need help with new pc.

[9Y-POS 0]

Not sure if i'm posting in the correct forum but anyways.Hi Guys,I am seeking assistance in configuring an Alienware-51 7500 series PC for running both FS9 and FSX.I am technically challenged to say the least and after reading many fora on hardware and PC configuration, i am now more confused now than ever lol.I know that there are many able people around here and i besiege your experience and expertise.Much Thanksbtw, one thing that confuses me also is which OS to use.http://www.alienware.com/configurator_page...ode=SKU-DEFAULT

[Guest jimcooper1]

What is your budget? You could spend an extra $1000 on the X6850 processor alone. Tell us what your upper limit is and you'll be advised on what's the best combination. I'd go for the best processor I could afford , FSX and 2 GB RAM. You can always upgrade to Vista and more RAM later.RegardsJim

[Guest Jeffhew]

Well, I was in your boat not long ago. I spent a solid six months researching virtually every type and brand of component, and a ton of pc builders. The best advice I can give is that Alienware may not be your best option. The system I built would have cost much more with Alienware and didn't afford me the flexibilty in configuration options I was looking for. Even more important to me was warranty and customer service. I purchased my system here:http://www.avadirect.com/and you can see alot of customer reviews here:http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AVA_DirectThey will take time to answer ALL of your questions, won't upsell you stuff you don't need, don't provide "artificial discounts" and they provide FREE lifetime, US based, technical support, as well as a standard 3yr warranty. They've been around for some time and their business and government contracts assure they will be there when you need them.I've dealt with and purchased several systems over the past 25 years or so and this is the best experience I have had, Bar none!I hope this helps you.Best Regards,JeffYou might find this worth a look as well:http://www.yougamers.com/articles/16583_th...aming_pc_specs/

[9Y-POS 0]

Thanks much guys, I can safely put up 2500.00USD for a new system. I have been vacillating about the alienware option for a while because i have heard pros and cons but because i live in Trinidad most of the top end hardware is not readily available and if you order it from an outlet here at home it becomes a special order and hence the price increases, so it's best just for me to purchase an all in one system with all the bells and whistles i can afford in one shot.Having said that i will check out the site that you have underscored and see what they offer as well, thanks much for that.Because i want to use both fs9 and FSX is what has me even more confused, so I'm really looking forward to you your expertise here. Thanks

[9Y-POS 0]

>Well, I was in your boat not long ago. I spent a solid six>months researching virtually every type and brand of>component, and a ton of pc builders. The best advice I can>give is that Alienware may not be your best option. The>system I built would have cost much more with Alienware and>didn't afford me the flexibilty in configuration options I was>looking for. Even more important to me was warranty and>customer service. I purchased my system here:>http://www.avadirect.com/>and you can see alot of customer reviews here:>http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AVA_Direct>>They will take time to answer ALL of your questions, won't>upsell you stuff you don't need, don't provide "artificial>discounts" and they provide FREE lifetime, US based, technical>support, as well as a standard 3yr warranty. They've been>around for some time and their business and government>contracts assure they will be there when you need them.>>I've dealt with and purchased several systems over the past 25>years or so and this is the best experience I have had, Bar>none!>>I hope this helps you.>Best Regards,>Jeff>>You might find this worth a look as well:>http://www.yougamers.com/articles/16583_th...aming_pc_specs/Thanks Jeff this info is invaluable, just have to be in touch them to find out about shipping and support overseas.

[Guest Jeffhew]

I spent just over that. Here's the config for my system. You can use it to compare to other builders. You can see my system is loaded so you can definately get the price down.I had a friend in Trinidad and went to his daughters wedding there. Absolutely gorgeous!!Good Luck!Jeff$2579.96 INTEL, Core

[9Y-POS 0]

>I spent just over that. Here's the config for my system. >You can use it to compare to other builders. You can see my>system is loaded so you can definately get the price down.>>I had a friend in Trinidad and went to his daughters wedding>there. Absolutely gorgeous!!>Good Luck!>Jeff>>$2579.96 >>INTEL, Core

[Guest Jeffhew]

>Happy to hear that you have visited us here in T'dad Jeff, you>should have been here for Carnival 2K8 :-)>>Tell me, do you run both sims on this rig and if so, can you>briefly describe the results of each?>>I also noticed that you use Dual Core and not Quad, which one>is recommended for FS9 and FSX?>>Since i plan to use XP pro, is 2GB of ram sufficient or should>i go with 4GB?>>Regards>Oh boy, you really want to suck me into two of the most heated debates in computers right now, huh?:-lol I'll answer the easy one first. I'm still waiting for my system to arrive but, I have used FS9 on a friends system (AVA) which is simalarly configured but, with the E6850, and it screams. The E8400 is a new generation chip and is faster at the same clock speeds. FSX is not either of our primary sim so I'm afraid I wouldn't be comfortable making a recommendation there. I'm going to preface the rest by saying that there are many schools of thought and that this is my opinion, based on much research and dialog with experts whose opinions are considered at the highest levels. So with that in mind, Here we go...To Dual or not to Dual:First understand that to FS, clock speed is everything. Now, with a dual core and a quad at the SAME clock speed, the quad will marginally outperform a dual. The biggest benefit to a quad is better multi-tasking performance. Of course the downside, as you may already have surmised, is that a quad can cost upwards of $1000 more than an equally clocked dual. The quad of choice today is the 2.4 Ghz Q6600 with a G0 stepping and is priced competitivly with the 3 Ghz E6850. With good aftermarket cooling(air, no fancy liquid cooling) you can expect to see up to about 3.2 Ghz with an overclock. Others will say you can get more but, much more than this and you are potentialy compromising the performance and longevity of your systems components. The E8400, on the other hand, will reach 3.6+ without any such compromise. Now as far as the cores themselves, FS9 was designed as a single thread app. That means that while it can, and is, run on multiple threads, it wasn't designed with this in mind. Incedently, FSX with sp2 will avail itself of as many cores as you want to throw at it. The obvious benefit to more cores is your addons can run on their own core while FS chugs along on its' dedicated core. So, why did I choose dual? Very simply, let's say FS and all of its addons use a total of 60% of your system resources. Whether this 60% is spread over two cores or four, you're still only using 60% of your system resources. On my dual core with a higher clock speed, I'm doing it faster. Make sense? So, more cores equal the ability to run more programs at once if not quite as fast; multitasking.Memory and OS:I DO NOT recommend more than 2 gig of ram and here's why. Windows XP pro is a 32 bit operating system. 32 bit os' have a system limit of 4 gig TOTAL. It simply cannot see or use more than that. This includes system ram, GPU memory, and so on. So, lets say you have 4 gig of ram and a video card with 512m. Thats a system total of approx 4.5 gig. That means there is a surplus of approx half a gig that your system won't even know is there, or use. Wasted cash. This is why folks see that windows reports only 3.something ram when they know they have 4gig. The difference (4gig-3.whatever) is what the system has allocated for the GPU. Also, in my experience, having your system maxed in memory can cause issues with allocation of address space, which in turn can cause CTDs and BSODs. But wait, there's more. No 32 bit app, which FS is, can use more than 2 gig of address space. This is a 32 bit OS limitation. FS9 doesn't come anywhere near this limit. Even with FSX, I don't think you would see more than 1.5 gig though I have heard from some that it uses more. As a matter of comparison, on a hyperthreaded 3.2 Ghz P4, even with all my addons, I don't come close to using everything I've got. Now, you could use 3 gig of ram (2-1Gb DIMMS and 2-512k DIMMS)but, I'm not aware of many resellers that offer this option. That's a pretty good indication that it might be problematic. That said, I have heard some pretty good success stories with 3 gig as well.Keep in mind that ALOT of people use 4 gig and have good success but, IMHO, it's just more trouble than it's worth. Now, if you intend to upgrade to Vista at some point (not even on my radar), know that it faces the same memory limitations. The only way around this is using 64 bit versions of XP or Vista which will address hundreds of gig of memory but there are very few native 64 bit apps and many 32 bit FS apps won't work properly. So my recommendation is get 2 gig and use the money you save to bump up your GPU specs or maybe buy yourself a nice plane. Keep in mind that you can always add more ram down the road if you feel the need but, try with two first. Memory upgrades are really simple to do on your own. A 10 year old could do it.I know this is alot to absorb and, frankly, I've written so much that I'm not certain I covered everything I wanted to. I hope I've cleared things up a little for you. If not feel free to ask.Regards,Jeff**For everyone else, the beatings may now begin.**:-wave

[Guest Jeffhew]

BTW, I noticed you flagged the memory choice. Once again, experience suggests that the timings have less of an impact on performance than speed. Corsair is solid memory and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to tighten up the timings a little. The reason I selected the 1066 mem vs the 800 is that I have a MB that has a 400 Mhz FSB. Yes, 800 speed mem would be perfect as this is also 400Mhz but the additional headroom gives me options.Jeff

[Guest Jeffhew]

One more thing I meant to add about FSX, When I said It would use all the cores you can throw at it, it's important to note that FSX doesn't offload all that much onto the additional cores. I think it still does most of its work on a single core.Jeff

[9Y-POS 0]

WOW Jeff, That was detailed, i think you have given me a proper lesson to configure the right PC and save some good money too, I'm really happy that i jumped in and asked about all of this.Thanks to that addendum I have chopped down the specs of my new rig thus saving money in the process and I'm sure it will give me the desired results for both Sims and just like you my usage will be more to FS9 anyways.I can't thank you enough. I'll be in touch to let you know how things worked out....ok!Best Regards

[Guest Jeffhew]

Glad I could help. I know it can be tough. With all the info available and the differing opinions that can result, it can be difficult to seperate the wheat from the chaff, as it were. What makes it difficult is that folks use their systems for such a variety of things but, many don't take this into account when making recommendations. A system for FS is far different than I would recommend for, say, professional video editing. At any rate, I hope it all works out for you. Good luck.Regards,Jeff

[9Y-POS 0]

Hey Guys,I'm very happy to say that i got my new rig and i have spent most of the night trying to reinstall everything which from the looks of things is going to take a pretty long time.One thing i'm having an issue with though is the jaggies in FS9.I have tried the AA from the nvidia control panel and it doesn't matter what configs i try, it doesn't seem to smoothe out those jaggies.I'm using the GE8800GT and the driver is the latest 6.14.11.6921 Much Thanks for any help

[Guest Jeffhew]

Mine arrived on the 22nd and I'm still working at getting things re-installed. I have had at least two 48 hour days since last Friday. ;) Here's what I did.Do a google search for and download nhancer.Then follow these instructions. http://forum.justflight.com/forum/post.asp...999&FORUM_ID=25The only exception to these instructions I have made is I keep it set at multi core, not single core as recomended. I get much better performance with mine set to multi core.I'm using the 8800 GTS (512 mb) and it is just awesome on my 24" Samsung. For example, flying the DF 727 With ActiveSky, FSGenesis Mesh, BEV textures (haven't installed my GEPro or UT yet), and all options checked with all sliders to full right, WOAI and GA Traffic set to 80%, I'm getting framerates averaging in the 50's and often higher. All of this with silky smooth, crystal clear textures and zero stutters. This new system just flat rocks!!! Have Fun!!!Best Regards,Jeff

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Jeff,I read your post above listing all your new equipment. It's very ironic, I am building a system almost the same as yours. So far I purchased:Intel E8400 - $199.00EVGA 8800 GTS 512 - $269.00Antec 900 case - $89.00I have already ordered the same CORSAIR, 2GB (2 x 1GB) XMS2 PC2-8500 DDR2 1066MHz CL5 (5-5-5-15-2T) 2.1V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC ram. $129.00 and am going to use the same MoBo that you bought. I still need to order the power supply.I am having a tough decission on what HD's I want to use. I was thing about two seperate 150gb Raptors, non RAID, one for FSX and one for FS9 and another 500gb 7200 rpm Western Dig. for the boot drive and other programs. I am going to re-use my existing keyboard, mouse, monitor, joystick, etc. I should be in for around $1400 or so by the time I am done.I was interested to see that you are getting good results in FSX so far. I hadn't tried FSX yet. My old system was way to slow for it. I am excited to try my new system once it's done seeing that you are getting good results.SeanEdit: I just realized that you are using FS9 so far, since you mentioned BEV textures. I thought you were on FSX. I am going to still load FS9 as well, probably for my PMDG 737 and some other addons.