Using a second computer to operate GPS

[Guest sdaigle]

Hi guys,I recently came back to the FSX world and I have a blast since the simulation is more mature now!I have a little project in mind and I made a lot of searches in the forum, but without really finding what I was searching for.Just beside my main computer, I always have a laptop computer hanging around and I wonder if it would be possible to display the GPS on it. I am using the GPS a lot and it annoys me to switch displays back and forth.So I wonder, should I use a second monitor or a second computer? Briefly, what would be the best setup to do this?If you are referring tool, could you please give me links since I am not quite used to the FSX community language yet ;)Thanks in advance, this forum is a blessing.

[Guest Boeing Skunk Works]

If that is all you are wanting to display I would just use a second monitor.There is always WidevieW too for a second networked computer running another copy of FS.

[Guest sdaigle]

If that is all you are wanting to display I would just use a second monitor.There is always WidevieW too for a second networked computer running another copy of FS.

I have quite a fast machine (an i7) + ATI 4870 1 gig and it runs pretty smooth. My initial goal is not to hurt the FPS at all. So I wondered if adding a second monitor would have a hit on my FPS. It is why I thought about using a second computer instead.I would like to put the GPS and lets say the radio stack ...thats it.

[Guest Boeing Skunk Works]

That will work, but I don't know what it will do to your frame rate using FSX.

[Avcomware 1]

Hi Sdaigle and everyone.If your system is set up correctly you should have no noticeable frame drop. The ideal set up is to match the same resolution for the both monitors and have the Options, in MSFS set to match what your Desktop resolution is. To have the set up "stick", on a restart, you may have to Save a flight, Exit and Restart. It may take a couple of tries but it does work, including Full screen mode. To maximize your efficiency you can also modify your Panel.cfg (VCockpit) to remove the items that you do not need / want in VC / Main screen. TV

[january 19]

I have quite a fast machine (an i7) + ATI 4870 1 gig and it runs pretty smooth. My initial goal is not to hurt the FPS at all. So I wondered if adding a second monitor would have a hit on my FPS. It is why I thought about using a second computer instead.I would like to put the GPS and lets say the radio stack ...thats it.

----------------The following relates to my FS9 setup- but may have some applicability to FSX.I'm running triple monitors with triple synchronized views and most popups opened/displayed all the time. The screenshots are probably the best description. The 'puter is a 5+ year old AMD XP 2200 with 2 GeForce FX5200 GPUs. (I'm waiting for an invitation to display it at the Smithsonian !)With two exceptions, opening/displaying popups on the secondary monitors appears to have NO effect on FPS. This includes the Reality GPS and Weather Radar. However- Overhead and COM popup panels DO significantly impact FPS- so they are opened only as needed. The default FS GPS does use some FPS so the decision to leave it displayed will depend on how tight you are for performance.As a broad rule it is multiple VIEWS that impact frame rate- but which also give the biggest bang for the buck of ANY add-on.The views FPS hit depends on how much of the screen you use for Views Fwd L or R. I set these views to 1/2 screen height-so in total, the View area on the mons is NOT tripled. In the the screenies, the views L/R Fwd roughly double the main view, so my FPS is 1/2 of single monitor config.Because my eyes are seeing 3 times as many view pixels- the overall image QUALITY is much improved- EVEN though the frame rate is lower! Single monitor simming is like squinting!!!!!!Hope these comments are useful.Alex ReidBonanza with Reality GPS near CYYJ Bonanza with Reality W.Radar on a rainy afternoonPMDG 747 & the real McCoy. (Inset courtesy Manuel Marin/jetphotos.net)

[shermank 166]

I have had no problem using my older second monitor to display atc, gps, radio stack or any other panel component which can be undocked. it has had no effect on fps...and makes flying much more enjoyable because I need not worry about popup windows...Sherm

[Guest Aflorko]

To answer your question, you could buy a registered copy of FSUIPC4 and Widerserver from simmarket.com. This will pass the sim info to your laptop. Then on your laptop you could run GPS software. There are freebies out there, haven't found one I love yet though. Good luck.BTW just adding a second monitor to your display and opening a GPS window in it would be much easier and cheaper and shouldn't give much frame hit, but you won't be able to run the sim in fullscreen mode.

[Guest rdg]

Hi,You know I used mutiple monitors in FS9, and really enjoyed what could be done. What I always thought would be great are computer monitors that have the capability of PIP (picture in picture) like most newer Television monitors, with the ability to have two inputs, one from each computer. This hardware level functionality would allow for some very interesting flexibility.RegardsBob G