General? Returning to Flightsims: Sim choice and HW Platform Advice Needed!

[Deadbug 4]

Hi everyone!

I am a recently retired airline pilot--I have a mentally handicapped adult son living with us who absolutely "lives" daily for hours on a dated FSX platform with some add-ons I've installed and updated over the years.  Now that I have the time, I wanted to make a project this year to dramatically update his experience.  So I started researching online and it has brought me here to ask you experts for help to make sure I was doing it the best way, the right simulator, the right hardware, and the best add-ons for what I have in mind.

My main goal is to have richly detailed and accurate ground, airport terminals and flight scenery with realistic AI ground and flight traffic including up-to-date liveries.  Key also is to have a platform that will have access to Airbus 319/320/321 (sharklet) aircraft and repaints with American Airlines new liveries. Nice to have would be Boeing 737-800, Boeing 787-8/900, Embraer E-190, etc...  The more real the graphics--the better.  Flying simplicity (like his current FSX) is important.

The current hardware platform he is on is:
MS FSX (with all the last available updates)
Plenty of add-on pay ware and freeware aircraft and sceneries
10 year old Dell Studio XPS
AMD Phenom II X6 1045T 2.7Gz
6GB RAM
AMD Radeon R7 200 series

I am going to set up a new platform with an intel i7 processor 4.2Gz, with 16-32GB RAM, and I'm looking at a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 with 8-11GB mem.

I'm looking for your expert opinions on the following:
1. Which flight sim platform--stay with FSX or go with X-plane 11?
2.  Is there a particular off-the-shelf computer vendor that will provide the best platform for the dollar? (I'm not going to build one)
3. What are the best and latest add-ons for realistic airports and AI traffic you would recommend as "must haves" for either platform (keeping in mind the primary areas of his flying would be all of USA, Caribbean, Hawaii and New Zealand (South Island)

I know that's a lot to ask, and opinions will be varied--that's all good.  I haven't been tweaking his FSX in over 5 years and I really want to do it up the right way so he's good for years to come.  Many thanks to all in advance for your assistance!!
 

[Jim Young 2,356]

The best flight platform in my opinion is P3DV4.1 as this is basically an upgraded version of FSX only it is a 64-bit application instead of a 32-bit application.  Members were having issues with 32-bit applications as they were always running out of memory (not RAM but virtual memory).  Microsoft Operating Systems only give applications up to 4GB's of Virtual Address Memory (VAS).  When the 4GB's is used up, the simulator crashes.  With P3DV4, that type of crash is eliminated and there are literally hundreds of addons that worked in FSX that now work in P3DV4.  X-Plane 11 is difficult because it does not do anything automatically like in FSX or P3D.  They do not even have a default startup configuration and you have to go through all of the various configurations to set up your application before you can fly.  You have to configure your throttle and controller, setup what buttons do what, when, and where (and how).  If you want to install more default scenery, you go to the X-Plane site and run their installer again and you can then add more scenery.  I'm not sure why they made it complicated but I consider myself very computer literate and it has been a very difficult experience for me.  With P3DV4, you install it, activate it, go to the setup screen, select your aircraft and where you want to take off from and go fly.  The learning experience is much quicker.  Lockheed Martin is continually working on updating P3D.  I strongly recommend you visit the Prepar3D Forum here at AVSIM and read through some of the topics.  You can also visit our screenshot and video forum and many have screenshots of the various simulators and many have some excellent videos of their flights in mostly P3D.

We have an excellent hardware forum where members discuss the various computer platforms that work the best with any simulator.  The system you mentioned in your topic would work very good with P3D or any of the simulators.  My system specs are in my signature and what I like about the i7 7700K is the fact it is already at 4.2GHz without doing anything.  If you go into the BIOS at startup and select Optimized Defaults, it will automatically overclock your system to 4.5GHz and that's plenty fast for any of the current simulators.  Going above 4.5GHz cause instabilities and I do not recommend it unless you are a computer expert.  In regards to memory (RAM), I recommend 16GB's.

There is a lot of fantastic and very realistic scenery for P3D (or FSX).  FS Dreamteam (FSDT) has some excellent and very realistic airports in Hawaii.  Megascenery.com has some very photo real scenery for Hawaii and here in the USA.  In California, I use Orbx/FTX Northern and Southern California scenery.  FSDT and FlightBeam have some very accurate renditions of KLAX, KSFO, KPSP, the Catalina Islands, and KSAN to name a few.  I also like flying in the Pacific Northwest with all of the mountains and very scenic areas and you can get that from Orbx/FTX.  You can Google FTX/Orbx, FSDT, FlightBeam, etc., and go to their websites.  The realism is truly outstanding (and getting better). 

Hope this helps and thanks for joining AVSIM!

Best regards,

Jim

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Over the last 5 years, P3DV4 has emerged as the successor to FSX.

FSX is a great platform, but as you load it up with addons, it creaks and eventually fails..

For your son, the P3DV4 experience will be similar to FSX, but allow for more realistic graphics and make better use of the kind of hardware that you are thinking of getting.  A GTX 1080 would be wasted on FSX, as an example.

X-plane is an entirely different simulator platform and based on your requirements, I really doubt it would fit the bill.

Not to say that there are not passionate XP users... as I am sure you will see right here in this forum.

As for hardware, read this..

 

[Deadbug 4]

Jim,

Wow, what a great reply!  Thanks for all the good perspective.  I didn't realize that X-plane would present that kind of complication potential for my son's situation.  I didn't delve that deep into x-plane, just looked at some of the video clips and the graphics realism was way over FSX.  

Sounds like P3D is going to be the way to go.  I did look at LM's P3D website a couple of days ago and I got the impression it was for professional aviation or education uses, and I wasn't sure what that inferred to my situation.

You bet it helps!  Thank you.

Bill

[Deadbug 4]

52 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

<snip>For your son, the P3DV4 experience will be similar to FSX, but allow for more realistic graphics and make better use of the kind of hardware that you are thinking of getting....<snip>

Thanks Bert...Both you and Jim are bringing up great points!  I'm now leaning towards P3DV4.

Bill

[Anxu00 176]

2 hours ago, Deadbug said:

My main goal is to have richly detailed and accurate ground, airport terminals and flight scenery with realistic AI ground and flight traffic including up-to-date liveries.  Key also is to have a platform that will have access to Airbus 319/320/321 (sharklet) aircraft and repaints with American Airlines new liveries. Nice to have would be Boeing 737-800, Boeing 787-8/900, Embraer E-190, etc...  The more real the graphics--the better.  Flying simplicity (like his current FSX) is important.

Each platform has its strength.  XP11 is much simpler to set up and flight than XP10, and I have had no trouble with any setup.  For the area your son fly, there are free Ortho4XP that will give as real as scenery as it can get.  There are also many payware airports that are as good as the list for P3Dv4 that Jim provided.  The soon to be release FlightFactor A320 will also meet one of your requirements.  For P3Dv4 there's the FlightSimLab A320 that is very detailed, with the corresponding price.  If familiarity is what you are after then P3Dv4 wins because it is an evolution of FSX.  I personally found the P3Dv4 performance still to be desired in that there is still noticeable stutters even with high FPS, but that's probably just me. Many of your add-ons in FSX may have either a free upgrade to P3Dv4 or with a small upgrade fee.  You will have to be aircraft again though, but the investment to go up is not as steep as buying brand new stuffs for XP11.  XP11 also goes on sale frequently on Steam, and I don't see why not give it also a try.  I use both and the choice of the sim really depends on what I like to fly at the time.

[captaingoose 0]

Hi Deadbug,

You should also take a look at some of the newer sim platforms that run on 64bit pc's, are GPU and not CPU dependent.

I have started using Aerofly FS 2 and I have not looked back to any of the other sims (I have just about used them all).

Rather than worrying about frame-rates,screen tears,jerking frames, I now get to spend time flying rather than trying to come up with a solution for frame-rate issues that every other sim has.

Orbx has also come on board with some great scenery and this sim is just growing and growing.

The VR I have not tried (cannot afford it yet)  but if the forum is anything to go by, then I am in for one hell of a treat/ride.

I have also for the first time ever started creating my own scenery, and I am loving every minute of it.

Head on over to their forums.

Cheers & good luck with your choice :-)

Paul

[YukonPete 585]

I like many others use both XP11 and P3D. I personally enjoy both and I would never claim one is better then the other. I also strongly disagree with Jim's comments that XP is difficult to set up and use. Both XP11 and P3D are excellent and I personally think you can't go wrong with either. 

[GCBraun 2,390]

Please note that this site has always been MSFS dedicated, so it is natural that most recommendations (especially from the higher ranking members) will be towards P3D.

Personally, I have always been a Flight Simulator user and have adopted P3D in 2013. Nevertheless, after trying XP11, I must say that I have been using it platform more and more. It is a breath of fresh air and it looks and feels incredibly superior! For General Aviation, I am sure there is not a better option out there, especially with its very forward-looking native VR!

For big jets, it is clear that P3D has the upper hand. XP is catching up on this segment though, and there are already some very, very good heavier aircraft available for the platform. If you like 737´s there is an amazing 737-300 (IXEG) and 737-200 (FlyJSim V3) for XP11. For the NG, there is a free version available (Zibo mod) that, while not at PMDG level, it is a remarkable achievement for the cost (zero). There are also multiple options available for the E-Jets, even though I have not tested those.

Both platforms have its perks, but I do not agree at all that XP11 hs harder to setup.

I find XP11`s menus much more intuitive. It is also much easier to configure your controls with graphical representation of your hardware and also ditching the need for 3rd. party tools (like FSUIPC) to set-up different assignments for different aircraft. 

One thing is certain: you will spend a LOT less with XP11 as far as scenery and airports goes (also, no hassle regarding EULAs as it is intended for entertainment use and not just academically or professionally). 

There is a free demo for XP11. I would suggest trying it and making your own mind. If you have the means, use both! That is the best option for me.

[himmelhorse 1,276]

Bill,

I would have to recommend P3Dv4. Most of the FSX add-ons won't work but some will.

The biggest single advantage for your son though, is that P3Dv4 is based on FSX and familiarity is a HUGE plus point for him. 

Having said all of that though, why not build a computer (whilst you are at it) for both YOU and your son. If you are contemplating this, you could also invest in XPlane 11 for yourself and P3D for the young fella. Doing this gives you, personally a choice and your son may well, in the future, gravitate to XPlane 11. Both platforms are 64bit and both are individually excellent in different ways. At least, as a retired pilot, you are a far better instructor than the one I had (self taught LOL) and what better inspiration can you son have.

I think you are doing a wonderful thing for him, so keep up the good works

Regards, welcome to AVsim and my your tenure here be long and pleasurable. Mine has been and I am confident yours will be too.

Tony Chilcott

 

 

 

[Deadbug 4]

You all bring up really great considerations...Thank you!  

The “setup” difficulty for sims other than P3Dv4 would really be about how it would affect my son's abiliity to open the sim and have the selected aircraft all powered up and ready to go at the gate (or wherever he selects).  

Now as for me: sure, like all of you, in the past, I've spent way too many hours, days and weeks at all hours trying to resolve installation/optimization, add-on issues, etc....and I can't say I'm really looking forward to that part, but hopefully this time won't be as bad (fingers crossed).  

 

[Jim Young 2,356]

11 hours ago, Deadbug said:

Many thanks to all in advance for your assistance!!

Many thanks for your generous donation with just 4 posts!  The AVSIM Community greatly appreciates it!

Best regards,

Jim

[GCBraun 2,390]

35 minutes ago, Deadbug said:

You all bring up really great considerations...Thank you!  

The “setup” difficulty for sims other than P3Dv4 would really be about how it would affect my son's abiliity to open the sim and have the selected aircraft all powered up and ready to go at the gate (or wherever he selects).  

Now as for me: sure, like all of you, in the past, I've spent way too many hours, days and weeks at all hours trying to resolve installation/optimization, add-on issues, etc....and I can't say I'm really looking forward to that part, but hopefully this time won't be as bad (fingers crossed).  

 

Well, XP11 has a built in system for that. You just need to select a checkbox "start with engines running". It also have great default aircraft. The C172 with the G1000 is a joy to fly and there are, as I`ve already said, multiple (free and paid) mods that expand the capabilities of the default planes. There seems to be a growing divide between older and younger simmers and I can totally understand the reason why the younger crowd is gravitating more towards XP11. It has a much better cost benefit at this point.

[Deadbug 4]

Thiago,

I agree...I should try the demo.  Don't know if it will work on my son's old system, but if not, when I put the new system in place, I'll give it a whirl.

One of the big advantages that I thought P3Dv4 would have for our situation was the functionality of the old FSX add-ons I've installed years ago that according to a sticky in the P3D forum IIRC, may now NOT work under the 64-bit architecture of P3Dv4.

Still keeping an open mind.

Bill

[Deadbug 4]

4 hours ago, himmelhorse said:

Bill,

I would have to recommend P3Dv4. Most of the FSX add-ons won't work but some will.

The biggest single advantage for your son though, is that P3Dv4 is based on FSX and familiarity is a HUGE plus point for him. 

Having said all of that though, why not build a computer (whilst you are at it) for both YOU and your son. If you are contemplating this, you could also invest in XPlane 11 for yourself and P3D for the young fella. Doing this gives you, personally a choice and your son may well, in the future, gravitate to XPlane 11. Both platforms are 64bit and both are individually excellent in different ways.

Tony, thanks for your kind reply.  I have to admit that thought did cross my mind...which is why I wanted to upgrade to a top-end system to handle any or multiple options....

...Then I started adding up the potential cost, considering all the software add-ons I would want for him...and oh, a 4K larger monitor maybe...well, you know how it goes.  I want to stay realistic, and not go overboard ;-)

Bill