Macs entering the Flightsim world?

[Neovo2 0]

Hey everybody,

I was really intrested by something Deacon said in the Falcon proces topic, but since it was going a bit off-topic I decided to open a new topic about the subject.

Apple announced almost a year ago to start shipping Intel procesors in their products. Now, almost a year further they are in almost every apple product on the market. What does this mean. This means you can run windows and every singel windows application on the market on a mac.

Now, I am not trying to promote Apple here but I am just curious about your opninion.

I am really thinking of making the switch to the macbookpro since I do a lot of design next to flightsim and a lot of my apps work better with the mac. But, as I already mentioned...next to flightsim. So yes, I want to flightsim on the machine aswell. Anyone already had some experience with Fs on a mac?

Jeroen

[wedge 5]

well in a way it is true but it is not like it is exactly the same, the hardware is different even if the processor is now an Intel one. Windows is run through Bootcamp as far as I know and have an emulator to understand the EFIS Bios.

Except that I don't know much about the compatibility, but I would think that the performances might be at least a little below those of a standard computer with the same kind of hardware. But I'm no expert I wont really say it is that, I can't try. But I think that if it was only the processor that was the trouble then we should be able to install Mac on every single computer, and it is not the case as far as I know

[Deacon 2]

Deacon is alive and well with his new MacPro 3Ghz 2 Core Duo Processors machine.

I've been running FSX on the Windows side for the past week and haven't had one issue with it. Not only does it run, it runs much better than it did on the 3.4Ghz processor with geForce 7900 GTX 512 card. The Mac card is only a 7300 GS. With a more powerful card this puppy will sing.

FPS? Sliders are middle of the road to higher, traffic at 30% or higher, high density clouds (with Active Sky X and X Graphics running on the same machine) and airports give me 8-16 while all other areas give me 20-30 FPS. Very acceptable to say the least. Oh, BTW, I also have Ultimate Terrain X loaded, as well.

If you don't want all the other problems associated with working in a Windows environment, but want the ability to use FSX or FS9, then take a look at the MacPro. I'm glad I did.

Cheers,

[Neovo2 0]

Hey Deacon,

I am going to wait for OS X Leopard. The WWDC is now going and I already saw some amazing new features. Anyway, I will go for a macbookpro since I need to be mobile for my profession. But it is great to hear that everything is running smootly.

The Macbookpro has just been updated to a 2,4GHz dual 2 core and the ATI X1600 has been replaced by a Nvidia 8600M which is twice as fast.

Jeroen

[Deacon 2]

That should work just fine.

All I plan to add is a couple of upgraded video cards. Right now I'm running a 27-inch Dell off of this one (FSX looks great at that size and rez 1920x1200 32-bit) so that I can put my other 27 Dell on it too. Then it should really sizzle.

Cheers,

[Neovo2 0]

Just one question, do you run windows with bootcamp or with parralels?

Jeroen

[Deacon 2]

Both. But I don't run FSX in Parallels because the version of Parallels that I have only allocates 1.5 Gig of RAM to the Virtual Machine to run Windows...not much when you're using FSX at the same time.

Boot Camp is far more preferable. I have 3 GB of RAM on this machine (WinXP can only use up to a max of 2.5 GB or so anyway).

It's clear to me, however, that I'm still going to have to get an upgrade int he video card(s) are to really enjoy FSX in the way it should be enjoyed. THe cost of doing that is a little prohibitive right now after buying this machine, but another few months and it'll happen. I think the nVIDIA 4500 FX (I think that's what it is) will work just fine.

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

Hey everybody,

I was really intrested by something Deacon said in the Falcon proces topic, but since it was going a bit off-topic I decided to open a new topic about the subject.

Apple announced almost a year ago to start shipping Intel procesors in their products. Now, almost a year further they are in almost every apple product on the market. What does this mean. This means you can run windows and every singel windows application on the market on a mac.

Now, I am not trying to promote Apple here but I am just curious about your opninion.

I am really thinking of making the switch to the macbookpro since I do a lot of design next to flightsim and a lot of my apps work better with the mac. But, as I already mentioned...next to flightsim. So yes, I want to flightsim on the machine aswell. Anyone already had some experience with Fs on a mac?

Jeroen

Skipping the FS bit.... what apps you like better on the Mac these days?

Having seen both OS's (Vista-Leopard) I think they rank about the same in performance, looks and ease of use. Applications like PhotoShop are almost 100% the same and often are released for PC before Mac. Colors and fonts are easier to handle on a Vista in my view, mundo important if you do design. Major applications like MS Office are simply a hell of a lot better on Vista right now (the new PC Office is THE most underrated application I have seen in a decade, ease of use is sooo much improved). Internet experience is the same as long as you avoid Safari and go for the much better FF.

Not trying to promote the PC platform here, but I find to hard to see why I should buy and Apple computer these days (not counting being cool, great design etc). They make superb hardware, I can't imagine life without the iPod and their notebooks are very well done. But you got to like Apple to buy them because from the software point of view I would say the Vista PC wins.

[Deacon 2]

Just an edition to my previous post. FSX won't run in Parallels because it has a problem with the video drivers (I think hardware acceleration), however even if it did, you'd have to Activate it in that mode requiring a phone activation. Once done, though, you're now NOT activated in your first installation on the Boot Camp side of things.

The point. Just run it in Boot Camp.

As for the software issue...Mathijs, I've been a PC user for 25 years...extensively, programming in VB, VBS, scripting in Excel, and for the last 14 years a full-time Filemaker Pro (x-plat) custom database designer. I also use the PC for all sorts of media work including Photoshop, Paint SHop Pro, SwishMax, Flash, Fraps, several sequencers, and a number of instrument plugins -- midi control via my Roland FP-5. I really like the PC for THAT kind of thing.

What I don't like is all things MS that would include drivers, activeX controls, the friggin registry, that sort of thing. I've lost (even though data has been backed up) over 200 hours in time to reconstruct a machine and thousands of dollars of otherwise billable time as a result of glitches, hang-ups, etc., all having to do with the OS and its peripheral requirements.

I just said, enough is enough!! So I bought a Mac for business...period, and then use a PC for all the other Media things I do, which includes gaming. I do all this on ONE machine because I can do it on one machine very well, and the WindowsXP side of things (I won't upgrade to Vista until they get the driver issues settled out a little more -- but I do like it) runs very fast and is exactly like running a PC because that's what it is when it boots up in WindowsXP.

I am by no means a Mac evangelist, I simply use it to give me piece of mind. And that's worth a darn sight more to me than all the money I've lost due to Microsoft.

Here's another Microsoft gotcha which I just found out about two nights ago. You can't use MS Office in Parallels because it won't let you activate it even though you've already received a satisfactory activation when booting in WindowsXP. I own three separate copies of MS Office Pro 2003. YOu think MS would give me a credit or break on purchasing an upgrade versus the full version of MS Office 2004 for the Mac? No way!! Hell with them.

Sorry for the rant, but you stoked the kindling under by butt!

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

Sorry for the rant, but you stoked the kindling under by butt!

Heck, I actually LOVE a good Mac/PC fight,lol.

I juggle about 1.4 TB of data in my household, half of it is work related and the other half is private music/movies/images that got to be be shared with 2 other Vista based systems, 2 XP based systems (wife/daughter), a few iPods, 3 mobile phones, one car (it's a hobby) and two Xbox's. I also see one additional device on the house network that seems to accept DivX streams and I got NO idea what it is. Now I am lucky as I I can copy and paste emails (we used to call them bulletin board posts back then) from 1994. I had some lucky escapes but I lost very little data in the last 13 years.

For at least 6 years I struggled with data aggregation / data consolidation and backups, but this spring MS released beta versions of Windows Home Server and it solve 90% of all my problems. All images/movies/music are stored on the server in such a way that a disk failure would not kill it. All the other PC's in the house are backuped every two days in such a way that I can recreate the systems in a matter of hours. The backups are very clever as they know about the same files on several systems. We got 1.4 TB of actual data on the harddisks in the house and the TOTAL backup of ALL systems is 330 Gb. Backups are done automatic and very very fast, the Xbox's we all get all movies and all music. Now if I only find that device that can play all the stuff and I don't know what it is...

See what I mean is that most people don't have one system, they got loads of digital data, loads of devices. You got to decide on a system, not an OS.

Ball is in your corner.

[Deacon 2]

I'd normally shy away from OS platform wars -- I've had enough of them in the FileMaker Pro community for the past 15 years -- but if you're looking for a box that WILL do it all, get a Mac Pro. Of course there are pros and cons, and as I said before (knowing that you and I aren't that different at all in our data needs) I use the PC for a lot of things, still do, but the Mac Pro has it's day now, too.

I really like it. And like a friend said to me about two months ago...don't knock it until you try it. Now I agree with him. I get a lot better sleep at night and its more comfortable to deal with the interface (I was used to it anyway through remote computing with many clients who are on Macs).

Oh, and not least, FSX runs pretty darn smoothly right now. At least I don't have to worry about purchasing another $4000 box to get the most out of FSX. I really feel that I got my money's worth when I bought the Mac Pro. I got two high-speed computers with 3GB RAM and 4 processors. two 27" Dell monitors, and three hard drives for the price of one really fast PC and the same monitors.

So, that's enough for this thread. I just wanted to report on how it was using the Mac to fly in FSX. But it's always kind of fun comparing notes on these things. I guess we're all interested in getting the best out of FSX that we can afford. I was able to get a more reliable business system along with it, too.

Take care, Mathijs and let's get that F-16 out of the hangar! 8)

[Neovo2 0]

Take care, Mathijs and let's get that F-16 out of the hangar! 8)

Hello Mathijs,

Now regarding the Falcon....I past my exams!!! Its just some little things to come before I am really done but I will send you an email and then I can continue again on the gauges.

By the way, the fact that I am choosing for a mac hardware is basicly only because it runs all OS. Again, the macbook because I want to be mobile. End the macbookpro, because I want to be mobile and have great perforamce. I cant really judge OSX since I am not familiar with the os yet. But I hear alot of postive reaction.

Jeroen

[daveIT 0]

I've been using Mac since 1998. It sucked for a long time but the new OS X is great. Now that the machines use Intel instead of Motorola chips and Boot Camp (Beta) is out we can install XP on our Mac machines.

I've been running FSX on mine since Boot Camp came out and it works great. My setup is Mac Pro 2x2.66GHz DualCore Xeon, 2GB RAM, X1900 512MB video card, 20" screen and TrackIR. It plays smoother than my father-in-laws 3.2GHz 2GB RAM 256MB video card machine. Of course he uses his machine for everyday use and I just use my Windows partition for FSX so there is nothing extra installed to bog it down.

I get tired of the Mac vs PC conversations. Now I can play PC games which turns the biggest argument I've heard over the years invalid...well at least until all this DX10 stuff comes out.