This is my first time over here in the FSX forums and the reason I'm here is that I am a potential convert to FSX. I plan to use FSX as my VFR flight simulator and fly mostly in the PNW region along with all the great scenery in Australia from FTX. FS9 will remain my IFR sim. This would be alongside REX, ActiveSky Evolution, and WOAI. Could anybody give me advice on whether my computer is up to the task and what hardware upgrades I should get? My specs are as follows: Intel Duo Core E7500 @ 2.93gHzEVGA 9800GT 1GB core speed 680mHz2GB DDR2 RAMWindows 7 Home Premium 64 bitAlso, any advice on FSX essentials? Thanks Alex

Alex,My system is not far away from yours. I have an E8500 OC to 3.80 GH, a NVIDIA 8800 GTS but 4 GB of memory and a seperate 500 GB disk for FSX.After tuning following NickN documentation I get 30 FPS in general (down to 20 FPS in busy airports), stock planes, RC, ASA, My Traffic X, SceneryTech and Ultimate Terrain.

Please notice "stock planes".I built my machine with FSX in mind, and stock planes will give me excellent performance, no matter what I load in it.But once you take a PMDG747 or JS41 for a spin, it's a whole another ballgame. Expect the performance to drop rapidly, easily some 30-50% down (50% only some extreme cases like JS41 VC, Captain Sim 757 etc), and you will quickly be slideshowing on that machine.Even on a monsters like 980x and GTX480 it's not possible to land a JS41 at YBBN with all bells and whistles at 30fps. But granted, on most of airports, expect to hold 20-30fps (but not with C2D and 9800GT).Something in lines of my computer will give you middle enjoyment. Aerosoft Heathrow, PMDG 747 VC with 25fps.FSX also performs better with GA aircraft and lower and slower flying. You might be OK with some light aircraft and PNW if you set your settings really low, especially the autogen.If upgrading, you should upgrade eveything...Mainboard, CPU, GPU, RAM...

Alex,My system is not far away from yours. I have an E8500 OC to 3.80 GH, a NVIDIA 8800 GTS but 4 GB of memory and a seperate 500 GB disk for FSX.After tuning following NickN documentation I get 30 FPS in general (down to 20 FPS in busy airports), stock planes, RC, ASA, My Traffic X, SceneryTech and Ultimate Terrain.

My system is close to that. I have an E8400 OC'ed to 3.85, 2GB DDR2 at 1085mhz, and a GTS250 OC 1GB video card. The rest can be seen in my sig as well as all the addons I use.Even though I have a few addon GA planes and a few addon helicopter, the majority of my time is spent in either the LDS 767 or the PMDG JS4100. Generally with the LDS or PMDG bird I can fly into pretty much any airport, addon ot stock with 100% airline traffic, realworld weather which is sometimes nasty, and most sliders at or near max except car traffic, bloom, and lens flare, end rarely drop below 20 FPS, but usually stay in the 25-30 FPS in dense areas and 30+ FPS in rural areas. Unlike FS9, 20+ FPS feels really smooth to me and there is no stutters or blurred textures.Frankly, aside from one addon airport from Aerosoft called NiceX, I have really good performance on the rig that I built for FSX a little over 2 years ago, hence the reason I have yet to upgrade to a newer i7 and faster DDR3 RAM. My FSX computer is just that, an FSX computer, although I do have FS9 installed on it, I never use it, and I dont use the computer for anything else. I had the whole thing, meaning the operating system, FSX, security, video drivers, etc., setup by a third party which may explain one reason I get good performance. You can also follow NickN's guide which someone else mentioned and ******* Altuve's tweaks which have helped a lot of people to get really good performance.I will say this about FSX. When I first started my rig was running at the stock 3.85 ghz and I got the biggest gain from overclocking to 3.85ghz. Just like prior version of FS, the faster the CPU you can get your hands on the better off you will be.

I will say this about FSX. When I first started my rig was running at the stock 3.85 ghz and I got the biggest gain from overclocking to 3.85ghz. Just like prior version of FS, the faster the CPU you can get your hands on the better off you will be.

I think you meant to say 'my rig was running at the stock 3 ghz and I got the biggest gain from overclocking to 3.85ghz'. :(

I think you meant to say 'my rig was running at the stock 3 ghz and I got the biggest gain from overclocking to 3.85ghz'. :(

LOL, yeah that's what I meant.That's what happens when you post at 3:45 am :( If anyone ever looked at the times in my post history, they would probably wonder when or if I ever sleep.

Thanks for the all the help and welcoming me into the FSX forum! I think you may have made me a convert to FSX. I have a few questions now based on your responses:1. How will GA aircraft from Carenado and other developers perform in PNW and similar scenery? The largest I will fly would probably be the JS41 no LDS767 for me :( 2. What sort of frame rate boost does using NickN's tuning and Bojote's tweaks provide?3. How much FS9 scenery can be converted for FSX? (I know there is Tongass Fjords X but I'd like to keep Misty Fjords and Glacier Bay)4. Would adding another 2GB of DDR2 RAM be helpful? (Currently my hardware budget was used up on the graphics card and my system does not allow for processor overclocking)Thanks again for all your help I think next time I'm out and I see FSX it'll be a purchase :( Alex

I think your machine will do fine IF you add another 2GB of RAM. Our systems are similar but once you get that 2nd stick of RAM I'd say you'd have me beat. My AMD6000 is old tech hehe. Carenado planes are notoriously easy on FPS - usually better than the default planes, at least in my experience - so no trouble there.PNW is actually quite heavy on the FPS, especially in built up areas. You'll want to see their readme file and you'll want to decrease sliders near the larger cities.Other than that you asked for recommendations on the "essentials".... Pretty much what you have in FS9 you'll want in X (a lot of your FS9 legacy scenery won't work in X):UTX USA/Canada/EuropeGEX nhancedActive Sky EvolutionSome form of sky textures (FEX/REX/Xgraphics)Ultimate Traffic X/My Traffic 5.3Pro/ etcPlane-wise:RealAir Dukehttp://realairsimulations.com/duke09/intro...ge=duke09_introEaglesoft Cirrus SR22 G3http://www.eaglesoftdg.com/CirrusSR22G2_G3T.htmLotus L39 Albatros http://lotussim.com/Flight1 C510 Mustanghttp://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=f1mustangThose are probably the best four GA I can think of...Reality XP's GNS430W gauges also help in 3 of those 4 planes:http://www.reality-xp.com/flightsim/gns430/index.htmlGood luck!!!Oh, and one of the first tweaks you want is from this page:http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=29041

Pretty much what you have in FS9 you'll want in X (a lot of your FS9 legacy scenery won't work in X):UTX USA/Canada/EuropeGEX nhancedActive Sky EvolutionSome form of sky textures (FEX/REX/Xgraphics)Ultimate Traffic X/My Traffic 5.3Pro/ etc

Thanks for that information. What FS9-only sceneries are known to work well in FSX? you mentioned Ultimate Traffic and My Traffic, does WOAI work in FSX? Can Alpha India traffic be used as well?Alex

Thanks for that information. What FS9-only sceneries are known to work well in FSX? you mentioned Ultimate Traffic and My Traffic, does WOAI work in FSX? Can Alpha India traffic be used as well?Alex

I'm not sure that there is much FS9 content that works well in FSX...I've kept a running copy of FS9 so I can go back and fly the Flight1 Meridian or the PMDG 737NG or B1900 (which I do ever less of..)FSX has some quirks which you will get to know over time...As mentioned above, in built up areas, performance can suffer quite a bit (all those suburban tiles with roads and autogen I assume)..One of the best things to turn down/off is freeway traffic (!) Try turning it off, period and see if that improves things...In general, turn down all traffic a bit if you see performance problems... also try water at 1X high instead of 2X, in the PNW scenerythat actually looks pretty good!On a quad system, I like using the AffinityMask=14 setting, it provides for fluid flight and keeps the heavy load off Core0.Last but not least, I like using the external Framerate limiter, and fps set to unlimited inside FSX, others like to usethe FSX internal fps setting better.PNW is wonderful scenery and I'm not sure you need a lot more to really enjoy flying in that part of the world!Carenado's planes are very good on framerates, PMDG and Flight1 a lot heavier..

After a few days away from the computer I'm back and with a copy of FSX Gold Edition to install tonight! Thanks for all your help on this I'm really looking forward to what FSX has to offer! I do have a few questions left I thought I should ask before I accidentally mess up FS9 and FSX.-Since Carenado seems to be working well for FSX could I just port over my planes from FS9 or are they incompatible? (I'm thrifty and purchasing new ones if the old ones work seems just wasteful! :( )-Same question on Aerosoft's sceneries. I have Mega Airport Budapest and I was wondering if I could just add that scenery to FSX and leave it in the FS9 folder or start a joint sceneries folder.-Will ActiveSky work in FSX from where it is installed in FS9? Or is a second install in the FSX folder required?Thanks for your help guys and welcoming me into the FSX forumAlex

After a few days away from the computer I'm back and with a copy of FSX Gold Edition to install tonight! Thanks for all your help on this I'm really looking forward to what FSX has to offer! I do have a few questions left I thought I should ask before I accidentally mess up FS9 and FSX.-Since Carenado seems to be working well for FSX could I just port over my planes from FS9 or are they incompatible? (I'm thrifty and purchasing new ones if the old ones work seems just wasteful! :( )-Same question on Aerosoft's sceneries. I have Mega Airport Budapest and I was wondering if I could just add that scenery to FSX and leave it in the FS9 folder or start a joint sceneries folder.-Will ActiveSky work in FSX from where it is installed in FS9? Or is a second install in the FSX folder required?Thanks for your help guys and welcoming me into the FSX forumAlex

Have you tried checking if there are any upgrades to the FSX versions free or for a small fee. If you have just installed FSX you don't want to give yourself more headaches by trying to use FS9 products. I would suggest that you visit each products forum or send the developers an email asking the question. Installing any FS9 products in FSX can give side effects that are not easy to track down so proceed slowly if you are determined and at least make a copy of your "Pristine" FSX so you can always revert back to it if the wheels fall off. I use Active sky and upgrading to ASE is certainly worth while and it will work with both FS9 and FSX.

Thanks for the all the help and welcoming me into the FSX forum! I think you may have made me a convert to FSX. I have a few questions now based on your responses:1. How will GA aircraft from Carenado and other developers perform in PNW and similar scenery? The largest I will fly would probably be the JS41 no LDS767 for me :( 2. What sort of frame rate boost does using NickN's tuning and Bojote's tweaks provide?3. How much FS9 scenery can be converted for FSX? (I know there is Tongass Fjords X but I'd like to keep Misty Fjords and Glacier Bay)4. Would adding another 2GB of DDR2 RAM be helpful? (Currently my hardware budget was used up on the graphics card and my system does not allow for processor overclocking)Thanks again for all your help I think next time I'm out and I see FSX it'll be a purchase :( Alex

For what I know, adding 2 GB is good BUT... make sure the supplemental 2 GB sticks are exactly the same models as the old ones. Even better replace your 2 x 1 GB sticks with 2 x 2 GB sticks.The specialists in hardware in this forum will tell you that using only 2 memory slots gives a better result in speed than using the 4 memory slots. I don't have the experience to back up this statement but the experienced users in hardware will confirm this.

-Since Carenado seems to be working well for FSX could I just port over my planes from FS9 or are they incompatible? (I'm thrifty and purchasing new ones if the old ones work seems just wasteful! :( )-Will ActiveSky work in FSX from where it is installed in FS9? Or is a second install in the FSX folder required?Alex

I think some of the Carenado planes will work but BE ADVISED, you will suffer a performance loss because they are not native FSX models (models compiled/created via SDK standards, just trust me when I say always buy native FSX planes)You'll need to purchase ASX or their latest one Active Sky Evolution - either will need to be installed into FSX, you won't be able to use your FS9 installation

RAM is cheap. Buy it, and it should certainly help you.Stan