Comments wanted on new PC Spec

Hi, In need of a new PC to run my FSX plus addons (Airports mainly)

 

Looking at a few second hand and refurbished on the net.

 

Any thought on the ones below

 

1. Acer, Windows 10, Intel® Core™ i5-6400 Processor, Memory: 12 GB, Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 730, Hard drive: 3 TB £350

 

2. Lenovo IdeaCentre 300S-11ISH Desktop i3-6100 3.70GHz 8GB 1TB Win 10 Home LT4

 

3. Lenovo Erazer X310 PC, 4th gen Intel® Core® i7 - 4790 (3.6 GHz 4 - core) AMD® Radeon™ R9 255 2G, 16GB DDR3 (4 x DIMM), 1TB HDD windows 10. Price £400.

 

I dont use my PC for any other games, but i do understand that the Processor is the main thing for running FSX.

 

 

At the moment i am running a upgraded XPS420 with a intel E6850 3.00Ghz with 4 GB and the PC has slowed down quite a lot since i first bought it many years ago.

 

Any thoughts would be great.

I'd get the third one. Fastest CPU (processor) by far.

 

I'd like a NVidia card instead personally. I'm used to those.

But others say an AMD card works just as well.

 

I'd personally look at a 4790k (k--can be overclocked)

But that would be hard to find pre-built, and probably be a lot more expensive.

 

I think your option 3 is a great budget choice.

I agree, option 3 seems to be the best one. Try and see if you can get a reasonable nVidia card in it for a reasonably modest price increase maybe.

 

Also, see if you can get a second HDD, about 300 GB or so, then put Windows on that so you have the whole 1 TB drive for FSX.

 

Jorgen

Thank you both for your thoughts, Yes i think option 3 is the better choice, I have put a £400 price on it, But its in a Auction and its going to bought as seen.

 

regards Budget, £400 is my limit for second hand.

I agree with Jorgen. An 256 Gb SSD (or larger) for the Windows and maybe FSX would be a big improvement.

But that made me wonder, would it fit in there.

 

To find out:

lenovo eraser "310"

look that up in google. (with the quotes). Then clik on Images.

 

I found a few Images of the mainboard.

This one for example:

http://www.ascendtech.us/mmImages/b_0/5B20G00892-03.jpg

on this page:

http://www.ascendtech.us/lenovo-erazer-x310-s115x-motherboard_i_mb5lgab20g00892.aspx#

 

The 4 red connectors you see (lower left of image) are Sata connectors. No idea if Sata, Sata2, or Sata3.

It should make it possible to connect 4 drives.

 

But....

 

I found also this Image of the interior.

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY4WDEwMjQ=/z/FxkAAOSwOVpXW-OY/$_86.JPG

on this page:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/desktop-workstation-pcs/lenovo-erazer-x310-motherboard-plus-lenovo-erazer-x310-gaming-tower-desktop-case/1173490656

 

I don't know what those blue things are. It may be possible to install an extra harddisk (SSD) in there.

But they could be something completely different.

If they are not Harddrive cages, then installing an extra HD (SSD) could be impossible in that computer case.

(You could always try installing the parts in a different pc case if you have an old one laying around.).

 

Look into that. Knowing what you caninstall extra in the PC is a good iddea before purchase.

In general you can't add much to prebuilt pc's.

Aha, They Are drive cages! Gives room for two more harddrives.

Image:

http://thumbs2.picclick.com/d/l400/pict/331928720581_/Lenovo-Ideacentre-K450E-PC-HDD-Hard-Drive-Caddy.jpg

From page:

http://picclick.co.uk/Lenovo-ERAZER-X315-PC-HDD-Hard-Drive-Caddy-282123405860.html

I did think about using my Dell xps 420 and renewing all the parts from the motherboard upwards, But i might be able to earn a few ££££s if i decide to sell it.

 

My plan is to install all the FSX from Disc and the addons via install rather that transfering the files over to a new PC,

Forget about all of that "gaming" stuff! The native clock speed of an Intel CPU is the controlling issue for good FSX or SE performance! FSX was written by a company that expected us to have 10GHZ or more single core processor speeds by now. They never even thought about multiple core processors.

 

They also worked exclusively with Intel to produce FSX. So the fastest native clock speed Intel processor you can find is always the magic solution!

 

Fancy GPUS with lots of GPU Ram, Multiple core Processors, over at the most 8gig, most likely 4gig of ram, are all a total waste of your money for FSX or even Steam applications!

 

"Gaming Computers" are a total P.O.S. for FSX, Steam and to a very slightly lesser extent P3D applications. Buy Intel processor speed or keep what you have! ;)

What processor is in your old pc?

Intel E6850 3.00 ghz which was but now just getting 4 fps

Can you recommend anything Rupert, I agree , it's not a gaming machine that I need, but I need a lot faster processor

I don't understand what rupert is saying in regards to these pc's.

Gaming pc is not what you need for fsx, that's true. Most gaming pc's have a very slow cpu (2.6 ghz or less) and a very expensive over the top videocard. Good enough for modern games, but for fsx you need it to be the other way around. Great cpu, videocard not so important.

But that said, you third choice is exactly that. Great cpu, fastest available, just can't be overclocked, but that's ok. It's not what I would call a "gaming pc" that one.

Fsx likes nvidea cards, but videocards can be replaced. And many people get fine results with AMD cards too.

Looking at that I think 400 is a good price too. You would probably spend more if you had to buy the parts new and build it.

(a new self built is cheaper then a new prebuilt, but this beats both.).

 

A quad core definitely is usefull for fsx. The program runs on one core, the others are used too, for texture loading.

And 8 gb ram is recommended. 4 for fsx, the rest for windows and background progr. 16gb is not way over the top.

 

On paper at least pc no.3 looks a very good choice. I'd just add a 256gb SSD to put windows and fsx on personally.

 

You're right. Fsx will need to be installed. (installer). Only copying files is not going to do it.

Payware addons need reinstalling too. Freeware can often be copied over.

Just found out that the Lenovo Erazer X310 PC, 4th gen Intel® Core® i7 - 4790 (3.6 GHz 4 - core) AMD® Radeon™ R9 255 2G, 16GB DDR3 (4 x DIMM), 1TB HDD windows 10. as been withdrawn from the Auction site, I have seen others for £450 but with a Intel Core i5 4th Gen. Processor Speed: 3.20GHz

Regards the option 3, the seller has informed me that the PC has developed a fault and he is unable to sell it, So I have Just found a Refurbished Lenovo for sale at £450. (Lenovo Erazer X310 Gaming PC)

 

The spec is

 

Processor Type: Intel Core i5 4th Gen. Processor Speed: 3.20GHz

 

Graphics Processor: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 750Ti with 2GB DDR5 VRAM

 

16 GB Memory

 

Plus point, Its a Nvidia car, Minus point, The processor is not as good. Any thoughts?

What's the specific processor code? The x50 cards are about as low as you can go in the Nvidia lineup.

 

Cheers!

Just a update, Just bought a Lenovo X310 for £475 but has the better Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti Graphics Card

 

Lenovo Erazer X310 PC, 4th gen Intel® Core® i7 - 4790 (3.6 GHz 4 - core) Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti Graphics Card, 16GB DDR3 (4 x DIMM), 2TB HDD windows 8. its 11 months old and still in warranty that i plan on extending. Hope to have it running next week. Just hope i never see Run of of virtual memory again when i am coming in to land after a 7 hour flight.

Just hope i never see Run of of virtual memory again when i am coming in to land after a 7 hour flight.

 

Did you buy lots of extra virtual memory cards for this computer? Probably a good idea to read through this explanation of Virtual vs Physical memory.

 

http://support.precisionmanuals.com/kb/a108/vas-management-stopping-out-of-memory-oom-errors.aspx

Did you buy lots of extra virtual memory cards for this computer? Probably a good idea to read through this explanation of Virtual vs Physical memory.

 

http://support.precisionmanuals.com/kb/a108/vas-management-stopping-out-of-memory-oom-errors.aspx

 

Will see what happens, Might do saves still in order to avoid the PC from crashing.

Not due to get the new PC till Wednesday, but should be a lot smoother with installing everything from fresh. thank you for the link, Its something that i was not aware off

FSUIPC with a paid licence has an option to warn you if VAS (virtual memory) is almost full.

You hear a -bing- sound when it happens.

Paid FSUIPC can also do a lot more then that. Set up controllers. A separate profile for each aircraft.

FSUIPC with a paid licence has an option to warn you if VAS (virtual memory) is almost full.

You hear a -bing- sound when it happens.

Paid FSUIPC can also do a lot more then that. Set up controllers. A separate profile for each aircraft.

 

I i have FSUIPC, I was always getting the bing when i was at large airports, I am not sure on how to use it, its got a few settings on the options and settings, I think i must have bought it a few years ago, Just hope i can transfer it to the new PC.

A 3.2GHz processor vs the 3.0 that you have is not a large difference if you intend to use the same settings which resulted in the 4 frames on your current machine.

 

-Pv-

pvarn,

Maybe you misread. The 4790 quad core is a definete step up from the E6850 3.0 ghz dual core he had before.

comparison:

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/526/Intel_Core_2_Duo_E6850_vs_Intel_Core_i7_i7-4790.html

 

(But, you are right, settings still matter.)