Currently I am flying FSX but would like to possibly move to X-plane. Listed in the new Sporty's Pilot Shop catalog is the X-Plane 10 Global for $79.95. When I go to the X-plane web site they have a version for $50 something which is a 64 bit program. I do have a 64 bit computer with win 7 64 bit so should I go 64 or what ever Sporty's has which looks like 32 bit? I only have a Q8400/ 2.8 mhz  with 4 gb ram and a ATI 4650 / 1 gb video card. Will either 32 or 64 bit even run on my machine? I have never been able to get the free demo to run very well. I have just thought I did not know how to set it up though.

 

Any ideas as I do not want to get a new computer just to run a program that might not be as good as what I am currently using. By the way this is not my first flight simulator experience. In the 70's and 80's , I worked on both the F-4E and F-111D  flight simulators in the Air Force. Oh how I wish we had the performance and visual data base of FSX on those Singer-Link blue boxes.

 

Terry

BTW--64 bit X-plane Global is on Steam is $59.99. Steam also lits at least $250 more in downloadable content (mostly Carenado Planes). as well. The download is broken down into regions to make the wait more palatable. As a Steam user for some years, I can tell you Steam is awesome as it keeps all y software organized and fresh.

 

Anyway--to answer your question, your machine is fine. X-plane is like FSX in that you can tailor your sim to your box. Setup does have a learning curve though. I used X-Plane 9 but am mulling X-Plane 10. I am a big PMDG fan so I am also considering P3D now too as PMDG is looking at cross platform development.

Before you buy x-plane 10, I would download the free demo, start it up with minumal graphics settings, and see how it runs on your given hardware. I love x-plane 10, but eventually wound up building a computer to run it on (to save money on expensive hardware necessary for the visuals and performance I wanted).

 

http://www.x-plane.com/downloads/x-plane_10_demo/

 

Dan

There are also different versions,  Regional and global with different price points.  I went with US regional and have recently bought the global upgrade for that.  Download the demo and try it.

I would start with the demo for sure

To

 everyone who responded, thanks. I will try the demo version again. The last time I tried I did not have much if any control over the aircraft with my Saitek ST290 joy stick.

 

Terry

The HD Mesh V2 does not require any global scenery to be installed. I've actually uninstalled all the original scenery that came on the X-Plane 10 Global DVD's, but everything displays perfectly where the HD Mesh provides coverage. I actually prefer it this way, because you're alerted when there's no scenery coverage so you can go and download your HD tile for that area. The original global scenery was quite awful in comparison.

So far me and the demo are not getting along very well. There is a learning curve to the key commands and the aircraft supplied and scenery look like what MS sims did two or three editions ago. Maybe that P3 program or getting FSX to run in DX10 mode. There though you have to buy someones fix to get rid of the wiggling and flashing lines on the runways.

 

I guess the grass is green enough on this side of the fence for me right now. I still have thousands of airports to check out. Sure wish the wx program would again download current data.

 

Terry