How will FS2k4 run on a Dell 8300 2.6gig??? Take 2...

[Dillon 2,197]

To all those beta testers out there or whoever else is running FS2k4... How will FS2k4 run on this new Dell I'm getting next week?Dell 8300 P4 2.6gig 800mhz front side bus512megs SDRAMWindowsXP ProATI Radean 9700pro video card100gig HDTHREAD GOT LOCKED FOR SOME REASON....P.S. Hey Rob, it's too late the computer is on it's way... With the specs Microsoft is pushing, I thought a 2.6 would be more than enough. I've heard of people running the sim on a much lower machine with good results (some things had to be turned down but nevertheless they had results comparable to FS2k2... WAITE A MINUTE, Tom here at Avsim gave us this information).

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I saw you had the same question in the screenshots forum. I believe that was locked 'coz there was no screenshot. And I have a hunch you did what I've done once or twice...browsed a forum, and opened a thread thinking you were here.Wish I had your system.... Let me know if the 800mhz bus has any effect on FS2002.... I'm thinking of building a comparable system...-John

[Dillon 2,197]

Your right John, I posted over there by mistake. I'll let you know how things are next week with FS2002...

[Guest]

HiI have a Dell 8250 with the Radeon 9700 pro and your setup apart from I have a intel 3.1 gig and Dell Ultra Sharp flat screen.I wouldnt "imagine" you will have any problems running FS2004 ;-)but thats just guessing :--)Excellent computer setup your gettingPeter

[Guest Stratus_Fractus]

Looks good, FS should more than run on it. ;-) Just lose the SDRAM.

[Dillon 2,197]

My computer is already shipping with SDRAM... I currently have a Dell P4 1.4gig with 1gig of RDRAM and have heard of others getting better performance with lower machine specs (including SDRAM) than mine. I for one like SDRAM for the simple fact it's cheep. Computer technology changes way too much to be wasting money every two years building or buying a new system. You have to find as many economical options as possible to keep up, more so you need to come to grips with what's enough and also what's unrealistic of the software's expectation on the hardware. I would rather take the most economic form of upgrading (can't deal with those Celeron's though) as possible. I asked Robert Jubb here at Avsim what he was finding with frame rates and what would be a good system for FS2004 (he's got his hands on a copy of FS2k4 and is posting screenshots of the sim in the Avsim Screenshot Forum) he told me this: "Go for a 3Ghz chip and 9800 Pro if you can afford it."Well people I can't afford it. I just barely handled the system I just bought above. I think it's crap that MS is pushing FS2k4 as a sim that will run on older systems but I'm finding out from people who have the sim, it's going to need a powerful machine. Anything more powerful than what's being sold on the market today is ridicules... A new Dell 8300 2.6gig is two steps shy of being top of the line and that's not good enough. Hell the Front Side Bus on this new machine is 800mhz which is top of the line for Motherboards at this point and that

[OHN 1]

Microsoft is not pushing anybody out, i think Fs2004 will run on a p4 1400, just not with sliders at max. You can tweak this sim so many ways that almost everybody is able to get the most out of it. ofcourse if you like eyecandy you need a highend machine and thats the way it should be.OHN

[Guest Delta_747]

There is no way you can have "regular" SDRAM on an 8300. It comes with Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz PC3200.

[Guest]

Hi Guys,I just got a Dell XPSP4 HT 3GHz / 800 MHz front side bus1024 MB DDR SDRAM @ 400 MHZ128 MB Radeon 9800(all for FS9 and Half Life 2)and I even notice some slight jerkiness, frame-loss running the sim with all settings set to max. I feel your frustration. But what can you do? I don't think anyone can get this sim to run perfect, no matter what type of machine you have.I have to say that I wish everyone here could experience the crystal clear visuals, but it's very expensive to achieve complete smoothness/perfection. Regards,Norbert

[Guest cw1011]

Since Dell has a two week return policy I don't feel bad telling you this - you can upgrade that machine to almost the same specs for far less than a new box. Beleive me, Dell certainly doesn't want you to know about this - in fact, they will tell you that if you even think about upgrading the processor, terrible things will happen to you and your immediate family because they know that most folks don't understand how easy and cheap it is to really boost the horsepower of their computer. I have a Dell Dimension 8100 which I bought a bit over two years ago with the same 1.4 processor you likely have (423 pin). I am now running at 2.6 gigs, 400 fsb. This is the second processor I've put in the system, I upgraded to a 1.9 gig 423 pin chip about a year ago.The total cost is about $250 going up to a P4 Northwood 2.6 with a 400 mghz fsb. This is as fast as you can go as the Dell bios will only accept the 400 mgz fsb processors. Ok by me. This will get me through to the next generation of Intels this winter when we might see 4 gig chips on the market.A huge benefit is that you don't have to throw away all that expensive Rambus memory you have, which is faster than SDRAM or even dual channel DDR. The industry move away from Rambus is not about performance - the computer makers have never liked the price tag of rambus. Also, you don't have to re-install any of your software. The upgrade takes ten minutes. A company called "Powerleap" makes the 423 pin adapter that lets your motherboard accept a 478 pin Northwood processors. Your motherboard will run the 2.6 with no problems and you won't need to upgrade your power supply either. The adapter costs about $50. Intel 2.6 gig processors at newegg.com are less than $200 for the 400 mghz fsb. http://plpadmin.tempdomainname.com/index2.htmlToms Hardware guide has also reviewed Powerleaps products - so you don't have to take my word alone. I just upgraded my machine from 1.9 to 2.6 and it works like a champ. I have a TI 4200 in the AGP slot. I saw about a 25% increase in performance in MSFS 2002 for the 35% increase in horsepower - not bad given the adapter solution. I'm thnking about getting a Radeon, which should have the legs to make the move into my next computer. Be warned, this upgrade will not put you up at 30 smooth frames at 10,000 feet with all the sliders maxed, a ton of AI, anti-aliasing on and a bunch add-on clouds. Your new machine won't either, even with the Radeon. I still can't get much above 15 fps at busy airports on the ground or on final (though I have just about everything project ai published in my ai file and I run it at about 40%), and add-on airports like Fly Tampa will still bring your frames crashing down around 10. I did a lot of research on new boxes and decided to sit tight until COF is released and see how my machine does - then evaluate new computers when the the processors get up above 4 gigs. Just to let you know you have another, far less expensive, option. Colin

[Dillon 2,197]

Thanks Colin... Where can you download ProjectAI's aircraft??? I would like to get their 777's and 747's but I'm only finding texture files and not the original or complete aircraft.

[Guest cw1011]

They used to have a section with just plain white models. I'm not sure where it is. I use the pre-packaged versions.

[Dillon 2,197]

Bump... Just want to hear a few others comments about this topic...

[Noel 4,494]

If you want more photorealism, you have to upgrade the hardware, that's close to a given. I say, bring it on Redmond! I'll take all the photo (yes and flight dynamics) realism I can possibly afford :()Noel

[Guest]

Hi All,I have a month old Dell 8250. Figures though that I bought it and then they released the 8300.Anyways, the new system is as follows....Dell 8250 Intel PIV 2.53GHz w/533MHz FSB and 512K L2 Cache512MB PC1066 RDRAMATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB60 Gig HDSoundblaster Live! 5.148X CD-ROM48/24/48 CD-RWIntegrated Intel 10/100 EthernetDell FP151 15" LCD MonitorI find that I get great results with everything maxed out on the display settings. Mind you, I'm only running the sim at 1024X768 as that's the max res the LCD supports. But the Radeon only performs better at higher resolutions. I've yet to try it on my 19" monitor.To get an idea of performance, I get around 40 to 50 FPS at Lago's Emma Field using any aircraft and weather. At Simflyers CYYZ Toronto scenery, with all that AI traffic I've added, I start to see a performance loss with FPS geting as low as 10. Just remember there's a ton of AI going on and it's at 100%. And I've seen FPS pushing 100 with a default aircraft at cruise alt (+5,000ft). Oh yeah, and those blurries? No longer a factor.Also all my favorite payware aircraft run great. PSS A320 series and DHC8, PIC 767/POSKY merge, and my Dreamfleet GA all run excellent. So far, I'm one happy camper.The only gripe I have with Dell is their lack of intelligence. When I bought the new PC, it came with the LCD monitor. I told the sales guy I planned on using two monitors on this system; the 15" LCD that I was buying, and my existing Dell 19" CRT. I querried him if I was going to require a VGA/DVI adapter of if the new LCD already had the DVI connector. "No, you're all good to go." was his reply. Of course my system shows up with a VGA connector on the LCD and now I'm left calling back and ordering one. "Sure sir, they're $40."A week later, I'm browsing their site and see the VGA/DVI adapter listed at $15. So I call back and ask why I was charged $40 for something they list @$15 on their web site. They tell me it's because there's a "with system purchase" price and an "accessory price". I was charged the accessory price.After explaining the above to her, she tells me to contact the salesman that took my order, and see what he can do about it. Wait a minute. Isn't that her job?Anyways, I sent the sales guy an email last week and haven't heard hide nor hair since. I used to be really happy with Dell, but this issue leaves me wondering. I know $25 isn't the world, but it's still my $25, and I should have never had to order it in the first place, according to their knowledgable sales staff.Other than that, you should be in good shape with you're new system.Just got off the phone with Dell. After 45 minutes of phone hell and getting bounced from department to department, they've adjusted the cost of the adapter. It wasn't easy, but they did it. Finally! Let's just say their sales department isn't as technically in tune as we're led to believe.KyleCF-AOA