jonss1948

It seems to me 250gig is the preferred size. I hope the system can absolutely crank. It missed out on getting a Titan but I lost my nerve. I'm in Australia so I'm not sure where you reside. Microcenter: will they deliver to Australia? More and more online sites are zoned where I come from. That big Camera Store in New York. They will no longer ship here. (insert curse of choice). Having said that, the store that built it is becoming a much slicker outfit and the customer service is amazing. From order to test to ready in 2 days. It's full of young people, many from Asia who have done countless builds. Anyway, I look forward to a good experience. That's after I build a stand for it to raise it to eye level (with casters) No way it can fit on the desk and it's not standing on a bare floor. The enclosure is meant as a piece of furniture, comfortable in any decor. Sort of replacing the radiogram. Something present in every household before TV. I'd love to see how it would handle 3D movies and using my 47' HD TV as the main monitor. Ooh the possibilities. Jon

Yes, I'm very familiar with Word Not Allowed's Guide. I have used it extensively. No one should be without it. I read so many different reports both for and against SSD's as an accessed drive. Yours has obviously been a pleasant experience but I just can't afford a 250gb SSD for each of them. There will be a time when I'll switch when they're within reach. SEagate used to have a little app that you could run so as to change the capacity of a 1 terrabyte drive to transfer rates approaching and exceeding veloceraptors for a fraction of the cost. The app sized the drive to the user's choice but 300gig recommended. Thus the 300gig was placed on the outer band of the disc. The bit that goes fastest under the read head. I'm going to investigate this further, too. The journey begins. Jon

I have just updated my profile. Tomorrow, I pick my New Build, in the direction of up. This computer's primary purpose is to run the 3 flight simulators so I can evaluate all of them before I make my decision which of the new one's I fully support with add-ons and scenery's. This little exercise is already expensive so I want to get some advice regarding the hdd configuration and maybe save a bit of money along the way. My original intent was to run a completely dedicated WD Black 500Gig SATA Drive for each sim and controlled from the SSD. Is this the best configuration do you think? Also, Overclocking. I am very new to this. Expect me to be asking lots of questions. I suspect I have made a terrible mistake, though. Allowing the Store to decide on the case. It's a CoolerMaster Cosmos 2. I just had a look at its specs and empty it is 48.5 pounds and seriously huge, with it . 344 x 704 x 664 mm / 13.5 x 27.7 x 26.1 inch Youtube videos have a few reviews. All of them glowing except everyone commented on its dimensions. Bigness doesn't describe it actually. You'd think the darn thing would come on casters. Jon

The shot at YBBN. Was this with all options ticked in the YBBN control panel? Jon

The way I see it is: Windows 8 is purely developed for the Tablet market and that's where it should remain. I know there are people using it on PC's with mixed results. If you're an even moderate PC user you would probably have at least 2 drives. Well, that's well and good unless you want a dual boot system. Which I do The post F8 for the boot menu is gone. Mebbe there's another way to do it but I'm not aware. Win7 Pro 64 bit is the way I'd go. There are myriad other things that really don't suit it to the PC. I've read posts where FSX and Win8 don't play nice, sometimes. Jon

I agree that building your own computer is a rewarding and satisfying pastime. I have built many computers and still get a buzz out of the completed product. It's not rocket science. If it was, I wouldn't be doing it. Just be absolutely aware of the pitfalls, though. These pitfalls manifest themselves in faulty hardware, mainly. The pitfall here is if you return to your store with a faulty piece of hardware, it generally needs to go back to the manufacturer before it can be replaced. Thus, let's say its a motherboard. This will delay your build by 2-3 weeks unless you want to ante-up for another one immediately. Down the track you'll have a spare motherboard even if you don't want one. I have had many brand new, matched memory sticks that are doa and for a newcomer to the computer building arena, it can be a frustration. I'm not a nay sayer just a realist. Today marks the day I spec'd and paid for my new computer build at my local store. I'm having their people build it because the Warranty is on the completed box which will be ready for pick-up early Tuesday. Any configuration problems can be rectified by them and if a component is faulty, they replace it immediately because they have a store full of components. When you're unloading $3000+ on a high-end box, IMHO, having the store build it is advisable both for peace of mind and fewer warranty worries. Jon

I also remember the black exhaust trails from the engines. Jet engine technology has come a long way since then. It wasn't until the mid '80's that we saw the 737 200 introduced into Australia with great fanfare. Until then TAA (Trans Australia Airways) and Ansett both flew fleets of 727's. They were a common sight in our skies. Jon

I don't have all of them yet but there are 3 so far, in my PMDG Fleet (soon to be 4, if the impending 777 ever gets here). I would really love it if PMDG would work their magic on a Bizjet like one of the Learjet stable or one of the Cessna's. The 727 has had a fair bit of development by other add-on companies' and the idiosynchratic ap well modelled. It would be superb if a 727 was 'PMDG'd' but a modern bizjet fits my bill which is something fast that can fly high and land at smaller and even remote, airports. Jon

I've built many a computer and it is a (most of the time) good experience. I considered building my next computer as I'm more than capable but have decided to purchase the components from the store I frequent and have them build it. The reason is mainly warranty. No more rma ing components that fail, no more reaching deeply into my vocabulary of expletives when components are stubborn. I've even had to invent some truly creative ones when a component has obviously not been pre-sworn before sale. My store charges $80.00 to build the system so they can have any configuration headaches. Not to mention, they have replacement components on hand. Jon

At the risk of hijacking the op's thread, I apologise. There is no doubt that you're right but the plan, a long way down the track, will be triple monitors, so I'm biting the proverbial bullet and getting it while I can. Jon

Yup, that's what I'm getting in my new build. The system will be ready late this coming week or early the following week. In the meantime I'll just spend my time dealing with the guilt of spending close to AU$4000.00 on a new system. It'll be a balltearer, though. Jon

I don't think so but I'm only getting it because I've got the money at the moment. If I don't spend it on something tangible, knowing me it will get pee'd up against a wall before I know. Jon

Ubuntu looks the goods. I have not looked at it yet but I'll be putting the iso on a dvd tomorrow. Thanks for the reply. Jon

I run FS9 and 10 from the same boot drive so I'm aware I don't need a drive per program but I think I'll do it anyway. My existing computer is quite adequate for everyday use and will remain the system I use for surfing, forums and general personal business. The new system is probably my last build and will be quite powerful but FS dedicated. Specs: Intel CORE i7 3970X/3.50GHz Asus P9X79-PRO,Socket 2011 Thermaltake Tough Power XT 875W PSU ASUS GTX TITAN PCI-E 3.0 6GB Corsair 16GB (4x4GB) Cooler Master RC-1200-KKN1 COSMOS II Ultra Tower Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H100i Liquid CPU Cooler Pioneer BDR-208EBK 12X Blu-Ray Writer Crucial RealSSD C400 128G SATA3 x3 Nothing is set in stone but that's what I've ordered. 128 gig is not very big and they're all going to have lots of other add-ons, so that's the plan. Frankly, I have not sorted my thinking out on this config and it could change to a central boot ssd so all programs can be accessed from it but each will have its own Veloceraptor, maybe. Not sure yet. Jon

Over the past couple of months I have read a huge numbers of reviews on gpu's and I've decided on ASUS GTX TITAN PCI-E 3.0 6GB 384-bit DDR5, Base:837MHz, Boost:876MHz, DVI-I x 1, DVI-D x 1, DP. I can't comment on its performance but I'll be comin'in swingin' if I'm disappointed. I'm hoping the performance will remain, long after the price is forgotten. I considered a 690 but I'm hearing that the 680 is more suited to FSX. Jon

Unless something, anything! is done soon, you may well be right. I don't imagine with Ballmer's stock holding he'll be getting the discretionary 'tap on the shoulder'. To whatever extent the PC Market has fallen, I believe, as you do, that there are quite a few other influences at play, here. Dell and HP and all the 'big kids' are experiencing a downturn in sales (I would'nt touch one of them with a 10 foot sterilised barge pole) but the GFC we all hear about, is still happening especially in Europe. Europeans buy PC's too. They just can't afford them. USA consumers exhibit little confidence in the marketplace and quite a few are unemployed so, to what degree I don't know but food on the table, roof over head and bills would take priority over a new PC. Ageing population probably has a bit to do with it too. Way too many influences to mention. I have used win8 a couple of times, both times on laptops. It seemed fairly quick and I was not disappointed with it's performance in any way. That's the point. It's built for laptops and phones (and I'm not defending win8 or M$ Management) because that's the way the market is leaning. If they make win8 more pc friendly then I'll give it a whirl but it's win7 pro or Linux for me, until then. Jon

My new system will be here in a week or so and as It will be running FSX, Xplane 10 and Prerar3d, all on their own drives, I'm a bit reticent about buying 3 copies of win 7 Pro as dedicated Os's. Yes, I'm a Flight Sim tragic. I have had no experience with Linux systems, to date but I'm considering running XPlane 10 from 1 128 gb SSD using Linux. Firstly, I'm wondering if 128 gb will be sufficient at the end of the day as I intend to develop it with much add-on scenery etc. The second question, is which Linux OS to purchase? I'll throw in a third question: How steep is the learning curve with Linux and will it be a better choice than win7 for XPlane? (sorry, that's 4) Jon

Now, you're not criticizing Stevie B, I hope. Strange management decisions. Just 'aint got the old BG flaire. Apple is in the same dilemma. Visionaries aren't found on every street corner. Jon

Thanks for the links. Sara. I'm in love with your computer. Jon

What worries me more is when they pull production of OEM Disks of Win7 and force all of us onto Win8. Do you see the conundrum? After all, what a good way to increase sales of Win8. Jon

I want to buy an F111 for either FSX or XPlane. The only one I can find is the Virtavia F111 which looks good on their site videos but the price of $25.00, will it end up in the pile of cheap add-ons I have previously purchased? Any opinions? Jon

I have been reading where fuel burn for many airlines is paramount. Even to the point where they're doing 15% derates on take off, shallower initial climb angles and a restriction on reverse thrust when landing. I think Emirates is ok, though. Jon

Can you still use the speedbrake when the aircraft is in a flaps up wheels down configuration? Jon

I do not have win8 yet but some things I hear about it are scary. If there is no longer a F8 press for a boot menu, then how can you configure a dual boot system? Seems to me it was designed for laptops. Jon