Running FS9 with track IR and a Flight1 172. I have a 1.6GHz processor with 512M ram and 128M video card and it runs fine right now (haven't checked fps but it's smooth), but I think I'm pushing my limits. Or am I? I'd like to add Active Sky and Ultimate Terrain as my next add-ons but I'm worried about how it may slow the system down. I can always up my memory to 2 or 4G if needed.I guess my question is, how bad will these two programs hurt my system for resources. Is one of them much worse than the other?

Running FS9 with track IR and a Flight1 172. I have a 1.6GHz processor with 512M ram and 128M video card and it runs fine right now (haven't checked fps but it's smooth), but I think I'm pushing my limits. Or am I? I'd like to add Active Sky and Ultimate Terrain as my next add-ons but I'm worried about how it may slow the system down. I can always up my memory to 2 or 4G if needed.I guess my question is, how bad will these two programs hurt my system for resources. Is one of them much worse than the other?

They will hurt your system tremendously, especially Active Sky with half decent clouds. I have to be honest, I'm shocked you get the results you do. Only 512Mb of RAM, would certainly invest in at least 2Gb, look at a cheap dual core CPU and, at the very minimum, a graphics card that is 256Mb.Good luck

Running FS9 with track IR and a Flight1 172. I have a 1.6GHz processor with 512M ram and 128M video card and it runs fine right now (haven't checked fps but it's smooth), but I think I'm pushing my limits. Or am I? I'd like to add Active Sky and Ultimate Terrain as my next add-ons but I'm worried about how it may slow the system down. I can always up my memory to 2 or 4G if needed.I guess my question is, how bad will these two programs hurt my system for resources. Is one of them much worse than the other?

If i were u, i would get 3gb ram and at least 512mb dedicated graphic card.

Thanks guys. Not what I wanted to hear, but I guess I'll wait until I get a better system.

If i were u, i would get 3gb ram and at least 512mb dedicated graphic card.

I would make sure to get 2 or 4 gigs as he can then run it in dual channel....OP:Def look into upgrading. If you're satisfied with your current set up, you don't need to upgrade to the lastest and greatest. You'll be amazed what you can get for say $500 now, esp if you reuse things like keyboards, monitors, dvd-drives, even harddrives as long as you have a decent one. Look into a basic motherboard (nothing fancy needed), possibly the E8400 cpu (will not need more then that really), and decent brand ddr2 memory at 800, along with something like the 8800gts 512 (if they still sell that). With that, you can run your sim with pretty much whatever you want.

Bill,If you purchase Active Sky and your computer doesn't run smooth, I will refund your purchase.Thanks,

Bill,If you purchase Active Sky and your computer doesn't run smooth, I will refund your purchase.Thanks,

I may take you up on that. A new computer isn't in the budget right now.

Running FS9 with track IR and a Flight1 172. I have a 1.6GHz processor with 512M ram and 128M video card and it runs fine right now (haven't checked fps but it's smooth), but I think I'm pushing my limits. Or am I? I'd like to add Active Sky and Ultimate Terrain as my next add-ons but I'm worried about how it may slow the system down. I can always up my memory to 2 or 4G if needed.I guess my question is, how bad will these two programs hurt my system for resources. Is one of them much worse than the other?

Bill- "Or am I?" is the operative question. Just to shine a brighter light on performance-My system is not so far from yours- AMD XP2200 1.8GHz, 2GB Ram, 2 GeForce FX5200/128M vid cards- AGP and PCI. (2GB Ram is vital.)This rig operates with triple monitors displaying triple 2D views LFwd,Fwd,RFwd all integrated into one 145

So my choices are $80 for some memory or $500 for a computer. I'll have to think about that one. It is good to know my system isn't that far off from yours Alex.Jim, I'd love to download active sky now even if it doesn't allow me to fly smooth, but it would be fun to tinker with and learn all the settings. If I end up going the new computer route, am I able to re-install it onto the new computer or do I need to buy another copy?

Hi,Remember, if this is with the current computer my offer is for ASv6.5. Our other program, ASA, would be too much for your current computer.Yes, you would be able to reinstall to a newer computer down the road.Thanks,

Hi.Nothing to add to this thread regarding the PC specs or suggestions, but I felt that I simply had to reply to thank Jim for his very generous and decent offer to Bill72pa.Nice Jim, very nice.It makes a refreshing change to see Dev's are still human.Thanks.

Thanks Steve!

Went to Best Buy last night to get memory, but [a] they didn't have any DDR-400 which is what I have, and it was more expensive than I thought.My friend has an old stick of 512M that he's gonna give me, so this weekend I'll probably download Active Skyv6.5 before putting the memory in to see how it runs, then double my memory to 1G and see what difference that makes.I'll still probably get a new computer in the near future, as any low-end pc will be better than what I have.Thanks for all the input.

Don't ever look for memory at stores, unless it's one of those same PC stores. I suggest you look at newegg.com or zipzoomfly.com for computer parts.

I was thinking the exact thing as G-SWSM. HIFI is top notch, also in my own experience one of the best in customer support.