Keep your old computer...

[Bennyboy 0]

Hi, first post here but I have been a lurker for many years. I will make 2 post, this first one about upgrading you computer for FSX and the other one about Aerosoft Aibus X (look for it somewhere else)My old machine: A good Dual core Intel 8600, ATI 4870, 2 gig of RAM, XP SP3, Asus P5Q-PRO, sata 2 500 gig.New Machine: Intel second gen I7 2700, P8 mother board VER B3, 16 gig of expensive ram, Sata3 1 TB, ATI 6970, Win 7 64 bit (I won't talk about this one... I'm ready to kill someone, I hat MS).Conclusion, not impress at all, in general, no improvement over my old machine. COD4 run 10 time faster but FSX.... pfffffffffffffff..I'm a casual Simmer, I work hard and when I come home i want to play and have fun. I really hoped that the new machine would improve FSX but it didn't, well, maybe a bit somewhere... or maybe not, noting is obvious at all considering the machine I just built.We all love to fly but i tell you, don't invest on new top notch machine, it's useless for FSX. Right now, I'm building 4 high end machine for my shop, I have installed FSX on each one (similar spec to the one above), the result are all the same, FSX is an olf software that don't cope with new high end machine...???????? so strange and so sad. I don't get it. Look for my post about payed addon, i have 33. Most of those are great, some are so bad that i regret to have bought those. A lot of addon don't work great on 64 bit. Everyone will end up with 64 bit OS.I was so disappointed with my machine (at first with FSX) that i had to install other game like Crysis, COD 3-4-5 to see that I had a killer machine. FSX didn't show me real improvement so I thought that i had built some crappy computer... no, not at all.Cheers, Ben

[dazz 69]

What your FSX settings and your Catalyst settings?

[ZachLW 37]

I'm assuming you mean you have an i7 2600 (not a "2700")? In which case there's next to no over clocking that can be done to it at all. So I'll say what everyone else is bound to say at some point. FSX only really shines in the 3.9GHz+ range, which means over clocking is a must to get the most from FSX. There, I said it!Under the slim chance you have a 2500/2600K and you have over clocked it, I'd say that's very strange. I went from a Core2 E8400 (same as yours) at 4.2GHz to my signature rig and the difference in performance was NIGHT AND DAY.Not to mention the endless tweaks that really help FSX perform better. Service packs, Bojote's tweaks, my own .cfg tweaks I've messed with, etc. I'm assuming since you've lurked for so long you know about these, though. ALSO in case you missed it: http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.htmlNeedless to say, the title of this post is comical. If there was no performance gain, you have done something incredibly wrong.

[dazz 69]

No offense, but it's definitely an 8th layer problem

[ZachLW 37]

No offense, but it's definitely an 8th layer problem

I wasn't going to go there. :Secret:

[Bennyboy 0]

I'm assuming you mean you have an i7 2600 (not a "2700")? In which case there's next to no over clocking that can be done to it at all. So I'll say what everyone else is bound to say at some point. FSX only really shines in the 3.9GHz+ range, which means over clocking is a must to get the most from FSX. There, I said it!Under the slim chance you have a 2500/2600K and you have over clocked it, I'd say that's very strange. I went from a Core2 E8400 (same as yours) at 4.2GHz to my signature rig and the difference in performance was NIGHT AND DAY.Not to mention the endless tweaks that really help FSX perform better. Service packs, Bojote's tweaks, my own .cfg tweaks I've messed with, etc. I'm assuming since you've lurked for so long you know about these, though. ALSO in case you missed it: http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.htmlNeedless to say, the title of this post is comical. If there was no performance gain, you have done something incredibly wrong.

Hi, comeon, be easy on the new guy :-) your right, it's a 2600 but not a K, so no over-clocking for me, they where out of K and they didn't know when they would get some. I thought that this processor would be a killer one.The 8500 was not over-clock either and work very nicely with FSX on XP.Ok, I just called and they received 1 x 2600K (lier...), I hope they will take the 2600 back, I also wonder about the 6950 (sorry again, i thought I had the 70), I can still exchange this one for a GTX570, what is your opinion on this matter?Thanks for the link, will check it later.FSX setting where pretty maxed out with DX10 Review enable (bloom also), flying the Airbus X at St-Martin (Fly Tampa). Catalyst... did nothing to this one, any suggestion?Thanks guys.

[Efussander 0]

Ok, I just called and they received 1 x 2600K (lier...), I hope they will take the 2600 back, I also wonder about the 6950 (sorry again, i thought I had the 70), I can still exchange this one for a GTX570, what is your opinion on this matter?

Regarding the AMD(ATI) 6950 vs. the Nvidia GTX 570, you should def go with the 570. Nvidia drivers work so much better with fsx than ATI drivers.This is a quote from me, and later in the same thread, Ryan, over in the PMDG forums. It was regarding a similar question regarding AMD vs. Nvidia. Me:"ATI's drivers do not work well with FSX at all. In fact I'd say that FSX combined with ati's drivers is verging on disaster. If you want a good fsx rig, you've got to go the Nvidia route. ATI doesn't have combined AA either. This means that a lot of the textures in fsx are going to have jagged edges due to this. If you were doing CoD or something ATI may rock, but trust me (this is my job) Nvidia works way better when it comes to fsx."Ryan: (In response to someone who argued with my post)"ATI was simply renamed AMD - it's the exact same drivers and the same people making them. AMD bought the ATI company several years ago. Their drivers still do not work fully correctly in FSX - there are issues with AA levels that are solved by the Nvidia driver's combined mode and there are graphical corruption problems such as diagonal seams through GDI+ gauges. I was directly told by a representative that they would not fix these issues because FSX is such an old game and small part of their user base."So...In short, Go with Nvidia.

[dazz 69]

Yeah, get the GTX570 instead. You will also need a CPU cooler to overclock your 2600K. You could get a I5 2500K with the same results unless you plan on using that computer for something else like video editing. I guess that's the case because of the 16GB of RAM :Shocked:For FSX, anything more than 4 or 8GB is total overkill.Settings and FSX installation: if you are on DX10 you probably need help with that. DX10 is so buggy that it hurts LOL. AA doesn't work at all and same goes for many scenery pakages and airplanes. It seems to descibe perfectly what you are experiencing when you say that some addons don't work (nothing to do with the OS)So don't use DX10 preview.Don't use light bloom: it kills framesSet water to Low 2.x: unless your GPU can handle it and you want those stupid cloud reflections on the water no matter whatDon't use too much airport vehicles: frame killer alsoUncheck "Aircraft casts shadows on itself" and "Ground scenery shadows"Other things you can turn off or lower to gain FPS: "Aircraft casts shadows on the ground", Airline & GA traffic (use moderately), Land & sea trafficVery important: did you install SP1 and SP2 as Zach suggested?

[ZachLW 37]

Hi, comeon, be easy on the new guy :-)

Haha! You did make a pretty outlandish claim! :Talk to the Hand: In all seriousness, though, DirectX10 preview mode is a complete waste of time. Also, instead of using bloom in FSX (which cost a little performance) I use ENBSeries mod with "NickN's" settings. Very subtle but realistic and next to no performance loss on my GTX560. With bloom on I dare say the thing that's really holding you back right now is that graphics card.I know you said you've lurked for years, but I think you may have missed some of the biggest break throughs on this forum! :Nail Biting: (There's quiet of few on here!!!)

[Bennyboy 0]

He he he, I'm a light lurker.... They will take back the 2600 and the ATI 6950.This is my last post with the AMD/ATI, I just booted the machine to remove the Catalyst software, in 10 min I'm going to the computer store.I will give you my impression tonight.Again, thanks for the great suggestions. I will config FSX as you guys mentioned and YES FSX was installed the right way (SP1-SP2).I'm a noob but not that noob.... :-) I may need help on overclocking, there, I'm a real noob.Thanks againMoving to the dark side... (Nvidia)

[dazz 69]

Do you have an aftermarket cooler? you'll need one to overclock. I insist because it would be a PITA to have to install the processor twice

[ZachLW 37]

Do you have an aftermarket cooler? you'll need one to overclock. I insist because it would be a PITA to have to install the processor twice

Major PITA! If you're forced to do so and buy a cooler, the Corsair A70 at Best Buy is actually pretty darn good! Otherwise, get something a little more expensive :P .Good luck to you! Looking forward to some updates.

[simon747 185]

Benny...Sounds like you jumped the gun a bit thinking 2600k is no better then an E8400 in FSX? Follow the advice of the tuning guys here, and oc that thing!!

[Charlatan 68]

Yeah, get the GTX570 instead. You will also need a CPU cooler to overclock your 2600K. You could get a I5 2500K with the same results unless you plan on using that computer for something else like video editing. I guess that's the case because of the 16GB of RAM :Shocked:For FSX, anything more than 4 or 8GB is total overkill.Settings and FSX installation: if you are on DX10 you probably need help with that. DX10 is so buggy that it hurts LOL. AA doesn't work at all and same goes for many scenery pakages and airplanes. It seems to descibe perfectly what you are experiencing when you say that some addons don't work (nothing to do with the OS)So don't use DX10 preview.Don't use light bloom: it kills framesSet water to Low 2.x: unless your GPU can handle it and you want those stupid cloud reflections on the water no matter whatDon't use too much airport vehicles: frame killer alsoUncheck "Aircraft casts shadows on itself" and "Ground scenery shadows"Other things you can turn off or lower to gain FPS: "Aircraft casts shadows on the ground", Airline & GA traffic (use moderately), Land & sea trafficVery important: did you install SP1 and SP2 as Zach suggested?

Daz, what are your exact settings. Our rig's are pretty similar but can't seem to hit on a good balance between looking spot on and running smoothly.Cheers

[Bennyboy 0]

Gentlemen. It was my birthday yesterday so i got drunk pretty fast...still.By the way, sorry for my basic English, I'm one of those French Canadian.Came home... early :-), i had to modified the HAF case to install the CPU cooler, they said i would not have to, yea, sure. An hour later that monster was carefully installed.Put the GTX570 in... booted, install new driver. And went directly to the great Asus P8P67 Pro BIOS, first time in my life that I see a bios where I can use the mouse.Anyway, I did,'t do much for now and went flying. I loaded a saved landing (Wilco 777 - Fly Tampa St-Marteen) that I had created in the morning, same setting i hate with the ATI 6950.... I didn't change any setting just for fun, on landing close to the the runway (400feet) with he ATI the lowest FPS was around 16.8 with the 570. Tried again, computer froze...I then loaded a new flight at the same airport with the GREAT Aerosoft Twin-Otter ands was able to fly with very good FPS, did some modification to the FSX setting and got better and better FPS.I came back to the computer later... a bit drunk :-) But not to much, I was with friends who where interested to see my FSX system, they didn't know that such a simulator was available to the public (older folks).I loaded IBIZA from Aerosoft, loaded the... well, not so perfect Airbus X.... took off a dusk and will climbing with OK FPS (friends where amazed to see such a nice scenery on my 30in LG screen at 2560X1600...when at 500feet FSX crash to Desktop. 2 time in a row.I then threw an empty bottle of beer directly in the open case shooting for the CPU cooler... I miss and hit the cat :-)So this is my report this morning. Not sure what to think for now, one thing for sure I'm thinking of installing XP on another HD. That Win7 64 only gave me problem so far.So, what's wrong. COD4 run perfectly so I don't think it's the computer. Addon???? I have to say that sadly, that Airbus X as been just a big problem, even with XP. It's full of bug. The 777 was not but it does also crash to desktop with Win7 64, it never crashed on the older machine.I have tried to Overclook the CPU yesterday but I'm such a noob at overclocking. Please direct me to a overclocking noob thread, ha ha ha.Still, even not overclocked i should not crash to desktop like that. stock Aiplane (boring) seem to run perfectlyAs for video card, so far, both card performed the same way. In my noob opinion. Of course my display setting are always a 2560 x 1600 (16 and 32). It's kind of sad to lower them considering the machine I just built.So far, this new machine and OS only gave me problem. Nothing is better then my older machine who was rock solid. Now, i can't unsinstall FSX, I'm out of MS license key. It's installed in the default location... Installed this way: Install, load default airport, fly, shut down, reload, install SP1, fly default, shut down, install SP2, fly default, shut down.I love addon, I hate stock FSX. If Addon don't work in Win7 64 I'm going back to the solid XP. I'm gonna install a bunch of games (Crysis1) later today, run 3D mark and test the hell out of this machine. If it seize one time I'm burning it :-) Ok, got to work I guess.Cheers, Ben