Hi allI have a neighbour who plays Flight Sim X. He currently has a Dell XPS 420 (all stock speeds):Intel Q66003GB DDR2-667 (2x1GB, 2x512MB)8800GT (not sure on RAM)1TB Sata HDD, 750GB+ freeVista 32bitThe main problem he said he was having was about 20minutes in to a flight, the game would visually freeze (Audio would continue) then eventually CTD. At first I thought this was strange - until he proceeded to show me at least 8 install discs for expansion content, all of which he said he had installed. My mind then immediately clicked to: Is it just running short on RAM? I did suggest running the game with Task Manager open to see if the RAM did get choked, but he's un-installed it all, game included - reinstalling of which he says takes hours. He got talking about wanting a system that would be capable of running FSX with ALL his add-ons installed (with vision to installing scenery to enable him to fly round the world in a flight (I don't even know myself whether that is possible?)) - at this point I checked the max RAM for the current system (as I guess the more scenery = more RAM) and it is 8GB which he could have for ~£120. Considering he has an 8800GT and a Quad already, I'd hazard a guess that it could stand up to what he wants with 8GB RAM?Sorry for this muddled post, I'm just trying to get this guy running FSX the way he wants whilst keeping costs down for him. Any help is appreciated :)Thanks!

Well, this depends on what kind of error exactly he is getting.If it's CTD, as in real crash to desktop, no error message or anything, then it's usually not memory connected.Considering that FSX eats very much memory, but this has nothing to do with the amount of RAM he has, one is very limited by 32bit OS, so the first problem is already here - he should install 64bit OS.I have a FS with MANY addons, and still it doesn't crash. That has nothing to do with the system. I had it on dual core with 2GB of RAM and 8800GT too. It ran slow. But it ran.Running FSX in FULL SLIDERS with addons and everything is impossible with really decent frames. Even with heaviest hardware you can get. And it will never get there. One always has to go down with couple of things.8GB will not make much difference. Consider 64bits and go from there.

I agree with Word Not Allowed. He should check the Event Viewer to see if there was an issue recorded at the time of the crash. I suspect either a bad sound card driver or video card driver installation. With a 32 bit system he also has to make sure he sets "IncreaseUserVA 2560" switch for Vista 32. That will help manage the memory on his system a little bit but the best solution is to install the 64 bit version. He should also take a look at the following link on how to set up FSX and tune it: http://www.simforums.com/Forums/topic29041.html . Lastly, instead of uninstalling FSX and reinstalling it, he should have simply deleted or renamed the FSX.cfg, restarted the system, and let the config rebuild. That resets everything back to the original state of FSX when he first installed it. Best regards,Jim

Well, this depends on what kind of error exactly he is getting.If it's CTD, as in real crash to desktop, no error message or anything, then it's usually not memory connected.Considering that FSX eats very much memory, but this has nothing to do with the amount of RAM he has, one is very limited by 32bit OS, so the first problem is already here - he should install 64bit OS.I have a FS with MANY addons, and still it doesn't crash. That has nothing to do with the system. I had it on dual core with 2GB of RAM and 8800GT too. It ran slow. But it ran.Running FSX in FULL SLIDERS with addons and everything is impossible with really decent frames. Even with heaviest hardware you can get. And it will never get there. One always has to go down with couple of things.8GB will not make much difference. Consider 64bits and go from there.

I agree with Word Not Allowed. He should check the Event Viewer to see if there was an issue recorded at the time of the crash. I suspect either a bad sound card driver or video card driver installation. With a 32 bit system he also has to make sure he sets "IncreaseUserVA 2560" switch for Vista 32. That will help manage the memory on his system a little bit but the best solution is to install the 64 bit version. He should also take a look at the following link on how to set up FSX and tune it: http://www.simforums...topic29041.html . Lastly, instead of uninstalling FSX and reinstalling it, he should have simply deleted or renamed the FSX.cfg, restarted the system, and let the config rebuild. That resets everything back to the original state of FSX when he first installed it. Best regards,Jim

Thanks for the replies I'm aware of needing 64bit for upwards of 3GB RAM, I made him aware of this too at the time. However with 3GB at the moment, would 64bit really make much of a difference? Maths calculations aside, I know 32bit is realistically limited to just under 3.8GB RAM, so anything above this (i.e 4GB+) is where 64bit really comes into it's own (providing the Mobo chipset supports more than 4GB)? He has asked me in the past about upgrading to 7 x64, so it is an option - however him having mentioned a new system is making me wonder if it is worth sticking with 32 until he decides yes or no on a new system. The hardware struggling regardless doesn't surprise me - more and more games are coming out now that need more powerful systems than are financially viable to most - and they say Technology is moving too fast - not fast enough! Forgot to mention, I also updated his Graphics driver just in case - considering it was version 167 from 2007, nVidia's latest is 267+ so something may well have changed that could benefit his card. If not, then it is still something else crossed off the list. He called me this morning to say he has re-installed FSX, and I talked him through the SP2 install over the phone and that went fine. I left him restarting the PC and firing up FSX before installing any further content just to see how it runs from there on. I'll also bear that switch in mind - I'm guessing it gets appended to the FSX executable? I'll either try and talk him through setting it or set it myself the next time I pop round. Thanks again

I'm aware of needing 64bit for upwards of 3GB RAM, I made him aware of this too at the time. However with 3GB at the moment, would 64bit really make much of a difference? Maths calculations aside, I know 32bit is realistically limited to just under 3.8GB RAM, so anything above this (i.e 4GB+) is where 64bit really comes into it's own (providing the Mobo chipset supports more than 4GB)? He has asked me in the past about upgrading to 7 x64, so it is an option - however him having mentioned a new system is making me wonder if it is worth sticking with 32 until he decides yes or no on a new system.

You are very much confusing what an app can allocate and what you "see" in Windows as recognized RAM. One has nothing to do with the other. And for both you need 64bits.So to split it:- an app can allocate max of 2GB for its operation under 32bit OS - again, does NOT matter how much RAM you have - the more you have, merrier, because less swap windows is going to use - 64bit OS will allocate up to 4GB per application- 32bit OS can actually see up to 3,5gb (how this exactly works, no idea, but I know I had to change something in BIOS for me to work back then), BUT it can still allocate up to 2GB for an application - 64bit OS will see all 4GB

I'll also bear that switch in mind - I'm guessing it gets appended to the FSX executable? I'll either try and talk him through setting it or set it myself the next time I pop round.

No, the switch has nothing to do with FSX directly. It's like taking a lolipop from one baby and giving it to another... you will give an app more than 2GB useable space (3GB, but not 4GB), and give the system less - 1GB. So you are maybe delaying the out of memory error, but still with FSX and many addons, often cutting it very close - I often cross the 3GB limit. It all depends how you use your FSX.

Hi again,Sorry for going silent on this - been very busy lately. Got in contact with my neighbour again today and had a further discussion. Bottom line is 99% of what he uses the PC for is and will be FSX. He is wondering whether an upgrade over his current system or a new system will give the best for his needs. Both the upgrade or the new PC will include 64bit Windows 7 for certain now - you've explained the good reason for that :) He also mentioned that very soon he will be getting a wall-mounted 32" TV for use as a Primary monitor for FSX. Bearing in mind he says he wants to run FSX with a lot of Addons "with all Sliders at Ultra" at I'm guessing what eventually will be 1920*1080 when the TV is fitted, which would give the best bang for buck?Upgrade - £300Windows 7 64bitExtra 4GB RAM (2x2GB) to add to 2x1GB to effectively double his RAM to 6GBUpgraded PSU(For an extra £150, would the GTX 460 1GB provide anything that the 8800GT doesn't?)Full System - £900Windows 7 64bitIntel Core i5 2400 LGA 1155 (I know the K chips are good for OCing but I haven't ever attempted to OC even my own Hardware, so I won't be starting on this one!)Asus 1155 MotherBoard (I am aware of the Sandy Bridge bug)8GB DDR3-1600 (4x2GB)Nvidia 460GTX 1GB1TB HDDCreative SB PCI-Exp.Case + 750w PSUI did have the idea of having him demonstrate the original issue whilst also monitoring his Graphics settings and the respective Framerate using FRAPS, however he did mention that the crash sometimes takes upto 30 minutes to occur so that may not be viable. Any more advice will be appreciated :)Many thanks for your time all!

Hi again,Sorry for going silent on this - been very busy lately. Got in contact with my neighbour again today and had a further discussion. Bottom line is 99% of what he uses the PC for is and will be FSX. He is wondering whether an upgrade over his current system or a new system will give the best for his needs. Both the upgrade or the new PC will include 64bit Windows 7 for certain now - you've explained the good reason for that :) He also mentioned that very soon he will be getting a wall-mounted 32" TV for use as a Primary monitor for FSX. Bearing in mind he says he wants to run FSX with a lot of Addons "with all Sliders at Ultra" at I'm guessing what eventually will be 1920*1080 when the TV is fitted, which would give the best bang for buck?Upgrade - £300Windows 7 64bitExtra 4GB RAM (2x2GB) to add to 2x1GB to effectively double his RAM to 6GBUpgraded PSU(For an extra £150, would the GTX 460 1GB provide anything that the 8800GT doesn't?)Full System - £900Windows 7 64bitIntel Core i5 2400 LGA 1155 (I know the K chips are good for OCing but I haven't ever attempted to OC even my own Hardware, so I won't be starting on this one!)Asus 1155 MotherBoard (I am aware of the Sandy Bridge bug)8GB DDR3-1600 (4x2GB)Nvidia 460GTX 1GB1TB HDDCreative SB PCI-Exp.Case + 750w PSUI did have the idea of having him demonstrate the original issue whilst also monitoring his Graphics settings and the respective Framerate using FRAPS, however he did mention that the crash sometimes takes upto 30 minutes to occur so that may not be viable. Any more advice will be appreciated :)Many thanks for your time all!

That would be an excellent upgrade. As you can see below in my signature, I just upgraded from the Dell XPS 720H2C to the SB CPU/system and it is nothing less than spectacular. Your neighbor will not be disappointed. However, I think the tiny price increase to the K series would be worth the investment in the long run. It's like future-proofing your system for things like maybe Flight that might be released in this decade. You don't have to know about overclocking as the ASUS board will allow you to automatically overclock to 3.8GHz and into the 4GHz ranges without problems. There are plenty of people here and on the Internet who can provide you with the exact settings in the bios to make that all happen. I had little knowledge about overclocking just a couple of weeks ago and had a fellow AVSIM member (SpiritFlyer) call me from Canada and walk me through the settings. FSX is CPU intensive rather than GPU so the faster you can clock the CPU, the better. In any case, going the SB route is the cheapest and best route to take.Best regards,Jim

Hi Jim :)Thanks for the reply - I have to say I didn't actually look at your specs until now and they are fairly similar, both old and new builds. Having looked into it a bit more, the OC'ing does make sense. I'll factor in a 2500K and speak to my neighbour about it, including the whole SB bug debacle - from what I've read online so far, Intel are hoping for full resolution by April so my neighbour may be happy to wait until then - seeing as he wants the system for "up to 5 years" (I imagine it'll be nearer 3 myself!) - the last thing he will want is to have to have me rip it apart to swap the board in a few months time!On the OC side of things, would the stock cooler hold up to it? All this talk has got me wanting a new PC too now...oops...

Hi Jim :)Thanks for the reply - I have to say I didn't actually look at your specs until now and they are fairly similar, both old and new builds. Having looked into it a bit more, the OC'ing does make sense. I'll factor in a 2500K and speak to my neighbour about it, including the whole SB bug debacle - from what I've read online so far, Intel are hoping for full resolution by April so my neighbour may be happy to wait until then - seeing as he wants the system for "up to 5 years" (I imagine it'll be nearer 3 myself!) - the last thing he will want is to have to have me rip it apart to swap the board in a few months time!On the OC side of things, would the stock cooler hold up to it? All this talk has got me wanting a new PC too now...oops...

New bug free boards are being sold now so any board you buy now will most likely be bug free. I know they took all SB motherboards off the market for a while and most sellers will not sell a "bad" motherboard. So you can safely buy a bug free board now. I personally think the stock Intel CPU cooler will work well. I would just make sure your case has several fans. Most new cases do but you want to check to make sure. I bought my addon nocha cooler because I saw some other systems with it. It cost me about $85 so not a major cost addon. I've seen a lot of system builds using the Intel cooler. I agree, all this talk about a new PC gets one thinking about upgrading too. That was the prime reason why I decided to upgrade now instead of waiting for Ivy Bridge chipset to be released later this year or the first part of next year. Your neighbor will not be disappointed with SB and FSX. Best regards,Jim

New bug free boards are being sold now so any board you buy now will most likely be bug free. I know they took all SB motherboards off the market for a while and most sellers will not sell a "bad" motherboard. So you can safely buy a bug free board now. I personally think the stock Intel CPU cooler will work well. I would just make sure your case has several fans. Most new cases do but you want to check to make sure. I bought my addon nocha cooler because I saw some other systems with it. It cost me about $85 so not a major cost addon. I've seen a lot of system builds using the Intel cooler. I agree, all this talk about a new PC gets one thinking about upgrading too. That was the prime reason why I decided to upgrade now instead of waiting for Ivy Bridge chipset to be released later this year or the first part of next year. Your neighbor will not be disappointed with SB and FSX. Best regards,Jim

Forgot to mention (or more I haven't sorted my profile yet!) that I'm in the UK. My supplier is actually still selling the affected boards, surprisingly. They are aware of the issue and Asus UK released a statement regarding starting the release of board replacements on the 25th - the supplier has said they hope to have all stock replaced within the next 30 days...According to Asus the new boards will be clearly makred as b3 revisions, on the box, board and about 3 other locations from what I have read. I'll be keeping a close eye on it in the next week! I did wonder if it would be OK - it does seem that the die shrink has done a fair bit for temperatures. It just looked quite thin to me, not to mention it's made from aluminium (I'm not sure if it has a Copper core where the die/Heatspreader on the CPU is in contact). I'll keep reading around and make a more informed decision once I've spoken to my neighbour to see how he feels about OCing. I'd heard that 1156 and 1366 were being deprecated soon (already!) - hence SB looks even more promising. I will probably take the plunge on an SB soon, or if time and finances mean so, I'll wait and see how IB fares. Can't put it off forever though - with Intel chucking out new Chipsets and CPUs this fast if I kept delaying I'd never upgrade!Thanks for all your input so far, I'll be sure to update on progress as and when