X-Plane 10.3b2 has been released

[Robert McDonald 167]

I really need a new card..... 1.2GB not cutting it for my GTX570.

 

ARGH

 

i highly recommend the nVidia "7" series over the "6xx".  For my money, the sweet spot is the 4GB GTX 770.  Its 'around' 400 Street.  The Msi versions seem to be hot sellers and hard to find (beware the 2GB version - it's easy to make a mistake).  If you're an X-Plane 10 Pilot, it's worth it to wait till you can bounce for 4GB.  2GB is just really not ideal if you like high texture settings and say, OSM Ortho Scenery (HIGHLY recommend OSM, available free from SimHeaven).

 

If you have one 4GB card now, you can shoot for a second one when they come down in price.  Buying the 770 will mean better availability down the road for a second 'identical' 770.  EVGA likely is the strong call if you are USA pilot, they are based in California.  Msi stuff is spotty on availability.  Sometimes you can find it easily, but the 770 w 4GB has disappeared from the common sites I use (Jungle and BooEgg sites)

[ryanbatc 12,798]

Haha I like BooEgg - otherwise it's BHPhoto for some PC related items.

 

I think the 400 bucks is out of reach for now.... maybe someday.

[Robert McDonald 167]

Haha I like BooEgg - otherwise it's BHPhoto for some PC related items.

 

I think the 400 bucks is out of reach for now.... maybe someday.

 

I get that.  It took a lot for me to invest in the modern video cards.  Gulp.  Overall I'm happy I did, but it wasn't something I did right out of the gate.  I flew with a very basic Dell XPS9000 and a very low end video card for about 1 year or more, before I started building up my system.  And then it was single PC (hand built) and single monitor with another small monitor off to the side for gauges in FSX.

 

No rush... prices will drop the longer you wait...

 

I've had good luck at the Rainforest website for PC stuff.  I only recently tried BooEgg when some items I needed 'now' weren't available on the Jungle site.  Rainforest's return policy is hands-down the consumer friendliest, they can't even SPELL restocking fee, much less assess one.

 

BooEgg scares me with that restock bit... especially on big-dog items.  You have to be careful with the Rainforest - they allow 3rd party vendors to sell to you as well, be sure it's in stock and sold by Rainforest itself, not a 3rd party.  The Rainforest itself could not be more friendly and easy on returns.  Thus they are my 'go to' first choice of vendor.

[strider1 575]

Sli may help performance if x-Plane supports it- but the VRAM is non-accumlative... meaning that 2 4GB cards in sli do NOT yield 8GB of VRAM for texture loads.  I realize most folks know this, but for the few who don't, I'm including it FYI.

 

I myself originally purchased an EVGA GTX690 card with 4GB of Vram, only to find out AFTER the purchase that the 4GB was 'divided in half' 2GB per each GPU chip.  The dual GPU kepplers on the same circuitboard card with built in SLI was apparently a failure, as it now seems to have reverted to ONE GPU chip per card.  I suspect overheating may have been an issue in the "reference design" that was mandated by nVidia.  Fortunately, EVGA did me a solid and shipped me a GTX Titan in exchange for the 2nd GTX690 that failed under warranty.  Though no one asked me - I was THRILLED to lose a GPU and gain 4 extra GB of VRAM for 6GB 'total'.

 

As I have continually reminded in posts- you CAN NOT add more VRAM to a graphics card.  You are stuck trying to sell the card and then repurchase a different one.  Like autos, used graphics card don't command a whole lot of resale value, because of the inherent fear of damage from overclocking.  Sure, they are worth something.  Just not what you paid.

 

Of course the P3D and FSX crowd aren't a bit worried about VRAM.  Their sims aren't designed to take full advantage of it.  But if a FSX / P3D pilot decides afterwards to move to XPlane and 64-bit flight- it's grand if they had the foresight to get 'max VRAM' when they bought their new vid card.  

 

Sli users know that both cards must match to work in SLI- so if one card has 2GB of Vram and the other has 6- that will NOT work in SLI.  Again this is for the newer enthusiast.  Similarly, a GTX 770 and a GTX 780 cannot be combined in SLI, even if they have the identical amount of VRAM on each card.  You would need a Pair of 770s or 780s or Titans... and both of them need identical VRAM on each card.

 

Additional concerns about motherboard design and power supply requirements, not to mention a very roomy and extremely well-ventilated case all come into consideration when SLI is envisioned.

 

I found in X-Plane that performance is actually better having distinct PCs for each monitor, in lieu of trying to solve frame rate issues across multiple displays via SLI.

Why?  You might have TWO video cards instead of ONE, but you still only have ONE CPU doing all the heavy lifting for your entire sim deck.

 

Three PCs and maybe a 4th for the glass cockpit... is a far more efficient setup in X-Plane.

Have you noticed any improvement in frame rate using SLI ?

[alpilotx 505]

Please also remember guys, that X-Plane is still not really SLI capable ... it might work a little bit, but don't expect miracles. Read this "old" post of Ben Supnik on this topic:

• http://developer.x-plane.com/2011/10/x-plane-sli-and-crossfire/

Nevertheless, would be interested to read, what your real SLI experiences are (especially as with the lot of internal 10.30 OpenGL clean-ups, things might have changed a bit).

 

By the way, now there is also a less expensive GTX780 with 6GB VRAM (no need to go the Titan route) from Palit (quite likely, also a bit more less noisy):

• http://www.palit.biz/palit/vgapro.php?id=2288

And also remember to think about RAM upgrades guys ... go for 32 GB if possible (but 16GB should be really your absolute minimum)! Why? Thats why:

• http://forum.avsim.net/topic/439561-any-word-on-1030/?p=2976906

[Robert McDonald 167]

 

 

Have you noticed any improvement in frame rate using SLI ?

 

I didn't go SLI.  Instead I went multiple PCs each with its own video card powering its own monitor in XP 10.3b2.

 

I'm very happy now.  XPlane 10 is absolutely superior to competitive platforms from this standpoint (multiple PCs and multiple Monitors connected via network).

 

 

And also remember to think about RAM upgrades guys ... go for 32 GB if possible (but 16GB should be really your absolute minimum)! Why? Thats why:
http://forum.avsim.n...1030/?p=2976906

 

You're quite right Andreas.  I just installed 32gb system ram across all 3 XPlane Rendering PCs. Now if only Laminar would release the promised 'view to the horizon at altitude' fix!  Dying to fly that and shed the blurs at altitude!

[ryanbatc 12,798]

Yeah I've still got 8...

 

I hate investing in my older rig though....

 

Il probably deal with my 8 and gtx570 until I do a new build

[nobylspoon 0]

I take it the Oculus Rift support hasn't made it in yet? Any chance of getting this in by July when the DK2 ships? 

[mbuehler 0]

Any users with Saitek ProFlight gear having trouble with this latest beta?  My LCD gauge goes crazy after a while and dies.  My landing gear lights halfway function, the autopilot is completely dead, and the radio panel may or may not work.  Was fine before the update?

 

I didn't see Rift support either.  I was really hoping that would be in there!  Will be much better than the 2D Nthusim driver I'm using right now.

[Robert McDonald 167]

There well may be some kind of data refs issue with the new 10.3b2 build.  Suddenly all manner of freeze ups with my glass cockpit, which NEVER happened in 10.23 or 10.25.  Waiting to make sure before filing a bug with Laminar.  Otherwise, 10.3b2 is amazing!

[cptCaptain 122]

 

 

Suddenly all manner of freeze ups with my glass cockpit, which NEVER happened in 10.23 or 10.25.

 

Same here  :mellow: I think its time to file a bug.

[Robert McDonald 167]

Well, I'm still waiting.  My issue was a conflict between XPlane2GPS GPS emulator for android and Garmin Pilot, fighting with my XPlane installation.  I changed the UDP transmit port for the outgoing data in XPlane from 49000 to 49100 and also changed the port on the Android XP2GPS app to 49100. Seemed to solve the freeze ups, but will take a longer flight tomorrow and make sure.  In addition the UDP data transmit rate must be reduced from 20 per sec to 1 per the XP2GPS manual, and the XP main machine IP address should be hard-coded into the XP2GPS app.

 

Credit to James Price for the idea of altering the PORT ADDRESS for the XPlane2GPS app.  I can't live without Garmin Pilot.  It's INCREDIBLE.

 

And of course Sim-Avionics' glass cockpit - heart and soul of my flight deck.

 

XPlane itself is getting better and better and making quantum leaps that we've all been waiting for.

 

Of course being 64-bits... that is GENIUS.  I am stunned Lockheed didn't do it. 

[deetee 164]

Actually the GTX770 is more or less a rebadged GTX680.

If you want real horsepower go for the GTX780, which is a true 7-series card.

My 3GB card works great (I couldn't afford a Titan!!) and I don't use much photoscenery so that 3GB isn't an issue.

[Robert McDonald 167]

Actually the GTX770 is more or less a rebadged GTX680.

If you want real horsepower go for the GTX780, which is a true 7-series card.

My 3GB card works great (I couldn't afford a Titan!!) and I don't use much photoscenery so that 3GB isn't an issue.

 

You're right about the 'rebadged GTX680' comment, the 770 has slight overclocks to the processor and the memory vs the 680. 

 

4GB is a 'must' for me.  I fly very complex scenery from Sim Heaven.  Like you, I couldn't handle 3 TITANS.  I was lucky to have obtained one titan, but I can see a difference in rendering of the heavy scenery between the Titan and the 770.  That all has to do with VRAM on the card.  Once you've made your video card purchase, it is pricey to switch to one with more VRAM later from a cost perspective.  

 

Here's an article that may clarify your thinking about the 770 vs the 780.  For the price and given the 33% jump in VRAM, and the fact that performance is with about 10% of the TITAN, the 4GB variant of the GTX770 in my mind is the 'sweet spot' in XPlane video cards.  You have to be real careful you don't order the 2GB 770 by mistake.  It's easy to do, you have to read the description carefully before ordering.  Recommended MSi or EVGA.  MSi has better cooling design, but EVGA is based in USA (California) and their aftercare is top flight.

[conura 45]

I'm jealous - I have a lowly 660ti!