"Whats the min Hardware/software Spec for Flight sim now..."

[gosta 0]

Post moved from pinned thread. Username: chartphred G'day,I've no idea if this is the right forum for this posting but thought it might be.Being a fairly dedicated flight simmer for many years I am at the stage now where I need to upgrade my PC. I'm planning on doing it sometime in the next year. I was just wondering what the minimum hardware specs (and software) that I should be considering.I really wish actually that we could run FS6 on a Linux box. Would make life a lot cheaper (micro$oft charge so much now for thier stuff).Should I go for a PIV or an AMD chip. Whats the difference in performance between the two. The PIV is more expensive here in Australia. But is it worth the cost and does anyone have any firm proof that running Intel is truly beneficial?What is the best motherboard, chip, ram and graphics combination to run? I'm interested in anyone elses viewpoint on one M/b or Graphics card over another. I realise that this is a very subjective question but it would be interesting to see what other people around the world use.Should I hold on for another year to an old AMD 1Gb athlon system and try running the new version of Flight sim on it (with very much reduced features able to be utilised) or upgrade earlier.Any advice gratefully recievedCheers,David.phred@iinet.net.au

[Guest sj3]

David, I'm not sure of your budget here, but I'll give it a go. These are only my opinions... I would rather have Intel than AMD but that's just me. There are fans of both and I'm sure the AMD fans will tell you that you can have at least as good performance for less money. So, that's a P4 and as fast as you can afford. Right now, it's 3.2 Ghz but that's going up just tad before the end of the year. For motherboard, Asus is a good company but there are others. Make sure you get a motherboard with Intel's 875P chipset and a motherboard that supports Hyperthreading and dual-channel RAM usage. The other variables in MoBo's include on-board Ethernet, on-board audio and on-board IEEE 1394. Also the number of usb 2.0 ports is a MoBo variable. I just got a new pc and it's using an Intel motherboard. For memory (important choice) make very sure you get two of the exact same chips from the same manufacturer (for dual-channel usage). I'd recommend 2 512Mb chips with low cas latency (2.0 is pretty good; mine is 3 but I would like to upgrade to a faster chip soon). It's DDR400 or PC3200 spec. There are faster chips out there (up to PC4000) but the specs don't go above pc3200 right now, I don't think. Cas latency is usually marked as "CL n" where 'n' is 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 or 3. I'd look for CL1.5 or CL 2.0. For the hard drive, make sure you get something that's at least 7200 RPM SATA and has an 8Mb cache. Graphics, I'm a big propenent of the ATI 9800 Pro. Most people think the 128Mb version is enough but I got the 256Mb one. For sound, Creative Lab's Audigy 2 is enough although there are some souped-up versions of this card if you're a home-theater fan, they might be worth it (Audigy 2 Platinum EX, etc.).I personally think that the fancy cases provided by VoodooPC and Alienware, among others are a gigantic ripoff. Here in the states, a PC spec'ed out like the above with the 3.2Ghz P4 should run in the low to mid-$2k range.Good luck and let me/us know if you have further questions. Expect your new baby to be out-dated within about 3 months (more like 3 days!!) but that's just a fact of life here!sj

[Guest]

G'day SJ,Thank you for what I consider to be a pretty comprehensive answer to my questions. :) :) Essentially you confirmed all my suspicions about just what it is I can't afford :) I think I'll need to cut back in several areas. The one thing I think I will spend up big on is the processor. I do already have an older 1gb Athlon chip on an equally older Motherboard. I've not had too bad a performance from that chip to be honest over the 4 years I've had it. To go for a cheaper Athlon chip would not be a disaster, but I've heard little snippets of conversation over the years to the effect that the Intel chips perform better in certain functions and have a bit more 'quality' built in overall. How true that is I've no idea but the temptation for me is there to go Intel.To have 1Gig of Ram would be fantastic in a Flight sim machine. :-jumpy:-jumpy Hope I can afford that! I've not seen much discussion on the effects that PC2700 or 3200 series RAM has upon a Flight sims (or even the Operating systems) overall. It would be nice to get an unbiased expert opinion on that.I suspect that by the time I come to afford a new PC that the most I'll be able to afford is a 2.6ghz chip. I hope FS2004 works on that ok?I already have a Leadtek A340 128mb video card on my current Athlon machine, but not sure if it will be enough for FS2004 either... It was AUS$170 here, and was as much as I could afford at the time. I doubt I'll afford much more than that in the future. I've heard the Radeon chipset is good. But out of my league in the affordability stakes.A good spec'd out PC in Australia will cost about $2500. I can only afford about a max of $1500 to upgrade my PC and thats keeping my 10 year old 17" monitor! Sadly.Thanks for the help. Appreciate it.Cheers,David>David, I'm not sure of your budget here, but I'll give it a>go. These are only my opinions... I would rather have Intel>than AMD but that's just me. There are fans of both and I'm>sure the AMD fans will tell you that you can have at least as>good performance for less money. So, that's a P4 and as fast>as you can afford. Right now, it's 3.2 Ghz but that's going>up just tad before the end of the year. For motherboard, Asus>is a good company but there are others. Make sure you get a>motherboard with Intel's 875P chipset and a motherboard that>supports Hyperthreading and dual-channel RAM usage. The other>variables in MoBo's include on-board Ethernet, on-board audio>and on-board IEEE 1394. Also the number of usb 2.0 ports is a>MoBo variable. I just got a new pc and it's using an Intel>motherboard. For memory (important choice) make very sure you>get two of the exact same chips from the same manufacturer>(for dual-channel usage). I'd recommend 2 512Mb chips with>low cas latency (2.0 is pretty good; mine is 3 but I would>like to upgrade to a faster chip soon). It's DDR400 or PC3200>spec. There are faster chips out there (up to PC4000) but the>specs don't go above pc3200 right now, I don't think. Cas>latency is usually marked as "CL n" where 'n' is 1.5, 2.0, 2.5>or 3. I'd look for CL1.5 or CL 2.0. For the hard drive, make>sure you get something that's at least 7200 RPM SATA and has>an 8Mb cache. Graphics, I'm a big propenent of the ATI 9800>Pro. Most people think the 128Mb version is enough but I got>the 256Mb one. For sound, Creative Lab's Audigy 2 is enough>although there are some souped-up versions of this card if>you're a home-theater fan, they might be worth it (Audigy 2>Platinum EX, etc.).>>I personally think that the fancy cases provided by VoodooPC>and Alienware, among others are a gigantic ripoff. Here in>the states, a PC spec'ed out like the above with the 3.2Ghz P4>should run in the low to mid-$2k range.>>Good luck and let me/us know if you have further questions. >Expect your new baby to be out-dated within about 3 months>(more like 3 days!!) but that's just a fact of life here!>>sj>