Finally thinking about taking the plunge and trying out Prepar3d.  Not sure which version would be best for the system I have. 

For my specs below, what is my best option?  Many thanks!

 

Intel Core i7 12th Gen 12700KF 2.7GHz Processor
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8GB GDDR6X
32GB DDR4-3200 RAM
1TB Solid State Drive
10/100/1000 Network 802.11ax Wireless
Bluetooth 5.1 AIO
Liquid ML 240L RGB Cooler

Edited September 14, 20232 yr by AS129 - Michael Johnson
Additional Context

Well, I'd say it depends...on what it is you want to do.

P3Dv4 has a ton of good freeware available, like the Milviz aircraft that were released as freeware, the Orbx freeware airports etc.

P3Dv5 is a better performer, especially if you fly airliners into high-density areas like SoCal and NYC.  Lots of aircraft and scenery options.

P3Dv6...can't speak to that yet personally as I haven't tried it, but the aircraft and scenery options are pretty limited at present.

Why don't you take out the subscription option and try them out and decide which you want

I got P3Dv5 this summer (made the switch from FSX) and I have zero regrets! The game is super stable, only had like on ingame crash due to me trying to port over some FSX airport scenery. Furthermore, I also think the graphics are very nice (bear in mind though that I am using ORBX vector, Orbx global, Orbx LC, etc.). My reasoning for getting specifically P3Dv5 was that it seems unclear whether or not some of the nicer tubeliners will ever get support for P3Dv6 while P3Dv4 seemed like a downgrade performance wise. 🙂

P3Dv5 all the way. Better than MSFS if you disregard the Bing map scenery.

Having all P3D versions, I am finding v6 my go to sim over XP12 or MSFS which I also own.

Never thought I'd be saying this!

The PMDG liners work fine as does the TFDi717.

For once I'm flying more than tweaking!

Edited September 14, 20232 yr by jkeye

I am on P3D v4. The reason is Tomato Shade. Performance wise is not the best, but for now this is the version with the largest amount of available add-on's. It's your choice, but I advice you on this one. 

3 hours ago, jkeye said:

The PMDG liners work fine as does the TFDi717.

Do all 3 Boeings (737, 747 and 777) work correctly? I remember there were some issues with both textures and WXR.

Since you’re just starting P3D I suggest version 5. The new version 6 is fun to play around with but for now it’s a tweakers toy. Unlikely to be targeted by any of the major developers and there’s a barge load of Addons both pay and free available for V5.

1 hour ago, Luis Hernandez said:

Do all 3 Boeings (737, 747 and 777) work correctly? I remember there were some issues with both textures and WXR.

The 747-8 has issues with panels not working but I have the NGXu with expansion,777 LR and 747 QOTS and they work fine

3 hours ago, Luis Hernandez said:

Do all 3 Boeings (737, 747 and 777) work correctly? I remember there were some issues with both textures and WXR.

With the 737 you have to turn on 'Mipmap VC Panel' for it to work, which I hate.

 

V5.4 will have the most out of box support for existing add-ons.

V6 has considerable compatibility with V5 add-ons, but there might be a few that don't work 100% as they do in V5.  So far all my V5 Orbx scenery is compatible with V6.  Clouds are significantly better in V6.  LM still have work to do on dawn/dusk.

PILOT's 2024 global mesh is really good in V6 and leverages support for high res LODs.

If you are new to P3D, you'll want to buy several key add-ons to make it looks nice. 

• PILOT's 2024 Global Mesh (pay)
• ChasePlane (//42) (pay)
• Orbx Global + TE areas (pay)
• FSDT GSX Level 2 (pay)
• AIG Air Traffic (free)
• HiFi ASP3D weather engine (pay)
• FSUIPC (free/pay - if you have hardware flight controls and modules)
• Airports - look for PBR support

Good news is all of the above work in P3D V5 and V6.

For aircraft, some of my favorites:

• A2A any (pay)
• Majestic Dash-8 Q400 (pay)
• FSLabs any (pay)
• PMDG any (pay)
• Maddog MD-8x series (pay)
• iFly 737 Max (pay)

If you aren't planning to buy add-ons for P3D, then I honestly recommend you go to MSFS.

Edited September 14, 20232 yr by CO2Neutral

Ok, I think I am sold on v5 since that was the majority of suggestions.  I fly on VATSIM primarily and I have a model matching schema which works with Prepar3d.  Also have GSX Level 2 so we're golden there.  I mainly fly Delta Air Lines jets so I have most all the current aircraft from POSKY and a repaint or two.  Can those be imported in P3d?  My understanding is that they can but I want to make sure.  The rest of the add-ons outside of FSUIPC and weather engine I'll budget in as time goes.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

On 9/14/2023 at 8:00 PM, CO2Neutral said:

V5.4 will have the most out of box support for existing add-ons.

V6 has considerable compatibility with V5 add-ons, but there might be a few that don't work 100% as they do in V5.  So far all my V5 Orbx scenery is compatible with V6.  Clouds are significantly better in V6.  LM still have work to do on dawn/dusk.

PILOT's 2024 global mesh is really good in V6 and leverages support for high res LODs.

If you are new to P3D, you'll want to buy several key add-ons to make it looks nice. 

• PILOT's 2024 Global Mesh (pay)
• ChasePlane (//42) (pay)
• Orbx Global + TE areas (pay)
• FSDT GSX Level 2 (pay)
• AIG Air Traffic (free)
• HiFi ASP3D weather engine (pay)
• FSUIPC (free/pay - if you have hardware flight controls and modules)
• Airports - look for PBR support

Good news is all of the above work in P3D V5 and V6.

For aircraft, some of my favorites:

• A2A any (pay)
• Majestic Dash-8 Q400 (pay)
• FSLabs any (pay)
• PMDG any (pay)
• Maddog MD-8x series (pay)
• iFly 737 Max (pay)

If you aren't planning to buy add-ons for P3D, then I honestly recommend you go to MSFS.

Thanks for the list

Does the Maddog work in v6?

Also have you noticed any airport elevation issues with PILOT's 2024 Global Mesh-I'm using Freemesh at the moment.

On 9/16/2023 at 2:44 AM, jkeye said:

Does the Maddog work in v6?

Yes, but not officially supported and a few quirks ... think I had to go the Revo Uninstaller tracking route with this add-on.

On 9/16/2023 at 2:44 AM, jkeye said:

Also have you noticed any airport elevation issues with PILOT's 2024 Global Mesh

Some, you need to use PILOTs tool to make an exclusion and/or ADE and/or Orbx ... several tools to make exclusions if needed.  V6 has much higher mech resolution options now (considerably higher than P3D V5).