I am looking to finally ditching my current system ans possibly getting a new one. My primary use is of course FSX. I have 2 questions. First, if you had an unlimited budget, what kind of system would you put together today to get the absolute most out of FSX? My next question is if not today's hardware then would you wait for some specific future hardware for a truly optimal FSX system or would you just say that it's simply better to wait for FS11? Thank you

If I had unlimited budget:QX9550 cpu (the unlocked 45nm quad) $1200+ASUS Maximus Extreme (or whatever the new X48 board is they have)8 gb G.SKILL/Mushkin/Patriot/etc. DDR3 memory28"-40" Westinghouse widescreenATI 3870x2 or nVidia 8800GTX or 8800 Ultra vid card150 gig Raptor for FSXany 7200 rpm for OS+otherVista64Of course, I always have trouble justifying spending $1200 on a cpu that will be obsolete in 8 months. :) But you asked "right now", and "if money was no object"RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

>QX9550 cpu (the unlocked 45nm quad) $1200+What do you mean by "unlocked"? You also mention dual ATI video cards. Does FSX really benefit from 2 video cards? Thank you.

Does FSX really benefit from 2 video cards? It does if you're running 4 monitors!Jim

>>>QX9550 cpu (the unlocked 45nm quad) $1200+>>What do you mean by "unlocked"? I mean, "unlocked multiplier". It's really only of concern to you, if you overclock. But the key point to remember is that Intel is now charging $1000+ for cpu's with unlocked multipliers--these are targetted to "enthusiast" users who overclock massively. The mainstream cpu's--which have a locked multiplier--will still overclock, it's just that the user won't have as many OPTIONS when overclocking.You asked "if money was no object" and that's why I shot back with a QX9550 cpu, which is about $1100-$1200 right now and it'll be obsolete in 8 months. :)>You also mention dual ATI>video cards. Does FSX really benefit from 2 video cards? Thank>you.I mentioned a single ATI card. Not duals. The 3870x2 is one single card.FSX will benefit in terms of the antialiasing and anisotropic filtering you can run, especially at high resolutions. In terms of raw framerate, generally 2 cards won't do much though. And, as was said, if you run multiple monitors, 2 cards is very desirable, even necessary if you run enough monitors.But anyway, I like your thread, because I got to post my dream machine specs. Too bad dream machines go obsolete so fast. That's why I don't build them for myself.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

>If I had unlimited budget:>QX9550 cpu (the unlocked 45nm quad) $1200+>ASUS Maximus Extreme (or whatever the new X48 board is they>have)>8 gb G.SKILL/Mushkin/Patriot/etc. DDR3 memory>28"-40" Westinghouse widescreen>ATI 3870x2 or nVidia 8800GTX or 8800 Ultra vid card>150 gig Raptor for FSX>any 7200 rpm for OS+other>Vista64>>Of course, I always have trouble justifying spending $1200 on>a cpu that will be obsolete in 8 months. :) But you asked>"right now", and "if money was no object"How come a QX9550 and not a QX9770 or QX9775?

>Does FSX really benefit from 2 video cards?>>>>It does if you're running 4 monitors!>>>JimAhhh thank you. Did'nt think about that.

>>>>>QX9550 cpu (the unlocked 45nm quad) $1200+>>>>What do you mean by "unlocked"? >>I mean, "unlocked multiplier". It's really only of concern to>you, if you overclock. But the key point to remember is that>Intel is now charging $1000+ for cpu's with unlocked>multipliers--these are targetted to "enthusiast" users who>overclock massively. The mainstream cpu's--which have a>locked multiplier--will still overclock, it's just that the>user won't have as many OPTIONS when overclocking.>>You asked "if money was no object" and that's why I shot back>with a QX9550 cpu, which is about $1100-$1200 right now and>it'll be obsolete in 8 months. :)>>>You also mention dual ATI>>video cards. Does FSX really benefit from 2 video cards?>Thank>>you.>>I mentioned a single ATI card. Not duals. The 3870x2 is one>single card.>>FSX will benefit in terms of the antialiasing and anisotropic>filtering you can run, especially at high resolutions. In>terms of raw framerate, generally 2 cards won't do much>though. And, as was said, if you run multiple monitors, 2>cards is very desirable, even necessary if you run enough>monitors.>>But anyway, I like your thread, because I got to post my dream>machine specs. Too bad dream machines go obsolete so fast. >That's why I don't build them for myself.>Sorry my mistake about the video card. Forgot all about the dual GPU 3870. I guess my biggest concern is actually building an amazing system and then still winding up with blurries cause I've read so many posts regarding people with high end hardware who are still having this issue.

I was struggling with this for months also Super... I didn't have an "unlimited budget"... I was shooting for no more than $5000. I was, ehem, "close".*If* this is "strictly for FSX right here, right now", my opinion of the QX9775 is that it is the wrong choice for single threaded or "limited" multi-threaded apps.If you buying for an MP app that scales well... sure I think it is worth considering.The visuals I am getting in FSX are, well imo, "breathtaking"... but the f/s are downright... this is a family friendly forum, so let me just say... "unacceptable". You can see from the attached graph that the Opty actually exceeds the QX9775 in f/s toward the end of the Global High.cfg test (Gary Dunne's FSXMark07). Mission Load times are "Excellent" (like 10sec to load Sitka). The Sound is "Gorgeous" (if one can describe it as such, but that is what comes to mind). So I am hearing and seeing new things but man the f/s are kickin' my keister.Mind you, the system has little "optimizing" done to it thus far, as I've been tied up with a few other pressing "projects". The f/s problem could be entirely my fault.If I had been basing my decision solely on games, I would have sprung for the QX9650 as it seems to be a great overclocker, or maybe the QX9770 (for the faster fsb) and DDR3 for either. And I would have waited a little longer for faster DDR3 memory (as to figure out exactly what type from the info Nick has provided) It seems games are essentially single-threaded, with the exception maybe of Half-Life2 Episode 2. I've yet to try that to see how well that scales (with its so-called "hybrid threading" model). Am I disappointed with my Skully... No, I am quite happy with it. Am I disappointed with FSX f/s on that system... Absolutely. Fortunately I wasn't attempting to buy an FSX-fps breaker (else I might have drawn the ceremonial sword from its sheath). I had planned for months on a Clovertown/Harpertown, but decided recently to pay the crazy premium on the 9775s to get an oc-able Xeon system. And that is exactly what I consider the Skully to be... a Harpertown with built-in oc-ability.It was quite a struggle to decide what best for the apps I plan to use, and I am hedging that multi-threaded apps will become more common place / efficient. My Opty (built July '06) is by no means obsolete now. In fact, it is still a strong performer in computer chess, where MP engines are commonplace.Btw, this is using FSX/Acceleration w/ GEXn on a 1680x1050x32 Dell 2007WFPRe: your 2nd question, if my charting is accurate with respect to scalability, no further increase in cpus is going to have an appreciable effect on FSX performance. If ACES is working on MP for FS11 from the gitgo, I suspect even the Skully will perform adequately then. Maybe with just a video card update (one can dream). Of course, those "thoughts" about FS11 are pure speculation. But seems to me, the trend for many years (for cutting edge games) has been to wait a year+ for not only patches, but the hardware as well.Rob O.Opteron Italy 2x285 @ 2.6 (no oc) | Tyan S2895 | 4GB Kingston KRX DDR-400 | ATIX1800XT (256Mb) | 2xWD1600YD (one boot, one data) | Audigy 2ZS | XP x642xQX9775 @ 3.6 or 4.0 | Intel D5400XS | 8GB Mushkin DDR2-800 (same as Apple XServe 2x2GB) | VisionTek 3870x2 | 1xWD1600YS (boot) and 3ware 9650SE-4LPML w/4xWD1600YS Raid0 | Creative Fata1ity | XP x64

So basically you're tellin me that a Skulltrail does'nt really offer any significant advantages for FSX? Do you think it's worth it to wait for the Nehalem or does this all come down to one culprit: FSX itself. We have the option of high end hardware but FSX really does not take full advantage of it?

I'm saying my current setup doesn't offer any... hmmm.... F/s advantage. I don't know where the bottleneck is. It could be my config is wrong, maybe the video card/drivers. It could be FSX just doesn't scale well from 4 to 8 cores (or higher)... maybe memory type... or maybe all the above. I just don't know. What I do know is, no way I could justify this system's price for just FSX. There are just so many other less expensive alternatives. Maybe I'll hit "F/s pay dirt" with some serious optimizing (hey, I like to hope :-P ).I hope you understand that this is no indictment of FSX. I have had 500+ hours of incredible fun (and learning) with it. Many will probably think me downright nuts if they heard me say, "Bravo! ACES!". But overall, that is how I feel about FSX. Sure it has problems, but usually there is some kind of work around. It won't log my Carrier Traps when I play the Carrier Practice Mission... and I bet I have close to 300 now with about a quarter at night. Hey... c'est la vie... it's not like I am trying to maintain currency in an actual Hornet. But there is so much more to like about it (More than I will certainly write about as it will sound so sappy).You ask is it worth waiting. To me that's your answer. For me, now was a good time; for you... my advice would be buy when you know. Buy when you know *exactly* what components you want because you have pieced everything together in your head and it all "makes sense". As long as you have unresolved questions, I would wait until you're totally confident in your decision. You pull the trigger too early and it's a good bet you'll be off the mark.Rob

>You ask is it worth waiting. To me that's your answer. For>me, now was a good time; for you... my advice would be buy>when you know. Buy when you know *exactly* what components>you want because you have pieced everything together in your>head and it all "makes sense". As long as you have unresolved>questions, I would wait until you're totally confident in your>decision. You pull the trigger too early and it's a good bet>you'll be off the mark.>>RobThe funny is thing is that the Skulltrail was going to be "the right time" for me. After having read so much about it I thought for sure that this cutting edge hardware would really give FSX a good boost. However after having read what you said, I now seriously have to reconsider. I want a system that will run FSX really well and not just OK. So once again it looks like I will wait. I wonder if Nehalem will bring any interesting developments for FSX?

Sorry my mistake about the video card. Forgot all about the dual GPU 3870. I guess my biggest concern is actually building an amazing system and then still winding up with blurries cause I've read so many posts regarding people with high end hardware who are still having this issue.-------------------------------------This is EXACTLY my concern as well!!! I am also looking to upgrade, and I settle upon some system spec's and then I read here, or somewhere else that a user is STILL having FSX performance issues, and is only getting marginally better performance in FPS and graphics than what my current P4 3.4 GHz Dell Gen 3 system is giving me.To spend 2-3 thousand more and just receive a 10-30 percent performance boost is near about crazy to justify!I'm a little demoralized by it all. I WANT a new system, but by reading truly a LOT of posts that users have written, I have to wonder, if it would be a most wise move to WAIT for FS11, and see EXACTLY how its code will run on my present system? I just might be very much surprised and delighted---that M.S. has rewritten and optimized the code enough, that even high-end P4's can turn out a decent performance. You know..by just writing that, it seems my subconscious is saying that is the most logical and solvent route---see what FSX11 will do on my current system, before going out and dropping coin on marginal FSX gain.Yeah..a lot to think about. The above is probably the way that I will head....wait it out, and see what FS11/P4 3.4GHz does.Mitch

>I'm a little demoralized by it all. I WANT a new system, but>by reading truly a LOT of posts that users have written, I>have to wonder, if it would be a most wise move to WAIT for>FS11, and see EXACTLY how its code will run on my present>system? I just might be very much surprised and>delighted---that M.S. has rewritten and optimized the code>enough, that even high-end P4's can turn out a decent>performance. >mitch FS11 is a long, long time away and so you would have a long time to wait. Are you prepared to wait 2-2.5 years?You are in the same boat as I am. You have a late-model P4, I have a Socket 939 A64. Same gen hardware. Yet we are both getting amazing results in FSX out of our machines. Why are most people here running Core2's now? Because they needed to upgrade to get halfway decent performance. Yet we have not felt compelled to do that, because our machines have done pretty well.But I know where I stand, and that is, I will not wait until holiday 2010 or whenever FS11 is released, to enjoy 24" 1920 x 1200 resolution, and a 25-30 framelock in FSX. My solid San Diego rig won't do that.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

>>How come a QX9550 and not a QX9770 or QX9775?'cause I can't remember all of those numbers.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian