RAM choice

[cowpatz 243]

I think I have finally nailed down my new computer specs:Mobo: Asus P5Q3 Deluxe WifiCPU: E8600VC: Asus EN9800GTXHD: Western Digital 750Gb SATA2 32mb x2The choice of RAM seems to be a nightmare. I'm looking at 4GB. Any recommendations?Any constructive comments on the specs appreciated too.At the moment I'm just running FS9 but might shift to FSX so I'd like a system that will enhance that experience! My god the thought of losing all that scenery and aircraft. Thanks

[Guest D17S]

Hey, I know you. What cha doing over here?Here's a slightly different recommendation. Here's the thinking:The E8600 will have a 10X multiplier running on a 333Mhz Front side buss. "10X x 333" means the default CPU clock is 3.3Ghz. Not bad, but FS (especially X) benefits most from Maximum CPU clock. That E8600 sounds like it's a goer. It is Highly recommended to overclock that CPU.With after market cooling, it will easily go to 4.0Ghz. All you will have to do is increase the CPU voltage to ~ 1.35v and turn up the FSB to 400Mhz (10 x 400 = 4.0Ghz). The ram's is driven by this FSB too. Ram is driven at Double (2X) the Data Rate ("DDR") of the FSB. That's where the term DDR comes from. At the default 333Mhz FSB, all you need is (2 x 333) = DDR2-666 rated ram.Now, lets overclock the CPU. We want to run the FSB to 400Mhz to get that 4.0Ghz CPU speed. The FSB will also drive the ram to 2 x 400 = 800Mhz. All you need is ram that is rated to run at 800Mhz. This stuff is called DDR2-800.Your choice of Mobos only runs DDR3 ram. The only (currently usable) difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is their rated (or guaranteed) speed to which they can be driven by a FSB setting. DDR3 picks up at 1066Mhz (i.e., it's the slowest rated speed available for DDR3 ram). Since you only need 800Mhz rated ram, there is No Need for DDR3 ram - at all-. DDR3 is simply twice as expensive and provides No benefit. So, I suggest this DDR2 mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131295 And this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220293There's a lot of chatter about increased ram speed will increase performance. This has proven to be only subjectively arguable and then, only at huge expense. A 400Mhz FSB only needs 800Mhz rated ram (DDR2-800) for optimum performance.Really looking forward to that PMDG MD11. Got a call about beta testing. Are you on board too (or still sticking with those real world 744?!)

[cowpatz 243]

Hi Sam how are you?I still troll this forum from time to time. Quite involved with online flying with VATNZ.Still real world flying on the 747. 8 yrs now! Things have slowed down and upwards movement is at a crawl if not going in reverse. No I have not been involved with Beta testing the MD-11. It looks great and I, like half the flt sim community, are looking forward to the release. I am glad to see that this will be released for FS9 as well as FSX.The reason I want this board is for the onboard wi-fi and that only comes with the DDR3 RAM requirement. I would prefer DDR2 but I just dont want to be mucking around with wireless network cards....I think room in there is going to be at a premium.

[Guest D17S]

Glad all's well. Below 10K, the 744 really is pretty sluggish in FSX. I've been playing Vatsim out on the east coast in the 744/FS9 (Got the west coast 'bout down pat. That SADDE6 into LAX is still a fav, though). The controllers are always offering congratulating on perfectly flown STARS and approaches. Don't know if I want to tell em my trick is to setup the FMC, then keep my hands in my lap! The forum guys are alway whining about how the airplane doesn't track the magenta line just right. Bet ya'll just wish the real deal did half that well. That PMDG airplane was really a breakthrough for a lot of us. A lay audience always seems amazed the bus mechanic has - not a clue - about to actually drive the bus. I got lucky early on when a 747 "Flight Crew, Initial" training class was the only slot available. Boy I jumped on that. It's paid off big time ever since. However that was pre-FMC days. The PMDG airplane filled in that training gap. Looks like my guys are buying up the last of the 744s. They finished off the 767 line, so this seems to be a typical MO. The 741/2s are finally going away, but they're now into MD11's up to their eyeballs. Don't know how long this can last. It IS slowing down. I'm currently telling my compadries we may be the last generation that will be able to have a full career with heavy jet transports . . . at least with CF6s, PW4000 or RB211s hanging under those wings. At $5 a gallon for JetA, we cutback the economy flights . . . and DHL offloads it's entire airfreight business to UPS (I think that was an amazingly prescient move). At $10, even the most myopic optimist sees the writing on the wall. At $15, this industry shuts down. Speculators are in the game, that's for sure . . . but so is China.Well now. . . . I have the Asus P5Ke-wifi. My thinking was the same as yours. I didn't want to burn a slot on a wireless card. The "N" version wasn't available so I setup an entirely wireless network with all 54Mb "G" stuff. It was Painfully slow. Thankfully the 2 main boxes were within Ethernet cable range. I plugged them into the wireless router. Box to box goes at the full 100Mbs Ethernet rating. Internet xfers at ~ 500KB (Big :(. That's about 100% of a 4Mb (little :( internet connection. The "N" theoretical capacity is ~ 250Mb/sec. Even if you only get half of it, that ought to do it. I was going to suggest a quad, but anything < $1000 will only overclock to ~ 3.6Ghz. That dual core will go to 4Ghz. FSX Still runs all the FPS and hard calculation stuff on a single core, so the faster dual core will probably run the PMDG airplane better in FSX than the quad. It'd be a close call.Looking forward to that MD too. The first FMC is always the hardest. This should be more fun than my last V-nav-trama experience. Watch especially the layout of the FMAs (and underlying logic). MD wasn't grandfathered into a Gen-1 EADI/EHSI APFD setup. They had an opportunity to start from scratch. It sure makes more sense to me. For instance the Pitch FMA should be over the airspeed tape, and that's where MD put it. A speed-on-pitch segment (like V-nav climb) is primarily an airspeed event. I want the pitch mode directly above the speedtape because that is where my eyeballs are going to be. But Boeing put it all the way over on the other side, of the world! I Have missed pitch change events (especially "rake strikes" where the the pitch shifts to FLCH speed) cuz I was locked onto the airspeed tape. I like MD taking my "Human-ness" into consideration. I also really like the fact that it had a single Autoflight button. Autothrottle and Autopilot are a team and should Never be separated (ahhh, imHo!). This is gonna be fun. It's a whole different philosophy and we've gonna have some Great conversations. The more things change, the more they stay the same . . . with any luck.

[cowpatz 243]

Well said Sam...............and then you have Airbus :(