Visual Flight Forums
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tonyboulton
655 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Oct 2009 : 15:14:24
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Hi everyone,
I have been absent from the 'FS world' for a few years and have decided to get back into it. I had been waiting for FS 11 (or whatever) but it seems I may have a long wait so it will be FSX. I need a new PC and am looking at the spec. Does anyone have any helpful input please? I am currently thinking about an Intel i7 920 processor, with an Ati Radeon 4890 graphics card. Any thoughts on an 'optimum' screen (22"?) resolution to help my thoughts there?
I am planning to get the GenX UK scenery, but will then start with a 'clean sheet' on addons and autogen. But one question - can I convert my RealAir Spitfire as I love it 
Thanks, Tony |
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roddymod
975 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2009 : 16:39:34
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Hi Tony,
The Intel i7 920 is an excellent choice.
The best Graphics card is currenntly Nvidias GTX 275. with ATI's HD5870 as the next best. |
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meibion
549 Posts |
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tonyboulton
655 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2009 : 21:09:03
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Thanks for the input chaps.
Roddy - I'm not sure the budget will stretch to the 5870, but I think I will get the 5850  it looks good and supports DX11, so it is a bit future-proof
meibion - I think that installer is for the more recent version than I have - it is dated Nov 2004  I was hoping the air files etc may be convertible in some way. I only have the FSX demo version until mine arrives (postal strike permitting!) but looking at the aircraft files they look very different.
Thanks again for the help.
Tony |
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Doug Shaw
664 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2009 : 19:07:54
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Hi Tony,
I have just been through the same situation as you are now in. Simming since day one then out for a few years and a lot to catch up with. I've just built my new system to a spec suggested by Rod i.e. i7 920 in an Asus P6T SE mobo with an Nvidia GTX 285 graphics card and 6GB of Corsair 1600MHz RAM. I'm delighted with the results so far and am anticipating a cautious approach to overclocking when the system has been running a little longer. To keep costs down I have gone for three 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 SATA II hard drives and I'm using an ASUS VH226 22" HD monitor running at its native resolution of 1920 x 1080. If you are following a similar spec it could be useful to compare notes from time to time as to the best settings to use in FSX. Good luck with your project.
Doug
PS I've opted to go with Windows 7 Pro. and am very pleased with the choice. I find it much smoother than other versions of Windows and so far have not met with any serious compatibility problems. |
Edited by - Doug Shaw on 29 Oct 2009 19:10:13 |
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tonyboulton
655 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2009 : 20:00:22
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Hi Doug
Thank you this feedback.
I am just going out, but will give more info tomorrow
Tony |
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tonyboulton
655 Posts |
Posted - 30 Oct 2009 : 13:03:49
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Hi,
I have looked at both these Asus and Gigabyte mobos:
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 Intel X58 (Socket 1366)
-OR Asus P6TD Deluxe X58 Socket 1366
Do you suppose there is much difference? What about the overclocking tools?
For me the ATI Radeon HD 5850 1024MB seems to do the business and has the advantage of being DX11 for the future.
I have recently just been running FSX (no photo scenery yet) on my laptop (Core 2 duo 2.4GHz, 4GB with 256 ATI 3400 mobile graphics card). I have run it with 2 screen using my Dell 19" flat panel. It is great (at modest settings) and I see that the 5850 has some amazing multi-screen options.
I follow the BYO PC forum:
http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/forums/
But I am nervous about the cpu cooler fitting
I will keep you posted Doug.
Tony |
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Doug Shaw
664 Posts |
Posted - 30 Oct 2009 : 15:35:49
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Hi Tony,
I can't comment on the Gigabyte Mobo but the one I chose to go with is the ASUS P6T SE. The de-luxe version of the mobo supports both SLI and Crossfire and if you intend to go for dual graphics cards then that may be the one for you. The SE version supports only crossfire and that was my choice because whilst I'm happy to go with the Nvidia GTX 285 I'm not attracted to the SLI mode. Also the SE version is cheaper by quite a few pounds. With regard to overclocking I have not gone down that route yet but there is quite a lot of information on overclocking the i7 920 and it looks a fairly straightforward procedure. Rod has apparently done his with some success and I understand his CPU is stable at 4GHz.
I've gone for the ASUS version ENGTX 285 graphics card which allegedly has the ability to overclock to 330% (it says on the box) and they do provide some overclocking software but not much in the way of cautionary instructions. My philosophy is to wait and see how the FSX/Gen X combination works with the CPU and GPU running within warranty conditions. At present I have not looked too critically at the combination performance except to note that it is streets ahead of what it was on my old system.
Rod recommended one of the Thermalright range of air coolers for the CPU and I must say that it seems to work fine because the CPU temperature has not yet risen above 42C even when it is being stretched. It's pretty large though and looks quitw impressive mounted on the mobo. I did toy with the idea of using water cooling but the incompatibility between water and electronics persuaded me that it might be more sensible to find an alternative solution.
Doug |
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by admin — last
modified 2006-04-17 16:44
Spec for new PC
