Should I buy P3D?

[Nyxx 6,993]

 

 

i7 4770 non-K
8GB DDR3 G.Skill Ripjaws 1600MHz
Asus AMD R9 280 3GB DDR5
Kingston 240GB SSD
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1

Shame as it looks like it should run really well. I have Spec below and it running like a dream, might be a AMD R9 most people report fsx etc run better with NV.

i7 4790K @ 4.6GHz(Corair H100i), GTX 780 6GB, RAM 8Gb 2133, Asus Sabertooth MK2 Intel Z97

 

It is below average, but I manage a solid 20 FPS with PMDG add-ons at ORBX airports. I'd like to overclock it one of these days. 

IT might be an idea to just run Orbx Global/Vector/OLC there are tip's in the guild in my sig below to the setting in vector to turn off.

[RichUK 474]

Long live P3D!

 

The only thing I miss from FSX are some of the payware airports that aren't made for P3D. 

[kpan 8]

I have all three.  FSX, P3D and XPX.  They are all fine with me in their own way.  But since Carenado, the FlightFactor 757 and the JARDesign A330 came to XPX, I find the only one I ever use is X-Plane.

[Ebs 114]

 

 

Also, is performance much better than FSX, FPS wise? 

 

Kevin, I just had a quick look at your system specs in your profile.

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T

HD 6970

 

I'm no hardware expert by any means, but I think you're going to struggle a bit in P3D. It might be better to stay with FSX for a while if it's running fine for you at the moment.

I'd definitely recommend a CPU/GPU upgrade before taking the plunge. Your experience will be far better with a beefier system.

[GSalden 4,656]

The clouds shadows on the ground alone were for me reason enough to make the switch from FSX to P3D....

[autogyro 18]

I would love to see that in action, because my P3D water is duller than a particularly dull thing in Dullsville.

Are you on REX 4 Service Pack 2? There were some considerable improvements with water rendering and animation once I moved to SP2.

[Christopher Low 5,341]

I am using REX Essentials Plus SP3, and that last upgrade was supposed to make similar improvements to REX 4 SP2 with respect to the water in P3D. Unfortunately, it isn't working properly on my PC, since I do not get the "white caps" effect at all. Strangely enough, FSX in DX10 mode was also useless for me where water was concerned, and that was on a completely different PC!

[autogyro 18]

I am using REX Essentials Plus SP3, and that last upgrade was supposed to make similar improvements to REX 4 SP2 with respect to the water in P3D. Unfortunately, it isn't working properly on my PC, since I do not get the "white caps" effect at all. Strangely enough, FSX in DX10 mode was also useless for me where water was concerned, and that was on a completely different PC!

 

This may be a silly question but I presume you've cleared out your shader cache since installing REX Essentials + SP3?

 

Do you have a screenshot of what you do see?

[Christopher Low 5,341]

Yes, I have already done that. I have tried changing the textures, enabling and disabling DX11 optimisation, and a myriad of other things, but it never makes a difference. The water simply looks static at anything above a thousand feet. The REX Sparkling textures in FSX DX9 mode were light years ahead of what I see in P3D.

[onebob 125]

Yes, I have already done that. I have tried changing the textures, enabling and disabling DX11 optimisation, and a myriad of other things, but it never makes a difference. The water simply looks static at anything above a thousand feet. The REX Sparkling textures in FSX DX9 mode were light years ahead of what I see in P3D.

I'm getting some wave movement, best way to check, go to Bowerman (KHQM) in Washington. taxi on to grass verge near sea, make sure water detail slider is at ultra and configure some windy weather.

 

bob

ps I using orbx pnw and weather set to major thunderstorms. pd3 2.5 hot fix ....45

[ckyliu 1,749]

I have a good PC, it's just that P3Dv2 will require a BEAST PC to enjoy what new bells and whistles it comes with in my own experience. My specs are as follows, and I consider them to be well above average in everything except P3Dv2

 

I have similar specs to you, so think I will continue to avoid P3D for now. I heard that P3D doesn't play nicely with ATI/AMD graphic cards?

[Christopher Low 5,341]

The water animation at ground level or low altitude isn't a problem. I can see the default P3D waves with the water setting at Ultra. I am talking about the illusion of "white caps" or "reflections" at altitudes above a thousand feet, and also the shimmering that was so obvious in FSX DX9 mode. In fact, I can actually see the two texture sheets moving separately in P3D, but they are not producing the illusion of wave movement because of the complete lack of those white caps/reflections.

 

It annoys me that I can't get the water to look as good as it was with the REX Sparkling texture set in FSX DX9 mode. I don't understand why it isn't working for me. It's worth noting that the water in FSX DX10 mode also looked rubbish on my old PC (nowhere near as good as in DX9 mode).

[Wobbie 938]

Anyhow, back to topic....

My humble opinion, such as it is worth, is to try the sim, as previously suggested, & then go for the Academic version, they are all the same anyway, as, I'm sure you will be learning a lot!

 

All this talk of add-ons & add-ons.... Try the sim first, stock standard, & then see! Remember, regard it as a totally new sim, with some (not all) compatibility. Just remember what happened when we upgraded from FS9 to FSX?

 

Enjoy, & dont fall into the 'Analysis Paralysis' syndrome & over analyse what others have done/found. Each of us have different hardware & results will be unique.

 

Cheers,

Robin

[rparson99 32]

I have similar specs to you, so think I will continue to avoid P3D for now. I heard that P3D doesn't play nicely with ATI/AMD graphic

 

Sure, nvidia will get better fps in p3d, but its the same for fsx when directly comparing nvidia vs ati.  Aside from that ati is not a disqualification from good performance and graphics...I use a 290x myself.  just need to back off some settings a bit if necessary.

[Tatave 57]

 

 

I'm no hardware expert by any means, but I think you're going to struggle a bit in P3D. It might be better to stay with FSX for a while if it's running fine for you at the moment.
I'd definitely recommend a CPU/GPU upgrade before taking the plunge. Your experience will be far better with a beefier system.

 

Thanks for that. I've been putting off an upgrade for a long time, guess I'll have to gear up sometime soon.