Marc Loftin

Thanks for all the input. I'll let the suggestions digest while I enjoy my bare bones P3d v4. It's bee a long road just getting to this point......... everything running smooth. I'll likely feel the need to improve the machine after I finish my instrument ring refresher. I'm using Pilot Edge to ramp back up. In actuality, my goal has been met. If it aint broke............. VR, Marc

I need help with several things. I'm working to optimize a dedicated Flight Training simulator PC. The flight sim is running very well in general. Im running Prepar3D v4, bare bones with native aircraft and scenery files etc.... maximum graphics settings except autopen draw distance, water detail, special effects at medium. As of yet I have not purchased ad-on scenery, weather or non native aircraft. I'd like to get the system properly set up and configured so I can begin to integrate some of these ad-ons. I would like to integrate a M.2 NVME 250 gb drive into my current system. I'm hoping to create faster boot times and prevent an occasional freezing of Prepard3d v4 64 bit Flight Simulator program. I need guidance determining how to best utilize the 250 GB M.2 drive........ should I use it for the OS and Flight sim software, then use the Intel 750 series PCIe SSD for scenery and ad ons......... or would it be better to have separate M.2 drives, one for the OS and the other for the flight simulator programs, leaving the PCIe SSD for ad-ons. I need guidance setting up simple file hierarchy between drives. Also, I'd like to consider setting Ultra fast boot in Bios. Is this recommend? Prepar3d v4 takes over 40 seconds to boot to the flight set up screen. Then it takes another 50 seconds to select and load aircraft type, scenery, terrain etc..., To change aircraft type takes at least 30 seconds. To change geographical location take at least 30 seconds. I'd like to speed it up as much as possible. My goal is to configure the PC to most affectively use an M.2 NVME drives and the PCIe SSD currently installed. Up to this point I have done everything myself. The build, OS installations, software installations, USB flight controls mapping, installation of secondary flight sim support software etc..... But at this point I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into trying to integrate the M.2 SSD. Will I need to uninstall everything and start from scratch? Or, is it possible to install the M.2, migrate the OS and flight sim programs with out starting from scratch. I've spent dozens and dozens of hours on the sim. It has been fun, rewarding and also downright frustrating I've scratched my head, done things three or more times, read forum after forum getting rid bits of helpful information. But the truth is, I will never be a qualified gaming PC tech, and I don't really want to be. I'd prefer to pay someone who is qualified to tweak the machine. I live in Mid-City LA. 90036. If anyone knows a good tech please forward contact info. Current set up: Asrock Z170 OC Formula MB 16GB Ram Intel 6700 processor water cooled EVGA 1080ti water cooled Inel 750 series 500gb SSD Windows 10 Sim support software and hardware: SPAD.next, Pilot Edge, FSXFlight, Warthog yoke, Saitek panels, Siatek throttle, iPad Foreflight, track IR on occasion. Software: Primarily Prepar3D v4, secondarily Condor Soaring simulator. I've tried Xplane 11 with poor results. My single machine could not handle three 4k TV's. Thanks for the support ahead of time!