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Guest weeniemcween

What's the verdict on Windows Vista and Flight Sim?

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Guest FireChief

Or is the jury still out? I am considering upgrading to Windows Vista but I'm a little apprehensive about it.Rob

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I was wondering the same thing earlier. I've read quite a few reviews in the computer media that were very positive about Vista, but at the moment I don't see any point in upgrading from XP. As it stands at the moment I've got XP running beautifully, it's very stable, and it does everything I want it to do.Now, when DX10 is released, and assuming FSX will be updated to take advantage of the much vaunted new technology, then that will probably all change.You can download a Vista compatibility checker from the MS website that will scan your hardware and advise you if your PC is Vista ready. I did a check on my laptop and it flagged up a couple of issues with my network adapter, which doesn't have any Vista drivers (yet).My plan is to hang fire on Vista until later this year, when DX10 graphics are available for laptops (I'm restricted to using laptops). In the meantime the hardware manufacturer's can catch up with Vista drivers for all the legacy hardware that is out there.In the meantime, I don't think Vista & DX9 will do much more for FSX than XP & DX9.

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Not sure about its performance with FSX but the out of memory problems referred to in this forum look like a show stopper. Of further concern to me is that Zone Alarm is not available for Vista (or it wasn't a week ago). The inbuilt Vista firewall is open to outgoing traffic unless you configure it correctly. You can have all sorts of programs phoning home without your knowledge.Edit for speeling.


Regards

 

Howard

 

H D Isaacs

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I've had no issues with it. Everything runs smooth as silk, a few graphics issues due to the multimon issue and the need for driver/game updates, but nothing serious.I certainly haven't run into the much-heralded "buggy mess" that a new Windows OS is normally referred to on the internet. Also, it looks beautiful.

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I'm running FSX on a dual boot 32bit XP Pro/64bit Vista Home Premium and have had no problems whatsoever. There seems to be little difference in performance on either system.George

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I've been running FS9 on Vista since early MSDN pre-beta. I've had Vista Ultimate since it was released at MSDN. I can tell you that IF you have a current system and IF you have enough memory and IF you have a good video card you should have no problems.There is a system evaluation tool available from Microsoft which will tell you if your system score is high enough for you to do what you think you want to do with your Vista system.My Vista score is a 5.3 (My RAID 0 array being the bottleneck and slowest part of my system according to Vista as it should be).FS9 runs without issue along with all of the popular addons. I've been suffering FSX woes but I simply don't know if its a Vista issue or simply a FSX issue (pre-SP1). I'm anxious to see where I am post SP1 as I have high hopes of finally getting my feet wet with FSX.

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Guest JackDanielsDrinker

I moved to Vista x64 in December. I have a pretty fast system with 2 gigs of memory--this helps. It has been pretty smooth sailing...the only issues I have encountered are:1. The out of memory message...BUT...I haven't had this happen since February. And it was kind of rare when it did happen.2. Immature drivers...specifically Nvidia video drivers. They made great strides with the 100.X drivers back in Feb. I got a 5-6 FPS increase with those, so the drivers are getting better.3. A few of my older devices (like a webcam) won't work, but that is because I have 64 bit Vista...they won't work with my Windows Server 2003 x64 either..4. I disabled UAC cause its annoying.I was building a new system, and wanted the latest and greatest OS so I wouldn't have to rebuild it in 6 months. I also wanted DX10 so I am ready for the DX10 patch.Also, do some searching...this has been discussed a lot in the past.

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From what I've read on forums with technical people, it's pretty clear Vista is the advantage.That also matches my own experiences with the Beta's at work and at home.However, I did not and do not plan to upgrade a single XP computer I own to Vista. They will stay on XP.I did purchase a new computer for FSX, waiting until Vista was available OEM. Any new computer purchases will be Vista only, even though XP is on sale everywhere these days.No regrets.

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Guest weeniemcween

Vista will certainly mature, but from what I have heard others say and have experienced, fsx frame rate is worse for most people on vista than on xp. That is provided both are fresh and optimal. The exception seems to be the minority, probably those with faster core 2 duo systems threading greater operating system demands on the other core(s) while fsx sucks up one core. But I would not put my money on performance being better, merely close to the same. Until the directx 10 update comes along, I'd stick with xp. If you can't resist the temptation, after installing vista, reinstall xp on a partition or additional hard drive and dual boot using vistabootpro to set everything up automatically. That way you can compare performance and decide for yourself, perhaps opting to simply just use xp for fsx and games (what are those?), meanwhile running vista for everything else. Either way, you won't have to commit.

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Guest radarbeam

Rob,I asked the same question 2 weeks ago as I was building a new system. I decided to give Vista a shot so I pick up an OEM copy and installed it in the new machine.I don't regret it one bit. It's been rock solid for me. FSX loads in a snap ...thanks to superfetch. Overall it's been all good.Nick

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Hi Rob,As has already been mentioned here and elsewhere, if you have descent hardware. you'll never look back. Given the lack of maturity in some of the drivers, there's bound to be problems.Overall, Vista's been a pleasure and I'd never return to XP under any circumstance. If you're hesitant, you could always dual-boot and see for yourself.Regards,Jim Karn

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I'll chime in, too, and say I've been loving Vista. I'm running the 32 bit Home Premium edition.My system is centred around an E6600, 2gb, Nvidia 8800GTX so it's no slouch but it's certainly not the quickest around.

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Guest lflinares

I bought a brand new notebook with the following specs:- XPS M1710, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7400 (2.16GHz/667MHz/4MB)- 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 677MHZ,2 DIMM, for XPS M1710- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX, for XPS M1710- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, EnglishI have maxed out most settings with the following exceptions:- No traffic- No autogen- No bloom- Water set to 1x highI have my frames locked at 25. I pretty much get 25 fps outside of the big cities. With normal autogen in the country side and minor cities, I sill get 25 fps. The worst fps I experienced were in downtown Tokyo during the helicopter mission. In other big cities, I get between 10 and 12 fps.I really like the graphics, and I look forward to what SP1 and DX10 have to offer.My ultimate goal is to get a high-end desktop that will give me great fps all around and also to wait for realistic add-ons like PMDG and Ultimate Traffic to catch up with FSX.I still spend most of my sim time with FS9 enjoying add-ons such as Active Sky, PMDG, PSS, Level D, Ultimate Traffic, AI Smooth, etc.Cheers!LuisKMIA

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I don't have any technical problems with Vista/FSX itself. In fact, I have seen and documented a increase of about 5 fps with Vista and experience less of the dreaded FS9-like stutters.However, I am having some driver issues with my 8800GTS when switching from windowed to full-screen mode. Usually the screen flickers for a few seconds and I have to manually Alt-Tab to enter Task Manager and re-activate windowed Mode.I'd also recommend to use the 32-Bit version for now as the 64-Bit version is incompatible with some 3rd party add-ons (Wilco Airbus, Eaglesoft).Other than that: Recommended!Pat

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