Can I run the NGX?

[engwerda 0]

I hjave done a search but have not really found anything on this. If I missed a thread on this my apologies. In short I have a dual core laptop with the following specs:Cpu DC 2.66Ghz4Gb RAMi Gb Nvidia GT230M videoWindows 7 32 bitWindows Experience score 5.9 (Processor 6.2 and all others over 6)I know a desktop i7 would do it much better but I can't afford that right now and I need a laptop for work. My Toshiba A500 runs the 744X very well even with Orbx scenery and REX V2 loaded. Will it handle the NGX equally well? And one other thing, if I download it will I get Service Pack 1b included in the download as well?Thanks in advance for your help,Gerry

[Superpilotv2 2]

The NGX is asthonishingly light in regards to CPU usage. I think it should be all right as long as you don't fly in the really big airports with lots of Ai. Otherwise is should perform well. (null)

[Tabs 2,790]

Your major issues will be: 1. CPU speed - FSX needs a lot of it to run well (this depends on your definition of well though). The i5/i7 architecture is different from the older ones and runs it better even at the same clockspeed too.2. GPU - the 230M is just plain not a fast chip at all - you'll likely have issues trying to run good image quality settings with a lot of AA etc.3. 32-bit Windows may cause OOM errors, especially if you're running other addons (sceneries etc).

[engwerda 0]

Thanks Ryan and Steffen. I downloaded the NGX before I saw Ryan's post and it was as he predicted to begin with. Skeleton frame and then an OOM. Tried again with blank screens, numerous FSX crashes on load up and then hey presto it stabilised. I reduced scenery complexity and avoided changing views too often and it continued to work. Early days yet and no long flights as yet but as Steffen predicted, the frame rates were excellent, better even than the 747X. A few problems still but I think that I can overcome them. So far so good and now I am off to check on a few youtube videos to get to know the ac better. Thanks for your help! Now if I can get the throttles to idle below 35% I will be able to land properly as well. Looking forward to all of this as I really enjoyed the 737 NG under FS9.Gerry

[engwerda 0]

OK flew Melbourne to Sydney. Great frame rates but external skeleton only through out the flight. I can live with that for the moment. On approach to Sydney's 34L with the 2D panel I could not disengage the AP the FD or the AT. The switches would not move in 2D at all. When I checked in VC the switches moved and took effect. Strange - any ideas why this should be so?Gerry

[PrestonIV 1]

As Ryan stated, the GPU is gonna get you by barely. I have a Gtx 260 and it does an acceptable job. Not great but playable and enjoyable job. BUT, you need at least 8 gigs of ram if you dont want those OOM messages. 8 gigs from 4 makes a huge difference. But since your running 32-bit you cant take advantage of the extra 4 gigs. I have a quad core q9650 and with 4 gigs of ram I had OOM errors frequently, since I upgraded to 8 not a single one. But now I get the occasional high cpu usage. Saving up to build an fsx only machine with most likely an i5 processor.

[Superpilotv2 2]

, you need at least 8 gigs of ram if you dont want those OOM messages

I have also "only" 4GB and I´m running the NGX and everything else on a pretty high level. I never had any OOM´s. It´s right that an 64 bit system and 8 GB RAM might reduce the risk of OOM´s a lot, but also 4 GB are mostly enough. The biggest impact on OOM´s has the OS. And there´s where 64 bit gets very handy. :(

[engwerda 0]

Steffen,Yes, I think I have no other option really. It flies well with excellent framerates and there is less of a skeleton effect (the Qantas tailpane and engine cowling remain black but the rest is there). All of it suggests that the system is being overloaded doesn't it? As soon as I land at Sydney it crashes on roll out as black spikes appear on the screen. It would be great if I could upgrade to Win 64 and 8Gb without having to reformat the hard drive - I absolutely love the NGX but couldn't stand going through all that! Might try Melbourne - Launceston instead and see how that goes with a less detailed airport.By the way - does anyone know why my N1 will not reduce below 35% on finals?thanks for all your help,Gerry

Edited January 2, 2012 by engwerda

[PrestonIV 1]

Steffen is absolutely correct. 4 gigs is fine 99% of the time. It really depends on how many add-ons youre running at the same time. As my add-ons increased, so did the chance of OOM's. Just shut down any programs not needed while simming. Windows, FSX, PMDG, plus all the add-ons all sharing that 4 gigs, and programs running in the background start to add up.Now that I have 8 gigs my ram never goes beyond 40% while in fsx, however my cpu gets stressed now.

[Superpilotv2 2]

Steffen,Yes, I think I have no other option really. It flies well with excellent framerates and there is less of a skeleton effect (the Qantas tailpane and engine cowling remain black but the rest is there). All of it suggests that the system is being overloaded doesn't it? As soon as I land at Sydney it crashes on roll out as black spikes appear on the screen. It would be great if I could upgrade to Win 64 and 8Gb without having to reformat the hard drive - I absolutely love the NGX but couldn't stand going through all that! Might try Melbourne - Launceston instead and see how that goes with a less detailed airport.By the way - does anyone know why my N1 will not reduce below 35% on finals?thanks for all your help,Gerry

Hey Gerry, you could just change your os to Windows 7 64 bit, so it can use the full 4 GB instead if only 3,25. That should fix a lot of problems. :(

By the way - does anyone know why my N1 will not reduce below 35% on finals?

Check out that threat: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/357764-difficult-to-slow-down

[engwerda 0]

Steffen,Thanks for the link - most useful and I am going to try that cost index fix. I will upgrade to 64 bit eventually. In the meantime I managed to free up some memory by running "msconfig" and deleting nearly all but the "Microsoft services" that load on start up and keep running. Not sure how much of a difference it makes but I did get to Launceston with sceneries at Max without an OOM. Well not all at Max, (like water) but Scenery complexity seemed to deliver better fps at "Very dense" rather than "normal".By the way I was looking right down at the tarmac over the nose in 2D mode not being able to see anything ahead of me and found the following solutions in one of the threads.Use crtl-Shift and Q to move the line of sight "up" and Crtl - Q for down - very useful and much better than zooming out to see where you are going. I was using a 30% zoom out in 2D and it was landing like the space shuttle - very disturbing but fixed now with that keyboard shortcut.Thanks for all your help.Gerry

Edited January 2, 2012 by engwerda