Buying for bf -help!

So happy you're reading this, in dire need of help..

 

My poor boyfriend has to play flight sim on his phone because our laptop is old. So for Christmas I want to buy him his own new laptop or "all-in-one" computer.

 

I want him to have the best experience with FSX so want to make sure I am getting something with the proper processor and CPU. I will be giving a joystick/throttle combo and FSX -Steam Edition with the hardware, and ideally it would have enough USB ports so he could eventually get pedals etc. Could you please take a look at the specs of each and compare? My budget for the hardware is $600-900 but the less money I need to spend the better.

 

HP PAVILION 23-Q129A0i ALL-IN-ONE $900 and a nice big screen!!

# of USB Ports Rear: 4 USB 2.0; Bottom: 2 USB 3.0

Cache 2MB L2 Cache

Dimensions 17.74 in x 22.35 in x 7.60 in

Hard Drive Speed 7200RPM

HDMI Port Yes

Media Card Reader 3-in-1

Memory Expandable to 16GB

Memory Type_ DDR3L

Network Card 10/100/1000 Base-T Network

Other Ports HDMI, Headphone/Microphone Combo

Video Graphics AMD Radeon R5 Graphics

Wireless Network Card 802.11a/b/g/n/ac

Processor AMD

RAM (Memory) 8

Hard Drive Size (GB) 2000

Operating System Windows 10

 

OR

 

ASUS X555UF-SH51-CB LAPTOP $700 screen is much smaller but bigger than his phone..lol

# of USB Ports 1x USB 2.0; 2x USB 3.0

Cache 3 MB

Battery Type 37WHrs, 2S1P, 2-cell Li-ion Polymer Battery Pack

Blu Ray Drive No

Bluetooth Enabled_ Bluetooth 4.0

Dimensions 15.0" x 10.1" x 1.0"

Hard Drive Speed 5400RPM

HDMI Port Yes

Media Card Reader SD

Memory Expandable to 8GB

Optical Drive DL DVD+/-RW/CD-RW

Other Ports 1x Headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack; 1x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert; 1x VGA Port (D-Sub); 1x HDMI

Screen Type HD

Video Graphics NVIDIA GT930M 2GB DDR3

Weight 5.1 lbs

Wireless Network Card 802.11BGN

Hard Drive Size (GB) 1000

SSD Size (GB) 0

RAM (Memory) 8

Processor Intel Core i5

Operating System Windows 10

Screen Size (inches) 15.6

 

I'd personally prefer the all-in-one cause it would look great in the house, and has a larger screen, but seriously -which is better? Or suggestions for something else within my budget?

 

JOYSTICK/THROTTLE

Looking at the Saitek X52 Flight Control System -any reviews or suggestions??

 

FSX -STEAM EDITION

Thought this would be fun so he could play online too. What do you think is the best to start out with?

 

THANK YOU!!

He's going to be so happy Christmas morning, will refer him to this site once he's set up!!

Do you have some links to these pc's please. So we could read the specifications ourselves.

(I couldn't find that one on the HP site, and found only an ad for the ASUS 2nd hand.)

 

The most important factor is the speed of the processor, and you didn't mention that for either one. For example, there are a lot of different i5's (is a type of Intel brand processor.) and AMD's (AMD is a brand).

The faster the cpu is, the better.

(AMD speed is not directly comparable to Intel speed. Intel lower speeds more then match up to much higher indicated speeds of AMD.)

 

I understand the 600-900 has to include a screen, right?

 

Also, what general location are you in. Prices are very different from one country to the other.

 

Good present Santa! That will buy you a lot of love:):):).

Do you have some links to these pc's please. So we could read the specifications ourselves.

(I couldn't find that one on the HP site, and found only an ad for the ASUS 2nd hand.)

 

The most important factor is the speed of the processor, and you didn't mention that for either one. For example, there are a lot of different i5's (is a type of Intel brand processor.) and AMD's (AMD is a brand).

The faster the cpu is, the better.

(AMD speed is not directly comparable to Intel speed. Intel lower speeds more then match up to much higher indicated speeds of AMD.)

 

I understand the 600-900 has to include a screen, right?

 

Also, what general location are you in. Prices are very different from one country to the other.

 

Good present Santa! That will buy you a lot of love:):):).

 

Hi! I have included the links below this msg! Thanks for the info, this is really not my forte lol. We live in the Northwest Territories of Canada. So things are a bit more expensive here, but from what I saw at our Staples store and online ,prices were comfortable. That is the only store I can buy from here, but can purchase online and have it shipped there. The 600-900 budget does have to include a screen yup!

 

He really does deserve this gift, and I am learning much about what he loves so it's a win win :)

HP PAVILION

http://www.staples.ca/en/HP-Pavilion-23-q129-AiO-2-20GHz-AMD-Quad-Core-A8-7410-Accelerated-8GB-DDR3L-SDRAM-2TB-HDD-Windows-10-Bilingual/product_1908497_2-CA_1_20001

 

ASUS

http://www.staples.ca/en/Asus-X555UF-SH51-CB-Notebook-15-6-Intel-Core-i5-6200U-8GB-RAM-1TB-Windows-10-Bilingual/product_1914002_2-CA_1_20001

I am no expert but FSX seems to run better with Intel cpu's & nvidia graphic cards, also I don't think it would be a good idea to get a laptop as there could be overheating problems when running FSX for long periods, so I would recommend a pc with good cpu cooling & with an Intel i5 would be a good middle of the road choice, but what FSX really likes is cpu speed the more ghz's the better. If you do have a computer store near you I would pop in & have a chat with someone & explain that you need a pc with high speed Intel cpu either an i5 or even an i7 if the price right.

Both you chose were not very fast processors. A bit to slow for fsx.

 

There are also some issues with fsx and windows 10.

(but, not everyone agrees on that. Some issues can be solved by installing a fix. This is a payware program, called "Steve's DX10 fixer". I don't know how

 

much that costs exactly, I think it's about 35 dollar. It's a downloadable program.)

 

 

 

http://www.staples.ca/en/Dell-Refurbished-Optiplex-7020-Desktop-Intel-Core-i5-4590-3-3GHZ-4th-GEN-8GB-RAM-500GB-HDD-DVDROM-Win-8-Pro-

 

Bilingual/product_1939858_2-CA_1_20001

 

http://www.staples.ca/en/ASUS-M32AD-CA001Q-Desktop-3-2GHz-Intel-i5-4460-8GB-RAM-1TB-HDD-Windows-7-Pro-Bilingual/product_1566934_2-

 

CA_1_20001

 

I looked through that site. and found those two.

Those are computers that would be much better with fsx.

They have:

*3.3 or 3.1 ghz processor respectively, anything above 3.0 is adequate.

*8Gb ram, and a -64 but operating system (windows7 / windows8).

(A -64 bit system is needed to make use of more then 4 Gb Ram memory, and that really helps with FSX.)

*That second one has a 1000Gb hard disk. Very nice. That space wil last you a while. Depends on your needs.

The first one has 500Gb harddisk. You could probably add another harddisk later easily.

 

That should run fsx very nicely.

 

One issue is the operating system. Windows7 or Windows8.

Windows7 updates will come out untill 2020. After that the OS is no longer improved with updates by Microsoft.

(When this happened to Windows XP, the sequrity updates ended, but if you did a fresh install of XP, you would get all the old updates just fine. Not sure

 

if you get them if you install XP now.)

 

I would concider the Windows7 days are over after 14 jan 2020. But that is still a few years away.

 

Windows8 has a slightly longer life, until 10 jan 2023.

 

-------

Back to the PC's I listed.

Both have 8GB Ram -- needed -- good.

Both have a processor that starts with a 4 -- last generation -- good.

Both processors are a high speed -- good. (don't go lower then 3.0).

These are pretty good, concidering the fastest one in this line is 3.5 Ghz. (Well, there is one that is 4.0 Ghz, but that is pretty special)

Both have a bilingual OS.

 

Prices are almost the same.

So then the choice is -- Smaller 500Gb Harddisk, but you get Windows8 and a slightly faster processor.

Or otherwise ----------- Larger 1000Gb Harddisk, but Windows7 and a slightly slower processor.

 

I would probably choose the faster one with Win8.

But, a warning here, I looked for the highest spec within your budget.

In case I went a little over budget.....

I'm a little spoiled with FSX.

My computer:

Self built desktop PC, (I built it in jan 2013.)

i5-3570k processor - 3.4 Ghz,

8Gb Ram,

Windows7 - 64bit

1000Gb harddisk.

To be honest, the PC I had before that was a lot slower. Maybe comparable to a i5 with a speed of 2.7 Ghz.

Fsx wasn't as wonderfull looking as it is with my current PC, but, I did have a lot of fun with it nonetheless.

Also, I myself am holding off a bit on the whole Windows10 thing. Win10 was launched this year. So not much is known about it and it is not (yet) a tried

 

and tested operating system. Win 7 (and also win8) have proved excellent, and have withstood the times. Both 7 and 8 are proven to run FSX very well.

But, I'm not really the one to judge. You may be fine with Win10.

Read up on it.

(Usefull when searching: all new computers now are sold with Win10. So if you want to avoid that, you need to look at refurbished.)

 

-----------------------

Then add to that a monitor :

http://www.staples.ca/en/HP-Compaq-Refurbished-22-Wide-Screen-TFT-Display-1680-x-1050/product_1939937_2-CA_1_20001

 

Just under 100 dollar,

22 inch, widescreen.

(Just one of many.)

 

 

 

Computer list I started from was

I clicked on this page on "Computers"

http://www.staples.ca/en/Desktop-Computers-Accessories/cat_SC5613_2-CA_1_20001

 

Which led me to this page:

http://www.staples.ca/en/Desktop-Computers/cat_CL200590_2-CA_1_20001?pagenum=4&sby=2

 

 

 

Monitor list I started from:

http://www.staples.ca/en/Monitors/cat_CL200493_2-CA_1_20001?sby=1

 

 

 

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There is one big issue left... VIDEOCARD.

 

Neither one has a vidocard.

In these lists and shops in general 'desktop computers' don't have a videocard. The 'gaming' computers do.

A videocard is a pre for a game, and also for fsx.

But is is not essential. You will see these compuers have "HD 4600" graphics.

HD4600 is a videochip that is a part of the intel processor.

It means the computer has a connector on the back, and you ca hook up a screen right away.

I don't know the specifics of the HD4600. But I think it will be good enoug to play fsx on.

 

To improve the graphics even more, you could always invest in a slightly better card later.

I could not find it anywhere in the spec's on those pages, but I'm pretty sure these computers will have a spot to install a videocard in.

(I never saw one that did not have the option to install an additional card, bt hey, you never know.)

 

Anyway, I think the HD4600 will suit you just fine, at least for a while.

 

I did also have a look in the list of "Gaming" computers. Those were all above your budget except for one:

http://www.staples.ca/en/CyberPowerPC-Gamer-Ultra-GUA510-Gaming-Computer-3-8GHz-AMD-FX-4300-8GB-1TB-HDD-AMD-Radeon-R5-230-1GB-

 

English/product_1798613_2-CA_1_20001

 

Amd processor. (3.8 ghz seems Ok, but speed not directly comparable to intel. The Intel 3.2 Ghz may be better. I can't say. I don't know much abot AMD

 

processors.)

Windows10.

apart from that no issues:

-8Gb Ram,

-1000Gb large harddisk, 7200-rpm is good (fast harddisk)

-mouse and keyboard included.

 

 

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Just some ideas there, it's really hard to say: "Just get That one over there."

I wouldn't be at all surprised if you eventually choose something completely different.:)

Hope the info helps when looking for something nice.

 

Oh, one last note, these "prebuilts" are sometimes a little difficult to make upgrades to.

Always:

-Very difficult if not impossible to add Ram memory, so get one with 8Gb already.

Sometimes:

-Number of extra harddisks you can attach limited, or zero(!) sometimes one HD and one DVD writer is all you can attach in total. Often though two more

 

disks can be attached.

-Sometimes little room inside to work, hard to add a videocard, etc.

Not a big issue:

-Installed power supply unit has few left over connectors. Sometimes you need an extra power connector inside, for installing a videocard, or when

 

installing an extra internal harddisk. (If so you could alwas replace the power supply at the same time.)

 

-And, it's hard for me to say anything for sure about Win10. I don't use it. I have Win10 and will stick with it for a while. I did not use the free upgrade

 

Win7 users were offered. -- There are quite a few threads of people reporting problems with Win10, and very few of those resulting in solutions. So I stay

 

away from it for now. -- I suggest you read some of the threads about it to get an impression.

 

Ok, I'll stop now. :) lots to think about. ;)