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Graphics Card Upgrade?


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Hello everyone,

first of all I would like to apologize in advance if I am posting this in the wrong section...

 

I have been playing FSX Steam Edition for about 3 years now and even though I have developed a very high level of aviation knowledge, I still struggle to understand how computer performance/hardware works.

 

I am getting a bit annoyed of getting bad FPS when playing FSX, and after asking people how many FPS they get, I feel like I could be getting much better performance. I've asked a range of people about what I should do to get better FPS, and the common answer that I get is "buy a graphics card!"

 

Right now, when I fly the PMDG 737 in Australia (between Sydney and Melbourne for example), I'm getting about 10-14 FPS on the ground and about 13-18 FPS in the air. I don't use any add-on scenery for Sydney apart from an AFCAD scenery update. I use ActiveSky Next for weather.

Here are a few scenarios:

 

-Aerosoft A320 on the ground taxiing in Sydney, using an almost-default scenery, activesky next, partly cloudy, no rain, during daytime, from the cockpit view: 9-13 FPS

 

-Majestic Q400 on the ground taxiing in Sydney, using an almost-default scenery, activesky next, partly cloudy, no rain, during daytime, from the cockpit view: 13-17 FPS

 

-Qualitywings 787 on the ground taxiing in Sydney, using an almost-default scenery, activesky next, partly cloudy, no rain, during daytime, from the cockpit view: 7-11 FPS (*yes, you read that right!*)

 

My current display settings for FSX Steam are:

 

Level of detail radius: Large

Mesh complexity: 75

Mesh resolution: 38m

Texture resolution: 1m

Water effects: Max 2.x

Scenery complexity: Very dense

Autogen density: Sparse

 

I've tried playing around with those settings, but I really don't get any big difference in FPS.

 

So I was wondering, what graphics card should I buy for the best FPS/price ?

I'm ready to spend up to $900 AUD ($657 USD)

 

I would like something that would allow me to run the PMDG 737, 777, Aerosoft A320, Majestic Q400, and Qualitywings 787, as well as complex payware sceneries like Flytampa Sydney, any ORBX scenery such as Melbourne, Brisbane and Gold Coast, and still be able to get good FPS, e.g 20-25 FPS.

 

My PC specs are:

 

AMD A10-7800 Radeon R7, 12 Compute Cores 4C + 8G, 3500 Mhz (3.5Ghz) , 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)

16 GB RAM

GPU: AMD Radeon R7 340

Drives: C drive (783 GB free of 931 GB) and D drive (empty)

 

IDK if that makes a difference, but the brand of my PC is Acer, and I am running WINDOWS 10

 

NOTE - I also have 2 BenQ monitors, but keep in mind that I ONLY use 1 monitor for FSX. I only use the other one for flight planning, PDF charts, maps etc...

 

 

Kind regards,

Nicolas

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The problem is your weak processor. Not the graphics card. Fsx needs a fast quad core processor.

Amd calls yours a quad core. But though it has only 2 physical cores. Each runs as two virtual cores. (Similar to some intel i3 processors.).

 

Have a look at yours compared with these better intel quad cores. Getting one of these Intel i7's or i5's will require getting a new mainboard as well, but it sure would get your framerate up.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+A10-7800+APU&id=2262

 

a direct comparison. Look at single thread performance, that's what fsx likes. http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/460/AMD_A10-Series_A10-7800_vs_Intel_Core_i7_i7-4790K.html

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
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In FSX and FS9, CPU matters, not the GPU like it would in Call Of Duty or Red Dead Redemption, GTA, etc. FS is a CPU orientated game and to make matters worse only single threaded. Also, you are using planes that are not very FPS friendly for the most part. But a better CPU could help. Clamp your FPS to 25/30 and in your graphics card settings set the maximum pre-rendered frames to 2.

 

Look here and find a CPU that is withen your budget with the highest rank. https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

 

You'll quickly see Intel beats AMD in the single thread department.

 

So to summarize. You'll need a new computer build unfortunately.

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  • 2 weeks later...
In FSX and FS9, CPU matters, not the GPU like it would in Call Of Duty or Red Dead Redemption, GTA, etc. FS is a CPU orientated game and to make matters worse only single threaded. Also, you are using planes that are not very FPS friendly for the most part. But a better CPU could help. Clamp your FPS to 25/30 and in your graphics card settings set the maximum pre-rendered frames to 2.

 

Look here and find a CPU that is withen your budget with the highest rank. https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

 

You'll quickly see Intel beats AMD in the single thread department.

 

So to summarize. You'll need a new computer build unfortunately.

 

 

Thanks for your replies!

My dad recently bought a new PC and it is a Intel i7 7700, 3.6GHz, with a default- Intel HD Graphics 630... Would FSX run better on that? And is so, would it be possible to put his system in mine and still be able to use the same PC ? Or would I have to swap computers with him?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Thanks for your replies!

My dad recently bought a new PC and it is a Intel i7 7700, 3.6GHz, with a default- Intel HD Graphics 630... Would FSX run better on that? And is so, would it be possible to put his system in mine and still be able to use the same PC ? Or would I have to swap computers with him?

 

No, because NOW the limitation is the Intel HD Graphics 630. YOU need a GPU that matches to the level of the CPU and that Intel ain't it.

 

You still will need a new computer build. Preferably with matched parts.

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