Specs for new 'budget' FSX PC, suggestions for improvements?

[Craig12784 6]

Hi can anyone help???

 

Ive also just upgraded my system to the following specs:

 

Intel i7 4790k overclocked to 4.8Ghz

16Gb 2133 Mhz Corsair Dominator Ram

Asus ROG Maximums II V Gene Motherboard

2 x EVGA GTX 980 Superclocked SLI Graphic Cards

EVGA 1000 Watt PSU

FSX saved to SSD

Windows 7

 

But im not getting good frame rates???? especially over london area, the ftx scenery across england just looks crap!

 

Ive got steve DX10 fixer etc all installed but doesnt make a difference.

 

Here is my FSX Config:

 

[bUFFERPOOLS]

UsePools=0

 

[Display]

RUNWAY_LIGHTS_STROBE_SCALAR=0.8

RUNWAY_LIGHTS_APPROACH_SCALAR=0.7

RUNWAY_LIGHTS_VASI_SCALAR=0.7

RUNWAY_LIGHTS_SURFACE_SCALAR=0.7

ActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=0,28,140,64

ActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255

BLOOM_EFFECTS=0

ChangeTime=4.000000

InfoBrakesEnable=True

InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128

InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,255

InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128

InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,255

InfoOverspeedEnable=True

InfoParkingBrakesEnable=True

InfoPauseEnable=True

InfoSlewEnable=True

InfoStallEnable=True

InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0

InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,0,0

NonActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=24,33,87,64

NonActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255

SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1

TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=120

TransitionTime=4.000000

UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=99

WideViewAspect=True

 

[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 SLI.0]

Anisotropic=4

Mode=1920x1080x32

AntiAlias=4 (due to dx10)

 

[GRAPHICS]

HIGHMEMFIX=1

ForceFullScreenVSync=1

AC_SELF_SHADOW=1

AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1

AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1

COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1

D3D10=1

EFFECTS_QUALITY=2

GROUND_SHADOWS=0

IMAGE_QUALITY=0

LANDING_LIGHTS=1

NUM_LIGHTS=8

See_Self=1

SHADER_CACHE_PRIMED=1693500672

SHADER_CACHE_PRIMED_10=1693500672

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024

TEXTURE_QUALITY=5

Text_Scroll=1

MultiSamplesPerPixel=8

MultiSampleQuality=16

 

[JOBSCHEDULER]

AffinityMask=84

 

[Main]

FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.1

HideInfoText=1

HideMenuFullscreen=1

HideMenuNormal=0

Location=163,-26,1203,752,\\.\DISPLAY1

Maximized=1

PerfBucket=7

ProcSpeed=10088

SimObjectPaths.0=SimObjects\Airplanes

SimObjectPaths.1=SimObjects\Rotorcraft

SimObjectPaths.2=SimObjects\GroundVehicles

SimObjectPaths.3=SimObjects\Boats

SimObjectPaths.4=SimObjects\Animals

SimObjectPaths.5=SimObjects\Misc

SimObjectPaths.6=SimObjects\IVAO_MTL

User Objects=Airplane, Helicopter

 

[TrafficManager]

AirlineDensity=0

AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=0

FreewayDensity=15

GADensity=0

IFROnly=0

LeisureBoatsDensity=15

ShipsAndFerriesDensity=15

 

IF ANYONE CAN HELP THEN I WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL!!

 

Thanks

[ryanbatc 12,851]

Start a new thread - you hijacked this guys' hehe

 

To mikejr - I say a SSD is worth it. I have FSX on my 840 Evo but P3D on a 7200rpm 1TB. The difference is extreme. I have similar scenery installs on both sims. I have seen 5 min+ loading with P3D. It's annoying especially if you mod aircraft often and test different things or repaints and have to restart FSX.

[mikejr 0]

Hi Ryan,

 

Okay, that's reassuring (though not for my wallet, of course), I want to get this right first time to avoid any upgrades - and expenses - for literally a few years. 

 

I do a fair bit of tweaking of add on aircraft where it is simply a one second edit of the aircraft.cfg file; swapping between aircraft is the most infuriating thing whilst waiting for the aircraft selection menu to load every time. So this along with the initial FSX loading time would make for a much improved experience.  ^_^

 

Ideally I would have everything FSX related (minus a number of non-integrated add on softwares) on the SSD but once it gets full I'd perhaps have some scenery on the 1TB WD Black HDD... but that's a very long way off! I can imagine that the performance of the WD Black would be noticably better than my laptop 500 GB 5,400 RPM HDD...

 

The current best value option for the FSX SSD is this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BQ8RM1A/?tag=pcp0f-21 . 

[ryanbatc 12,851]

Seems fine. I bought this one but in 500GB variety

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00E3W1726/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418482013&sr=8-1π=AC_SY200_QL40

 

With either one you'll be fine for a few years at the very least. TLC ssd's die faster than MLC but studies show it's quite a long while unless you're writing gigabytes upon gigabytes of files.

[Adam T Lutley 12]

I decided it really is worth investing in a decent machine, especially if I want longevity... even if it is nearly £300+ over budget! 

Wise move sir. Most people who compromise too much initially wind up spending more later when they're not satisfied with FSX performance. A couple of quick notes. I7 4790K is an absolute no brainer. 4.4 Ghz out of the box. You may not even need to OC. Also, with NVIDIA GPU's, the first number denotes the generation and the second indicates the performance class. Thus, a  780 TI is superior to say, a 960 GTX. As has been stated,the 760 is probably the bare minimum for pairing up with a 4790 CPU. Regards.

[mikejr 0]

That's the philosophy which I think is pretty proven. It's all reassuring at the very least. 

 

Thanks for clearing up the NVIDIA branding - I was never 100% sure how it worked, but as it happens you've confirmed the 970 is still the best option. 

 

Time to bite the bullet and make some more orders, along with other people's Christmas presents! 

 

Cheers. 

[gizmosellsbunnys 106]

I7 4790k with 760 gtx does well, and $1100 dollars is probably where you start get decent results. At least your building a desktop, I cringe at people using laptops to run fsx. Because a laptop not designed with fans or CPU with the ability to go full bore for 20 minutes with CPU greedy game like fsx.

[mikejr 0]

Hi Gizmo,

 

Yes - the whole reason I'm buying this system primarily is because my FSX experience on my laptop is summarily dire - unless of course you enjoy watching a slideshow of a plane landing!  :huh:

 

I'm trying to stretch the budget as far as I can go and I think a difference of less than £100 is enough for a next gen GPU in the GTX 970. 

 

Can't wait to build it now! 

[mikejr 0]

It is done... 

 

Made the final purchase today, and most of the near £1000 worth of gear is sitting in my room gathering dust until I can spare the time and pluck up the courage to build it - ideally in one day. 

 

Here are the final specs, after much deliberation, procrastination, hours of the early morning squinting at my laptop screen scrutinising 101 reviews for each piece of hardware, resulting in more indecisiveness and delays... It's no wonder many people choose pre-built machines... Three months it's taken, and it's not even built!  <_<

 

And now with the introduction of FSX: Steam Edition I've got even more thinking to do!  :unsure:

 

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZbVJqs) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZbVJqs/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k) | Purchased For £245.74 
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2) | Purchased For £30.10 
**Motherboard** | [ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97manniversary) | Purchased For £67.34 
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31866c9d8gab) | Purchased For £61.84 
**Storage** | [Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct128mx100ssd1) | Purchased For £52.17 
**Storage** | [Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct256mx100ssd1) | Purchased For £77.98 
**Storage** | [Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fzex) | Purchased For £0.00 
**Video Card** | [Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/zotac-video-card-zt9010110p) | Purchased For £266.48 
**Case** | [Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-nse200kkn1) | Purchased For £37.79 
**Power Supply** | [EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10600kr) | Purchased For £52.12 
**Optical Drive** | [Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-optical-drive-sh224dbbebe) | Purchased For £0.00 
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc02050) | Purchased For £49.99 
**Wireless Network Adapter** | [TP-Link TL-WN781ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/tp-link-wireless-network-card-tlwn781nd) | Purchased For £7.54 
**Case Fan** | [Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 74.0 CFM 120mm  Fan](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/arctic-cooling-case-fan-afaco12000gba01) | Purchased For £3.66 
**Case Fan** | [Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 74.0 CFM 120mm  Fan](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/arctic-cooling-case-fan-afaco12000gba01) | Purchased For £2.82 
**Case Fan** | [Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 74.0 CFM 120mm  Fan](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/arctic-cooling-case-fan-afaco12000gba01) | Purchased For £2.82 
**Case Fan** | [Akasa AK-FN073 109.5 CFM 145mm  Fan](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/akasa-case-fan-akfn073) | Purchased For £5.79 
**Other**| Acer S220HQLBrbd 21.5" Full HD LED Monitor| Purchased For £0.00 
**Other**| Fusion5 Wireless Keyboard And Mouse Combo| Purchased For £0.00 
**Other**| Creative A250 (2.1) Speaker System| Purchased For £29.99 
 | | **Total**
 | Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £994.17
 | Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-06 21:25 GMT+0000 |

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/mikejr/saved/TZWKHx

 

PS: Anything stated as £0.00 were Christmas pressies from generous family. 

 

In the end I went for a GTX 970 which was an upgrade from the original 750Ti, and a couple of Crucial MX100's for the OS Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit (120GB) and FSX (256GB), alongside G.Skill RAM rather than Corsair.

 

This has all meant, with all the additional bits and bobs like cables, but not including the monitor and keyboard/mouse, it is exactly double my original budget - oh how much I have learnt when it comes to the cost of a DIY build... my wallet has taken a severe beating and any moths that might have been in there after my largely broke summer, the best part of which was spent in Africa, are dust! 

 

At least the £1,000 will now pay for much of my entertainment in the colder seasons! 

 

I'm looking forward to building the rig but want to avoid blowing any of this kit up... I'll post a few photos in the next couple of weeks (/months/years) when it is finished and all polished up... explosion free. 

 

Thanks for the tips guys, very much appreciated.  :Applause:

[ryanbatc 12,851]

Cool now we need some pics!

[mikejr 0]

Cool now we need some pics!

 

It is done.   ^_^

 

So I've been up and running for over a week now and nothing has gone bang (yet). The build was pretty straightforward for a DIY virgin; the only difficult part was getting the case back on after wrestling with the snakes of cables!  <_<

 

I've done some benchmarking and it performs very well indeed... at least far better than anything I've ever owned before. I got Far Cry 4 bundled with my GTX 970 and it can run that very well on all Ultra settings - very pleased!

 

At the moment my 'Performance' SSD drive reserved exclusively for FSX is sitting empty, as I decide where to go with FSX. I think I will be biting the bullet and investing in the Steam version very soon.  :rolleyes: I have got IL-2 1946 up and running with some HD mods and I am quite happy with that - though it doesn't prove much considering my laptop could run it relatively well (assuming there were no more than about 8 planes in the sky and very little going on in the way of effects)... FSX, on the other hand - that will be the biggest test. 

 

Anyways... here are some pictures! 

 

http://imgur.com/a/Ind1p

 

Thanks for all the tips guys - I can safely say you did have some involvement in my decision making. Soon as I've bitten that FSX bullet I'll inform you of the obviously good news.  ^_^

[Charlatan 68]

If you're going to be buying a new FSX to go on it, I'd suggest ditching it and get the P3D Academic licence instead.  Haven't even loaded FSX for the 6 months since I bought P3d.

[mikejr 0]

If you're going to be buying a new FSX to go on it, I'd suggest ditching it and get the P3D Academic licence instead.  Haven't even loaded FSX for the 6 months since I bought P3d.

 

Hmm, what to do... fork out £20 for FSX:SE or £40 for P3D V2.0?! I guess what it boils down to is is it worth the £20 difference? 

[Charlatan 68]

More than.  It's night and day from FSX even in stock form

[mikejr 0]

Right, more beard-scratching to do!  I've been looking at P3D videos and it does look very impressive indeed - the only issue is all the addons I've spent more time than I can remember gathering for FSX...  -_-