_ATL,

You might want to do a search about threads that discuss monitors vs TVs.

Large high resolution monitors (are still more than I can afford, but) will give you the best image quality.

To give you an example from my experience, when I went from a 20" monitor to a 27", I was amazed. After a short while, I wanted more, so I went to a 3x27" monitor set up using my vid card's Eyefinity. The immersion factor went up ridiculously, as now FSX VC's filled much more of my peripheral vision.

I have now switched to a 39" HDTV for the VC and again, for me, WOW! While it's not quite as wide as the 3 monitors side-by-side, it is much taller and the cockpit buttons/controls are now life-sized. I now use 2 of the 27" monitors to display panels/gauges.

There are arguments that since TVs don't have the resolution nor the pixel response time of monitors, the image quality is nowhere as good. While I believe this to be true, I am more than happy with how my TV displays FSX and all the other PC games I play. I don't experience (or I just can't see) the "smearing" that has been described. I am now in the process of saving for 2 more of the same type of TV I have now.

Just do your due diligence when it comes to researching specs for all your components, and keep asking your questions on forums such as these.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

E-Buzz :pilot:

Thanks again for the detailed reply.

For starting I guess that after getting the PC I'll also connect the graphics card to the TV (40" LED about 2 meters from PC location) to sense the realism and go from there.

Regarding the usage of SSDs for FSX, it will worth having a dedicated SSD to FSX or only needed for OS and FSX can be installed on a cheaper 7200rpm HDD without performance compromise?

Specs look fine, the 16gb ram is overkill though and I would consider 8gbs. You wont find any difference in performance between 16gb and 8gb of ram with FSX, so no point spending money that wont give you any benefit.

With that chipset and the 1TB HHD running 64bit OS you will also get away with running FSX on the same drive as the OS, this of course depends on what else you will be running on the drive as well, but if you wont be using any more than 40% of the HDD space it will be fine. Again spending money on a SSD just for FSX and add-ons will not see any benefit until such time as your HHD becomes over 40% full.

Darryl

Thanks for the tips Darryl.

So, according to the specs I provided, you would advise to use the 1TB HDD for all. Correct? Another possibility will be to use the 1TB HDD for FSX and of course some other software and data I have (very likely to do not exceed the 40% total storage) and use the 240GB SSD for Win7 64 only. Will be also a good approach I believe?

From what I have read (I don't currently have an SSD, but plan on getting one), the main advantage of having an SSD is faster loading times in FSX and decreased stutters (NOT the "blurries") due to faster scenery loading.

I can live with my current loading times (less than 30 seconds is about the longest I have to wait usually), so for me, an SSD is not a priority (yet).

As for the amount of RAM, Daryl737 is correct that the consensus is more than 8gb is not necessary for FSX. And if you're considering overclocking, it is usually easier to obtain a higher and stable overclock with less RAM (again, with 8gb being the minimum you should have).

But, if you're planning on doing more with your computer than FSX, more RAM doesn't hurt ;)

Since you are starting anew with building a new rig and installing FSX from scratch, you may want to do a Google search for Nick N's FSX bible (before you even build) and Kosta's FSX tips and tricks. They are both good guides on setting up and tweaking FSX. Nick N even has advice on properly setting up your hard dive for maximum efficiency.

Hope this helps and good luck!

E-Buzz :pilot: