I bought the PMDG 777 a couple of days ago and I'm frankly blown away.  It's easy to dismiss some of the praise as hype but here's my experience:

 

• My machine is an older Dell desktop Core 2 Duo 2.93GHz with 4GB of RAM and Win7 64-bit.  The video card is a low-end GeForce 210.  I can still get 20FPS with the correct settings as recommended by PMDG (turning down the AA due to the card's limits) and that is amazing.  I was worried that my hardware couldn't keep up but wow...wow.
• Ignoring the tutorial on purpose I was able to fly the plane (badly) and do some pattern work.  Thanks PMDG for the instant gratification of a powered airplane ready to go from first install.
• The depth of the simulation ensures I won't need another plane for *years*.  I can imagine months of work only to scratch the surface of what I could do with this.
• It's very satisfying to repeated fly a standard route and not be able to do it well or land successfully with automation.  That sounds weird to say, but if it was easy "out of the box" I'd be sad.  I will relish the time it takes to become proficient and that makes it worth the cash.
• Installation was a breeze the the Operations Manager app is the new "gold standard" for other developers to follow.  Almost carefree to use confidently.
• How soon will it be before PMDG licenses the MS source code and creates a self-contained PMDG sim?  $100 for the app with one plane included, $75 each plane after that.  I'm in!

Again....blown away...what a great add-on.

 

Steve Kirks

• How soon will it be before PMDG licenses the MS source code and creates a self-contained PMDG sim?  $100 for the app with one plane included, $75 each plane after that.  I'm in!

 

Not a chance that will happen with any third party vendor but nice thought

• The depth of the simulation ensures I won't need another plane for *years*.  I can imagine months of work only to scratch the surface of what I could do with this.

 

Absolutely. They're a bit dry in parts, but you really have to read the manuals to fully appreciate how close to the real thing this is.