kiwis Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 So im looking to upgrade my PC mainly for a better graphic experience. outside of my graphics card what is essential for FSX to run well with good graphics. Later I'll try upload a screenshot of my current quality and specs once i know whats important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 http://www.rugbyleaguenz.com/Default.png I have a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 all display settings set to Ultra High to achieve this result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Buzz Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Hi kiwis, This can be a tricky question to answer as it will depend on the results you're expecting. This can also become a very slippery slope, unless money is no object. Also, it may help to know what hardware/software (OS) you're running now. From what I have read, and from my own experience, the first general recommendation for a hardware upgrade for FSX would be to obtain the fastest CPU possible. In general, the higher the speed = the smoother the graphics. How high of a speed is necessary? It depends on how many and what type of addons (if any) you have or want. The higher the graphic quality (read eye candy) of the addons, the higher the speed of the cpu required for enjoyable performance. If you're going to upgrade the cpu, (here goes that slippery slope) you also might consider upgrading your motherboard and ram to take full advantage of that speedy cpu. Depending on what you are upgrading from, you may not have a choice but to upgrade. In my own experience, FSX ran "OK" (as in, I could see the great graphic quality of the addons, but it would oftentimes appear "slideshow" like) with my previous hardware which was an AMD Phenom II 1035t OC'd @ 3.5gHz with 16Gb ram and AMD 6950 with 2 Gb memory vid card. For bone-stock FSX, this hardware was more than adequate. When I found that I reached the limit of my cpu's (and my) overclocking ability, and I still wasn't getting the smooth graphics performance I wanted (with all the addons I insisted I "needed"), I took the advice of the good folks here on these forums and upgraded my cpu to the fastest I could afford. This also meant that I had to upgrade my motherboard and ram. I chose the i5 over the i7 because (it was less expensive and) the consensus is that FSX doesn't take advantage of hyperthreading. Is that true? I don't know, but with the $ I saved I bought a few more addons. :D After the upgrade, I'm getting much, much better (very smooth, stutter-free) performance - also I didn't have to upgrade my graphics card (yet) with the new cpu, although I have read that Nvidia cards are preferred over AMD cards with FSX. I'm (finally) enjoying FSX and learning to fly instead of tinkering and chasing down problems. I'm also loving all that (smooooth) eye-candy! That's just my experience and 2 cents. I'm sure there are many more threads about hardware upgrades in this forum. My advice is to read all of them, do your research, ask more questions, then make a decision. I do not regret my decision one bit. Good luck! E-Buzz:pilot: i5 4690k @ 4.7gHz (Water-cooled), 8GB ram, GTX 960 2GB, 850 EVO 1 TB SSD, 50" LED TV + 2x27" monitors, Thrustmaster HOTAS, Win 8.1 Pro, P3DV4, TrackIR, EZDOK, a bunch of Orbx stuff, a chair, a hacked-up desk, and a cold drink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Step one for FSX performance is a fast CPU. The sim doesn't use hyperthreading itself, but this can be useful if you have lots of other processes running at the same time. On the other hand, HT will cause the CPU to run a little hotter, which could impact overclocking performance. Next would be a decent GPU to match the CPU, especially if one wants to get into multiple monitors or 4K resolutions. Stronger video cards also let you turn up settings such as the anti-aliasing. FSX may not be as heavily dependent on the GPU as many games, but the GPU does still matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 So I have the following NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor 3.40 HGz What would I get more bang from buck from - upgrade of CPU or graphics card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 An Intel CPU running at 4+ GHz, many overclock quite easily, will get you the biggest boost. Would require a new motherboard too though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bougiesna Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 What does everybody suggest for an AMD upgrade? Anything that compares to the i5? I'm also looking to max out capabilities and graphics and I've always been an AMD fan. I haven't upgraded since about 2012 though (maybe before that even?) so I'm out of the loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evm Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 What does everybody suggest for an AMD upgrade? Anything that compares to the i5? I'm also looking to max out capabilities and graphics and I've always been an AMD fan. I haven't upgraded since about 2012 though (maybe before that even?) so I'm out of the loop. Because Intel has left AMD behind in the high performance CPU sector. See here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerkay/2014/11/25/intel-and-amd-the-juggernaut-vs-the-squid/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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