Those of you that were at the chat know that my system is dying. I put a post over on the hardware forum:http://ftp.avsim.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboa...rum=DCForumID56I am seriously considering this system so any input, here or there, is welcome!

I'm bumping this, and with a better title to hopefully get some comment.Those of you that were at the chat know that my system is dying. I put a post over on the hardware forum:http://ftp.avsim.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboa...rum=DCForumID56I am seriously considering this system so any input, here or there, is welcome!

I just ordered a Dell Dimention 8250:Pentium

Tom,My goodness, what a beast. I won't even bother telling you what I have - it sounds like a '63 Skoda by comparison :-lolAs far as fps goes, my friend with a 1.8GHz system and a GeForce 4600TI card gets 25fps in downtown Seattle with 100% 'everything', haze and lots of clouds. By comparison, I get about 12-15 with a ~1.7GHz CPU and an old GeForce2MX (el cheapo) vid. You may see 25-30fps? His video is HOT but his CPU is slower and he has 512Mram.It seems that, because FU3's engine was written without knowledge of more modern 3D video effects (was it DX3?) that, once past basic video abilities, most improvement seems to come from increased CPU power. Going from a 450MHz CPU to the 1.7GHz took my framerates from a worst-case of 4(!) to about 12-15fps. I put my old TNT32 card back in for comparison and, apart from the FSAA, framerates were similar!!?!You'll love it - and I'm jealous :-hahJon Point*************************([email protected])*************************

Hi Jon,"(was it DX3?)" ...FU3 is old, OK, but it's not prehistoric! :) It was DX6...Cristian

Jon,"As far as fps goes, my friend with a 1.8GHz system and a GeForce 4600TI card gets 25fps in downtown Seattle with 100% 'everything', haze and lots of clouds. By comparison, I get about 12-15 with a ~1.7GHz CPU and an old GeForce2MX (el cheapo) vid. You may see 25-30fps? His video is HOT but his CPU is slower and he has 512Mram."Your old worst case of 4 is pretty much unflyable... but if it was that with all on over downtown Seattle you must have had acceptable fps elsewhere with a few concessions on the sliders. Your current 12 to 15 is more than flyable for all missions except maybe aerobatics... and that over Seattle means your in real good shape anywhere else. Once I get my system all set up I'll post some screenshots over Seattle in various weather conditions. I'll be interested to see what I get."You'll love it - and I'm jealous"Well you know how it goes... next year mine will be obsolete and you will have a 8.2GHz system that will run all the new software that mine wont. :)

Good Going Tom !!I hope it makes FU3 go smoother for you . I'm in process of upgrading my mobo to asus a7v 333 and AMD 2000 MP_XP duel processor 512 DDR PC2700 300 bus speed .I'll let you know my results when it is up and running . CaptRolo

Tom,If that 2.8Ghz processor can't run FU3 under ALL conditions, then we can safely say that this flight simulator really was released somewhat ahead of its time !Chris Low,ENGLAND.

Tom That sounds like a real system! and here I am slogging along with a Dell 266! I DID finally get a better video card.I just put in an nvidia GeForce 2.I know it's not much,but considering I was running the 2mb built in card on my Dell I have noticed a LOT of difference. I can't even imagine what your new system would look like. My son just got a new Dell system like the one you're getting. Now I have to get him into flying! I have probably been conspicuous by my absence lately. I also got into FS2002 and have been trying to get it setup as a compromise between display quality and frame rate.Now that I have the new video card ,things are looking better. I would imagine a high end system would make the sims like a movie.Oh well one of these days I'll find out. Later Ralph B

Ralph,266! I used to run FU2 on my old Gateway P1-166... but it didn't run well until I got my P3-500. I bought the 500 right at the time that FU3 was originally supposed to be released... to be able to handle FU3 (500 was top of the line at the time). I can't imagine FU3 running well enough on a 266 to where you would actually like it. My current P3-933 is 3-1/2 times faster than yours and it is sometimes challenged by FU3... high settings/dense scenery/heavy weather. I am hoping that my new system will require no compromises at all in FU3 (and many other sims). I am also hoping that the raw horsepower will allow me find FS02 to be less awkward. I have to admire your loyalty to the flight sim hobby... you must really love it to put up with so many compromises. I think you should point out to your son that it would be a great bonding exercise were he to swap computers with you... good way for him to insure his potential inherritance... think he'd buy it? ;-)

Tonight I'm running a 1.2 Ghz processor with my new 80 GB disk for the first time. I used to run FU3 on an 800 Mhz CPU and I can tell the difference. Nasty weather works fine now without any hiccups. It's really amazing what processor speed it takes to run this old sim well :-)best regards,Hans Petter

Hans,I run FU3 with a 1.2Ghz processor, and bad weather STILL plays havoc with my framerates. Hopefully I will be able to follow in Tom's footsteps and upgrade to a new PC in 2003.Chris Low,ENGLAND.

Hans,If yours works fine on 1.2GHz I should be safe at 2.8. I just hope W/XP doesn't prove to be a major problem.Glad all is well with you. :)

Chris,That is the way it goes. Before long you will have your brand new 3.6GHz system and I'll be stuck with my "old" 2.8.