I've searched but I can't find any reports from the wide beta testers regarding the frame rates they're getting with the NGX. Is that still subject to the NDA?Reason I'm interested is I'm trying to decide whether I need to upgrade / replace my current PC (E8400 Core 2 Duo + 4GB RAM + GTX260 + Win7 64bit) ready for the NGX. I'm getting reasonable performance with the MD11, especially in the 2D cockpit, but the Jetstream even with the options turned down is a less smooth experience.Andy Lawton

I've searched but I can't find any reports from the wide beta testers regarding the frame rates they're getting with the NGX. Is that still subject to the NDA?Reason I'm interested is I'm trying to decide whether I need to upgrade / replace my current PC (E8400 Core 2 Duo + 4GB RAM + GTX260 + Win7 64bit) ready for the NGX. I'm getting reasonable performance with the MD11, especially in the 2D cockpit, but the Jetstream even with the options turned down is a less smooth experience.Andy Lawton

Hi AndyIt seems that the Beta testers are not fully released from there NDA yet, they can only chat about it generally at the moment :(

they already said it will be on par if not better than the MD-11.

I believe it's been said that the debugging code isn't removed from the aircraft yet, so the performance can't be 100% judged from the current beta version. It may be even better once the debugging code is removed

they already said it will be on par if not better than the MD-11.

I'd seen that but only in the context of the version(s) that were still under development. Hopefully that will be true for the release version as well, hence my interest in what the beta testers are getting now.However if the version under test still contains debugging code I can understand why info on performance might still be subject to the NDA. I'll keep watching!Andy Lawton

Andy,I think it's all going to depend on what else you're running - if you've got high end scenery, traffic, weather (REX/ASE) etc also running then an older dual core may not be enough. An E8400 is approaching 4 years old now and has had three generations of CPUs get ahead of it since. (Core 2 Quads, Core i7 Bloomfield/Lynnfield, and now Core i5/i7 Sandy Bridge). I saw a massive difference going from a Core 2 Quad 6600 to my current Core i7 860 @ 4GHz - you'll see an even bigger change going to something like a Core i5 2500K @ 4.5+.

Ryan,Thanks for that assessment. I'm not running too much else at the moment, GEX Europe & North America, UTX Europe and UK2000 Airport Scenery (not sure if any of those count as high end), but I take your point about the age of my CPU. I've been following the discussions here about the Core i5/i7 Sandy Bridge and am tempted to go that way and try my hand at overclocking but I'm often put off by the thought that the next "best thing since sliced bread for running FSX" is never very far round the corner!Andy Lawton

Ryan,Thanks for that assessment. I'm not running too much else at the moment, GEX Europe & North America, UTX Europe and UK2000 Airport Scenery (not sure if any of those count as high end), but I take your point about the age of my CPU. I've been following the discussions here about the Core i5/i7 Sandy Bridge and am tempted to go that way and try my hand at overclocking but I'm often put off by the thought that the next "best thing since sliced bread for running FSX" is never very far round the corner!Andy Lawton

That may be more true than you realize. Intel should be releasing the new i7's/5's fairly soon. If I recall correctly they'll still be using the 1155 socket though, so all us SandyBridge users aren't left out completely...

Ryan,Thanks for that assessment. I'm not running too much else at the moment, GEX Europe & North America, UTX Europe and UK2000 Airport Scenery (not sure if any of those count as high end), but I take your point about the age of my CPU. I've been following the discussions here about the Core i5/i7 Sandy Bridge and am tempted to go that way and try my hand at overclocking but I'm often put off by the thought that the next "best thing since sliced bread for running FSX" is never very far round the corner!Andy Lawton

Hi Andy,Unfortunately that is the problem with our hobby - and it won't change, no matter when and what you buy today - tomorrow they'll have come up with something better, I think that the Sandybridge is a great upgrade from your current system - if you have the money to do it. Sure next year there will be the Ivybridge, but then if you wait until then - you may as well wait for the next one after that...and so on.I think an upgrade, money permitting, every three years or to a top end system will show great performance boosts, also you can buy already built and overclocked systems - tested for stability (if you're anything like me and don't really like to fiddle with it yourself - although it is always that bit cheaper to do it yourself)I'm going to go for the Sandybridge system myself in a few months, maybe we'll have some more info on MS Flight and how it works by then!Cheers,

That may be more true than you realize. Intel should be releasing the new i7's/5's fairly soon. If I recall correctly they'll still be using the 1155 socket though, so all us SandyBridge users aren't left out completely...

These are the early releases of the Ivybridge 22nm CPU's I believe. Later releases should be using something like a 1365(? maybe) socket and have quad ch memory.... Ivybridge should eventually show us a lot of bang with over 1Billion transistors in one CPU!http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index/4386?cPage=3&all=False&sort=0&page=1&slug=a-quick-look-at-a-22nm-ivy-bridge-wafer

The next lot is the Sandy bridge E on a 2011 socket. E for extreme!! I know how you feel, I spent a small fortune on my 980x just before sandy bridge 1155 came out 8(

I'll get a new motherboard, and start from there, I'll try the i5 first, upgrading from a 2.54Ghz Processor (OVERCLOCKED that it). Then worry about the GPU.Question, Is the Higher Priority GPU or CPU? Im guessing CPU.

Defiantly CPU. The bigger the ghz the bigger the performance. I'd try for an I7 sandy bridge because of it's overclockability. They're cheap too!It's worth making the investment in a good CPU. Not so much the graphics card.

Defiantly CPU. The bigger the ghz the bigger the performance. I'd try for an I7 sandy bridge because of it's overclockability. They're cheap too!It's worth making the investment in a good CPU. Not so much the graphics card.

If you're going to go sandy bridge for FSX, i5 2500k is the way to go. The i7 2600k's primary advantage over the i5 2500k is hyper-threading, which FSX can't use. You're basically spending 30% more for a feature you can't use. Either way though, make sure it has the 'k' suffix. They're the ones you want for overclocking.

Defiantly CPU. The bigger the ghz the bigger the performance. I'd try for an I7 sandy bridge because of it's overclockability. They're cheap too!It's worth making the investment in a good CPU. Not so much the graphics card.

Remember guys that "going for the biggest bang" with top notch CPU and overclocking it, sometimes also increasing voltage, all requires power, which is not free, and if you're from USA, you're already a biggest contributor to the pollution of the environment. Seriously, high end PCs take anything from 650 - 1200 W, which is half of the power used by typical oven, or washing machine.Why not go for what you need rather than what's the best you can get ? Save environment people. Same note to all devs - more optimised code, saves environment.