Making the move to FSX Soooo... hardware stuff ;)

[leefree 12]

Welp being a long time FS9 user I decided I would try and go for FSX. I own the boxed version but decided to go and buy the Steam version of FSX. My current rig runs FSX ok and obliviously AMD processors are a no no for a simulator like FSX. I did however try my hand at X-Plane 10 this past week. I'm quite impressed with it. Runs good on my system but its just lacking in a lot of great quality payware scenery and a weather engine. So I'm going back to FSX. Been doing some searches and stuff and I think I got down what I need to make FSX run better than what it does on my current rig. Trying to keep the cost below $750

My current Rig

GPU: GeForce GTX 650Ti
CPU: AMD Phenom 2 X6 1045T Processor
Memory: 16 GB of Ram
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P Motherboard
Hardrive: Seagate 2TB

Potentials:
 

Option A

Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Quad Core i7 3770K 3.9 GHz

8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3 Ram

500 Watt Power Supply or 600 Watt

 

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 SLI Support SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card

 

Option B
 

Intel Ivy Bridge Quad Core i5 3570K 3.4 - 3.8GHz Turbo Processor

Gigabyte GA-B75M-HD3 LGA 1155 B75 mATX Intel Motherboard

8 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM

500 or 600 Watt Power Supply

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 SLI Support SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card

 

Option C (Yeah I know its AMD but still...)
 

AMD FX 8350 4.0 GHz (4.2 GHz Turbo) Eight Core

Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard

8 GB DDR3

500 or 600 Watt Power Supply

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 SLI Support SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card

What do you guys think?

 

 

 

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

3770K is a great processor.. B)

 

(that is what I've got installed..)

[leefree 12]

3770K is a great processor.. B)

 

(that is what I've got installed..)

 

Hey Bert  That's cool. What kind of graphics card do you have? 

[untoweechja 35]

My system is an AMD FX-6200 (3.8 GHz) with a GTX 550 Ti.  It's at the low end of acceptable performance in my opinion, and that's after dialing back the autogen and other eye candy to nominal levels.  Steve's DX10 fixer helped smooth things out at lower frame rates and I'd say it's a must have if you're going to go AMD.

 

The FX-8350 with a GTX 960 might be acceptable if you don't intend to dive into resource demanding 3rd party offerings.  I do OK with RealAir and the Captain Sim L-1011, and the Majestic Q400 works great.  I've got the PMDG NGX and T7 but they're just too taxing on my measly hardware so they don't get used much.

 

I'll put it this way:  I'm looking to get a new computer myself, and AMD is not in the running.

[leefree 12]

My system is an AMD FX-6200 (3.8 GHz) with a GTX 550 Ti.  It's at the low end of acceptable performance in my opinion, and that's after dialing back the autogen and other eye candy to nominal levels.  Steve's DX10 fixer helped smooth things out at lower frame rates and I'd say it's a must have if you're going to go AMD.

 

The FX-8350 with a GTX 960 might be acceptable if you don't intend to dive into resource demanding 3rd party offerings.  I do OK with RealAir and the Captain Sim L-1011, and the Majestic Q400 works great.  I've got the PMDG NGX and T7 but they're just too taxing on my measly hardware so they don't get used much.

 

I'll put it this way:  I'm looking to get a new computer myself, and AMD is not in the running.

 

Yeah my AMD rig is good for running other games. Just not so much with FSX and the addons for it. I have the T7, Aerosoft Airbus A321, and few airport addons. I have most of my sliders on the low settings but still get a bit of CPU bottle necking here and there. 

[untoweechja 35]

Same experience here, but other games I play (mostly strategy) aren't terribly demanding on graphics to begin with.

 

In the FSX world, I wouldn't expect the 8350 to change anything substantially since it is so heavily bound to the CPU and doesn't take advantage of multiple cores.

[JDWalley 354]

As a long-time AMD devotee, I'd have to reluctantly say: go with Intel, period.  I was shocked to run FSXMark a few weeks ago, and found that my custom-built AMD FX-6300 desktop got substantially lower scores than my Intel laptop (21.0 vs. 27.8), despite the fact that the desktop is monitor-limited to 1600x900 and, thus, FSX should be at least slightly-less-taxing there than on the 1920x1080 laptop.  FSX runs acceptably in pure stock form, with medium-high settings, but try installing something like ORBX PNW, and frame rates fall into the high-single-digits.

 

Needless to say, I'm looking at a desktop rebuild by autumn (when Skylake comes out, although I may still decide to go with Haswell-E) at the latest.

 

But, for whatever reason, AMD chips and FSX don't play well together, no matter how powerful a given AMD chip may be for other uses.

3770K is a great processor.. B)

 

(that is what I've got installed..)

 

How easily/cheaply available is it nowadays?  Looking at Amazon, I see only one unit availble -- and at $498.99.  :o

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Hey Bert  That's cool. What kind of graphics card do you have?

 

GTX 770

As a long-time AMD devotee, I'd have to reluctantly say: go with Intel, period.  I was shocked to run FSXMark a few weeks ago, and found that my custom-built AMD FX-6300 desktop got substantially lower scores than my Intel laptop (21.0 vs. 27.8), despite the fact that the desktop is monitor-limited to 1600x900 and, thus, FSX should be at least slightly-less-taxing there than on the 1920x1080 laptop.  FSX runs acceptably in pure stock form, with medium-high settings, but try installing something like ORBX PNW, and frame rates fall into the high-single-digits.

 

Needless to say, I'm looking at a desktop rebuild by autumn (when Skylake comes out, although I may still decide to go with Haswell-E) at the latest.

 

But, for whatever reason, AMD chips and FSX don't play well together, no matter how powerful a given AMD chip may be for other uses.

 

How easily/cheaply available is it nowadays?  Looking at Amazon, I see only one unit availble -- and at $498.99.  :o

 

 

Most likely, you would buy a 3790K today.   Which is the same processor, just factory overclocked..

[leefree 12]

Well that settles it. I'm going to go the Intel route. Like I said earlier in my post, I tried out X-Plane and it runs good on my current rig but payware stuff is just lacking for it and there isn't any PMDG products with them. Thanks for the help guys

Edit: I'm assuming I should probably figure in a Solid State Hard Drive? And actually, what are the thoughts on the Intel Gaming PCs over at iBuypower.com? 

[leefree 12]

Obviously this way out of the price range that I stated earlier but I don't know... I might go for it

Intel Z97 Core i7 Configurator

Case: 1 x Zalman MS800 Plus Gaming Case - Black

Processor: 1 x Intel® Core™ i7-4790 Processor (4x 3.60GHz/8MB L3 Cache) - FREE Upgrade Intel® Core™ i7-4790K

Processor Cooling: 1 x Asetek 510LC Liquid CPU Cooling System [sOCKET-1150] - ARC Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade

Memory: 1 x 8 GB [4 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand - **Free Upgrade to 16GB DDR3-2133 GSKILL**

Video Card: 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 - 2GB - Single Card

Motherboard: 1 x Gigabyte GA-Z97-D3H -- *FREE Upgrade to Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI -- 2x PCIe x16, 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0

Power Supply: 1 x 600 Watt - Standard - *Free Upgrade to 700W Standard

Primary Hard Drive: 1 x 1 TB Hard Drive -- 32MB Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

Optical Drive: 1 x 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW - Black -- Free Upgrade to LG Blu-ray Reader

Media Card Reader / Writer: 1 x 12-In-1 Internal Media Card Reader/Writer - Black

Sound Card: 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Network Card: 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

USB Expansion Card: 1 x PCI-Express USB 3.0 Expansion Card (2x External Port + 1x Header)

Operating System: 1 x None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

3770K is a great processor.. B)

 

(that is what I've got installed..)

 

Sorry, had a senior moment...

 

I have a Haswell 4770K installed, and today would buy a Haswell 4790K which is a factory overclocked 4770K...  (Intel numbers confusion..)

[stans 702]

Processor speed is very important to FSX performance.  Four or more cores all running at 4Ghz or faster seems to be the sweet spot and Intel CPU's do outperform AMD's when it comes to FSX.

[leefree 12]

So, with the potential of buying a PC to run FSX I decided to get the academic version of Prepar3D. For S's and G's I decided to install it on my current rig. Installed a couple of payware sceneries KSAN and KSFO. Installed the Aerosoft A321 which in FSX downgrades my fps. In P3D I've left most of the graphic settings as is. Booted up A321 at KSAN with traffic slider at 50 and road traffic at 27%. Prepar3D is performing a helluva lot better than FSX in the same conditions......................

Although my frame rates aren't smooth like 30 fps smooth I am maintaining between 15 to 24 fps which IS a helluva lot better than what I was getting in FSX...................

I'm literally crossed right now because of this revelation.

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Either way , for maximum enjoyment, you will want a faster system.. fsx or p3d..

[leefree 12]

Been reading too that the AMD FX 8350 can run Prepar3D. I'm digging this already