davemead Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Hi, All. I've been out of the game, so to speak, for a little while now. I'm looking at getting a new computer for flight simming, and I have a couple questions: 1: Has anyone here ever bought one of these "custom gaming" pc's that are all over ebay? Are they worth the cost/effort? 2: I currently own FS9 and FSX (the original DVD version, not Steam). What issues will I run into if i get anything newer than windows 7? I have a lot of payware for fs9, and would love to use it still, but I feel like getting going again could tricky. I miss FS! System Specs: ASRock z170 motherboard, Core i7 Quad-Core @4.0 ghz. Geforce GTX 960 4GB graphics. 16GB Gskill Ripjaw DDR4 Ram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Robert455 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Hey Dave, in case you are interested, virtual reality is a new thing that stands to totally change flight simulation for many people. Instead of flying a monitor, you experience flight simulation as if you were actually in the cockpit with full 3D, depth perception, full tracking, and so on. But it takes a powerful system. If you are going to buy a new system anyway, you might want to at least see if VR might be something you are interested in and build accordingly. You don't have to buy everything now but just buy a system with an eye to upgrades. Check the forums at FlyInside-FSX.com for more info if you want to check it out. http://forum.flyinside-fsx.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1421#p6583 https://youtube.com/watch?v=_6zoVdRVg_A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemead Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 I don't really have a budget in mind yet. I'd rather do off the shelf, but if I have to build that's fine too. I'm out of the loop on what's what these days, and just searching all the threads here on "is this good, or is that good" just leaves me more confused. System Specs: ASRock z170 motherboard, Core i7 Quad-Core @4.0 ghz. Geforce GTX 960 4GB graphics. 16GB Gskill Ripjaw DDR4 Ram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 +1 on the build it yourself!! Everyone out there I've found who builds "Gaming Computers" thinks "Gaming Computers" need lots of CPU cores and a huge GPU. Neither of these is of considerable value with FSX or Steam. Also if you buy a pre-built unit, they often include hardware that only works with their other hardware. So, many things you might try to do yourself down the road, are out of the question. I strongly suggest you buy the fastest Intel CPU you can afford! A i7 at or above 4GHZ is the current gold standard. Don't worry about CPU core count. Almost everything decent you can find is already 4 cores or more. You really don't need even 4 cores to FS, so more than that is not an advantage. It's the designed speed of the processor that's crucial. Lot's of people overclock, but that's not something anyone seems to recommend for a first or even second computer builder! Any decent current GPU will more than handle the output of FSX, Steam, & P3D as well. So save money, buy a good mid-range GPU, that will let you buy a nicer CPU! Other needs? You really need a decent Power Supply too. I suggest a highly rated stable PSU of 500 Watts at least. If you don't have enough reserve power to keep the voltage up on the motherboard all your components will draw more amperage and high amperage draw equals high heat. Computer parts don't like high heat! I and many others have a dedicated hard drive for FS. And if it's a solid state so much the better. Paying the extra bucks for a dedicated solid state HD will save you load time before your flight. But most posters say they can't tell a difference between the two while flying. If money is an issue, buy a good 1,020 rpm mechanical hard drive rather than the solid state one. Either way, if you're going to use your computer for more than just flying, you'll probably be happier with a dedicated hard drive. GOOD LUCK!! We're looking forward to hearing how it turns out. :cool: Being an old chopper guy I usually fly low and slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRJ_simpilot Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Get the fastest CPU possible. An i7 6700 or i5 6600 will suffice. You can use pcpartpicker.com to help find parts. Read reviews of those parts. Remember to install FS in the root of C drive and not in the programs folder. OOM errors? Read this. What the squawk? An awesome weather website with oodles of Info. and options. Wile E. Coyote would be impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UPHILL3 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I recently bought a gaming PC from CyberPowerPC thru Tigerdirect for $1,400 (you can also buy directly from CyberPower - they have a good variety in all price ranges). I'm running FSX-SE and get really good FPS with very few stutters (with DX10) . My pre-built rig included Win 10, (no choice), the 6700K (not O/C), GTX 970, 16GB RAM, 800W PSU, MSI Z170A MOBO, - 128GB SSD - 2TB HD. Not all the other components are top-shelf but that would have raised the price a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemead Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 Thank you all for the advice! One more question: operating systems... I would also like to use fs9, as I have a considerable amount of money invested in add-ons. Does fs9 cope with Windows 8/10? Or is 7 still an option with newer hardware? Also, fsx vs p3d: has p3d been refined to the point of being more efficient, etc? Or should I just save my money and keep the copy of fsx I already have? System Specs: ASRock z170 motherboard, Core i7 Quad-Core @4.0 ghz. Geforce GTX 960 4GB graphics. 16GB Gskill Ripjaw DDR4 Ram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagikarpDrowned Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 P3D v3 has been refined significantly. However, I would stick with Steam Edition until Dovetail releases their new sim this winter. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemead Posted March 24, 2016 Author Share Posted March 24, 2016 Here is what I went with: Keep in mind I have some stuff I'm reusing like the case, psu and ssd 1 x ($369.99) Intel Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I76700K Desktop Processor Intel® HD Graphics 530 $369.99 J1 x ($194.99) EVGA GeForce GTX 960 04G-P4-1962-KR 4GB SC GAMING, Only 6.8 inches, Perfect for mITX Build Graphics Card $194.99 1 x ($109.99) ASRock Z170 Pro4S LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $109.99 1 x ($74.99) G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z170 Platform / Intel X99 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3000C15D-16GVRB 1 x ($28.99) Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120 mm PWM Fan System Specs: ASRock z170 motherboard, Core i7 Quad-Core @4.0 ghz. Geforce GTX 960 4GB graphics. 16GB Gskill Ripjaw DDR4 Ram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRJ_simpilot Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Keep in mind ripjaws may get in the way of the CPU cooler. OOM errors? Read this. What the squawk? An awesome weather website with oodles of Info. and options. Wile E. Coyote would be impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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