Long time FSX user / Time to Switch to P3D?

[Angelo Cosma 61]

Hey guys, I have a few questions that will probably seem very basic to all of you that are in the "know" but I have been solely an FSX user period.

 

I have come all the way from FS2000 to now. I work part time in the IT industry, I am very familiar with the famous and not so famous tweaks that made FSX what it was today. Never felt uncomfortable tweaking, changing files, building new systems, upgrading and so forth.

 

I would like to preface this that if any of this has been discussed before, I apologize in advance. As I feel very late to the game and it appears like there's LOADS to get caught up with.

 

 

Now on to the point. As I said all I ever use is FSX retail (No Steam). I have many many 3rd party addons. I am aware PMDG and certain products must be re-purchased. I want to entertain the idea of switching solely for the VAS handling being improved.

 

Questions:

 

1. Will ORBX Global, FS Global 2012, FSDT, FlightBeam, UTX, REX, EZDOK, Ultimate Traffic II, Latin VFR KSAN KSNA, Vpilot, Active Sky Next, VA pilot (CDU on iPad) all work in P3D WITHOUT needing to repurchase?

 

2. Can FSX remain on my SSD? or would it be wise to remove it prior to any P3D install?

 

3. Are there any differences with the Student and Pro versions? I am a student now, but will not be one very soon.\

 

4. Windows 10 64 bit is my OS, are there any known problems with this?

 

5. Do the same tweaks from FSX carry over / required to be inserted into the .cfg? (HIGHMEM, BufferPools, etc.)

 

6. Is Nvidia inspector still better to use / set settings then in game?

 

7. Any other oddities / suggestions to be known when moving to this? (UIAutomationcore.dll) comes to mind.

 

8. Is SLI something to be looking at now? I have a EVGA 980Ti 6gb card now. IS that enough to run a 21:9 screen at 1440p?

 

Sorry guys I do apologize for the long list, I'm sure most of these questions are already well known by you guys by now but like I said I am just trying to catch up now as I thought I was going to remain on FSX for a while. P3D seems too good to remain uneducated on any longer. 

 

I thank everyone for any and all answers you provide. Any insight, suggestions, tips, hints are much appreciated. I know V3 just released and there probably will be a few bugs for a while but I think I will be making the switch once I know more from the community here. 

 

Thanks everyone, eager to learn what I have shielded myself from for a while now.

 

Angelo Cosma

[Jimm 437]

Sorry but 8 questions is more than a few, and considering a "few" of those questions contain lengthy responses, maybe it's best to start looking around the AVSIM site for the right information.

 

#1 can be found in the Unofficial ORBX forum, here at AVSIM.

#2 Yes

#3 Cannot be answered here (discussion about P3D licensing is forbidden at AVSIM).  You must go to LM's forum for that.

#4 None so far

#5 Some, not all but I would go through the P3D forum, here at AVSIM]

#6 Numerous topics on this throughout AVSIM and are too long to mention in this thread, which suffice to say has been a long and drawn out argument.

#7 See #6

#8 Still being tested by members, but again, a simple search within AVSIM will help you out.

 

-Jim

[JLSeagull 191]

[8. Is SLI something to be looking at now? I have a EVGA 980Ti 6gb card now. IS that enough to run a 21:9 screen at 1440p]

 

Hi Angelo.

 

I have no personal experience of SLI but there are several threads on here, from very knowledgeable users, that will no doubt be of assistance to you. As Jim has already said, a search of the Avsim site will provide you with more in-depth information for most of your questions.  Re: your card - I am using an i7 4790k / 980ti 6gb setup through a 2560x1440 monitor (running at 144hz ), with absolutely no problems whatsoever. 

 

Regards,

[Angelo Cosma 61]

"#5 Some, not all but I would go through the P3D forum, here at AVSIM]"

 

Isn't this the P3D general forum?

[Jimm 437]

"#5 Some, not all but I would go through the P3D forum, here at AVSIM]"

 

Isn't this the P3D general forum?

It is, my bad.

 

To clarify, there is literally a ton of information here in this and every other forum at AVSIM.  As far as settings "carrying over", is a loaded question.  I can't speak for every other member who has commented on this particular subject, but to summarize, you can gain more info by reading up on other members' experiences tweaking P3D that you would from one person because every person's rig is different, and not just in hardware but what other add-ons they may have running, what OS version, hardware, etc.  As I said, it's a loaded question.  Some of the members have guides as well, and while I could provide links, I don't want to potentially steer you in wrong direction.

 

What I CAN offer you for advice is to install the sim, run it vanilla (no add-ons) and then start bumping up your settings within the sim until you feel comfortable with the results.  After you have the sim the way you want it, start adding in your add-ons, like custom scenery, aircraft, weather and then you may have to go back and tweak some more.

 

There just doesn't seem to be one true right way to have your sim running because of the fact that no two people have the same exact computer and setup.

 

-Jim

[Penz 45]

Isn't this the P3D general forum?

Yes, and there is lots of good info here for you to read and digest.

[Mallcott 23]

Better still. Do as I did. Buy it and see - you've got a 60-day refund window !!!!! 

[Jimm 437]

Yes, and there is lots of good info here for you to read and digest.

Good point Penz.  Wish more people realized that.

 

Better still. Do as I did. Buy it and see - you've got a 60-day refund window !!!!! 

Another great point...nothing to lose.

 

-Jim

[Angelo Cosma 61]

I wrote this thread to assist in gaining knowledge of P3D and the transition process. Knowing nothing about P3D myself I figured me and anyone else could reference this down the road if they were contemplating the same thing. 

 

I didn't mean to agitate anyone by not searching the forums. i am doing that right now, but there have been quite few versions of P3D already, and things in earlier versions are not necessarily what you want to be doing in V3. 

 

I figured it would be helpful and speed up the process by going right to the horses mouth since most of you have hands on experience with 2.5 and V3. 

 

I will continue to search but without knowing a base to compare the info to, I will be spinning my wheels trying to sift through information that may be no longer the way to do things since I am not privy yet to what is and what isn't.

 

60 day return that's great to know! I will be trying it out then, In the mean time if anyone would like to sound off on any thoughts or struggles they went through please chime in.

 

And just to clarify, "FS Global 2012, FSDT, FlightBeam, UTX, REX, EZDOK, Ultimate Traffic II, Latin VFR KSAN KSNA, Vpilot, Active Sky Next, VA pilot (CDU on iPad)" all work without needing another purchase?

[Jimm 437]

I wrote this thread to assist in gaining knowledge of P3D and the transition process. Knowing nothing about P3D myself I figured me and anyone else could reference this down the road if they were contemplating the same thing. 

 

I didn't mean to agitate anyone by not searching the forums. i am doing that right now, but there have been quite few versions of P3D already, and things in earlier versions are not necessarily what you want to be doing in V3. 

 

I figured it would be helpful and speed up the process by going right to the horses mouth since most of you have hands on experience with 2.5 and V3. 

 

I will continue to search but without knowing a base to compare the info to, I will be spinning my wheels trying to sift through information that may be no longer the way to do things since I am not privy yet to what is and what isn't.

 

60 day return that's great to know! I will be trying it out then, In the mean time if anyone would like to sound off on any thoughts or struggles they went through please chime in.

 

And just to clarify, "FS Global 2012, FSDT, FlightBeam, UTX, REX, EZDOK, Ultimate Traffic II, Latin VFR KSAN KSNA, Vpilot, Active Sky Next, VA pilot (CDU on iPad)" all work without needing another purchase?

Speed up the process....haaaaaahahahaha.  There isn't enough time in the world to do that.  While it WOULD be nice to have a "P3D Bible" that everyone could refer to, it all goes back to what I stated before.  Unless everyone ran the same exact rig, with the same software, the same settings in their OS, the same everything, you will still see everyone get different results.

 

Your question about the individual titles working with P3D v3, you will need to go straight to the horses' mouths, meaning a quick trip to the manufacturer's will get you the quickest, best answers.  Also, not knowing anything about P3D, like you admitted, could be easily rectified by going to LM's website and checking out all of the features there.  They aren't sugarcoating anything, and so far, they are delivering on everything they calim in the latest release.

 

-Jim

[Penz 45]

As far as I know the UTX license is not the same for FSX and P3D, you may need to update.

[vgbaron 3,739]

The problem, Angelo, is that P3D is still growing and some of the developers are not growing quickly enough so there are a ton of variables.

To answer some of your questions:

 

Functionally, other than the Academic watermark, there is NO difference between Academic and Pro. As mentioned, discussions as to which you qualify for will get the subject shut down immediately. That info is available on the LM website.

 

Most of the listed programs you itemized ( ASN, REX, ORBX) have dedicated installers but do not require a new purchase. You really have to check with each developer.

 

P3D natively needs NO tweaking - most of the old FSX tweaks have already been incorporated into the sim. There are a few that *may* be relevant but it is best to start with the default P3D profile and go from there. IMHO, chasing the FPS monster is a sure way to muck up your install - work toward a smooth experience be it it 20, 30, 40 FPS - whichever is the lowest FPS with the smoothest performance is what you

want.

 

Although W10 is not a supported OS for P3D, many users are having no issues at all and are quite happy with it.

 

NVI is valid only if you need 4sgss and/or SLI - lots of posts on this subject. If you don't require 4SGSS then you probably do not need NVI

 

I run SLI - for me it is perfect because I do not pay attention to FPS - I work toward a stutter free smooth experience. The SLI set up ( 970's) give me that along with excellent visuals. If you are looking to increase FPS with SLI - not going to happen. Some people have turned off their SLI setup claiming better results with a single GPU. A lot will depend on your number of monitors and setup. There is NO one size fits all.

 

FSX and even earlier versions of P3D happily coexist.

 

Bottom line - take advantage of the 60 day refund - only you can tell how it will work on your system - just avoid adding ANY TWEAKS at all until you have run it for a while.  get it nice and stable out of the box and then start with your favorite addons, one at a time. Install and fly for a day or so - rinse and repeat.

 

As you have specific questions - feel free to search and ask what you don't comprehend.

 

Vic

[Angelo Cosma 61]

Thanks Vic, and I apologize for bringing up EULA talk I was simply unaware. Noted, and thank you for your response.

[DylanM 1,069]

Welcome Angelo, and let us know how you get along once you've installed it. As noted above, you should give it a test drive (given your GPU, you should be fairly satisfied...).

 

D

[Angelo Cosma 61]

Thanks all! I will report back.