FSX - Microsoft Flight Simulator X

[vabsie]

Hello to all you crazy people! (Said in the nicest possible way of course)

I used to run FSX on an old laptop which frustrated SO much.

It's a quality game/simulator as many of you would know, but also very resource (hardware) intensive.

I then bought another (at the time) almost top end computer with the hope to play FSX with nearly all the detail on High .. I failed again.

I work in IT/Programming and have always enjoyed building custom made PCs but I believe many experts would agree that getting it right for FSX can be a bit more challenging.

FSX prior to SP1 hardly made use of more than one processor (CPU) at all. It was therefore initially designed as a single threaded application.

Microsoft then realised that running FSX on more than one CPU (dual or quad) core would be beneficial. The functionality was included in FSX Service Pack 1 which is quite a beefy (but free) download for any purchased copy of FSX.

It is generally agreed that FSX is a game/simulation ahead of it's time, but SP1 at least resolved a lot of that. More and more terrain generation and other calculations can now be split over multiple cores enhancing the visuals and smoothness (frames per second) significantly.

This unfortunately comes at a price. I'm not saying that you can't enjoy FSX if you don't have a top of the range PC (as I enjoyed playing it on a fairly low spec laptop!) but I am sure that there are also many out there who are aviation enthusiasts wanting FSX to look more and more like the real thing.

I'm therefore putting down the computer spec below that I last tested FSX on ... and with amazing visuals for those who are interested.

Trying not to make it TOO technical:

Quad Core Extreme QX9650 - 4 x 3Ghz (Not overclocked .. for now)
8GB RAM - 800Mhz
P5N-T Deluxe Motherboard
768MB Nvidia 8800 Ultra Graphics Card - FSX Doesn't really make good use of multiple (SLI Configured) graphics cards so rather spend more money on 1 of the best.
Seagate Barracuda 750GB 7200RMP Drive

Note that the above spec is only what I find works well for ME .. and there might be better configurations out there. FSX is a joy on this spec with all the detail on high .. although I have to admit that I haven't got any traffic etc add-ons yet so can't comment on those. The above PC really needs to be run on a 64Bit Operating System, I use Vista Ultimate.

This sort of PC if you do your homework (without a screen, keyboard and mouse) would be (at the moment) in the region of £1500 to £2000.

It's important to remember when buying a PC that it is usually as fast as your slowest component. A fast CPU(s), fast memory and good graphics card are great but a slow drive could cause a bottleneck. This could be the case if any one of the above components are not up to a similar spec than the rest.

It is also true that technology develops fast, and with boards such as the Intel Skulltrail going on sale who knows where we will end up. I personally feel that the Skulltrail will catch on slow anyway for various reasons and would stick with the above for now. Just my opinion.

I hope some of you found this useful and that this post is on the right thread. Perhaps this could also be used in the future for any other PPRUNE FSX queries and ideas to share.

There are plenty of FSX Forums out there, but I find that many of them are actually used more by "gamers" than people with a true interest in aviation .. not always tho!

[Saab Dastard]

If I had £2000+ to spend, I'd use it in a real aeroplane! :)

I know that many of the hard-core simmers are interested in heavy metal, not spamcans, so that's just my personal view.

What about joystick / yoke & rudder pedals? Comms stack?

If you are going for that level of immersion...

There are some stunning possibilities for flight sim environments - not necessarily FSX - involving multi-screens etc. that really do look the business.

Each to their own.

SD

[vabsie]

Hi Saab Dastard

You are right yokes, pedals etc are all extra and I don't own any of these at the moment.

I guess in a Sim you can try new aircraft all the time and attempt a couple of things you might think twice about in real life ..

Can see your point of rather spending the money in a real aeroplane tho and I agree.. just thought I would get a polite warning out to those who plan to buy a PC for this reason .. as getting the recommended spec or the standard PC World PC for £800 might not live up to expectations.

S

[Evanelpus]

8Gb of RAM, holy ****, isn't that a bit of overkill? Most of what I have read suggests 3-4 is more than adequate.

My steam driven PC runs FS9 very nicely with all of the sliders near to max. Think I'll miss FSX and wait for FS11.

[vabsie]

Hi Evanelpus

FSX is unlikely to fully utilise 8GB, this is just to let everyone know what my exact spec is. 4GB should be enough .. for now.

I use my PC for a lot of other memory intensive apps so the 8GB comes in handy. It also depends what you run in parallel to FSX.

Cheers
S

[PPRuNe Towers]

2 grand buys a hell of a lot of gliding with a club

It buys some wonderful experiences shared touring if you can't hold a PPL

It buys a paraglider/punt if you've got a draughty slope nearby

It buys a hundred skydives from max altitude

It buys a share in a cracking good light aircraft

Your dream PC will never be enough a few months down the line.

Rob

This message brought to you by PPRuNe retro computing. Get an Atari ST, FS 1 and do some aviation as well.

[vabsie]

PPRuNe Towers

Your post made my laugh, as it's very well said and accurate :ok:

Some of us have to unfortunately work for a living, sometimes 7 days a week and don't get a chance to hang out at the airfield as much as we might like.

I should probably mention that the information provided is probably more for those interest in FSX than those who are not.

S

[poss]

When asked why I no longer spend a vast amount of money on upgrading my computer my response was similar to that of mr towers. Whilst flight simulator can be fun, especially when you are part of some form of aerobatic team as I was with the Virtual Red Arrows on IVAO/Vatsim and some other groups, it certainly is nothing like the real thing and for 2k or so that could buy a good amount of flight time.
That specification is very good though, may I ask what make the ram was and how many sticks you had.
Cheers.:ok:

[vabsie]

Hi Poss

4 x 2040MB Corsair sticks.

S

[gingernut]

Thanks for the info vabsie, you do sometimes find a bit of a "flight simmer=sad gitt" attitude on PPRUNE (present company excepted of course).

Personally, nothing I enjoy more than shooting down a load of Junker bombers after a hard days work, although I'd agree, it's not quite the same as doing it for real, I should imagine.

[RingwaySam]

You could just use FS2004 and buy add-ons like flight enviroment and so on - You'll get much better fps.

And what are you guys on about, theres nothing like going on Vatsim and getting told off by a 13 year old for taxiing to fast :E ohhh, don't get me started on using mode charlie on there either :hmm:

[Keygrip]

Just revamping the thread to say...

I installed FSX Deluxe into my Vista Ultimate machine in an effort to study something about the Garmin1000.

Installed it, registered it, closed it (until I got the joystick from the shop), went to open it.....not there.

Doesn't show in the list of programmes start menu - but the files and folders are there.

I'm doing the guggle search right now to see if I can find answers.

"Curiouser and curiouser"' said Alice!

[Cron]

I have found RC Simulation (no connection) to be most helpful in matters relating MS simulator performances.

Here is a link to their Jan Newsletter which describes a most interesting 3 monitor FSX setup

http://www.rcsimulations.com/news5.html

Regards

Cron.

[vabsie]

Great link thanks for sharing Cron.

[corsair]

I'd love a spec like that on my computer. I thought my PC was up to speed until I bought a current driving game and found it locked up my computer. Naturally I avoided buying FSX for that reason. To be honest I never used FS9 enough to justify the money spent on it. I had a go on VATSIM the other night and got terribly nervous. All those skygods flying complex airliners single pilot and ATC sounding very real with the power to spot you sitting quietly at a regional field and querying your intentions. I find the real thing less nerve wracking.

Normally I prefer air combat sims, particularly online. Aces High being a favourite and probably the best out there at the moment. There's nothing like strapping on a Spitfire and hunting for prey. (Becoming prey more like:ugh:)

[BAMRA wake up]

Well my daughter, who is a bit of a tomboy, grasped the principles of the ADF and VOR in minutes using FS9. After a few real world jumpseat trips she was hooked! Just treat FS9 as the bare bones, a few decent add-ons, say a GA aircraft with realistic cockpit and flight dynamics, clouds, terrain model and some VFR scenery are enough. Just let kids get beyond the 'let's crash it' phase and if they're interested they'll start learning.

[Saab Dastard]

Good point BAMRA - applies to more than FS too!

SD

[Keygrip]

I found the programme - the PC had hidden it in "Games" between card games - but still not listed it as a programme - hid it further under a new banner "Games Explorer".

Doesn't run though - graphics flash from good picture to black screen and back at half second intervals. I'll look into that later.

[al446]

bought a £600 computer 4 mths ago, will post details later. Runs FSX well.:)