Does XP require a beefier PC than for FSX?

[metalmike 34]

I've been interested in getting XP for some time. I run FSX:SE pretty smoothly (with addons) with my dated PC - i7 920, 8GB RAM and an ATI 5870. Would I be able to handle X-Plane just as well? 

[Old_As_Dirt 160]

You can download the free version and, while limited, it should give you the opportunity to answer the above question and get a little sneak preview of it's assets.

 

John

[Glenn_C 135]

Bear in mind that the code for FSX is 10 years old and by default X-Plane which is still being developed and updated and X-Plane graphics use OpenGL and MS FSX  DirectX with the former not working too well with AMD cards.  You may be able to run it be it will be at low graphics settings I imagine. 

 

So in short your PC matches the age of FSX but you will need a more powerful setup to run X-Plane with hi res scenery and addons etc....

[deetee 164]

That ATI gpu was good in its time but with 1Gb vram X-Plane 10 will chew it up and spit it out even without HDR enabled. If you change just one thing change this; a 4Gb+ graphics card is recommended. Though with respect looking at your specs it may be time to think about upgrading the whole lot, (depending upon budget etc.)

[Longranger 148]

Well, with a better GPU it can run decently. I use a i7-950 with 18 GB RAM and a NVidia 770 with 4 GB RAM..

[ryanbatc 12,775]

I think it does... at least if you want to run XP10 well with all the goodies.

 

On my rig with payware addons (LES Saab, Carenado stuff etc), and HD Meshv3, and Mister X airports I get about 20-25 fps with HDR on in SoCal areas. (from the cockpit)

[airlinejets 709]

With X-Plane, power matters. It seems that GeForce cards have the upper hand and 4GB cards are essential. I just moved up from 8GB to 32GM RAM and that has helped. As an example, with the 8GB Ram kit and the 4K Rotate MD80 textures, I was in the low teen frame rates, hard to fly zone. Moving to 32 GB and 2K textures, it became a joy to fly. So, no sense beating around the bush, the more power you have on-hand, the better X-Plane performs. No doubt about it, X-Plane is a modern sim and will tax any system you can put it up against.

 

Like John said,try the demo, it should at least give you a comparison point. Most of all, have fun... :wink:

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

With X-Plane, power matters. It seems that GeForce cards have the upper hand and 4GB cards are essential. I just moved up from 8GB to 32GM RAM and that has helped. As an example, with the 8GB Ram kit and the 4K Rotate MD80 textures, I was in the low teen frame rates, hard to fly zone. Moving to 32 GB and 2K textures, it became a joy to fly. So, no sense beating around the bush, the more power you have on-hand, the better X-Plane performs. No doubt about it, X-Plane is a modern sim and will tax any system you can put it up against.

 

Like John said,try the demo, it should at least give you a comparison point. Most of all, have fun... :wink:

Funny...I went to the 2K textures...on my GTX680 2GB card, and it really didn't all that much ramp up the FPS, for the loss of 'character' to the bird on the outside. So...missing that great looking, real looking plane...I reloaded the 4K textures, and have truly only dropped about 2 FPS over the 2K. I was expecting at least a 8-10 FPS increase, but didn't see it.  Yes...I need to get a 4 GB or greater vid card...and that is in the hunt.  For the chap asking about his system...if money is extreamly tight...you CAN pick up a G-Force based card in the 2GB range for very cheap right now.  Although....everybody here is most right...you really need a 4GB or greater to time/future-proof yourself...XP is only going to get more demanding as great new features come aboard.

 

Ses

[airlinejets 709]

Funny...I went to the 2K textures...on my GTX680 2GB card, and it really didn't all that much ramp up the FPS, for the loss of 'character' to the bird on the outside. So...missing that great looking, real looking plane...I reloaded the 4K textures, and have truly only dropped about 2 FPS over the 2K. I was expecting at least a 8-10 FPS increase, but didn't see it.  Yes...I need to get a 4 GB or greater vid card...and that is in the hunt.  For the chap asking about his system...if money is extreamly tight...you CAN pick up a G-Force based card in the 2GB range for very cheap right now.  Although....everybody here is most right...you really need a 4GB or greater to time/future-proof yourself...XP is only going to get more demanding as great new features come aboard.

 

Ses

Hi Mitch,

 

Were the 2k textures from the Rotate pack? I ask because I made my own 2k liveries at first without much success. I then downloaded the Rotate 2k packs from the org where I bought the MD and that made a big difference.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Hi Mitch,

 

Were the 2k textures from the Rotate pack? I ask because I made my own 2k liveries at first without much success. I then downloaded the Rotate 2k packs from the org where I bought the MD and that made a big difference.

Yes..they were.  We all know there is no such standard watermark for all our systems. I only got around 2-5 max...but really missed the great detail that the 4K textures put onto the air frame.

 

So...for myself, I'd rather drop from Very High, to either High/Normal in general res settings to bring up the FPS using the 4K textures.  When I grab a whatever 4-6 GB card, I hope then to bring back the Very High setting to the general Res. Until then...I'm just happy to enjoy this great bird.

 

 Like everybody else has stated...it has a great feel on the ground, and during rotation, including flare, just before touch-down.

 

 I can live with the lower FPS, for that alone.  If they more deeply 'evolve' the general and sub-systems of this plane...all the better.  Like others...there is just something about the MD-80 and all its variations...that is so darn attractive.  I laughed when somebody alluded to, after rotation and N1...setting the VNAV, and going and doing some shopping while the Boeing 737 was getting to the destination.  On the other hand....what a great back-handed compliment, to what Boeing has done for rock-solid air-frame and navigation performance in all their guises.  I just don't want the Captain and First doing THEIR Christmas shopping on-line...as I read or sleep in the cabin....  :Shame On You:  Boeing shouldn't make it THAT easy....

 

For the MD80...you need to hold on and put the iPad away.......LOLOLOL...and THAT is the fun of it...

[ryanbatc 12,775]

It seems that the texture resolution value affects different addons differently.  When I switched to my GTX 970 I could run extreme res on stock type addons fine.  But Carenado stuff choked a little.  So I bumped it down one notch and it was fine.

[Jimmy RFR 406]

I've been interested in getting XP for some time. I run FSX:SE pretty smoothly (with addons) with my dated PC - i7 920, 8GB RAM and an ATI 5870. Would I be able to handle X-Plane just as well? 

 

I think it all comes down to balancing expectations. Obviously, if you're running FSX happily, you're already experienced at putting your settings at a level that nets you reasonable performance.  X-Plane is no different.  If you turn every setting / slider up to max, you're not going to have a fun time.  But starting with minimum settings and working up from there will likely net you a usable experience.

 

However, to fully answer your question, I do believe at the higher settings, yes, X-Plane does require a stronger system.  While in FSX you can get away with only a decently fast CPU, X-Plane demands not only that, but a decent video card for higher settings, as well as lots of RAM for high definition scenery.

[steve310002 1,198]

I used to have the exact same setup (cpu and graphics card) and it will run decent enough. A new graphics card will help a lot though (I am using a GTX 970 now).

[tonywob 4,768]

If there is anything that can kill performance quickly, it's high resolution textures.  e.g. This was an issue with Airfoil's C172 when it was initially released. The detailed textures completely killed performance for anyone with 2GB or under. They had to to patch it quickly by releasing lower resolution versions, and this instantly solved the problem (FPS went from 2fps to 20-30fps)

 

Once you start hitting the limit for your graphics card you'll start getting stutters and pauses. I think 2GB really is a minimum these days, and you should aim for 4GB or whatever card your budget will allow. You can of course turn on texture compression and lower the quality the textures, but then you lose out and there's nothing worse than blurry textures.