FSX Demo "updated?"

[JDWalley 354]

Hello, everyone. I was over at the FSInsider site, and noticed the demo came with the text "Download the updated Flight Simulator X trial version..."Since I hadn't been on the site before, I had no idea if the "update" was recent (i.e. with SP1 incorporated) or from long ago.I tried the demo on my mid-level machine (Athlon64 3800+, ATI RX1600, 1GB), and found that it ran relatively smoothly until I neared St. Maartin, then changed into a very nice slideshow running at about 4 spf (note, that's "seconds per frame") until I finally bailed.I'm guessing this "update" came some time before SP1; if not, it will be a pertty clear sign FSX is not for me until I've had a chance to seriously upgrade my CPU. But could anyone give me a more definite answer? Thanks in advance.

[Guest Stoopy]

You're correct in your assumption that the updated Demo was well before SP1. There was an initial Demo made while FSX was in BETA, and then by the time it was ready for release there were improvements made and the Demo was updated - that is what you see on the fsinisider website. It does not contain any of the enhancements of SP1.

[Guest nels]

I flex to St Maarten with FSX SP1 deluxe and also got 4fps when nearing the runway. There is a serious bug there. Only happens for me in VC though. When viewing spot its nice and smooth.Anyone else got this? Come to think of it I was doing the mission where you land the jet at St Maarten - same as demo.Its not happened anywhere else in the sim.Nels

[Guest CocoLoco]

>I tried the demo on my mid-level machine (Athlon64 3800+, ATI>RX1600, 1GB), and found that it ran relatively smoothly until>I neared St. Maartin, then changed into a very nice slideshow>running at about 4 spf (note, that's "seconds per frame")>until I finally bailed.I have an Athlon64 3700+ and an X800 but with 1.5GB RAM. I find FSX works reasonably well for me. I can't turn all the sliders up and I would not expect to but I'm fairly happy with what it does based on my PC's spec. I also have FS9 but don't really use it anymore. My PC flies around St. Martin quite happily with medium settings and the odd tweak. Before you go out and buy a new PC, I would try getting another GB of RAM. You should notice quite an improvement. I think FSX needs about 1.3GB of RAM to run - anything less and it starts having to swap out to the hard drive causing a big drop in frames and stuttering.In the long run, a Dual/Quad core PC is definitely the way to go. I'm holding off upgrading for a while since I think there will be a bit of a shake up when the new 45nm Penryn based architectures arrive on the scene. To quote Gordon Moore, the technology behind the Penryn processor is "...the biggest change in transistor technology since the introduction of polysilicon gate MOS transistors in the late 1960s,". It should mean we get 4 3+GHz cores with a 1.3GHz Front Side Bus in a PC that doesn't glow red and melt a hole in your floor. RegardsDavid

[Guest MauiHawk]

Right now I have an AMD 3500, 2 Gig, and an 8800 GTS (I think the vid card is irrelevant-- I don't think it would be a limiting factor for you). I did have to do tweaking for blurries with SP1, but now I'm running really well. The only thing that makes me miss FS9 is add-on availability, but that problems looks like its in the process of disappearing fast.I, too, think that another gig of RAM might be worth it, but otherwise you should do fine with FSX.