March 21, 200917 yr Here is what I'm looking at. I know that either system will probably work just fine for FSX, but the prices and so close and I've never used AMD or ATI in a flight sim machine (it really is the only game (or sim) I play on the PC, so I don't need a full on gaming PC, just one that runs FSX pretty close to what my Q9550, 4 gig ram, GFX 260 would do)Here are the contenders:Processors AMD Phenom
March 21, 200917 yr The Intel chip will win hands down and ATI cards do not fare as well in FSX as Nvidia cards(if you put an ATI card into a heavy weather situation in FSX your framerate will tank dramatically). If you want to get the best out your money for FSX stick with Intel for your CPU and Nvidia for your video card.
March 21, 200917 yr Author The Intel chip will win hands down and ATI cards do not fare as well in FSX as Nvidia cards(if you put an ATI card into a heavy weather situation in FSX your framerate will tank dramatically). If you want to get the best out your money for FSX stick with Intel for your CPU and Nvidia for your video card.okay, what about these 2 configs?Intel
March 21, 200917 yr Dondo,Both setups look really nice...except there's no way I could recommend an ATI card for an FSX machine.With the setups you are proposing above I would recommend nothing less than a GTX260. You will have to spend a little more money but it will be WELL worth it.It looks like DELL has struck some deal with ATI.........Have you thought about building your own rig??
March 21, 200917 yr Author Dondo,Both setups look really nice...except there's no way I could recommend an ATI card for an FSX machine.With the setups you are proposing above I would recommend nothing less than a GTX260. You will have to spend a little more money but it will be WELL worth it.It looks like DELL has struck some deal with ATI.........Have you thought about building your own rig??Well, long story short, I had a local PC shop build me a flight sim rig (Q9550, GTX 260, 4 gig DDR3 etc) and it ended up with the Better Business Bureau stepping in and me settling for about 60% of my investment back). Left a bad taste in my mouth. I know I could build my own rig, although my wife is expecting our first child in about 3 weeks and I don't/can't spend the time ordering/building/troubleshooting a new PC. Just kind of want to order one and have it work. I'm leaning more towards the system with the 9800gt video card and if I'm not happy with the performance, I can sell off the card and replace it with a 260. That isn't an option in the ATI system as the power supply can't handle the 260, and that would void the warranty/service plan.
March 21, 200917 yr I'm leaning more towards the system with the 9800gt video card and if I'm not happy with the performance, I can sell off the card and replace it with a 260.Dondo,Given your situation, IMHO, I think that would be the best choice.
Create an account or sign in to comment