Newbie Starting on FS

[Bayvista170]

Hi. I've read loads of articles etc. I'd like to get into FS. What do people recommend? I'm very computer experienced, but know nothing about gaming. I run Windows 10 and Linux Mint and have a small Notebook and a HP Desktop. I'm able to install hardware and software. Not looking for the greatest, just something to start with.

[mrzippy]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/314160/Microsoft_Flight_Simulator_X_Steam_Edition/

 

A good way to start! :D

[plainsman]

You say you have a HP desktop computer, but that could be an I5-2300 or an I7-10700. It would make a big difference in what I recommend. You could have a GTX 460 or a RTX 3080, again it makes a huge difference. Do you run a HDD or an M.2 for storage? it matters. Tell us more?

What type of aircraft do you want to fly? Do you see yourself in a Piper J3 Cub or a Boeing 737 or an Airbus 380 or a Fokker Triplane or maybe a F-15?

What visual experience do you want? Do you want to be able to see the world in almost lifelike reality or do you just want pretty aircraft and a sort of there world? Do you relish a great variety of aircraft or do you want to learn one aircraft well?

Keep in mind, you don't have to limit your choice to one application. I run MSFS (FS20200), FSX, FS2002, and X-Plane 11.5. Each one has something I like and want. The conventions of FS2000 to FSX are about the same, but very different in MSFS. You can't move smoothly from FSX to MSFS.

[lnuss]

Welcome to the forums.

 

Plainsman has some great questions that will help us zero in on what to recommend, but mrzippy's suggestion of Steam FSX is not bad for all around for an unknown Windows system. You might mention which OS is on the desktop and which on the notebook (I'm guessing Win on the desktop, Linux on the notebook). It might be possible to run X-Plane on Linux Mint (there's a Linux version), but the newer versions still need a fair chunk of horsepower. Another factor might be your aviation background (if any) and your expectations, as plainsman was asking.

 

Depending on your Win 10 system, FS2004 is the least demanding sim, FSX next, Prepar3d next and then MSFS (often called MSFS 2020), or maybe the last two are reversed with the latest P3D. You might also want to check out FlightGear, licensed under GPL, and available as source code, or for Free BSD, Linux (several versions) Mac, etc.: https://www.flightgear.org/ -- and nothing says you have to get only one, though I'd start with only one and get some experience first.

 

Fair warning: There are likely to be multiple opinions expressed among the answers you receive, but hopefully you can pick out relevant details, and most certainly you can get clarification by asking more questions.

[il88pp]

google the 'system requirenents' of

x-plane

fsx

and fs2020.

 

and compare those requirements to the system(s) you have.

[plainsman]

Actually the system requirement specs for MSFS (fs2020) don't really tell the story. To run the program on a 1080p monitor is not too difficult. To run the program at 4K will REQUIRE the very best CPU and GPU you can find, I9 and RTX 3080 type specs to achieve acceptable performance.

[daspinall]

Welcome to the forum, all of the above.......

[paarker84]

il88pp, yep, it can be helpful.