Considering the PMDG 747-400 Queen of the air

[jfri 42]

I have suddenly got interested in this plane for FS9. I already have LD 767-300, MADDOG 2006, ATR 72-500 and PMDG 737NG-800/900 and DF 727. Still after reading some reviews my impression is that the queen has more to offer that I don't already have. I do have a couple of question before I buy.I have the base boxed 747-400 in mind. I see on the PMDG site that there is a 1.2 update for download. Also there is a separate cargo version sold that is said to update the base QOA. My question if I only have the base 747 will I not be able to apply all updates? If so what will I miss?My other big concern is performence. I run all sliders maxed with Ultimate Terrain and Radar Contact and Active Sky. Will I suffer from stutters and low fps on my system? How is performence for the queen compared to the planes I already got?My systemAMD 64 3200+1 Gb RAM 400 MHzNVIDIA 6600GT 256M DDR3 AGPWin XP Home

[tunnelcat 1]

Your name? I've got the boxed version of the 747 Queen of the Skies and it's the most flown aircraft of my fleet. Absolutely wonderful!I don't have the cargo version though. It's only purchasable via download from PMDG and I've never gotten around to it. You can update the Queen with the 1.2 version and I highly recommend it, all sorts of refinements were done. If you want the cargo version as well, get that installed after the Queen and before you install the 1.2 update.As for performance, your system specs are a little low, especially system ram, all the way around. You'll probably be able to use the Queen, but not in the VC mode, probably only the 2D cockpit will give you remotely passable frame rates. I have a Pentium 3.4, single core, 2 G's of system ram and an Nvidia 7950 GT AGP card with 512 mg's of vram and my frame rates are usually around 25 to 30 fps, even with the VC. EXCEPT during a lot of weather generation with 3D clouds or the 9 Dragons Kai Tak scenery, which will drag the fps down to 8 or 9 fps at times. But I can live with it until I can get a better system. You may want to read this post here concerning someone with a slightly better system than yours.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...52191&mode=fullKim

[flyinpilot212121 724]

I dont beleive that a name is required in this section of the forums, however i could be wrong.I would say go ahead and buy it, I also have the lds, aeroworx, pmdg737, super 80 and more, but the queen offers so much more yet. That is not to say these other add-ons arent any good, cause im sure youd agree their great, but the queen has that litlle something about it, not sure what makes it that way, it just is. Even if you cannot use the vc, it is still very much worth it.As for running it I see it close to the leveld 767 in frames, give or take 1 or 2 frames.Sorry for all the spelling errors, im in a bit of a hurry.

[jfri 42]

>Your name? Jan. Why?>As for performance, your system specs are a little low,>especially system ram, all the way around. You'll probably beDo you mean 1 Gb is to little? And I have always thought > 1 Gb is overkill for FS9.

[jfri 42]

>that way, it just is. Even if you cannot use the vc, it is>still very much worth it.>So it seems to be very hard on performence. Does the same apply for the FSX version? I first thought about waiting until I switch to FSX but maybe that will be very difficult?>>As for running it I see it close to the leveld 767 in frames,>give or take 1 or 2 frames.>Otherwise I have no problem in performence with LD 767-300.

[MarkRey 16]

Depends on how lean the rest of your system is. If you already have those other hi end airliners though, the Queen should be about the same, especially now with the recent update which includes perf tweaks.regards,Mark

[altstiff 71]

First things first, you only need your name if your on the PMDG forums looking for support.Second, I own both the regular boxed version of the queen and the F version (download only but no hassels after many re installs). I fly both almost as much as my PMDG 737's and the LVD 767.That being said I think it is a TAD harder on frames than the LVD 767. But I cannot be certain as I have not run the queen in any form on anything less than a P4 3.4GHZ machine.If you like the LVD and PMDG 737 you will love the 747 series to death, and I suggest you get the F version too. Try the box version first and if your happy with it get the F version (the dirty panel is a very nice touch).

[flyinpilot212121 724]

Is the dirty panel only on the F version? Got a pic of this "dirty panel" Im very curious.

[markadeane 272]

>>Your name? >>Jan. Why?>>>As for performance, your system specs are a little low,>>especially system ram, all the way around. You'll probably>be>>Do you mean 1 Gb is to little? And I have always thought > 1>Gb is overkill for FS9.>Jan,You'll find 2GB very useful when you throw a mix of the 744, UT, ASV and Radar Contact at your machine. Performance in terms of FPS mightn't improve a lot but without 2GB of RAM you expose yourself to an increased risk of the dreaded 'Out Of Memory' error which will strike at the most cruel of times (ie on short final after a long haul flight).Given the cost of RAM it would be well worth considering.

[jfri 42]

>>>Your name? >>>>Jan. Why?>>>>>As for performance, your system specs are a little low,>>>especially system ram, all the way around. You'll probably>>be>>>>Do you mean 1 Gb is to little? And I have always thought > 1>>Gb is overkill for FS9.>>>>Jan,>>You'll find 2GB very useful when you throw a mix of the 744,>UT, ASV and Radar Contact at your machine. Performance in>terms of FPS mightn't improve a lot but without 2GB of RAM you>expose yourself to an increased risk of the dreaded 'Out Of>Memory' error which will strike at the most cruel of times (ie>on short final after a long haul flight).>>Given the cost of RAM it would be well worth considering.>First as I understand it these OOM crashes occur because you run out of virtual address space and not physical RAM. So far I have never experienced such a thing in FS9 (or FSX when I tried it).Second things are a little more complicated regarding RAM for me.I got an old Asus A8V deluxe S939 mb. I have heard that if I fill all memory slot i Will lose dual channel and memory speed will go down. Also no currently sold memory is listed in the mb QVL list since it's so old. So I can't be sure the memory I buy will actually work for my mb. Otherwise I think I have some old 2 * 256K memory modules somewhere. But that will only get me to 1.5 Gb and they are only 333 MHz modules.

[out 769]

Jan,PMDG's Queen is a high-level product and one of the best addon aircraft for MFS ever.It is hard to criticize anything as for its complexity and professionalism.If you like Level-D, you will love the Queen.If you're a VC flyer, you will be very happy (a true masterpiece).If you're a 2D flyer (like myself mostly), you may miss wing views (just not modelled).However, as said above, be warned about possible FPS and memory problems.I have most paid and free addons for FS9, includng the Queen, LVLD and many others.For me the Queen is definitely the most demanding one.I bought a new PC some two months ago and now it performs quite fine in terms of frames.But somehow the Queen eats a lot of memory. Hence the frequent OOM problems. Even on my new PC I just can't fly this bird to Heathrow (Aerosoft/SimWings) because I will get an OOM.I took part in many discussions on that and the scenery itself was even suspected for some time.But after many tests I discovered that the Queen is the ONLY aircraft that will kill my memory approaching Heathrow and sometimes other big addon hubs (EDDF, EHAM, etc).It is a very serious problem since it is not a plane you want to fly to small regional aerodromes.I know, however, there are also PMDG pilots around who claim not to have this problem. So, the decision is yours.Best regards,Rafal

[Krister 51]

In my 15 year MSFS carrier I have experienced the OOM only very few times. Once with the PMDG 747 and the other times with the Digital Aviation Fokker 70/100, so I wouldn't say that the OOM problem is a general one for PMDG 747 (which no one in the thread has claimed either).I get the same performance from the LevelD as from the 747 and actually slighly better with the 747 in VC despite it being MUCH more detailed.I strongly recommend getting the PMDG 747! At the same time, if you don't have a lot of cash to throw around I would suggest that you wait for the PMDG MD-11. We probably have to wait a couple of months before we have it in our hands, but it definitely looks to be worth it. Since you already have the LevelD and PMDG 737, the PMDG 747 would just be more of the same Boeing philosophy, while the MD-11 will be totally different. But if you aren't short of cash, get the PMDG 747 NOW! :D

[MarkRey 16]

The OOM thing is a strange one - In all my years I too have only seen it perhaps twice with fs, and even then it was on startup due to some glitchy addon or other.Never seen it with the Queen, even after very long flights into major 3rd party hubs, and I been flying it since I had 1gig of ram.regards,Mark

[jfri 42]

>PMDG's Queen is a high-level product and one of the best addon>aircraft for MFS ever.>It is hard to criticize anything as for its complexity and>professionalism.>If you like Level-D, you will love the Queen.>Wasn't it pointed out to be fully unrealistic because it didn't have a weatheradar?>If you're a VC flyer, you will be very happy (a true>masterpiece).>If you're a 2D flyer (like myself mostly), you may miss wing>views (just not modelled).>I'm mostly 2D flyer and it seems that could be my only option in the queen because of performence. One thing I use the VC for is to zoom in on instrument since they are to small in the 2D panel in 1280*1024. Will I need the VC in the queen for this?>However, as said above, be warned about possible FPS and>memory problems.This seems to be a very valid concern. But my experience that scenery and clouds causes fps problems and stutters but the planes themselves are rarely the big problems here.Also the OOM problem seems very strange since it's caused by having a 32 bit OS and not the amount of RAM.>I bought a new PC some two months ago and now it performs>quite fine in terms of frames.>And what was your old system and what is your new system?

[jfri 42]

>I strongly recommend getting the PMDG 747! At the same time,>if you don't have a lot of cash to throw around I would>suggest that you wait for the PMDG MD-11. We probably have to>wait a couple of months before we have it in our hands, but it>definitely looks to be worth it. Since you already have theBut as I can see after visiting PMDG website the MD-11 is FSX only.