System advice please

[Oli441 0]

First my system specs:-Intel core 2 duo E8400 3.0ghz 1333 fulhd lga775 ati rs600 ddr2 giga2gb ramGforce9500gtWindows Vista 64bit450psuHere's the thing - I have never had a system that can run fs2004 without slowing down in clouds or complex airports because I have never had much too much expendable money to spend on a system. I have recently come into a bit of cash and would like to spend it upgrading my system. Here's where you guys come in - I'm not sure what would be best for me, or where to get something like this done? I wouD really appreciate your advice on how/where to go about upgrading. I am uk based and I guess that I should mention that I have no desire to use fax at all.....Thanks very much in advance!Oli

[ryanbatc 12,770]

First: is this a store-bought PC? Usually they are difficult to upgrade unless it's adding more RAM etc.CPU: not a bad cpu, decent actually, for FS9. The E8600 is probably the fastest that will fit that socket LGA775 RAM: 2GB... meh... alright for FS9, not sure how much more 4GB will do for youVideo card: Could be a problem. What resolution do you run? Single monitor? If you run a higher res something like a 21in 23in you'll want a better card, like the GTX 560 ti or GTX 460.Power supply: Could be a problem if you upgrade you video card because newer cards need different power cables and more wattage/amperage.

[Superpilotv2 2]

First: is this a store-bought PC? Usually they are difficult to upgrade unless it's adding more RAM etc.CPU: not a bad cpu, decent actually, for FS9. The E8600 is probably the fastest that will fit that socket LGA775 RAM: 2GB... meh... alright for FS9, not sure how much more 4GB will do for youVideo card: Could be a problem. What resolution do you run? Single monitor? If you run a higher res something like a 21in 23in you'll want a better card, like the GTX 560 ti or GTX 460.Power supply: Could be a problem if you upgrade you video card because newer cards need different power cables and more wattage/amperage.

Well, why should the PSU be a problem ? I have a even worse PSU and I can run a GTX 260 and an oc´ed Q8300 and 8 Gb of RAM without any problems.And If you only want to play FS9, such a exepnsive grafic card like the GTX 560 it or the 460 (Although they are great cards) is a waste of money I think. You could get a GT440 or the new GTX 550Ti and for the rest ( I don´t know how much you´ve got 2 additional GB of RAM.This would be my way.

[Oli441 0]

Well, why should the PSU be a problem ? I have a even worse PSU and I can run a GTX 260 and an oc´ed Q8300 and 8 Gb of RAM without any problems.And If you only want to play FS9, such a exepnsive grafic card like the GTX 560 it or the 460 (Although they are great cards) is a waste of money I think. You could get a GT440 or the new GTX 550Ti and for the rest ( I don´t know how much you´ve got 2 additional GB of RAM.This would be my way.

Well I wouldn't be against buying a more expensive graphics card as I do use my computer for stuff other than flightsim. I read a review of the GTX550Ti and essentially the message was that going with that over a slightly more expensive card might be a false economy. It looks as though the 460 might be the way to go (as I don't have ALL that much cash to spend!)

[Oli441 0]

First: is this a store-bought PC? Usually they are difficult to upgrade unless it's adding more RAM etc.CPU: not a bad cpu, decent actually, for FS9. The E8600 is probably the fastest that will fit that socket LGA775 RAM: 2GB... meh... alright for FS9, not sure how much more 4GB will do for youVideo card: Could be a problem. What resolution do you run? Single monitor? If you run a higher res something like a 21in 23in you'll want a better card, like the GTX 560 ti or GTX 460.Power supply: Could be a problem if you upgrade you video card because newer cards need different power cables and more wattage/amperage.

Ryan,Thanks for taking the time to reply,In response my computer is not shop bought - an independant company made it for me which I guess should mean that it's easier to update. I have a 21inch screen which I am pretty sure uis causing me to have slightly less than par performance. I think I have decided that a GTX460 might be the way to go for me. I'm worried about the power supply however as I am told that it is weak. They don't seem too expensive - how easy is it to install one? - is it just a case of taking the wires out of the old one, unscrewing it, putting the new one in, and plugging the wires in again?Thanks for your help!

[flytrumpet767 68]

Ryan,Thanks for taking the time to reply,In response my computer is not shop bought - an independant company made it for me which I guess should mean that it's easier to update. I have a 21inch screen which I am pretty sure uis causing me to have slightly less than par performance. I think I have decided that a GTX460 might be the way to go for me. I'm worried about the power supply however as I am told that it is weak. They don't seem too expensive - how easy is it to install one? - is it just a case of taking the wires out of the old one, unscrewing it, putting the new one in, and plugging the wires in again?Thanks for your help!

You haven't mentioned if you overclocked this CPU. If not you should definately do it. Depending on your CPU cooler and Motherboard, this chip could go to 4Ghz. That would be an amazing upgrade for you. Combined with a GTX 460, which I have, FS9 would run as good as it can.My present system(which is about to get upgraded) is an E8500 at 4Ghz with a GTX 460 and is running even FSX very nicely.As far as power supply, you should definately look at a better one. They're not that expensive and can help your overall system dramatically. I replaced mine last week and it's really not that hard. I went for a Corsair TX750, but a 650W should be plenty.

[ryanbatc 12,770]

Well, why should the PSU be a problem ? I have a even worse PSU and I can run a GTX 260 and an oc´ed Q8300 and 8 Gb of RAM without any problems.

It's not that a 450W PSU is crap, it's just more likely that it is unless it's a quality PSU. Personally I wouldn't run a newer card like GTX460 on a 450W. What you'll need to do is look at the specs of the GTX460, see how many Amps are required, and then check the PSU sticker to see how many amps are on the 12v rail or rails (some PSU's have multiple rails). Technically if it was a single rail PSU you'd have 37.5A on the one rail (math: 450w / 12v = 37.5A assuming 450w was the combined power). On a multi-12v rail PSU you can't just add the Amp rating together, there's a formula for that. I'm not familiar with the newer video cards but my OCZ 520w PSU has barely enough juice to power my 8800GT. I'd like to know the specifics of your current PSU (either amperage on the sticker or better yet a picture of the sticker).Oooh, I found the site I was looking for regarding multiple rails if you care:http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=131483edit: Oops, and the above is for the OP, not superpilot hehe

I have a 21inch screen which I am pretty sure uis causing me to have slightly less than par performance. I think I have decided that a GTX460 might be the way to go for me. I'm worried about the power supply however as I am told that it is weak. They don't seem too expensive - how easy is it to install one? - is it just a case of taking the wires out of the old one, unscrewing it, putting the new one in, and plugging the wires in again?

Ahhh, I'd say running that higher resolution off a 9500GT is the main culprit. It's fairly easy but sometimes you gotta work it in there if your case is not a full size. My current case is mid size ATX and I really had to wedge mine in. It wasn't difficult, just had to find the spot for it. Then all you need to do is reconnect all the cables.

[Oli441 0]

It's not that a 450W PSU is crap, it's just more likely that it is unless it's a quality PSU. Personally I wouldn't run a newer card like GTX460 on a 450W. What you'll need to do is look at the specs of the GTX460, see how many Amps are required, and then check the PSU sticker to see how many amps are on the 12v rail or rails (some PSU's have multiple rails). Technically if it was a single rail PSU you'd have 37.5A on the one rail (math: 450w / 12v = 37.5A assuming 450w was the combined power). On a multi-12v rail PSU you can't just add the Amp rating together, there's a formula for that. I'm not familiar with the newer video cards but my OCZ 520w PSU has barely enough juice to power my 8800GT. I'd like to know the specifics of your current PSU (either amperage on the sticker or better yet a picture of the sticker).Oooh, I found the site I was looking for regarding multiple rails if you care:http://www.nvnews.ne...ad.php?t=131483edit: Oops, and the above is for the OP, not superpilot heheAhhh, I'd say running that higher resolution off a 9500GT is the main culprit. It's fairly easy but sometimes you gotta work it in there if your case is not a full size. My current case is mid size ATX and I really had to wedge mine in. It wasn't difficult, just had to find the spot for it. Then all you need to do is reconnect all the cables.

As it turns out, I opened up my case last night for an inspection and was rather pleasantly suprised to find 650w plastered on the side of my PSU so I guess that won't be a problem...no idea where I got 450w from.So with that sorted, I guess I'll take the plunge with the new card this evening after work and will report back here with my findings tomorrow so long as I can get everything up and running that is! Fingers crossed!

[Oli441 0]

Ok so I've done the deed, installed the new card and latest drivers (all an absolute breeze actually) and fired up flightsim. First the good news - am able for the first time to run Fs in 1680x1050 resolution and everything looks pretty amazing I must say with some profiles imported via the SLi tool whilst nhancer is being developed to utilise the new drivers. Now for the bad news - framerates are not where I really expected them to be - for instance at FSDTs JFK I can get as low as 17fps - am I missing something. Away from FS, games that were previously a virtual slideshow (i.e. Battlefield 2 Bad Company) are now silky smooth and look fantastic. Am I missing something with FS? I remember altering the textures for KJFK using a program provided by FSDT that lowered the res and converted texture to DXT - could this be the cause?Again - any help would be gratefully received!

[flytrumpet767 68]

Ok so I've done the deed, installed the new card and latest drivers (all an absolute breeze actually) and fired up flightsim. First the good news - am able for the first time to run Fs in 1680x1050 resolution and everything looks pretty amazing I must say with some profiles imported via the SLi tool whilst nhancer is being developed to utilise the new drivers. Now for the bad news - framerates are not where I really expected them to be - for instance at FSDTs JFK I can get as low as 17fps - am I missing something. Away from FS, games that were previously a virtual slideshow (i.e. Battlefield 2 Bad Company) are now silky smooth and look fantastic. Am I missing something with FS? I remember altering the textures for KJFK using a program provided by FSDT that lowered the res and converted texture to DXT - could this be the cause?Again - any help would be gratefully received!

Like I said in an earlier post,if you haven't done it yet,you should try to overclock the CPU as high as possible. That will help you FPS.