Alright guys,

 

After countless hours of researching, I can't begin to tell you how much "this and that" kind of information I found on the topic of "the best FSX gaming setup". Let me be straight up with you, I am on a tight budget. I can't spare close to the amount of money some people seem to be throwing at their FSX computers. I've been playing on a mid-performance ASUS laptop, and here are the facts.

 

My Laptop:

Windows 8 64bit

Intel i5-4200 @ 2.3GHz

6GB of RAM

 

This laptop, using very low FSX settings with the PMDG 777 and FSDT Los Angeles add-ons, will average around 15-20FPS. (sometimes under 15FPS while on the ground)

 

 

What I Would Like:

Build a computer in the $500-600 range that can do the following: 

 

1. Run FSX at the higher settings (I don't mind low water settings, so hopefully this helps out)

2. At or above 40FPS (Asking for 50+ is overkill?)

3. Handle additional add-on airports without affecting the above

 

 

Any advice is appreciated and thank you in advance!

 

 

Running those addons you listed no way...

 

1000 bucks minimum IMHO

You're going to need a much better system than what you have in mind. 

 

The system won't run at even half of (the frames) you're asking for at high settings, unless you'd like to take the time to perfect your settings to achieve a satisfactory balance between graphics and performance.

 

From observations of CPU usage whilst FSX is running on my system, I've seen FSX is quite dependent on my CPU. You'll need an i7 type, or an ATI equivalent, addressing your CPU.

 

I assume from what you've said your computer does not have a graphics card. You're going to need one (or multiple).

 

Definitely looking towards a desktop, as well. 

Thank you for the honest opinions! I guess my budget really is going to hurt me here. To give you guys a real example of a set up I have been looking at, please take a look at the set up I have in the link below:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6xjn8d

 

I do realize that I will not be able to run everything at its maximum, and I believe I am to blame for the misunderstanding when I said "higher settings"...

 

To clarify on what I meant by "Higher Settings":

1. Water can basically be rock bottom. (None or Low 1.x)

2. Minimal land vehicles, no ships and ferries and leisure boats (If on VATSIM, all turned off)

3. Minimal airline traffic, minimal to no airport vehicles, and no general aviation traffic (If on VATSIM, all turned off)

2. Use add-on weather software (doesn't affect FPS much from what I've heard?)

 

Basically, I am not looking for a system that can produce one of those extreme YouTube FSX videos. I mostly fly on VATSIM, so I don't really have much use for AI traffic (hence the minimal to none I described above). I will be adding a couple additional add-ons, most likely another airport or two, along with possibly a weather software. I am not looking to transform a major portion of any region into HD scenery. Am I being too greedy?

If you're going to run an Nvidia GPU with an ATI CPU, you should use an Intel instead. I've heard Nvidia-Intel connections are better. But that's just a rumor. I am understanding you'd like to run settings at about medium.

 

You are not being too greedy. If you absolutely do not care about graphics other than the Virtual Cockpit, I'm sure you'll be able to run the sim at good framerates. I've got all vehicles set to off, and also AI off. However, the airport addons concern me. They are very intensive. I'm sure you can run a weather software just fine. 

 

Take the time to fix up the settings to your liking. And no, you're not being too greedy.

Nvidia-Intel is factually the best combo; not  a rumor.   However, the system you are considering above will give you a substantial boost in performance over what you have.  You seem to be keeping expectations to reasonable levels so go for it and enjoy.

 

Randall

I'll add one suggestion: pay a little more for a better video card.

 

Randall

Why 40fps? ... A standard dvd replay fps is 30, is that not smooth enough? ... what you need is smoothness of fps, 20 smooth is better than 40 jerkey.

 

Rich

If I were you, I would buy a cheap but large case, get a Z97 Mobo with a 4690K and a 700W psu. That with decent 1600mhz Ram and 1TB HDD sets you back about $590 including tax and shipping at newegg.

 

After you build it, start playing and save up 150 to 200 for a 2nd hand video card on ebay over the summer. I'm sure you can get a GTX 570 for about 150 or less, which will be very good and make for a very solid FSX system.

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Hi,

 

Put your 600 $ in the bank, and save up till you have around 1200-1500, then buy the right system.

My experience is, that becomes very expensive to save money in the first place.

 

I don´t think that any of us recommends you to get an exotic watercooled high end rig - but something based around an i5 4690K+GTX770 and a Z97 board could be the way to go.

 

Best Regards,

Anders

Thank you for all the responses! I have heard of the Intel + Nvidia combination, but the main reason I chose not to use them in my set up was purely financial. I am willing to go up to the $800 range if that extra bit is what it takes for me to create the system that can handle my add-on airports and PMDG 777. 

Just make sure CPU is intel.

In that case, you should go with my suggestion.

 

What I suggested was 590, so if you are willing to go up to 800, you can include a GTX 670 or 660 of off eBay and you should be golden! It will turn out to be a high end system that way. 

 

 

Nvidia-Intel is factually the best combo; not  a rumor.

 

Thanks for the clarification, was not sure.

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I would like to note the difference between at TI and non-TI NVIDIA card in case. TI cards increase the MTexels per second the card can process. However, this comes at the cost of the pixel rate, a small amount of memory bandwidth. It will also consume more power. You can see an example comparis of a GTX 660 TI vs a GTX 660 here.

To reiterate what others have said , I would avoid ATI cpus in this case. With FSX's inherent fps fluctuations, ATI's single core performance (what FSX really needs to keep things smooth) would only make fluctuations worse. Their GPUs, though incredibly fast, have also suffered from frame rate variance issues due to drivers.