Right Computer for Prepar3D v4

[era66 3]

I’m seeking advice if my system is good enough for Prepar3D v4 to enjoy all its features and fluid frame rates. Here are my specs:

Jetline Systems HellFire GT2 (2013):

Operating System - Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (64-Bit)

Chassis - CM Storm Enforcer w/ Side Window Mid-Tower ATX

Motherboard - Asus P8Z77-V Pro (Intel Z77) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0

Processor - Intel 3rd Gen Core i7 3770K (4.5GHz Overclock) Quad Core

CPU Cooling - Antec 920 Dual Stage CPU Liquid Cooling

System Memory - 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM 1866MHz

Graphics Processor - 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 680, GDDR5, PCIe

System Power - 950 Watt PC Power & Cooling MK II

Sound Card - Creative Recon3D PCIe, 5.1 Channel HD Audio

Primary Hard Drive - 512GB High Performance Solid State (SSD)

Secondary Hard Drive - 1TB WD Black Edition 7200 RPM, 6 GB/s, 64MB Cache

Networking - Integrated High Speed Network Ready (10/100/1000)

Networking - 802.11n Wireless Desktop Network Card

LCD Display - 27 inch HP LED Monitor (1920 x 1080) HDMI, DVI

Keyboard & Mouse - Wired USB Keyboard and Mouse

Preinstalled Software - Microsoft Flight Simulator X Gold Edition 

Flight Controls - Saitek X52 Pro Flight Control System (USB)

 

Thank you in advance!

[hs118 707]

This system would be a decent, though far from top end, contender for P3Dv4 EXCEPT for the graphics card. A 4gb GT680 is inadequate if you are expecting high graphical settings. In fact, this component may be the system bottleneck when running P3Dv4.

Overall, the specs seem like they were designed for FSX where the processor is preferred over the graphics card. P3Dv4 does a much better job of moving graphics processing to the graphics card similar to modern video games. 

Not sure what the asking price of the system is, but you would probably need another $500-$700 to get a  good graphics card.

All that said, if you can get this system for a bargain, you can always run FSX-SE until you can get a more powerful graphics card..

PS saw your post in XP11 forum....pretty much the same comments for XP11. It relies heavily on the graphics card, maybe more than P3Dv4.

Hope this helps.

Anybody else out there with a similar system that can comment about P3Dv4 settings with this rig?

Edited March 10, 2018 by Henry Street

[Mikelab6 89]

1 hour ago, era66 said:

I’m seeking advice if my system is good enough for Prepar3D v4 to enjoy all its features and fluid frame rates.

Not all its features...  It will run it, but you will have to tune down some features. Your GPU is the bottleneck...

Mike

[n99wb 10]

LM is very good about refunds or you can get a subscription and stop it.
Give it a try.

[Sartanius 399]

Henry and Mike are correct, especially regarding the GPU.  If you were just running stock P3Dv4, I think you'd be fine.  But, in my opinion, if you want to add study-level aircraft like PMDG, A2A, Maddog X, airport sceneries from FSDreamTeam, flyTampa, etc., Orbx FTX Global/Vector, AI traffic, and weather (like Active Sky), you would definitely struggle.  You'd have to lower a good number of your sliders to have barely adequate performance.

You can check my PC specs in my signature, and with those, I still have to reduce quite a few sliders to get marginal performance (mid 20s to high teens) with PMDG aircraft at high-end airports with overcast weather.

[kiek 1,215]

3 hours ago, era66 said:

Operating System - Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (64-Bit)

This should be Windows 10 64 bit, P3Dv4's preferred Operating System.

[Mazo 40]

(I believe that he is referencing his present computer -  Jetline Systems HellFire GT2 (2013))

Elmo,

The other guys responses are spot on as to whether your present system could run P3DV4 well - it's not really up to the task.

As you have already have a Jetline system, I would suggest looking at their site. The Gravity GT2 would be a pretty good system. Upgrade the GPU to a GTX 1080 Ti for sure. If price is not a factor, the Gravity GTX would be even better. I had a GTX custom built last July 2017, and it handles P3DV4 without problems. Great system!

Good luck on your quest for a PC that will satisfy your P3DV4 needs,

 

Lyn

[era66 3]

 Thank you!! . . . to each of you for your advice re: my system and P3Dv4.  

I think it’s time to say goodbye to 32-bit Microsoft FS which I’ve used exclusively for over 30 yrs, starting with version 1 and all its incarnations through the current FSX. It was good while it lasted, but it’s time to move on to 64-bit flight simming! 

[speedbird034 14]

I have a similar computer...the principal difference is I have a GTX1060 graphics card.

Active Sky and anything other than the sim is running on a networked i7 gaming computer...

My problem is that it will run, but not for long.  The system simply quits or give me the BSOD. Since I know I have an older system I am not running things at 4096, but I should be able to get all to run with the scenery files slimmed down to just what I need. 

I dread the thought of having to purchase another CPU/MB, but I'm not certain getting a GTX 1080 or better GPU is going to solve the problem.

Any ideas are certainly welcome.

 

Thanks!