Considering Majestic Dash 8 Q400

[jfri 43]

Since I own the Pilot 32 bit version of this plane for FSX and I can upgrade it to the 64 bit version for a modest cost. Also I have actually never used it so I though lets use it but in P3D5.4. One slight concern is how will it perform on my system (5800X3D 4770Ti 32 Gb RAM) ? For now I have flown A2A planes in P3D5.4 and I suspect the Q400 might be more demanding on the system. I have a lot of ORBX scenery and Active Sky. Also I fly in VR with a HP Reverb G2. Does it work well in VR ?

Edited August 28, 2023 by jfri
Corrections

[snapshot21 254]

No need to worry, the Majestic Q400 is one of the best planes in P3D in terms of Performance (FPS)

[Rogen 1,102]

Hi @jfri,

I have the Pro version in P3D v4.5 and it performs excellently with my 5800X and 3080Ti noting I'm not using VR though.

@ a resolution of 2560x1440 I get ~46 fps taking off from Wellington NZ (addon airport) and a rock solid 30 fps when I switch to vsync on @ 30 Hz, noting I've got pretty much every P3D setting set to the max as can be seen in the 3 x attached pics.

The plane has an amazing level of systems detail and is certainly one of the better aircraft performance wise, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

What's needed for VR ? (fps).

Cheers

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Rogen

[jfri 43]

2 minutes ago, Rogen said:

Hi @jfri,

I have the Pro version in P3D v4.5 and it performs excellently with my 5800X and 3080Ti noting I'm not using VR though.

@ a resolution of 2560x1440 I get ~46 fps taking off from Wellington NZ (addon airport) and a rock solid 30 fps when I switch to vsync on @ 30 Hz, noting I've got pretty much every P3D setting set to the max as can be seen in the 3 x attached pics.

The plane has an amazing level of systems detail and is certainly one of the better aircraft performance wise, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

What's needed for VR ? (fps).

Cheers

Well P3D4.5 is different than P3D5.4.

The PRO version is different from the PILOT edition. If I understand things correctly I would first need to upgrade to 64 bit PILOT and then from 64 bit PILOT to 64 bit PRO which would be rather expensive.

Regarding fps needed I have fps locked at 30 in P3D

[Rogen 1,102]

3 minutes ago, jfri said:

Well P3D4.5 is different than P3D5.4.

The PRO version is different from the PILOT edition. If I understand things correctly I would first need to upgrade to 64 bit PILOT and then from 64 bit PILOT to 64 bit PRO which would be rather expensive.

Regarding fps needed I have fps locked at 30 in P3D

Of course P3D v4.5 is different to P3D v5.4, isn't 5.4 suppose to have improved performance what with DX12 and the ability to better manage an affinity mask?

Personally though in my testings between the two versions, I found the performance difference to be margional, although each version does have pros and cons depending on the type of flying and what addins you'd be running.

As to the edition of the Majestic, each offers more advancements in operation, and when I originally purchased I found the Pro edition to be the version that personally suited myself.

There is nothing stopping you from continuing with the Pilot edition.

Cheers

[rickjake 247]

If you have a fairly high end system, The Dash 8 works very well in VR. I used the Reverb  V1, then V2 for quite a while before upgrading to the Varjo Aero.

I find my landings have improved considerably when using VR, as it gives you much better depth perception. The Dash 8 is quite low to the ground, and you really notice this in VR.

Edited August 29, 2023 by rickjake
Added more info

[C2615 322]

MJQ400 is the most FPS friendly high-end aircraft in P3D, what I have heard is they unload many calculation from the main sim. (for example you see 0.0G in the sim, it seems all aerodynamics are done externally.)

[jfri 43]

10 hours ago, Rogen said:

Of course P3D v4.5 is different to P3D v5.4, isn't 5.4 suppose to have improved performance what with DX12 and the ability to better manage an affinity mask?

Personally though in my testings between the two versions, I found the performance difference to be margional, although each version does have pros and cons depending on the type of flying and what addins you'd be running.

So you have both P3D4.5 and P3D5.4 and experience about the same performance in both of them with the Q400 ?

Does 4.5 have advantages over 5.4 and if so which ? Should not the latest version be best ? (I don't have 4.5)

[Luis Hernandez 592]

4 hours ago, jfri said:

Does 4.5 have advantages over 5.4 and if so which ?

@Rogen may explain you better, but I've seen better compatibility of FSX sceneries (airports, AFCADs) and texture addons (for example, almost all REX texture addons) with V4. Some of them don't work with v5. Also, there are almost no v5-specific AFCADs available; we need to apply some ADE tricks for using V4/FSX freeware airports in v5. For some people, the better V5 performance is not enough reason for switching.

Also, the big problem with v5: the lack of parking positions in several default airports.

Back to topic: I've found the Q400 intimidating (more than the PMDG Boeings and the FSL buses... and even more than the Maddog!). I flew her sometimes during my v4 days (with a 1650 instead of my current 3060Ti and just 16 GB of RAM), but I never did so with v5. Performance was beautiful. With v5, FPS should be even better.

Edited August 29, 2023 by Luis Hernandez

[d.tsakiris 421]

35 minutes ago, Luis Hernandez said:

Some of them don't work with v5

Those are very few. I have hundreds of airport add-ons, and maybe a handful don't work at all. Some have to be modified with an exlusion to get rid of the different airport buildings in V5 - I'd say 10 % of the airports I have needed that.

Concerning the Dash 8: A very good add-on, up there with the best of them. The external engine does have a quirk or two, but the advantages outweigh by far.

[jeansy 344]

dash 8 400,  do it!

[Michael Moe 496]

Thanks for reminding me to revisit this aircraft(Pro Version+ the visual update) 

Really is an amazing aircraft. Remember to set the 125hz external control setup.

Thanks Michael Moe

[jfri 43]

22 hours ago, jeansy said:

dash 8 400,  do it!

You mean buy (buy upgrade) well I did. Now I have some study to do

[jeansy 344]

41 minutes ago, jfri said:

You mean buy (buy upgrade) well I did. Now I have some study to do

did it