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Hi all, 

 

I can't seem to use the Aerosoft A320-21 on FSX Steam Edition with the following hardware specs:

 

AMD FX-4300 Quad-Core 3.8 GHz Processor

 

8GB RAM (7.5 GB usable)

 

Integrated Graphics

 

If the graphics card is a problem, I can buy a new one.

 

I was just wondering whether to buy the GeForce 730GT 4GB or the GeForce GT 1030 2GB graphics card. These 2 are preferred as they are quite cheap in my region. I need all the specs to work properly even if I buy more complex aircraft like the PMDG 737 and 777 and scenery and texture addons like ORBX Global Base and REX Texture Direct.

If both these graphics cards aren't good enough, please suggest some (preferably under $120). 

 

Thanks,

Rish

 

 
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Hello Rish,

 

After looking a little bit the hardware you currently have, probably you will not have a very good experience even if you upgrade to a GT1030. If you lower the quality in the simulator it may work, but it is not guaranteed. Also FSX works better under Intel Processors and Nvidia Graphic cards. Consider saving some money and buying a more powerful computer.

 

Regards,

Walter

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  • Deputy Sheriffs

Here are the hardware requirements from the shop page for the FSX/FSX:SE version:

  System requirements:
  Microsoft Flight Simulator X (SP2, Acceleration Pack, Gold Edition or Steam Edition) or Lockheed Martin Prepar3D v3
  Windows 7 / 8 / 10 (all fully updated) (64 bit version highly recommended)
  3.0 GHz processor (Dual Core processor or equivalent system recommended)
  6 GB RAM (8 GB recommended)
  Mouse with mouse wheel (please note the controller and mouse with mouse wheel are absolutely needed)
  3D Graphics Card with minimal 2 GB (4 GB recommended)
  Control unit (joystick) with throttle and rudder control

 

While your current CPU and RAM are adequate, the integrated graphics aren't. So going with a separate graphics card is the right move. Since 2GB VRAM is minimal, you'll do better with the 730GT. While older, the VRAM increase should help. That said, it would be better if you could spend a little more for a newer card in the 1000 series but with 4GB instead of 2.

 

What Walter wrote is quite valid. While your system will be adequate for the A320, you'll be limited in other add-ons and your sliders won't be very far right for a smooth experience.

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Integrated graphics are indeed the problem. They're good enough for some simple office work or maybe watching a movie, but not for anything heavy like gaming or flight sim.

 

On short term a new graphics card would help, however I wouldn't spend too much money on it as this computer isn't worth it anymore. Instead I would start saving up for a new computer.

 

If you're thinking about add-ons like ORBX Global Base, forget it. Even without knowing the further specifications like motherboard or HDD, I can already tell you this computer isn't powerful enough for that. It has an outdated CPU, little memory and an on-board video card with shared memory. Obviously, it was designed for budget instead of power.

 

What you're currently trying to do is just barely meeting the minimum requirements. That means it'll run, but that's all that can be said about it. It won't be smooth and it won't have any room for additional extras. You were mentioning ORBX, then keep in mind that you should add up the requirements for that and for the Aerosoft Airbus to run them together. That means you'll need a computer that's a whole lot more powerful than what you have now.

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Ok, I can buy a new laptop, but a PC would be difficult. Can you please suggest some PCs and laptops under $1000 USD? I will try for the PC but a laptop would be better. I can upgrade the RAM on the laptop, if needed.

 

Thanks, 

Rish

 

 

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  • Deputy Sheriffs

Forget about laptops below 1000 USD. Mid- to Lowcost laptops have the problem that they start to throttle down the CPU when it gets too hot. And that will definitely happen when using a sim which permanently runs on a high CPU load.

 

My personal opinion:

If you can not/will not spend serious money for hardware (> 1500 USD for a PC, > 2000 USD or a dedicated gaming laptop) in combination with a 64bit sim like P3D, do not spend any money at all and use FSX:SE as it is and maybe wait for the new Microsoft sim coming somewhen in 2020.

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  • Aerosoft

Actually I think that in 2019 you can get something usable under 1000 dollar.  I was pretty impressed with the Dell G5 15 Gaming Laptops. 1060 graphics, core i5. If you keep them clean (they come with 8 Gb of mem), they are pretty good. The ASUS TUF FX504 Gaming Laptop has a 1050 graphics card bit a core i7 cpu so it might be better if you run complex aircraft.

 

Of course these machines will not run the sim at high settings but as they are build for gaming they should not thermo throttle too fast.

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2 hours ago, Mathijs Kok said:

Actually I think that in 2019 you can get something usable under 1000 dollar.  I was pretty impressed with the Dell G5 15 Gaming Laptops.

 

I agree, but I would never suggest going for a laptop then. You will ALWAYS get the better hardware for 1000$ when buying a desktop computer and you will most probably never run into the cooling issue almost any laptop has, sooner or later. Especially because the opening post of the topic starter implies that he uses a desktop, ergo he has a monitor and all other relevant periphery already.

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  • Deputy Sheriffs
1 hour ago, Miguel_V said:

No, that doesnt solve the problem. They are expensive and do not solve the CPU cooling problem that laptop have not dedicated for gaming. ;)

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5 hours ago, mopperle said:

No, that doesnt solve the problem. They are expensive and do not solve the CPU cooling problem that laptop have not dedicated for gaming. ;)

 

He probably meant that you can use them on that existing old desktop computer instead of on a laptop. However that still wouldn't fix the problem as mostly these external graphics adapters are hardly better (sometimes even worse) than the on-board graphics card that is already in the motherboard. For a good one you pay good money, more than you would for a regular internal graphics card. Besides, you're always limited by the speed of the USB-port. A system that old probably doesn't have USB 3.0, you'd have USB 2.0 at most. And that ain't fast enough for graphics.

 

12 hours ago, rish said:

Ok, I can buy a new laptop, but a PC would be difficult. Can you please suggest some PCs and laptops under $1000 USD? I will try for the PC but a laptop would be better. I can upgrade the RAM on the laptop, if needed.

 

Thanks, 

Rish

 

I would go for a desktop PC if I were you. As others have said, there are gaming laptops under $ 1000 however you get more value for money if you go for a desktop. Besides it gives you more flexibility as it's easier to tweak desktops than laptops.

 

I wouldn't go for a pre-built ready-to-go desktop system, unless you're lucky they always have something that is not quite it. However desktops are easy to custom-build, you can just order a pile of parts and assemble it yourself. It's not that difficult, and that way you have complete control over every single part. And it's not much more expensive than buying a pre-built system, sometimes even cheaper depending on what hardware you choose. The best desktop systems are always the custom-built ones.

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19 hours ago, mopperle said:

No, that doesnt solve the problem. They are expensive and do not solve the CPU cooling problem that laptop have not dedicated for gaming. ;)

Right, besides the COOLing of the CPU in the Laptops, is its bottle neck, however portable for games and many Dollars that you spend

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Should have, that is the point. Sadly only very few review pages really test the long term gaming performance, notebookcheck being one of them. Then you quickly realize what a gaming laptop means:

 

- 30-50% or even more $$ for the same hardware when buying a desktop computer

- mostly terribly loud after some minutes under full load (40+dB is almost normal)

- mostly castrated CPUs and GPUs. Laptops with Desktop-CPU and GPU are either huge, even louder or pretty expensive, adding to above points...

 

Means: as long as you do not really NEED a laptop due to its mobility, it will be always inferior to a desktop in the same price range. Always and regarding multiple criteria.

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  • Aerosoft

You paint  a very dark picture. I used a Razor Blade 15 for many months and absolutely loved it. I agree it is above the 1000 dollar limit, but it is simply a very suitable machine for simming. I never seen it thermo throttle with P3d (I did in other games a bit when it was warm outside).  And though it costs more, certainly not 50%

 

Now I sit behind my desk 12 hours a day so I do not need a laptop, but if I had a small house, was s student or something I would be happy with that machine. Things have changed a lot in the last few years. More than half of all computers sold now are laptops. 

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Ok, but I really want a laptop because it's portable, so I can't buy a PC. But I can wait till the new Microsoft Flight Simulator is released. Should I buy a laptop now or will I get a better deal in 2020? Unfortunately, I live in India where electronics cost a lot more than what they do in the US, so even the $1000 USD laptops might cost more in India. Nevertheless, I can save enough money to buy something even slightly above $1000 USD. Also, do you know when in 2020 the new simulator is going to release? And should I buy a specific laptop or should I look for certain requirements(like Intel i7, Nvidia GTX 1060) to buy a laptop? Also, I know this sounds silly, but can I solve the laptop overheating problem by keeping an ice pack under it? In my initial problem of the Aerosoft A320/A321, not running on my desktop, I had actually replaced the integrated graphics with a Nvidia GT 210 1GB graphics card, and I could use FSX without any addons at max graphics quite well, but the Aerosoft Airbus was barely usable with bad frame rates. But sometimes the computer wouldn't detect the Nvidia graphics card and dxdiag said that there wasn't any graphics card, only integrated graphics.

 

Thanks, 

Rish

 

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  • Administrator

We don´t have a release date for the new flight sim. New components appear weekly, so it is hard to say what will happen in 2020.
At the moment I can recommend Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 (never buy an on board card) , 16 GB RAM, 250 GB SSD, 1TB HDD.
With such components the laptop is equipped for the future. In Germany you have to pay arround 1200-1500€ for a gaming laptop. 

Vor 1 Stunde, rish sagte:

but can I solve the laptop overheating problem by keeping an ice pack under it?

A serious problem, `cause a laptop has only the normal cooling type and a PC has the advantage of water cooling system inside.

 

Kind regards,

Marius Ellenbürger

Aerosoft GmbH

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Can I solve my original Aerosoft Airbus problem by buying a graphics card like the AMD Radeon RX570 8GB for my AMD FX-4300 processor PC and upgrading the RAM to 16 or 32 GB?

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20 minutes ago, Mathijs Kok said:

It will help for sure. Don't buy 32 Gb of mem, even 16 will never be fully used.

 

So is this better than buying a new gaming laptop? I mean upgrading to the RX570 8GB and 16 GB RAM. Also, are there any compatibility issues with the RX570, being a modern graphics card, and my processor being an old one? Is it worth replacing the processor and other components?

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So should I buy it this year or in 2020? And should I buy a specific laptop or should a look for certain hardware specifications(like Intel i7, Nvidia GTX 1060)? I know this sounds silly, but is it possible to solve the laptop overheating problem by keeping an ice pack under it?

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  • Administrator

The time when you buy new hardware is your decision.

vor 57 Minuten, rish sagte:

I know this sounds silly, but is it possible to solve the laptop overheating problem by keeping an ice pack under it?

As I wrote before: It is a serious problem, `cause a laptop has only the normal cooling type and a PC has the advantage of water cooling system inside. You should have a look on the cooler inside during the purchase decision. 

 

Kind regards,

Marius Ellenbürger

 

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