PMDG 747-400X at Best Buy for only $29.95! I did not hesitate and grabbed one. I am en experienced Level D 767-300ER flyer and have wanted the PMDG 747-400X for some time, but I did not want to fork out the $79.99 for the download version. This was a great find! I just hope it is as good as the Level D.RH

PMDG 747-400X at Best Buy for only $29.95! I did not hesitate and grabbed one. I am en experienced Level D 767-300ER flyer and have wanted the PMDG 747-400X for some time, but I did not want to fork out the $79.99 for the download version. This was a great find! I just hope it is as good as the Level D.RH

It is!!!

It's still my favorite plane for FSX, but don't buy it if your system is underpowered. There are some interesting rumors going on in the PMDG forums here on AVSIM right now, might be a brand new 747-8 from PMDG coming soon, or a pretty good looking hoax. The video links are in their general forum.

This kind of market (pricing) strategy is what more addon producers need to do more often, IMO.Captain Sim just did it with their 24HR sale, and if others are smart they will follow suit, too.I am fully aware it takes many years to program these complex addons and developers need to make a return on their investment... BUT with the global economy in such bad shape right now (more in certain places than others) it makes a lot more sense to shore up their market shares based on volume versus lower sales per high ticket item.Making FS Addons like PMDG, Level-D, Captain Sim, Eaglesoft, et al. more financially accessible to flight simmers is good all around, and not just for developers.The more simmers can afford a moderately priced addon with the depth of features something like PMDG offers, this means the more copies of MSFX (or FS9) sell because you can't run any of these without the core FS program. The more people who buy FS, the more widespread our hobby becomes... And as a nice side benefit, the more the simulator is used to its fullest capacity with these in-depth addons, too. The beauty of FS is it is a "learn at your own pace" program and caters to different levels of interest from GA to commercial airliners, and everything in between. Including helicopters and other non-fixed wing aircraft, too. But I think to get the fullest out of FSX, something like PMDG, Captain Sim and Airsimmer are required to push it to and beyond its limits.Sensible pricing strategies might also help stem the flow of piracy, too. A lot of times people pirate things not just because they can, but because the cost is just too expensive even if they do have the money to spend, regardless e.g. $80 for the 747X is almost twice the price of FSX alone. Some people just cannot justify this extra cost. For example, I know people who would never pirate anything in their life, but they refuse to pay $80 for an addon... Any addon... Regardless of how robust it is.

Is it more resource intensive than a Level D 767-300ER (hits framerates more?)?I am currently running a system around a Core2 e8400 (overclocked to 4Ghz), 9800 GTX+ 512Mb, Window XP 32, with 4 Gb DDR2 RAM, and a 300 Gb Raptor Velocity 10,000 RPM HD.I am about to be running an i5 (overclocked to 4Ghz) with a brand new GTX 275OC 896Mb, Windows 7 64, with 4Gb DDR3 1600 speed RAM - not to mention that same 300 Gb Raptor Velocity 10,000 RPM HD. It's in the mail scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I hope this new system helps.I almost fell over when I saw the full PMDG 747-400X selling for only $29.95. The wife was not with me, so I was able to pick it up without hassle. I often wonder about the future of our beloved hobby with the economy the way it is. And, it indeed takes a long, long time with a lot of brain power to program these complex aircraft (Level Ds, PMDGs). The AVSIM forum activity does not seem to be as high as it was 2 or 3 years ago (but that could be my imagination).RH

Robbie:Yes. The PMDG 747X is a lot more resource heavy. Especially in the VC at major hubs. Depending on your settings you will most likely be in low-double digits (teens). Regardless of hardware. However, once you take off, that will climb to mid-to-high double digits (30+), again, depending on your settings and hardware.I have videos of the 747X on my Youtube Channel (see signature). Be aware, the frame rates in the videos is considerably lower than what I normally get because I cranked up all the sliders AND because FRAPS cuts frame rates in half because it is so resource intensive when recording. This is normal for most FSX videos, though.As for making complex addons more affordable for the masses...You took the word's right out of my mouth :(

nice website/blog. Looks like you put a lot of work into it. Take care,RH

BestBuy in America or Canada? If Canada what provinces is the store at?

BestBuy in the USA only unfortunately...Picked-up my copy in Virginia a month ago on vacation :( Alain from Montreal

just picked mine up!!! :(