Will this PC run FSX?

[olliewebster]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and I'm thinking about getting a new PC. It's really expensive, so I want to make sure it can play a power hungry game - fsx. Here are my chosen specs:

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 (4x2.66gHz)
Graphics Card: 2x nVidia GTS250, both @ 1GB
RAM: 6GB of DDR3 ram 1600mhz
HDD: 500GB
2xScreens both @ 1440 x 900
Vista Home premium 64bit

Thanks!

Will it run at ultra high and at what fps?

It's £1200 including the screens and everything

 

[olliewebster]

[]

 

[olliewebster]

sorry, i thought this was the US forum so i wrote it in dollars, its actually £1200

 

[Guest]

It is the US forum, but I use it even in the UK,

Nice system, lowly screens for it though, go 20/22" with 1680x1050 at the minimum to get the best of the SLI setup!

I run FSX at 1680x1050 everything maxed even the mesh details tweaked, and i get 25-30fps (check my signature for system specs) with less horsepower than your build!

 

[olliewebster]

ok thanks i might look into getting better screens or just buy one but a better one

 

[olliewebster]

Hi,

I' going to get the 2 x 19" screens, plus im not really bothered about my screen resolution, as I i will have 2 screens and that's enough desktop space for me, plus I can always buy another one later.

I'm also having doubts about the i7 processor, i now think that i should get a core 2 quad (4 @ 2.83) - because it is cheaper i can afford a higher clock speed. which would perform better - an i7 @2.66 or a quad @ 2.83? If i got a quad then i think i would have to downgrade to 4gb ram, ddr2, but i don't really care about that.

How long do u think it would be before the pc went out of date (see the specs in the top post)? I dont mean when will this pc become the next 'family budget pc', i mean like when will the core 2 quad become the next pentium 4?

Thank you for your help

 

[arthurh]

Hi,

Ok, I'm not going to upgrade the screens as it is simply too expensive. I spent a whole hour calculating, based on pixels per pound, usable pixels and price. The 2x 19 inch screens came on top, plus im not really bothered about my screen resolution, as I i will have 2 screens and that's enough desktop space for me, plus I can always buy another one later.

I'm also having doubts about the i7 processor, i now think that i should get a core 2 quad (4 @ 2.83) - because it is cheaper i can afford a higher clock speed. which would perform better - an i7 @2.66 or a quad @ 2.83? If i got a quad then i think i would have to downgrade to 4gb ram, ddr2, but i don't really care about that.

How long do u think it would be before the pc went out of date (see the specs in the top post)? I dont mean when will this pc become the next 'family budget pc', i mean like when will the core 2 quad become the next pentium 4?

Thank you so much for your help

If I was building a PC to play FSX well I'd use the i7. I like FSX too and built my PC just to play it well. See specs below.

This sim likes high clock speeds. 4+ghz works way better than 2. anything. It also likes just 1 graphics card as well. Check this link. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/...008/Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-X-SP2,782.html As you scroll down you will note that SLI gives less FPS than a single card of the same kind.

The 8800GTS(g92) 512 OC'd seems like the best solution and works great for me. I do use SLI in other games thus why I have 2. I have a 20" CRT monitor set at 1600 X 1200. Any higher resolution and I need a magnifing glass to read the print!

This sim likes nVida and Intel best, thou you can play it with AMD and ATI. I did til I could afford this PC. I have my frame rates set to 30 with almost all settings at Custom(max). I also use Win 7 32bit since that OP/SYS seems to use less ram to run than Vista. Haven't tried the 64bit version.

I think the quad will be around for quite some time as dual core is just beginning to become main stream. However if you do any video at all the more cores you have the better. Mine you all this later info is just my opinion and could be way off. There just are not many programs out there writen to take advantage of quad cores let alone dualies.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[olliewebster]

Ye, I think im going to go with the i7, i think it performs better than the q9550 even though it has a lower clock speed.

As for the graphics card, well, id rather stick with the gts 250, as i might want to use my pc for other games in the future.

but how could a single 8800 gts be better than 2 gts 250s?? does fsx support sli?

im not an expert on hardware, but isnt the gts250 better than the 8800gts??

thanks for your help

 

[arthurh]

Ye, I think im going to go with the i7, i think it performs better than the q9550 even though it has a lower clock speed.

As for the graphics card, well, id rather stick with the gts 250, as i might want to use my pc for other games in the future.

but how could a single 8800 gts be better than 2 gts 250s?? does fsx support sli?

im not an expert on hardware, but isnt the gts250 better than the 8800gts??

thanks for your help

Going i7 is in MHO the best CPU for this sim. Your results will be better if you over clock as well and 64 bit OP/SYS 'cause FSX seems to like a lot of RAM as well.

The single 8800GTS is better for FSX, but should perform well for most games out there in SLI for the time being. And yes the 250s are rated as better cards but in this case may not give you the best possible FPS in FSX thou they are g92. Same as 8800GTS just a higher clock and in your case more memory. The chart I linked you to was from '08 and there wasn't a 250 then. Even if they don't give the absolute best performance you may not notice but they may give you better performance since I don't know of any one running this card with this game to disbute my experience. I'm sure they are out there thou.

Remember that when I built my PC there were better graphics cards out there but they wouldn't give me the best FPS in FSX. That was my main concern at that time and so far still is.

FSX just happens to be a sim that needs a very powerful, multi core high OC CPU and ONE average graphics card to play really well.

I can play Far Cry 2 and Crsis for instance with all settings maxed with my set-up. I really don't play much else. Do a lot of video stuff and my PC does that very well comparaed to what I was used to.

Please note that all the info I'm giving you is not absolute. Its my experince and opinion for what ever thats worth. I happen to just love FSX and have tried to optimize my PC to that end as funds allow. I think I have met my expectations and then some. Good luck to you.