737-NGX / 747-400X / MD-11 X Beta testing question

[Guest darrenthe747400]

Hello PMDG developers/beta testers,I am now beginning to look into building a new system for FSX. I basically will spare no expense on my new rig. Core2Extreme, 8GB DDR2 SDRAM (or 4 depending on your answer), GeForce 8800GTS Video Card 640MB VRam (already have the card in my current rig:-). I have one question though which of course will affect the amount of RAM I will need to purchase. Are you beta testing primarily on Vista or XP? And if so which edition are you using? Are you using 32 bit or 64 bit? As you know it is pointless to have more than 4GB RAM in any 32 bit OS, but I have heard that 8GB on 64 bit systems is AWESOME. Like I said I will spare no expense. The saving has begun! I want my FS to run flawlessly and I am ready to move onto Vista provided PMDG will not be buggy on it. But if I can save the extra few hundred dollars on Vista and put it toward better hardware then I would love to do that, but if you think the coming products will run fine on Vista then I'll buy. Thanks for the info!Darren

[mburkhard 23]

Darren,Unfortunately I can't help you with your RAM/Vista question. But since your budget is quite a good one maybe you should consider a 8800GTX instead of GTS, one with 768MB Ram on it? FSX is very hungry for graphics RAM so it might just pay off.Oh and make sure you get a Quad Core CPU, people having one of those and flying with SP1 report amazing results!BTW the MD-11 is not in Beta just yet ;)Regards,Markus

[Tabs 2,790]

Darren,I'm using XP Pro and Vista 32bit. I'm not really seeing too much of a performance discrepancy now that the video drivers have matured a bit.I think 8GB of RAM is a pretty insane overkill. I'm not even coming close to fully using my 2GB right now. We'll see what happens when other addons start coming out, but I really don't think it'll get the point of needing to use 64-bit and 3+GB. I've heard lots of reports of problems using 64-bit Vista/XP anyways - there's virtually nothing out there software wise that supports it, and to see gains from it, it's sort like multi-core was, the software has to be coded for it.In general I think people are way too overzealous about how much "buzzword" things like 64-bit, DX10, etc are going to improve performance. Like virtually anything else in computers, the gains are likely to be incremental and realized slowly over time, not in some sudden magical way.

[Chris from Angle of Attack 7]

I agree with Ryan and Marcus. GTX is better than GTS, and 8GB is WAY overkill, even if you're doing heavy video editing or something like that. Currently I have 2GB Corsair XMS, Quad Core and the EVGA 8800GTX. I am VERY pleased with my max sliders and 40 FPS in FSX, let's just say that!Truth is, you can buy the biggest and baddest system out there, and I can almost guarantee you wont be satisfied. It happens every time! Regardless of what system you get, I would strongly suggest having a look into FSGS, www.fs-gs.com . They pretty much turned my old hog machine into an FS monster. PM if you want more info.

[Tabs 2,790]

Yeah, I used Michael's service back a while ago on my old machine and I was impressed with what he was able to squeeze out of the machine.On GTX vs. GTS, I'd personally actually get the GTS for the simple reason that the second generation DX10 cards will probably be out right around or before the FS DX10 patch and I can almost guarantee you they'll blow the 8800's out of the water as well as allow you to play all the cool DX10 games coming like Crysis, Alan Wake etc with everything cranked up.

[Chris from Angle of Attack 7]

I guess we'll only know when we get to that point! Noone can really say what DX10 will do. Let's hope it's as great as their imagination.

[Guest darrenthe747400]

>In general I think people are way too overzealous about how>much "buzzword" things like 64-bit, DX10, etc are going to>improve performance. Like virtually anything else in>computers, the gains are likely to be incremental and realized>slowly over time, not in some sudden magical way.I agree with everything you have just said. I have decided I will go with Vista 32 bit and 4GB RAM. See, this will actually be the first system I will have built entirely from the ground up so I am pretty excited about it and I might be getting a bit carried away. The truth of the matter is that I am not rich, I just LOVE FS so I am willing to pour all of my extra money into a good machine. That on top of the fact that I don't have any kids or anything so my money is MY money :-) The other thing is that unlike so many on this forum, I actually can see FSX's potential. With SP1 on my current rig I am getting a good 30+ FPS now with settings on Med-Hi. The other day I did a flight in a fantastic payware MD-80 (my first actual flight in FSX after owning it for 6 months) and I have to say I was truly blown away by its realism. I took off at just before sunset from SFO to LAX. The sun was maybe only 5 degrees over the horizon and as I climbed up thru 30,000 feet I could clearly see the light from the setting sun illuminating the Pacific Ocean and as I looked out east over the state you could see the land under the horizon getting dark where the light was no longer hitting it. The horizon was just barely curved as it really looks like from a cockpit at 33,000 feet. It looked so stunningly real compared to FS9 I decided I am now officially making the shift over to FSX. Naturally my FS9 is hooked up big time with all the bells and whistles, but with FSX looking decent it won't take a whole lot to blow 9 out of the water once it gets some momentum. See? I am a FS nut. Anyway, thanks for all the info.Darren

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Darren-Just make sure you get a multi-core processor. ;-)On the development team- we are seeing that the guys who have the dual core have noticably better performance than those of us with the single core.... and those with the quad core have even better performance than the dual cores....The way of the future, apparently....

[Guest D17S]

Ya'll saw this, right?Vcards are going for a triple.http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39829Merry Christmas!

[Guest Callmecapt]

Darren, very impressive system you're going to have, but still, 4GB of RAM is too much. It's like killing a mosquito with a shotgun. 2 GB is plenty of RAM. I have 2GB and am running so many external apps with FS9 and FSX, I am still hitting 30+ framerates. And that's with a rig from yesteryear. P4 3.02 HT processor. But I did upgrade my graphics card to an X1900XTX. The extra RAM will make a very negligble difference in the framerates. Use that money for something else. Goran

[Guest D17S]

Ya'll may have also heard that Intel will be cutting prices on July 22It's a magic time to be putting together a new computer. FSX (and software in general) is no longer about dual cores. . . its about MuLtiPle cores . . . and the more the better. It seems to me that waiting 'till July 22nd is a tiny price to pay for a double in CPU power (from even a dual core) for the same $$$$.That said, here's my take on a July 22nd system.$250 for the Q6600. Go NoW. The Penryn refresh will be no huge improvement. Also, just get the Q6600's OEM version because:$50 for a Tuniq or the top Thermalright CPU cooler. You are going to O/C that 2.4ghz Q6600 to at least a $1000 bucks worth of beyond-anything-that-Intel-even-makes.$200 (or a bit less) for the Intel P35 based Mobo of your choice.$100 (or a lot less) for 2 gig-O-ram.$150 (not a nickel less!) for a solid, 600+ watt PS$300 Hard drives - four (raid 0'ed) 160s at $50 each and one (backup) 500 at $100. (Aren't you tired of waiting on flights to load?)$150 on a decent Nvidia 7XXX Vcard. What?! You'll be A-OK for those long 60 days . . . because the Nvidia 9800 is due out in Q3 for Christmas. This claims to be a triple in V-horespower. FSX is mostly about CPU horse power anyway. A 79XX will drive a 19"er or two just fine for a couple of months. We're at $1200 now. Hummm, can we spend a bit more? You bet. How about monitors?What are the choices? Those fancy 24 inch monitors are $600. A Triple head to go setup will cost three 19"-ers + the THTG unit. That's $700-800. How about this? Initially buy two, $120, 19"ers and run a dual monitor setup off the 7XXX until October. In October, get your 9800XYZ. Now, are you ready? Go for a 1080p, 37" or 42 inch monitor. The Westinghouse 37" 1080p can be had for 8-$900 and the 42" for about $1000. When released, buy the 9800. Install it in the primary PCIe slot and move the 7XXX to the secondary slot. Leave the 19"ers plugged into the pooch and plug your new 37-42"er into your new big-dawg. Set your resolution to 1920 x 1080 (aka, 1080p) and zingo.Now set up a corner desk arrangement, put the 2-3, 19"-ers on the right leg and the 37" - 42" diagonally across the corner. Kick back and enjoy your setup. TV, hi-def movie or a long FSX flight going on the big screen . . . and oh, those pesky emails on the 19s. It's a magic time.

[Tabs 2,790]

^||Pretty much exactly what I'm gonna do in a couple months.