Hey guys.I'm sure this has been gone over a dozen times in this forum but I wanted to start my own thread and see where I land. I have been a diehard FS9 fan for a very long time. I never switched to FSX do to the 'bugginess' of it. The NGX is going to be a assume aircraft and I think I'm ready to make the switch. I built my FS9 rig and now I want to do the same with the new FSX pc. So what should I be looking at in terms of hardware? OS? I don't need a big flashy case or all sorts of lights in it. So what hardware and OS do you suggest I go with? ThanksPS Please list what frames you get with your system if you describe yours please. Thanks!

HiI can't help you very much because my computer isn't very good, but i can suggest you to take Win7 64bits.That's the best OS out there for FSX as far as i know.With the hardware someone else must help you, but i'm also looking for a new computer for cristmas, and so i'm also interested in your question.RegardsEmi

Make sure your computer has at least 4096MB RAM and your processor runs at 3.2GHz or more. I recommend that. 2.6GHz isn't that bad but it's just better to take 3.2 or higher :) And a good graphicscard with at least 1gb. I'msure of these 3 things.- And, keep pc clean, defrag whole fsx folder after installation and use some good tweaks.

It ultimately depends on how much you want / can spend on a new system. The default AC, with most sliders set half way, FSX would give you a good performance on on a Quad or Duo core processor with 4 GB RAM on a 64Bit OS. This is what I had last year with my Dell XPS720 Quad 6600 processor and 6 GB RAM. On this machine and on the ground at a large airport with very careful use of the graphic sliders, I was still only getting about 12 FPS with the JS41 but triple that on the default AC.A few weeks ago I got an Alienware Aurora ALX from Dell,spent over a grand more than the advertised price to up the Processor to a factory overclocked I7-980X and the Graphics card to a GTX480 and the default 12 GB RAM. I probably could have spent less money but I did want to see what I can get out of my favorite AC, JS41. All sliders are at or close to their max (with the exception of road traffic...useless huge hit on FPS) and at the same airport and on the ground, I now get twice as much FPS on the JS41 (23-25 fps) and considerably more on the default AC (w/ High and Ultra High settings). I'm afraid, that's the price to pay for PMDG's awesome products. Bottom line is that you would be quite satisfied with FSX on a system that had even 6 GB RAM and an I7-920 (at least) processor running on a 64 bit system.

I was on the exact same boat as you. I decided to stuff it and upgrade my full computer. What I learned was taht the Processor is the main thing you need for more FPS, and for FSX you need at least 4GB of RAM. I upgraded from a Q6600 to an i7 920 and stayed with my original 8800GTX from Nvidia and I gained almost 30 FPS ! So a few motnh later I decided to get the ultimate ATi Radeon 5970 GPU thinking it would give me even more but only an extra 5 so GPU does not matter but be sure it has at least 1GB of memory. Also I would recommend 6GB of RAM. If your on a budget then an i5 or even an i3 will do as they are extremly overclockable !Hope this helps :DJAMMUR

I'd get something like the i5 760, a good aftermarket cooler, 4 gigs of ram and a modern gfx card in the range of the AMD 5850. Getting a 4 core i7 over a 4 core i5 offers nothing extra in FSX.Personally I'm using an i7 920 o@ 3.8ghz, 6 gigs and a GTX260. I'm getting around 20-25 fps on the ground and between 30 and 70+++ in the air with payware aircraft (I dont fly default ones so I dont know how they perform.) With the system listed above you should get at least similar performance, provided that you overclock your cpu, of course :(

...processor runs at 3.2GHz or more. I recommend that. 2.6GHz isn't that bad but it's just better to take 3.2 or higher :) ...

It doesnt make any sense to list a minimum clockspeed. You cannot use clockspeed as a measurement of performance, as chips of different architecture performs differently per clock cycle.

I would like to add my two cents. Be carefull with the cooling system if you're gonna OC. A hot CPU its more slower than a cold one. And if you OC your, it will get hotter.Good luck.

I would like to add my two cents. Be carefull with the cooling system if you're gonna OC. A hot CPU its more slower than a cold one. And if you OC your, it will get hotter.Good luck.

Only if you have totally inadequate cooling, or have misattached the cooling so your chip runs way out of the operating range and cause thermal throttling to activate. this happens at really high temperatures tho, much higher than what is recommended to run your chip at in all overclocking guides.

Get the fastest i7 that you can afford - Windows7 64bit is a must. At least 4Gb ram and a reasonable graphics card (512Mb min)If really flash then a SSD drive to put FSX on for almost instant loading and the latest/greatest graphics card of course lol.Just install as per Nick's instructions and then add Bojote's bits and pieces (highmemfix is a must).As for FPS.... who cares in reality as long as it runs smoothly and reliably!You surely remember when FS9 came out originally it had the same fps issues as FSX on the then 'fast' cpu's we had... I'm still convinced FSX won't run at maximum of everything settings at 100fps at complex airports using complex aircraft no matter what prople have or claim to have seen.As for my modest i7 (2.8) setup I can run ConcordeX at Aerosoft's Heathrow at aroung 24fps - or the default Hang Glideer over the sea at >300fps so it's all releative (I limit the sim to 30fps anyway lol). Yes, on occasion FSX messes up but I think that's only natural considering the age of the software (as long as it's very rare lol).John Ellison

People, I've the following:

• Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66 GHz OC @ 3.2 GHz
• 4096MG RAM
• ATI Radeon HD 5570

All settings of FSX are approximately around medium some high. When at ground with PMDG 747X I'm getting FPS about 20 -25. Whenin sky FPS 20 - 30. About the temperature of both CPU's: approximately 55 degrees.First question: 55 degrees for a CPU of a E6750 is many?Second question: When lowering the 55 degrees with more coolers, FPS will increase a little bit?Thanks in advantage.

People, I've the following:

• Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66 GHz OC @ 3.2 GHz
• 4096MG RAM
• ATI Radeon HD 5570

All settings of FSX are approximately around medium some high. When at ground with PMDG 747X I'm getting FPS about 20 -25. Whenin sky FPS 20 - 30. About the temperature of both CPU's: approximately 55 degrees.First question: 55 degrees for a CPU of a E6750 is many?Second question: When lowering the 55 degrees with more coolers, FPS will increase a little bit?Thanks in advantage.

55c is perfectly safe for the e6750. Tcase is 72c for the 6750. This is the maximum recommended temperature of the heat spreader on on the cpu. The heat spreader is normally 10-15c colder than the core temperature, so a maximum recommended core temp would be around 82-87c for the 6750Lowering the temperature will not have any sort of effect on your framerate. Thermal throttling happens well after the cpu reaches max Tcase temps

Specs below if you can do itFPS 40-70

55c is perfectly safe for the e6750. Tcase is 72c for the 6750. This is the maximum recommended temperature of the heat spreader on on the cpu. The heat spreader is normally 10-15c colder than the core temperature, so a maximum recommended core temp would be around 82-87c for the 6750Lowering the temperature will not have any sort of effect on your framerate. Thermal throttling happens well after the cpu reaches max Tcase temps

I've already OC the E6750 from 2.66 to 3.2 but if it keeps around 55 degrees then I can try to OC it to 3.6? :( But maybe I still need an extra cooler.

Here's the key components in my view:1. Overclocked Intel Core i7 or Core i5 750 CPU - you need a good cooler to get it up to ~4GHz range2. A good motherboard that can handle the overclocking. (P55 for the i7 8xx or i5 series, X58 for the i7 9xx series)2. 4+GB of DDR3-1600 or higher RAM (multiples of 2 for a P55 board and multiples of 3 for the X58)3. GTX460 1GB or better video card4. A good strong power supply that can handle the overclocks and video card - I love the Corsair HX series.5. Windows 7 x64

I've already OC the E6750 from 2.66 to 3.2 but if it keeps around 55 degrees then I can try to OC it to 3.6? :( But maybe I still need an extra cooler.

You sure can try, just make sure you pay attention to the temperatures under stress testing. Its the load temps that are important, idle temps doesnt mean anything. Also, keep all your voltages on a manual setting, having them on auto will almost certainly cause the motherboard to feed more volt than needed and will increase temperatures. In some cases having volt on auto and overclocking will cause the volt to shoot up, above what is safe recommended voltage settings. Auto voltage and overclocking is a big no-no