Help! Need help picking out a PC for FSX to run at 50fps+

[nickac1092 8]

Hi fellow Flight simmers! and Aerosoft! I need help to pick a new PC for FSX to run it at 50fps+ even with all the sliders full and traffic full. Here is a link to my youtube video that explians this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62tkTZWt ... ature=plcp

[mjrhealth 3]

First question, have you ever won the lottery, if you find a pc that can do that you should buy a ticket. You may find one taht will come close most the time but the more you add on the more work the pc has to do.intel i5 2500k overclocked is a good start, of course it then depends on how rich you are.

[EDNR-Cruiser 319]

I'm afraid that not even an i5 2500K will come halfway close to the requested 50+ fps with all the sceneries this guy wants to use and all sliders maxed out...

Imagine MegaScenery Frankfurt or Amsterdam or Heathrow with special AI-Traffic plus VFR Scenery... - no way to get to more than 25+ fps with an i5 2500K, if at all.

Plus... - this guy wants this PC to stay ahead of Sims for the next 10+ years.

My advice for this guy: don't ask for a new PC, see your doc instead...

[rocky 118]

The worst thing anyone can do with FSX is have some strange preconception of what they expect from the sim, without actually understanding anything about it. With respect, why on earth would you want to run FSX at 50 frames anyway? As has already been said, if you find a PC that runs FSX at those framerates with all sliders full , then let me know

[mopperle 4162]

As all others wrote, You'll never find a hardware that will be able to run FSX with lot of demanding addons installed, all settings to max with 50+ fps.

And just looking at 50+ fps and more doesn't make sense anway: for the human eye it makes no difference whether you have 25, 40 or 100 fps, 25fps is just a biological limitation

What you should look for is to get a constant framerate of about 25 -30 fps, because if the framerate jumps between 10 and 50 fps you will see a lot of stuttering.

So what you should look for when buying a new hardware:

1. All components should fit together, no bottleneck

2. Use win7 64 bit to avoid memory problems

2. get the fastet CPU, because FSX is CPU hungry, be extremly carefull with overclocking

3. take 8 GB that fits to the speed of your CPU and board

4. take fast disks, either SSD with at least 256GB (IMHO still to expensive) or a harddisk like WDs SATAIII Velociraptor with 600GB

5. state of the art graphiccard (I prefer Nvidia, but that might differ) with 1GB, maybe more

6. Start with moderate settings

7. be carefull with all those twearks for FSX that are around the web, most/too many of them cause problems. looking for tips start here

Good luck!

[nickac1092 8]

Well just so you know, Im going with an Intel I7 3.4GHz or more... Im going to get 16GB ram, 2x ATI 6950 2GB onboard ram, 1000 watt power, liquid cooling, and the Cooler Master HAF-X tower case. Im going to have all the fans including a HDD cooling fan. For the boot drive, im going with a 32GB kingstone SSD. The data HDD that will have FSX and FS9 on it will be a SATA 2TB 3.5" 7,200RPM HDD. Along with the amount of Power i need im getting a 1200 watt UPC (uniteruptible power suppy). Again i have a budget of $3 grand and no more. I saw that i might not get 50+ frames at places with alot of traffic and airports like New York City JFK and LGA... I now want to know if i can keep it above 28-30FPS...

Final configeeration i build yesterday, was $2345.00

[Matt_Smith 1116]

SLI/Crossfire is wasted in FSX, it really doesnt give you any increase in performance.

Edit: You might also find a 2TB SATA HDD with have rather slow access times. If your going to blow so much on a decent rig, ditch one of the graphics cards and use that case to get more SSD's. Also 32Gb isnt really big enough for Windows 7, it will leave you with very little headroom. Your far better getting 64Gb.

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

Well just so you know, Im going with an Intel I7 3.4GHz or more... Im going to get 16GB ram, 2x ATI 6950 2GB onboard ram, 1000 watt power, liquid cooling, and the Cooler Master HAF-X tower case. Im going to have all the fans including a HDD cooling fan. For the boot drive, im going with a 32GB kingstone SSD. The data HDD that will have FSX and FS9 on it will be a SATA 2TB 3.5" 7,200RPM HDD. Along with the amount of Power i need im getting a 1200 watt UPC (uniteruptible power suppy). Again i have a budget of $3 grand and no more. I saw that i might not get 50+ frames at places with alot of traffic and airports like New York City JFK and LGA... I now want to know if i can keep it above 28-30FPS...

Final configeeration i build yesterday, was $2345.00

Well to be honest... That's not a very good machine for FSX.

For starters FSX does not like SLI graphics cards, you could get the same FPS with a $200 card. In fact I can guarantee the $200 card will do a lot better. Nice to see you bought lots of RAM but you do know that FSX is a 32 bit app right? And 1000 watt PSU, you are planning to hook up your washing machine to it? Your machine will bearly peak 650 watt. Though all the fans that will just move air and not really help with anything will turn 30 watts into noise with pleasure. Certainly as you are using water cooling, lol. And putting the OS on an SSD and the game not makes very little sense. You boot every few days but you load scenery textures every few minutes.

Get the CPU, an NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti, 8 Gb of ram, a big SSD (or even two) and spend the rest on a nice weekend out with your love.

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

SLI/Crossfire is wasted in FSX, it really doesnt give you any increase in performance.

It has been shown many times it decreases FPS (though it might increase quality marginally). But I got the idea that our friend nickac1092 cares more for specs then flight sims. I use FSX professionally and I always said that anything over $1000 is a total waste of money. Even with the price of big SSD's this is still true.

[Matt_Smith 1116]

The only exception I found is when using Nvidias Surround gaming. I was impatient and couldnt wait for the GTX590 to come out so 2 580's was my only choice for running 3 screen. Which yes is awesome, but its a complete pain in the arse to get running nicely. Plus 2 GTX580's putting out about 60 degrees C on my feet, even in the hight of winter makes plenty of smell The best performance mod, buy a 250Gb SSD, either Corsair or Crucial, to put FSX on.

[EDNR-Cruiser 319]

But I got the idea that our friend nickac1092 cares more for specs then flight sims.

I couldn't agree more... - no knowledge about computers nor flight sims... - but he is very good in burning money for nothing!

[majoke 0]

With all respect, Mathijs and Matt, but I can't find any information that he want to use SLI, or in his case Crossfire. He just wrote about using two grafic cards. Maybe he only want to use more than one screen, like I do. I have two grafic cards and three TFTs connected to them. Works fine even with an old Nvidia 8800 GTS 512 (without SLI).

But when I read the configuration for his new computer, I bet that he don't want to build a computer ONLY for using FSX. I think he is going to play other games like shooters, too. And in this case I think he want to use crossfire.

But you're right, FSX is really CPU hungry. I had an AMD Athlon x2 6400+ on an Abit AX78, 6GB RAM and changed to a Phenom II X4 980 3,7GHz. The new CPU really kicks ass. FSX needs frequency. No need to upgrade my grafics, but I will do soon, cause of other games and I will choose a Nvidia GTX 560 Ti.

About the 1000W PSU: If you look at the efficency only, you will find out that most PSUs are most effective at 50 to 60% load. So, if he would really need 650 Watts and want to be as effective as possible, I think he better use a 1200W PSU. But in this case, his UPC would get overloaded, I guess.

In Germany you do not really need a UPC, cause power is really stable here. There are only a few regions that have a few problems sometimes. I don't know how it is like in the US. So maybe he really need it. And UPCs are not really cheap.

The other thing is about the SSDs. I also use a SSD for the OS and a normal HDD for FSX data. I do, because SSDs today cost a lot. I can't afford a SSD for all FSX data. For me it is about 70GB plus OS. So I decided to buy a Crucial 64GB SSD only for OS. I can't see why this shall be bad. Of course it would be better to have a second SSD for FSX, but this is also better than having only one HDD. Think about the Pagefile. Think about no need for defragmentation any more. For me it makes more sense than buying just one Velociraptor HDD.

But after all, just for playing FSX, I agree with Mathijs: Choose the Intel I7 3.4GHz or wait for Intel I7 3820 3,6GHz, if you want more power, NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti or same from AMD-ATI, 8 GB RAM, you don't need more today, one SSD 64GB plus normal HDD, if you want to save money and a second one later with more free space for game data as soon as it is payable. Watch out for the write speed. Don't choose one under 95MB/s.

With this system you are able to play FSX at very very high settings without getting stutter. But you still can't say that any system is able to show FSX without any stutter. It depends on what addons you use.

Take any machine today, if you put a lot of sceneries in there, for example NY with Manhattan, all Airports, Pilot's newest meshes, REX2 and some other nice things available, ground textures and so on, you will always find a way to put this machine down to the knees.

I hope I helped you a bit in deciding (and I hope I didn't make too much failures

[nickac1092 8]

It has been shown many times it decreases FPS (though it might increase quality marginally). But I got the idea that our friend nickac1092 cares more for specs then flight sims. I use FSX professionally and I always said that anything over $1000 is a total waste of money. Even with the price of big SSD's this is still true.

I actually didnt buy it yet. Thats just a config i built on cyberpower PC. I need maxium performance for FSX so no il drop ATI and go with Nividia. I am 5 months, infact, from buying a new computer for FSX. I have a budget of $3,000 USD. I like that you guys are helping me out alot so yea... The case no matter what will be that awesome Cooler Master HAF-X. I will go with a 60-62GB SSD just for Windows 7 Professional because Home doesnt read 16GB RAM. When i first started out, i wanted a rediculious amount of RAM and a fast Intel I7 CPU. If i can get more performance with just 1 video card then 2, that will save me some money but aslo add to my entertainment. I rather go with a HDD for all my games even though i might loss a second or so but who cares. I fill up my HDD quick on the computer in my signiture (the one i am running FS9 on maxed out on, and the only one i have) and its a 3.5" 700GB Seagate HDD. My FS9 folder alone is 120GBs. I got and 1200 aircraft, several addons, and alot of regristry that goes with it. I like liquid cooling because its more efficent and it cools the hardware faster. I will still have alot of fans just for cooling other things but i would like to keep the tempature down more than on my current PC which on average stays around a temp of 50-60C (including my graphics card- average temp 60-65C). I just want an SSD only for the OS and a HDD for everything else. Yes i do play FPS games (first person shooter) and 3rdPS (3rd person shooter) and examples are Halo 2, and Grand Theft Auto 4. Speaking of liquid cooling im trying to find out if i can get a graphics card that can be water cooled... I know Nividia has these cards now... Il get them. AGAIN, I AM 5 MONTHS AWAY FROM BUYING THIS MACHINE SO I NEED YOUR HELP AND DO MY OWN RESEARCH TOO.

[ebksb123 99]

If you want to spend some more money in a graphic card, you can get the gtx 580, but this card won't be better in FSX than the 560gtx. Well it's your computer, but I think 16 RAM is a bit too much...? Maybe 8, 12 would do it too?

I have read in a serious computer magazine that some new Intel CPU's are coming in early 2012, you say you wanna buy in 5 months, so let's see...

If those coming CPU's are not better than the 2600k, you can also consider getting the Intel Core 3960, a sixcore CPU and - as far as I know - the fastest CPU for "normal" consumers. (won't improve the FSX perfomance and costs about 1000€).

[nickac1092 8]

If you want to spend some more money in a graphic card, you can get the gtx 580, but this card won't be better in FSX than the 560gtx. Well it's your computer, but I think 16 RAM is a bit too much...? Maybe 8, 12 would do it too?

I have read in a serious computer magazine that some new Intel CPU's are coming in early 2012, you say you wanna buy in 5 months, so let's see...

If those coming CPU's are not better than the 2600k, you can also consider getting the Intel Core 3960, a sixcore CPU and - as far as I know - the fastest CPU for "normal" consumers. (won't improve the FSX perfomance and costs about 1000€).

Here is a config of what i would use... I dont know if that video card is water cooling capable... Its new also. Personally i prefer ATI rather than GeForce and Nividia. Thats just beacause i am using one now...

*BASE_PRICE: [+1269]

Case: Coolermaster HAF-X Gaming Full Tower Case w/ 1x230mm Fan, 1x200mm Fans, 2xFront USB 3.0 Port [+120]

Laser Engraving: NONE

Laser Engraving Message:

Internal USB Extension Module: None

Neon Light Upgrade: 12in Cold Cathode Neon Light [+10] (Green Color)

Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum Enermax 120MM Case Cooling Fans for selected case (Maximum Silent Operation) [+29] (500-

1,200 RPM T.B. Silence Black Color with Red LED Twister Bearing 8-14 dBA)

Noise Reduction Technology: None

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-2600K 3.40 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)

Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: No Overclocking

Cooling Fan: CyberPower Xtreme Hydro Liquid Cooling Kit 360MM w/ Triple Fan(CPU & GPU Liquid Cool Capable, Extreme Overclocking

Performance + Extreme Silent at 18dBA) [+93]

Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: Standard Coolant

Motherboard: [CrossFireX/SLI] MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3) Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/Lucid Virtu + Intel Smart Response

Technology,OC Genie II,Winki 3& 7.1 Audio,Dual GbLAN,USB3.0,SATA-III RAID,3 Gen2 PCIe,2 PCIe X1&2 PCI (All Venom OC Certified)

[+160]

Intel Smart Response Technology for Z68: None

Memory: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Dominator [+54])

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 Dual GPU SLI 3GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+543] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

Freebies: None

Video Card 2: None

Video Card 3: None

Power Supply Upgrade: 1,000 Watts - CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gaming 80 Plus Power Supply [+125]

Hard Drive: 60 GB OCZ Agility 3 SATA III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 525MB/s Read & 475MB/s Write [-52] (Single Drive)

Data Hard Drive: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+169] (Single Drive)

Hard Drive Cooling Fan: None

External Hard Drive (USB3.0/2.0/eSATA): None

USB Flash Drive: None

Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)

Optical Drive 2: None

Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

3D Vision Glasses: None

LCD Monitor: None

2nd Monitor: None

3rd Monitor: None

Speakers: None

Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network

Network Switch: None

Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard

Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse

Mouse Pad: Razer Sphex Gaming Grade Desktop Skins Mouse Pad [+13]

Gaming Gear: None

Extra Thermal Display: None

Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: None

External Wireless Network Card: None

Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None

Bluetooth: None

Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)

Video Camera: Logitech Webcam C210 [+29]

Headset: None

Printer: None

Cable: None

Power Protection: * OPTI-UPS ES1500C 1400VA/980W Uninterruptible Power Supply [+189] -I live in Minneapolis and during the summer, we have severe storms that somtimes knocks out the power here so this is why im getting this UPC with it so i can shut down my computer immidiately after the power goes out.

IEEE1394 Card: None

Internal USB Port: Internal USB 3.0 4-Port Hub [+29]

USB Port: None

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)

Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None

Office Suite: None

Ultra Care Option: Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit [+19]

Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]

Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Rush Service: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 10~15 BUSINESS DAYS

*_PRICE: (+2818)

[mjrhealth 3]

Just remember it must be the K version of cpu if you wish to overclock, as overclocking is your best FPS friend.

[nickac1092 8]

Just remember it must be the K version of cpu if you wish to overclock, as overclocking is your best FPS friend.

Here is another cheaper config but the same rig... Cyber Power doesnt have the Intel I7 2700K CPU for an option on that rig...

• *BASE_PRICE: [+1269]
  
• Case: Coolermaster HAF-X Gaming Full Tower Case w/ 1x230mm Fan, 1x200mm Fans, 2xFront USB 3.0 Port [+120]
  
• Laser Engraving: NONE
  
• Laser Engraving Message:
  
• Internal USB Extension Module: None
  
• Neon Light Upgrade: 12in Meter Light - 8 speed [+15] (Red Color)
  
• Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum Enermax 120MM Case Cooling Fans for selected case (Maximum Silent Operation) [+29] (500-1,200 RPM T.B. Silence Black Color with Blue LED Twister Bearing 8-14 dBA)
  
• Noise Reduction Technology: None
  
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-2600K 3.40 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)
  
• Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: Ultimate OC (Ultimate Overclock 30% or more) [+99]
  
• Cooling Fan: CoolIT ECO II-240 Extreme Performance Liquid Cooling System 240MM Radiator & Dual Fans [+27]
  
• Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: Standard Coolant
  
• Motherboard: * [CrossFireX/SLI] GigaByte Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ Lucid Virtu Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 Dolby Home Theater Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 4x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+66]
  
• Intel Smart Response Technology for Z68: None
  
• Memory: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/2000MHz Dual Channel Memory [+86] (Corsair or Major Brand)
  
• Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [+110] (Major Brand Powered by AMD)
  
• Freebies: None
  
• Video Card 2: None
  
• Video Card 3: None
  
• Power Supply Upgrade: 850 Watts - Corsair Professional Series CMPSU-AX850 80 Plus Gold Power Supply [+153]
  
• Hard Drive: 60 GB OCZ Agility 3 SATA III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 525MB/s Read & 475MB/s Write [-52] (Single Drive)
  
• Data Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+110] (1TB x 2 (2 TB Capacity) Raid 0 Extreme Performance [+110])
  
• Hard Drive Cooling Fan: Vigor iSURF II Hard Disk Drive Cooling System [+21] (2 x Systems [+27])
  
• External Hard Drive (USB3.0/2.0/eSATA): None
  
• USB Flash Drive: None
  
• Optical Drive: LG UH12LS28K 12X Blu-Ray Player & DVDRW Combo Drive [+41] (BLACK COLOR)
  
• Optical Drive 2: None
  
• Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
  
• 3D Vision Glasses: None
  
• LCD Monitor: None
  
• 2nd Monitor: None
  
• 3rd Monitor: None
  
• Speakers: None
  
• Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
  
• Network Switch: None
  
• Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
  
• Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
  
• Mouse Pad: Razer Sphex Gaming Grade Desktop Skins Mouse Pad [+13]
  
• Gaming Gear: None
  
• Extra Thermal Display: None
  
• Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: None
  
• External Wireless Network Card: None
  
• Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None
  
• Bluetooth: None
  
• Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
  
• Video Camera: None
  
• Headset: None
  
• Printer: None
  
• Cable: None
  
• Power Protection: None
  
• IEEE1394 Card: None
  
• Internal USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
  
• USB Port: None
  
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
  
• Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None
  
• Office Suite: None
  
• Ultra Care Option: Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit [+19]
  Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]
  
• Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
  
• Rush Service: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 10~15 BUSINESS DAYS
  
• *_PRICE: (+2282)
  

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

I still think that's a lot of money. But it has extra lights, hard disk cooling, extra fans AND water cooling, lol.You must be planning some very serious database stuff to be needing a hard disk cooler! I got two fans in my rig, a $19 one on the CPU (and it is overclocked) and one in the PSU. And the temperatures in my case are perfect and the temp on my CPU is 10 degrees below max, exactly what Intel tells people is the optimal temperature (the whole idea that cooler is better is fine for some electronics but not for CPU's). And to be charged extra for safe shipping, ###? Their normal shipping must be really bad if they got an option like that. Professional wiring inside? Uh? So if you don't take that option it's done by kids? and cellotape?

It all sounds like the kind of shop I would not buy at.

[ev1ph 0]

apologies if I am posting this in the wrong forum. Thankyou for all your advice on this forum regarding which rig is best for fsx. It has stopped me rushing out and wasting money.

I have a budget of £1000-£1100 and looking for a machine to comfortably run high end add-ons i.e concorde X etc.

My Choices

chillblast's i5's OC 2500K and GTX570 (2 hard drives and 16Gb of Ram) at £1000 - my preference!

or do I save for chillblasts 'Superfortress' at £1399 with i7 OC 2600K with the GTX 580 card and SSD hard drives.

is there a big differende between 570 and 580 on fsx?

I am at the stage I want a machine that will run smoothly and reluctant to purchase until I am 100% sure, had a lot of problems with FSX in the past and would greatly appreciate any help. I would rather not build my own machine or ask someone to do it as I like the idea of warranty and support from a bigger company.

Thanks Evan

[Matt_Smith 1116]

Im not too sure what the appeal of lights in a computer is all about. I suspect its something along the lines of the gay lights boy racers put under their cars. Pretty pointless TBH

In all honesty most warrenty's arent worth the paper they are written on. You are far better off just purchasing the components you want and putting a machine together yourself. If anything does go wrong with it you can then just RMA it to the manufacturers, rather than faffing around with a 3rd party.

Its already been decided on this very thread that the i7 is better for FSX than the i5, seeing as FSX is processor bound.

If you really must buy a computer from a "big company" look at what scan.co.uk have to offer. Their support is second to none.

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

Hey we all know that car with racing stripes go faster and that PC's with LEDs behind the fans are faster! But only if you get a case with windows otherwise all the light will clog up inside.

[Matt_Smith 1116]