Is Prepar3D V4 really that hard to set up?

[THibben 16]

 

I have had FSX since the very beginning and am researching the possibilities of trying to install P3D4 also.

I have a 465 GB SSD drive with FSX installed on it and have 186 GB of free space on the drive. Can I install P3D4, which doesn't require very much of this space, on this drive as a separate entry?  Is it also possible to use the scenery, installed in FSX, in P3D by writing a shortcut in P3D to reference it or would I just have to copy it all into P3D?

I am getting a little old and slow and would appreciate any thoughts as to how I should proceed.  Thanks in advance.

Tom

 

PS: I have a very high end computer with 6 GB of memory.

 

Edited July 5, 2017 by THibben
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[downscc 1,327]

I'd recommend getting a second SSD and start your P3Dv4 installation there.  True, you can use much of the FSX scenery in P3D eliminating the need for dual installations but after you have spent a few hours in P3D you will never go back to FSX.  So go ahead and plan to migrate fully to the new platform.  In my case, I put P3Dv3 and v4 on my c: drive but all v4 scenery is on my second SSD d: a data drive and I am slowly removing or migrating scenery from v3 to v4.  I also have FSX but I only use it when I am beta testing, and every time I do so I am amazed at how much better the P3D experience is.

On the other hand, budget constraints might restrict you to what you have (you sure you don't have 16GB of memory?) in which case you can make it work.  P3D uses about 40GB (per LM specs on P3D system requirements page), plus another 10GB in Program Data\Programcache, plus any scenery and aircraft.  Plan on aircraft having to have a separate install for P3D, but you can still share and migrate the scenery.

[THibben 16]

1 hour ago, downscc said:

I'd recommend getting a second SSD and start your P3Dv4 installation there.  True, you can use much of the FSX scenery in P3D eliminating the need for dual installations but after you have spent a few hours in P3D you will never go back to FSX.  So go ahead and plan to migrate fully to the new platform.  In my case, I put P3Dv3 and v4 on my c: drive but all v4 scenery is on my second SSD d: a data drive and I am slowly removing or migrating scenery from v3 to v4.  I also have FSX but I only use it when I am beta testing, and every time I do so I am amazed at how much better the P3D experience is.

On the other hand, budget constraints might restrict you to what you have (you sure you don't have 16GB of memory?) in which case you can make it work.  P3D uses about 40GB (per LM specs on P3D system requirements page), plus another 10GB in Program Data\Programcache, plus any scenery and aircraft.  Plan on aircraft having to have a separate install for P3D, but you can still share and migrate the scenery.

Hi Dan,

I am a little curious as why you recommend a second SSD since I still have so much room on my existing SSD and the scenery is already installed in FSX.  If necessary I could buy some additional memory.....If the budget will allow.

Tom

[Ray Proudfoot 8,903]

Tom,

I'd install on your existing SSD. No need for a second. Can you clarify how much system RAM you have? P3Dv4 will use far more than FSX ever did but if you have Windows7 HP you are limited to 16Gb. Windows 10 will allow far more. You will also need a graphics card with a minimum of 3G but 8Gb or more is much better.

It's helpful to put your computer specs in your sig to save repeating them in posts.

[THibben 16]

Ray,

I have an intel i7CPU x980@3.33GHZ and running Win 7 Ultimate.

I have 12.0 GB memory and have a 64 bit system.

My video card is a Ge Force GTX 970 4 GB.

Thanks,

Tom

[downscc 1,327]

2 hours ago, THibben said:

I am a little curious as why you recommend a second SSD since I still have so much room

You do have room, but things add up. Start adding scenery (I have about 60 GB) plus mesh and aircraft, the 50GB that P3D is going to occupy becomes a fraction of the total.  As far as I am concerned, a decent SSD is only a little more than the cost of P3D alone so what the heck.

[THibben 16]

Dan,

Can't I just load the scenery from my FSX instl?  Scenery has to be the largest file.

As I said,  I have been retired for a long time, am on a fixed income and try and save as much as I can....grin

 

Tom

[Ray Proudfoot 8,903]

1 hour ago, THibben said:

Ray,

I have an intel i7CPU x980@3.33GHZ and running Win 7 Ultimate.

I have 12.0 GB memory and have a 64 bit system.

My video card is a Ge Force GTX 970 4 GB.

Thanks,

Tom

Hi Tom,

Okay, that's a reasonable enough system for P3D v4. You won't be able to have all the sliders to the right but with sensible settings performance will be okay.

I would be inclined to remove each scenery package from FSX as you add it to P3D. I'm assuming you won't go back to FSX once you start flying P3D?

I recently switched from FSX:SP2 to P3D v3.4 and rather than use a migration tool to swap scenery etc. over I uninstalled each scenery package from FSX before installing it in P3D. That way your overall disk consumption remains neutral once P3D is installed.

[Jim Young 2,356]

32 minutes ago, THibben said:

Can't I just load the scenery from my FSX instl?  Scenery has to be the largest file.

It works for me.  I have FSX/P3Dv4 on the same SSD.  No problems.  I did update most of my scenery though to work fully in P3Dv4 but photoscenery installed in FSX can also be used in P3DV4.

[THibben 16]

1 hour ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Hi Tom,

Okay, that's a reasonable enough system for P3D v4. You won't be able to have all the sliders to the right but with sensible settings performance will be okay.

I would be inclined to remove each scenery package from FSX as you add it to P3D. I'm assuming you won't go back to FSX once you start flying P3D?

I recently switched from FSX:SP2 to P3D v3.4 and rather than use a migration tool to swap scenery etc. over I uninstalled each scenery package from FSX before installing it in P3D. That way your overall disk consumption remains neutral once P3D is installed.

Ray,

For now I fully intend to keep FSX.  It performs very well for me and I have a lot invested in it.

 

Tom

[Ray Proudfoot 8,903]

1 hour ago, THibben said:

Ray,

For now I fully intend to keep FSX.  It performs very well for me and I have a lot invested in it.

 

Tom

But as you install favourite aircraft and scenery into P3D wouldn't you rather fly that sim? It's better at handling VAS and performance will be better. I've uninstalled FSX from my system now. Don't miss it in the slightest.

[bean_sprout 1,201]

No but setting up your system for P3D (or any game) requires the most expertise  and $$ IMO.

 

Cheers

bs

[Raven9000 272]

1) Regarding your title, not sure who told you this, but no, it is no different than any program

2) Regarding installation, yes you can install it just as you can install ANY program on the same disk....

3) No, you cannot do that for any program EVER... While an Add-on *may* be compatible, or you*may* get it to work if it's for FSX (although certainly not recommended and better to get the P3D specific version), you can't just "create a shortcut" and expect it to work, you need to follow whatever instructions each add-on has to get it installed in/for P3D.

[YukonPete 580]

46 minutes ago, bean_sprout said:

No but setting up your system for P3D (or any game) requires the most expertise  and $$ IMO.

 

Cheers

bs

BS! P3Dv4 is easier to setup then FSX! For starters you don't need to tweek any .cfg files.

[THibben 16]

Sorry guys, my opening title regarding how "hard to set up" got closed before I could explain.

If I buy this, my intention initially is to just try and use it as it comes and then maybe add some of my ORBX scenery and various airplanes.  I have lots of space on my internal SDD hard drive, which also has FSX.  My system is pretty high end and I have 12 GB of memory with room to add another 4 GB if necessary.

My initial intention is to just try and learn the program and see how it performs.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

Tom