dbarry

My latest build has the new ivy bridge chip set but an i5 2700k sandy bridge processor. The ivy bridge mantra to add lots of graphics improvements for notebooks, that do not use add on graphics boards, kind of turned me off. Right or wrong, any way, the i5 is overclocked at 4.4. My graphics processor a 6990 with 4 gb video RAM. FSX and win7 x64 is installed on two separate SSD drives. My Concluion: i7 with ivy might be better and of couse the letter k tells us the chips batch quality. Many believe that processing lots of data is the most important factor for good FSX Perfomance but lots of monitors, high video settings, complex aircraft and scenery will bring any system to its knees. I also think that processor selection may not be the defining solution. What is your weakest link, will overclock of processor and/or video card cause a specific combination of software to run stable? Will your lust for processor speed cause random USB, sound configuration, video processing, CDT glitches?

Lots of happy customers here. I on the other hand have very different experience with the pro flight products. My Pro Flight yoke for example frequently loses it's USB connection. The only way to get it back is to reboot. This is a very common problem that many Saitek users have. The problem has spawned a lot of suggested mods like disengaging sleep mode on USB device drivers ect. , ect., ect. Another problem; Using their built in USB bus for other devices is a bust. Buy their add on USB power supply so it will work better? Forget that. It is a waste of your money. The Saitek software is also a bust. I simply removed it from my hard drive, use SPAD for Saiteks switch and multi panel, use FSCUIP4 for yoke and button controls. The Saitek throttle modules have their own quality control problems. The original unit that ties into the yoke has a soft spot in its rheostat but other than that it has nice detent at throttle off position. On the other hand, my second throttle module with a USB connection has nice control but a practically non-existent detent at throttle off position. This one I sent back for replacement and received back a perfect replacement of the same problem in a new box. MY NICE THINGS TO SAY: their rudder pedal and USB trim wheel are nice and a good buy. If I had things to do over again I would pay twice as much for a really good commercial quality flight training yoke and throttle system. After all, flight simming is not a cheap hobby, sooooo what do you use most? Yoke, mixture, trim, and throttle. Buy good and cry less.

Thanks to every one that prepaid and assisted with the check list. I especially like portrait mode for a three ring binder bolted to a reading stand. I am an old guy who finds limitations with electronic gadgets; just give me a pencil so I can jot frequencies and stuff like that on printed flight plans, approach plates, ect.