Best System/Brand For X-Plane?

[Flaps30 3]

Hi,I am currently still a PC user and FSX user. A few years ago I bought X-Plane 9 and gave it a try on a i7-920 2.67 ghz system. I was willing to switch over to X-Plane if it out performed my FSX on my system. It was OK, but I wasn't too impressed. FSX ran just OK with most settings turned down, and I was hoping XP9 would be better, but I still had to tweak sliders down quite a bit. This is what turns me off about FSX. It seems no hardware is ever ready for MFS when the newest version is released, and sliders have to be tweaked down to get reasonable performance. Now I see X-Plane 10 will be out soon. Someone in a forum said X-Plane runs much better and is really meant for an Apple Mac system. I just went to the Apple store in Allentown PA with my wife and daughter and both of them have moved up to Apple for there own reasons. I am the lone PC holdout in my house so far, but I must say I was impressed with what Apple has to offer. My question is, if the dream Apple machine for X-Plane to show its full potential really exists, and I may eventually go over to X-Plane, which model is it and is it reasonably priced? I saw some i7 i macs there that had speeds of around the same as my 2.67 ghz. but as I said above, FSX is just acceptable on my system as was XP9, and I would hope to get much better if I were to switch over. Besides, from what I have read in the forums, it seems the best FSX performance on PCs comes from overclocked systems of 4.0 ghz. or better. Thanks. Tom

[Simmo W 24]

Tom I think that Mac vs PC statement is erroneous, I haven't heard any strong evidence that it's the case. As Xplane takes good advantage of Graphics cards, that may also be a strong factor - what card did you have when trying XP9? I have the exact same CPU, but overclock it to 3.8ghz. Before I had a GTX275 and it still ran XP9 very well. Now with a 560 OC Ti is runs ridiculously smoothly. I noticed all my games, including FSX and Arma running significantly better with the $250 graphics card, so maybe that'll be cheaper. If you want to go the mac route to keep the family happy (but really, pc's are so much better value), I'd try to get any that can easily have their GPUs updated. Maybe a fairly new second hand mac pro? Again, IF you must. You could probably get a brand new i7 2600k & 580 for less, with funds left over for an SSD or 2...

[Flaps30 3]

Hi Simmo,Thanks for your help. I cannot remember the graphics card in my last system but I know it was an ATI card and the computer was a Gateway FX 6800 01-e. my current system has the GTX-275 also with an i7-920 2.67 ghz. I had someone help me overclock mine to 4.0 but we had much difficulty getting it right. It handled all the stress tests but I still get occasional failed startups after complete shutdowns. If I use restart or sleep mode I'm fine. I didn't know that XP was more GPU dependent. I've been reading that FSX is the opposite - processor dependent. I've just grown very frustrated over the years spending more time comparing components and tweaking sliders than actually flying. I thought that maybe MAC was the answer. I am still reinstalling FSX addons but it seems to be working fine so far. I just had a couple of graphics crashes while opening and closing windows after installing FSX but so far I've been good for about a month. Is the 560 card you have a GTX and is it a big improvement for for both XP and FSX? I have my 275 overclocked to 710 core. Thanks again. Tom

[Simmo W 24]

No probs, I know what it's like calling out for help, so like to give answers if I can! I've found the infamous Uiautomation.dll fix to have considerably helped my fsx install. Oh, and sticking it on an SSD makes it a different sim.. I've found I can overclock the 920 @ 3.8gz, anything higher and yes, it bombs for me. But I have a 750w power supply. No flashy cooling. Yes, the GPU is a Gigabyte GTX-560 OC Ti, freaking huge improvement over the 275 in all sims/games. I need to get a commission from them, a few people have asked me & are now very happy. It's a no-brainer. It's almost as quick as a mildly o/c 570. The OC is factory overclocked already. DON'T fall for the cheap 550, it's considerably slower. Here's my latest video demoing F1 2011 at max settings. You'll not see this quality on a console for a good year.

simon

[Flaps30 3]

Hi Simon,Wow, I just watched your video. If I could get that quality out of FSX or Xplane that would be super. Is the 570 even better? I'm guessing it must cost a whole lot more.What is Uiautomation and what do you mean about sticking it on an SSD? I am not at all familiar with it nor am I that experienced with the tech part of computers. Thanks again. Tom

[airlinejets 709]

Hi TomToday's Intel equipped PCs are powerhouses. I just reinstalled X-plane 9 to test my new build and...WOW! For flight simulation, nothing compares to the Sandybridge CPUs. X-plane maxed-out fly's smooth as butter. I have never had so much fun shooting approaches in the Microstuff series as in X-plane. The sense of realism is astonishing (think sloped runways). The sense of speed is also well recreated, you know when you're coming in too fast. No more getting blown off track on approach by some mysterious forces, you only need to point the nose towards the intended flightpath and the plane obeys. Just as in real flight, minor adjustments are all that is needed to line up. The overall stock visuals are far more convincing than in FSX. Still a lot of testing to do, but so far, I'm impressed.I must add that I purchased the JRollon Bombardier CRJ-200 and that is a lot of fun to fly. On a side note, you need to get past the rinky dinky aircraft that loads on start-up when launching X-Plane. Try the Cessna with the 3d panel instead.Michel