What about these specs ? I get terrible performance with FSX. Max 20 fps. No add ons.Operating System : Windows 7 x64 bit (6.1, Build 7601)Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5Processor : AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 (Black Edition) 3.4 GHz (no OC)Memory : 6 GB (DDR3)Graphics : ATI Radeon HD 5750 (1 GB)Am I wrong to think that my system could but doesn't pull out the big guns for FSX, when needed ?

What about these specs ? I get terrible performance with FSX. Max 20 fps. No add ons.Operating System : Windows 7 x64 bit (6.1, Build 7601)Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5Processor : AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 (Black Edition) 3.4 GHz (no OC)Memory : 6 GB (DDR3)Graphics : ATI Radeon HD 5750 (1 GB)Am I wrong to think that my system could but doesn't pull out the big guns for FSX, when needed ?

Crank that CPU up! It´s made for OC. But you´ll have lower frames in comparison with an Intel CPU of same clock. This is cause of the different achitecture of the AMD chip and its lower IPC (=Instructions per Cycle) which means operations per clock cycle.Also this GFX card is not the best for FSX. Try to get an nVidia one.

Thanks for reviewing the specs Steffen.Haven't overclocked it yet because I don't have any sort of cooler installed. So knowing the little bit that I know about hardware, I haven't even thought about overclocking without something to cool it down. As for the graphics, I seriously had the understanding that it works much better with FSX than an Nvidia card. :Thinking: Thanks for clearing that up. Looks like I'll be going to the store pretty soon to pick up a cooler and a graphics card. Any particular model from Nvidia that has already been reviewed to work like a charm with FSX ? And before anybody pounces on me for talking about hardware here, I apologize for bringing it up but why start a specific thread when all you hardware gurus are lurking around here ? I knew you'd understand!Cheers,

To run FSX on a new system, you need to consider the following:1. CPUYou should get a CPU that can be overclocked beyond the turbo boost specs. You can choose the I7 2500K 3.3GHz or the I7 2600K 3.4GHz. The 2600K can run 4 more threads (8 vs 4) and has 2MB more L3 cache than the 2500K. This will likely do nothing for FSX performance, but it will boost performance in other games and everyday computer tasks.The turbo boost of these chips automatically raises the clock rate by 400 Mhz when CPU demand is high. This can be achieved with the stock cooler that comes with the CPU from Intel (to 3.7 and 3.8 respectively).2. Motherboard and CPU fanThe preferred motherboards for these CPUs has the P67 chipset, such as the ASUS p8p67 family. This board allows you to overclock either CPU to 4.2 - 4.5 GHZ easily, but you need to replace the stock CPU fan with something better, such as the Hyper 212+. Higher speeds are possible, but as with everything, the law of diminishing returns applies (bigger and more fans, water cooling etc).You also need a case that has room for the bigger fans and has good ventilation of its own.3. RAMThese CPUs require dual channel RAM and RAM being very cheap and a bottleneck if you don't have enough, get 8GB. This allows the OS, FSX and any other programs you may be also running, like weather, to all fit in memory at the same time.4. Video cardFSX is CPU bound, so any modern card will be fine (Nvidia 400 or 500 series) with 1GB memory or so, provided you run normal resolution and don't go crazy on AA. A new card with very good performance and lower power needs than previous cards is the Nvidia GTX 570 1.280 MB.5. Disk driveYou need to get something fast, or you will be looking at the screen for minutes while FSX loads. If you have the money, you should consider a Solid State Drive (SSD) for FSX. Very expensive, but lightning fast. In conventional drives, fast means SATA 3 interface with 6GB/s throughput with 32 or 64 MB cache. The 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black seems to be a good choice for the money.5. Operating SystemFor a new system, you should get Windows 7 64-bit and get the Professional version if you can afford it. As with any new system, expect to have to relearn a few things and spend some time tuning the OS and FSX as well.If you are upgrading from a dual core system running 3GHz, you can expect an increase in performance anywhere between 100% and 200%, depending on your slider settings (cpu vs graphics heavy).

To run FSX on a new system, you need to consider the following:

I agree for the most part, but there's a couple of things there that are not accurate:

You need to get something fast, or you will be looking at the screen for minutes while FSX loads. If you have the money, you should consider a Solid State Drive (SSD) for FSX. Very expensive, but lightning fast. In conventional drives, fast means SATA 3 interface with 6GB/s throughput with 32 or 64 MB cache. The 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black seems to be a good choice for the money.

Sata 3 for mechanical drives means nothing at all. There's no mechanical drive able to take advantage of the Sata 3 bandwidth and there will never be. Disk cache doesn't tell much about disk performance either.

5. Operating SystemFor a new system, you should get Windows 7 64-bit and get the Professional version if you can afford it. As with any new system, expect to have to relearn a few things and spend some time tuning the OS and FSX as well.

Home Premium is fine, no need for Professional Windows at all. Why would anyone need a professional W7 for gaming?

If you are upgrading from a dual core system running 3GHz, you can expect an increase in performance anywhere between 100% and 200%, depending on your slider settings (cpu vs graphics heavy).

100% - 200% is far too optimistic, I mean that's 2 / 3 times faster! LOL

Home Premium is fine, no need for Professional Windows at all. Why would anyone need a professional W7 for gaming?

I got one and it´s working OK. Why I got the Professional Edition? It just sounds better and more like a Pro as Home Premium! :Big Grin:

Well, the new drives certainly can outstrip 3gb/s in burst mode, so if you want that, you need 6gb/s.Win 7 Pro has Restore Points, which is handy when you screw up your rig with a new driver.100-200% is easily attainable, considering that I7 is about 50% faster than a Core 2 Duo at same clock rate.You get another 50% going to 4 cores and 4.5 Ghz.Then you have to consider 64-bit OS 8GB 1600 RAM vs 2-4GB of who knows what on XP.On top of this you have a video card that can run circles around an 8800GTX.You can certainly go from 10fps to 25fps in a given area. That's 2.5x.

Well, the new drives certainly can outstrip 3gb/s in burst mode, so if you want that, you need 6gb/s.

Burst rate has very little to do with the actual drive speed, or nothing at all: It's the rate at which the info contained in cache is transmitted, so it takes the drive speed out of the equation. That means that the only limitation is the bus speed and it's no indication of how fast the drive is. HDD's never work at burst speeds so it's a non factor

Win 7 Pro has Restore Points, which is handy when you screw up your rig with a new driver.

Home Premium has restore points too

100-200% is easily attainable, considering that I7 is about 50% faster than a Core 2 Duo at same clock rate.You get another 50% going to 4 cores and 4.5 Ghz.Then you have to consider 64-bit OS 8GB 1600 RAM vs 2-4GB of who knows what on XP.On top of this you have a video card that can run circles around an 8800GTX.You can certainly go from 10fps to 25fps in a given area. That's 2.5x.

C2D are 64 bit too, there's XP 64bit, and 8GB vs 4GB in FSX is quite useless. 60 - 80% faster is more realistic in FSX. You don't get a 100% boost going to a quad from a dual core, not even close.The video card is another story, but since you'll be CPU limited anyway, a faster GPU won't make things better, will just keep that 60 - 80% much lower if you just upgrade your CPU but keep the 8800GTX

I don't want to argue with you, but the system in your sig should be able to get 20fps easily, sitting in NYC with the usual high settings, add-ons, weather, traffic etc.I am fairly certain that people with 3 year old systems would get 5-10fps.Btw, if you don't get 100% improvement just by going from a core 2 duo (2 cores) @3.0Ghz to a 2600K (4 cores) @4.5Ghz, there is something wrong. Note that over 50% comes from the fact that an I7 is just a better design than say an E6850, core for core.

I don't want to argue with you, but the system in your sig should be able to get 20fps easily, sitting in NYC with the usual high settings, add-ons, weather, traffic etc.I am fairly certain that people with 3 year old systems would get 5-10fps.Btw, if you don't get 100% improvement just by going from a core 2 duo (2 cores) @3.0Ghz to a 2600K (4 cores) @4.5Ghz, there is something wrong. Note that over 50% comes from the fact that an I7 is just a better design than say an E6850, core for core.

ok, I was comparing SB vs a C2D at 4GHz. Anyway, it's true that the performance leap is huge, be it 80%, 100% or whatever

I realized a performance gain in the 100 to 200% range over my 3.6GHz E8400, the GTX275 and WinXp kit (although, if I didn't run out memory, WInXp 32 is a lil bit faster than is Win7 on FPS basis).

Well, the new drives certainly can outstrip 3gb/s in burst mode, so if you want that, you need 6gb/s.Win 7 Pro has Restore Points, which is handy when you screw up your rig with a new driver.100-200% is easily attainable, considering that I7 is about 50% faster than a Core 2 Duo at same clock rate.You get another 50% going to 4 cores and 4.5 Ghz.Then you have to consider 64-bit OS 8GB 1600 RAM vs 2-4GB of who knows what on XP.On top of this you have a video card that can run circles around an 8800GTX.You can certainly go from 10fps to 25fps in a given area. That's 2.5x.

I wonder why this thread got moved to the Controllers sub-forum when the discussion is about CPUs and other hardware.