Hi all,

I've just decided that I'm going to move to XP for my simming. However, I need to invest in a new pc for it. From your experiences, what is a decent (but cheap) set of specs for running xp with decent graphics and scenery?

Cheers,

Will

Hello Bill  1 terrabite is what i have for XP11. I don't know how many pounds it will cost you.Faster the better because everything advancing forward, you need the muscle.Specs. are online for Xplane. Welcome to the X Plane family mate!!!!!

There are so many variables. These videos and others on the same channel will give you lots of info and real test results for different CPU / GPU combos on Xplane 11. They will help you get the best bang for your buck.

 

@turnandbank thanks for those videos. Instead of deciding to go for i5-9600k, I would choose AMD RYZEN 5 3600X. You get .1GHz faster base speed for marginally cheaper. However, for graphics card, I’m still stumped. I run games at 2K, and don’t know whether I should get 1060 or better.

Please do remember that I want to do a cheap build, but still get my bang for my buck!

Cheers!

9 hours ago, turnandbank said:

There are so many variables. These videos and others on the same channel will give you lots of info and real test results for different CPU / GPU combos on Xplane 11. They will help you get the best bang for your buck.

 

 

Edited December 3, 20196 yr by WilliamS

Unfortunately there is a cost for everything.

I run a 7700 O/C'd to 4.6 GHz, 16GB RAM and a 1080GTX

Xplane 11 is on an 850 evo SSD

I can pretty much max the settings out apart from reflections and ambient occlusion. 

So, I have HDR 1 setting down from max, Antialiasing 1 setting down from max and reflections off.

Locking the frame rate at 30fps via nvidia control panel, I can hold pretty much 30fps in all situations apart from in the FFA320 at Heathrow, where the fps drops to low 20's.

My addons are, HIFI active sky, xvision, global traffic, and HDscenery v4, IXEG 737 and FFA320

 

Hope this helps

 

Stu

 

9 minutes ago, Bunchy said:

Unfortunately there is a cost for everything.

I run a 7700 O/C'd to 4.6 GHz, 16GB RAM and a 1080GTX

Xplane 11 is on an 850 evo SSD

I can pretty much max the settings out apart from reflections and ambient occlusion. 

So, I have HDR 1 setting down from max, Antialiasing 1 setting down from max and reflections off.

Locking the frame rate at 30fps via nvidia control panel, I can hold pretty much 30fps in all situations apart from in the FFA320 at Heathrow, where the fps drops to low 20's.

My addons are, HIFI active sky, xvision, global traffic, and HDscenery v4, IXEG 737 and FFA320

 

Hope this helps

 

Stu

 

Thanks. So what GPU do you think would be best?

6 hours ago, WilliamS said:

Thanks. So what GPU do you think would be best?

The Rock Paper Shotgun gaming site had an article from October so it's fairly recent, titled "Best graphics card 2019: Top AMD and Nvidia GPUs for 1080p, 1440p and 4K." I upgraded my video card recently from a GTX 970 and found that useful in making a decision. Of course you can also get feedback here on Avsim in the monitor/GPU sub-forum, but that article condenses the current state of the art fairly well, I think.

I use a 1920x1200 moniitor, so I decided on a GTX 1660 ti GPU. I had wanted an RTX 2070 Super, but money is tight this time of year, so a sub-$300 card made more sense for now. As it turned out, the 1660 ti is a significant boost for XP11 and general gaming at this resolution over my older card, so I'm happy. I bought the MSI ventus OC version with two fans, it's very quiet for the type.

That RPS article recommends the GTX 1610 ti as a budget choice for 1440p also, so you might want to consider that.

One thing I'd strongly recommend even for a budget build is 32 GB of RAM. The recommended hardware on the X-Plane site rsays "Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more." Notice the "or more" part.

You'll be okay with 16 GB if you don't use the free UHD terrain mesh which needs a hefty amount of RAM, but it's nice to have overhead so you can run other software alongside XP11 and don't get into a RAM crunch. X-Plane and other flight sims are going to continue ramping up the amount of RAM used in future versions, and additional RAM doesn't add that much to the cost of a new computer build. Plenty of RAM makes for a very stable system. 

45 minutes ago, Paraffin said:

The Rock Paper Shotgun gaming site had an article from October so it's fairly recent, titled "Best graphics card 2019: Top AMD and Nvidia GPUs for 1080p, 1440p and 4K." I upgraded my video card recently from a GTX 970 and found that useful in making a decision. Of course you can also get feedback here on Avsim in the monitor/GPU sub-forum, but that article condenses the current state of the art fairly well, I think.

I use a 1920x1200 moniitor, so I decided on a GTX 1660 ti GPU. I had wanted an RTX 2070 Super, but money is tight this time of year, so a sub-$300 card made more sense for now. As it turned out, the 1660 ti is a significant boost for XP11 and general gaming at this resolution over my older card, so I'm happy. I bought the MSI ventus OC version with two fans, it's very quiet for the type.

That RPS article recommends the GTX 1610 ti as a budget choice for 1440p also, so you might want to consider that.

One thing I'd strongly recommend even for a budget build is 32 GB of RAM. The recommended hardware on the X-Plane site rsays "Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more." Notice the "or more" part.

You'll be okay with 16 GB if you don't use the free UHD terrain mesh which needs a hefty amount of RAM, but it's nice to have overhead so you can run other software alongside XP11 and don't get into a RAM crunch. X-Plane and other flight sims are going to continue ramping up the amount of RAM used in future versions, and additional RAM doesn't add that much to the cost of a new computer build. Plenty of RAM makes for a very stable system. 

Cheers. I've had suggestions for the 1660ti from friends, so I think I'll go for that. 

Great. Let us know how you get on

Stu

Some quick thoughts, considering the budget.

- 1060 should be fine for now in 2K, also you may upgrade it later. 

- Get the best single core speed CPU your budget allows. Don't be tricked by naming / advertising.

- Go with 16GB ram for now, you will be fine, and you may upgrade later.

I´m currently on Ryzen 5 3600, gtx 1070 ti and 32 Gb ram. And doing very good.

Get a processor with a fast single core performance, at least 32 Gb RAM and pair with a gtx 1060 at least (higher you let you use more antialisign ant stuff) and you gonna be ok.

i5 9600 is also a good recomendation, if the price it´s ok.