Dedicated FS PC

CaptainSkidmark

Hi all!

Just wondering about a dedicated PC for FSX Steam. Currently i have a partition of my 27inch iMac for FSx. its not great even with the 2gb Nvidea card.

Its fine but it crashes regularly due to the amount of add-ons.

I was looking at this machine, i intend on plugging into the HDMI on the graphics card to the thunderbolt to use the iMac as a monitor when i'm using the sim.

Any advise on this machine or any other suggestions?

I'm going to get the 16gb ram and 6gb 1060 card instead of the standard.

Cheers and all suggestions greatly received!

http://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/desktops-and-all-in-ones/new-alienware-aurora/spd/alienware-aurora-r7-desktop/d00awr701?selectionState=eyJGUHJpY2UiOjk5OS4xOSwiT0MiOiJkMDBhd3I3MDEiLCJRdHkiOjEsIk1vZHMiOlt7IklkIjo2LCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6IkdUMTA2MCIsIlByaWNlIjo1NTguMX1dfSx7IklkIjo1NzIsIk9wdHMiOlt7IklkIjoiQ1RPRkdBIn1dfV19

Skyknight

CSM,
That doesn't look bad at all. What are you thinking of getting in regard to storage? I'm guessing an SSD for the OS. and a standard (partitioned) HDD(s) for FSX.
I'm currently running the ASUS build of the GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB) with 16GB of RAM, which is fine running XP11, with no real hangups (even a low level and High speed ).

CaptainSkidmark

No the standard 1TB drive, its 750 extra for the 1TB SSD drive i could get a drive myself down the line and swap it over but i wont bother for the moment, crucial have a 1tb ssd for 255 dollars!. No need to partition maybe? Its only going to be used for FSX and some sonar software i have.

Do you have the Steam edition or normal?

John_Mc

I'm waiting myself for the Intel i7-8700K to become available. It's released but low stock everywhere so it's a high price.

P3D/FS is very CPU intensive, and provides for better frame rates more so than the graphics card. OP I'd wait until you can get a PC with that model of CPU

Skyknight

CaptSkidmark,
I only mentioned the ssd, in that it would effectively allow the isolation of the OS (in its own disk) In doing so one allows for the effective backup (and when necessary restoration) should any problems arise. It would also mean that you would have more space available on the ITB disk. This space, as you have mentioned will be used for both the sonar software and your Flight sim (and their associated(scenery and modules) files....the latter of which will, in all likelihood, grow substantially.
Partitioning is always a good idea...in my view...a precautionary necessity, against any problems that may occur down the line.

Do you have the Steam edition or normal?
I have the boxed version. Its about 132GB on a 180GB Partition, of which about 64GB which is ortho scenery.

John_Mc

The OP says FS X Steam edition. Should definitely move to P3D v4 ASAP for the best increase in performance

Skyknight

JM,
He might be awaiting the Aerosoft Dublin for P3dV4.

CaptainSkidmark

Is it that good? I got Xplane last year and didn't rate it very much.

Ill look into it!

Whats a good traffic addon for P3D?

John_Mc

CaptainSkidmark wrote: »

Is it that good? I got Xplane last year and didn't rate it very much.

Ill look into it!

Whats a good traffic addon for P3D?

v4 of P3D has changed from 32 bit to 64 bit so there's no longer that 4gb limit of virtual address space that can be used at any time.

v4 is a lot smoother and uses the graphics card more than previous versions, thereby leaving the CPU to provide better frame rates. That's what people are saying anyway.

CaptainSkidmark

How are the standard airports developed compared to FSX?

John_Mc

CaptainSkidmark wrote: »

How are the standard airports developed compared to FSX?

They look pretty much the same except they now support dynamic lighting, so lights illuminate the ground etc. Rain and snow effects improved as well.

The academic licence costs about €40 so well worth it.

Some addon airports need to be upgraded though. E.g Aerosoft Dublin doesn't work at all because they developed it outside of the SDK I assume. Eventually Aerosoft will charge for a new version.

Most airports work though and most developers have provided free updates.

CaptainSkidmark

How about Ultimate Traffic 2?

Im going to go back to FSx when i get the computer but ill certainly try out P3D

I only bought PDMG 777 last year so i wonder is there an installer option that will let me install it on P3D also

John_Mc

CaptainSkidmark wrote: »

How about Ultimate Traffic 2?

Im going to go back to FSx when i get the computer but ill certainly try out P3D

I only bought PDMG 777 last year so i wonder is there an installer option that will let me install it on P3D also

They are building a new product called Ultimate Traffic Live for P3D v4. It has been soft-released but that was ages ago. I haven't bought it.

I think most of the complex aircraft require different licences for P3D. Some have upgrade discounts if you already have them for FSX but some do not. P3D is so different/better than FSX now that there's a substantial amount of effort required so support both platforms so I think that's fair.

If you're into flightsim so then you're eventually going to have to move over so you might as well do it now or soon. FSX is 15 years old and really showing it now. P3D is the future for sure.

Mountjoy Mugger

John_Mc wrote: »

They are building a new product called Ultimate Traffic Live for P3D v4. It has been soft-released but that was ages ago. I haven't bought it.

I'm using it - build 1.0.30. on P3D v4. I find it fine. Haven't been able to afford too much time to it as yet.

I had a couple of issues initially, but disabling AV during install resolved matters.

John_Mc

Thanks. I only fly online in VATSIM so wouldn't have a need for it other than as models for online traffic. It was soft released ages ago so I'm surprised you still have to edit those files before/after install. They should have an installer doing that for you at this stage.

I'm personally loving the FS Labs A320X at the moment. Extremely pricey but worth it for the quality. It really is something else