Machine required to run FSX

[GoneMissed 3]

Arvo all,

I used to play FS9 religiously and FSX when it first came out, I haven't played either in years and years, and right now only have a Macbook Pro!

I want to get back into using FSX, as its been such a long time since I played (maybe 2009?) - I have no idea what kind of rig it needs to run it well.

Essentially what I'm after is basic specs of a machine that can run it on mostly full settings, that can handle the demanding add ons including during poor weather. The machine would be used only for simming. Also, what OS do people run for FSX?

Cheers!

[Orlaam 306]

This will go to hardware forum...

 

Nevertheless, I built what I could afford a few months ago, but FSX is old and lots of people run it fine on older systems.  Provided everything is set up correctly, and you don't kill it with add ons or high settings then it's fine.  Unfortunately FSX, like all MSFS previously don't take advantage of all the hardware out there.  FSX is all CPU dependent with little reliance on GPU or RAM.  Plus being 32-bit means only 3 GB can even be accessed, which may even be limited more IDK. 

 

For the record, my computer in my sig line below runs FSX:SE pretty good, but even with certain settings off (road traffic, 3 cloud layers only, medium-high settings, low AI), I get blurries with add on aircraft.  Don't expect stellar performance no matter what.  Even a lot of these youtube videos with clear looking scenery (ORBX airports, FTX, ect) are often not using ATC or AI.  Flying without ATC or AI at all seems weird to me.

 

OS-wise, W7 is still the best.  Many are using 8 and 10 without issues, but the ones that are having issues are on 8 and 10.

[W2DR 1,859]

Welcome to the forum(s). Chris has it right. While there are many variations of what folks think is the "best" hardware configuration for FSX I've never seen one yet that will perform better than a combination of an i7-4790K and a GTX 970. As far as the OS goes I'd also stick with Windows 7 64-bit.

 

Doug

[Gary A 8]

I too have enjoyed a long sabbatical from FSX; I still do not fly it.  My sabbatical has allowed me to become more honest with myself in a sense.  I find I no longer require the excuse for updating to current hardware needing to be based on an antiquated program like FSX. 

 

Considering FSX was released in what...2006 and was designed on and optimised for Vista; FSX operated very well on a QX6600 and GTX580.

 

Any system you can buy today is more advanced than anything that was around in 2006.

 

As always, just buy the best that you can afford to buy and do not worry about it, it's ok you don't have to blame the upgrade on FSX. :smile:

[markurman 0]

I have been using flight sim since the Flight Sim 98 days. Now I'm on FSX boxed and i run the following with phenomenal success:

 

Intel Core i7 4790K

500W Corsair PSU

Gigabyte Z97 Gaming 7 MB

16GB Crucial Callistic Memory

EXGA GTX 750 Video

Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD

 

I use the PMDG 777 and 737NGX, Active Sky Next, Some latin VFR and FSDreamTeam add ons. While running that I use vPilot, PFPX, GSX, EzDok, 

[martin-w 3,234]

Arvo all,

I used to play FS9 religiously and FSX when it first came out, I haven't played either in years and years, and right now only have a Macbook Pro!

 

I want to get back into using FSX, as its been such a long time since I played (maybe 2009?) - I have no idea what kind of rig it needs to run it well.

 

Essentially what I'm after is basic specs of a machine that can run it on mostly full settings, that can handle the demanding add ons including during poor weather. The machine would be used only for simming. Also, what OS do people run for FSX?

 

Cheers!

 

 

"Full settings" you say... well that depends on what you regard as a minimum frame rate. Even now, with a top-notch, super powerful PC, I'm not sure I'd run the sim on full settings. I like high frame rate. There's a distinct improvement with higher frame rate according to my perception.

 

 

As always, t depends on your maximum budget., how much you are prepared to spend.

 

If you can afford it, my advice would be to opt for the latest Intel platform, namely Skylake. It can be cheaper than you think if you're careful with component selection.

 

It's worth remembering that the latest Skylake platform is 10% faster Than it's nearest rival, but it doesn't stop there. Skylake also offers lots of other features that are advantageous to many.

 

Everyone that's opted for Skylake here on Avsim has been delighted with their choice.

 

 

I have no idea of your budget, but these are the components I have waiting for assembly...

 

Lian Li X510

Asus Z170-A

Intel 6700K

16GB GSkill Ripjaw V 3200MHz.

Samsung 850 Evo 1TB.

Enermax Platimax 850 Watt Multi-Rail PSU.

EVGA GTX 980 Ti Classified.

[johney_30 1]

Arvo all,

I used to play FS9 religiously and FSX when it first came out, I haven't played either in years and years, and right now only have a Macbook Pro!

 

I want to get back into using FSX, as its been such a long time since I played (maybe 2009?) - I have no idea what kind of rig it needs to run it well.

 

Essentially what I'm after is basic specs of a machine that can run it on mostly full settings, that can handle the demanding add ons including during poor weather. The machine would be used only for simming. Also, what OS do people run for FSX?

 

Cheers!

 

I just got a new machine for FSX myself. After allot of research,  I went with  i7 4790,  GTX980,  Z97mx gaming 5  motherboard,  I stuck with 8GB but I spent money to get very fast ram as opposed to 16GB but it being slower.   New case, liquid cooling.   I am very happy,  my old machine was 6 years old so needless to say I have seen a huge improvement. 

 

 

Arvo all

 

I forgot to add,  whatever you decide to get,   get an SSD for the operating system if nothing else incredible speed improvement.  I hit the power switch and my machine is up and ready to go in literally 20 seconds,  I hit reboot and 30 seconds later ready to go. 

[be77solo 125]

If you don't run high end addons, it'll run fine on anything current ha.... I play quite a bit when traveling on a Surface Pro 3 tablet with a low voltage dual core mobile cpu and integrated gpu.  So, it's all relative!  Give it a try on your MacBook Pro w/ Boot Camp, I bet it'll run better on that that it did 10 years ago for you at release :smile:

 

For my serious simming though I run a quad core i7/970m gpu gaming laptop hooked to a Dell 34" 21:9 monitor w/ full HOTAS and Pedals, and things play great with any addon and reasonable settings.

 

If I was buying/building a machine today, I'd go i7 6700K w/ 16GB Ram, 980 GPU, and a SSD.  You'll love it.

[GoneMissed 3]

Thanks everyone for your input, at least now I know what sort of system and I need and how much it will set me back. It'll be quite expensive as I literally need everything, including speakers, headset, keyboard & mouse, monitor etc. 

 

Budget isn't really an issue, more about having a system where I can enjoy simming again. I started as an early teenager (even wrote reviews for Avsim briefly) and am now in my mid 20s. A lot has changed, FSX was still very new, P3D wasn't even a twinkle in the minds of the community at that point! I can't wait to get back involved.

 

Cheers.

[swiesma 625]

As be77solo said:

 

i7 6700k (can be nicely overclocked)

16 GB DDR4 RAM

970 / 980 GTX

And a SATA or M.2 SSD (depends on the budget)

 

... and you are good to go!

I have the exact same setup and play P3d in 4K and a lot of addons with decent framerates.

 

Edit: I also thought about a 980TI, but this is not worth the money in my eyes.

In the middle of the year Nvidia will release the new generation (Pascal) which will be  A LOT quicker than the Maxwell generation. And the new mid-range cards will be as fast as the Titan is now (or even faster) ;-)

[simmerhead 885]

Arvo all,

I used to play FS9 religiously and FSX when it first came out, I haven't played either in years and years, and right now only have a Macbook Pro!

 

I want to get back into using FSX, as its been such a long time since I played (maybe 2009?) - I have no idea what kind of rig it needs to run it well.

 

Essentially what I'm after is basic specs of a machine that can run it on mostly full settings, that can handle the demanding add ons including during poor weather. The machine would be used only for simming. Also, what OS do people run for FSX?

 

Cheers!

 

That computer still doesn't exist, but buy the most expensive rig you can afford and you'll get decent performance. Sadly, realistic weather in cloudy conditions coupled with realistic airliners, traffic, airports and scenery will bring any computer to its knees.

 

If I were starting out today I'd go for Prepar3D v3 and Windows 7. Prepar3D has a much more efficient graphics engine using DX11 and tessellation which takes a load off your CPU if you can afford a top of the line graphics card. 

[martin-w 3,234]

Thanks everyone for your input, at least now I know what sort of system and I need and how much it will set me back. It'll be quite expensive as I literally need everything, including speakers, headset, keyboard & mouse, monitor etc. 

 

Budget isn't really an issue, more about having a system where I can enjoy simming again. I started as an early teenager (even wrote reviews for Avsim briefly) and am now in my mid 20s. A lot has changed, FSX was still very new, P3D wasn't even a twinkle in the minds of the community at that point! I can't wait to get back involved.

 

Cheers.

 

 

No budget constraints you say...

 

I recently went for the system below, not just for the sim, I also play Elite Dangerous Horizons, Battlefield 4 etc.

 

Lian Li X510

6700K

Asus Z170-A

16GB DDR4, GSkill Ripjaw V 3200MHz

EVGA GTX 980Ti Classified

Samsung 850 Evo 1TB

Enermax 850 Watt multi-rail PSU