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Akshay
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 315
Location: Mumbai
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 Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 5:05 pm Post subject: Microsoft FS 2002-How good? |
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Hi all,
I had been to a store nearby who had Microsoft FS-2002 version. How good is it?
Akshay |
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the_380
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 2329
Location: Mumbai, India
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| Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 12:50 am Post subject: Re: Microsoft FS 2002-How good? |
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| Akshay wrote: | Hi all,
I had been to a store nearby who had Microsoft FS-2002 version. How good is it?
Akshay |
What is the cost like? From what i heard it is good. Don't know exactly. Try and get FS 2004... thats good and better def
regards
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Nimish
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Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 9757
Location: Bangalore, India
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| Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 11:12 am Post subject: |
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| I've not yet started games, but I'm told you need to have a "gaming ready" PC configuration - basically a high end video card and a fast processor/memory is a must. |
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HAWK21M
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 8132
Location: Mumbai, INDIA
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| Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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FS2004 is great,But you need a lot of free time 
regds
MEL
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D-ABTH
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Joined: 22 Dec 2006
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Location: VABB :: BOM
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| Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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believe me... from personal experience... forget FS2002 forget FSX.. just get FS2004 and customise it with a few addons.. payware and freeware... and it'l have you hooked... its one of the best simulators out there..
shame that FSX is a huge letdown
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selecta
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Joined: 24 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 12:22 am Post subject: |
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| D-ABTH wrote: | believe me... from personal experience... forget FS2002 forget FSX.. just get FS2004 and customise it with a few addons.. payware and freeware... and it'l have you hooked... its one of the best simulators out there..
shame that FSX is a huge letdown |
Why is that? From what I saw and read in the reviews it looks better than FS2004?
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D-ABTH
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Joined: 22 Dec 2006
Posts: 837
Location: VABB :: BOM
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| Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 10:20 am Post subject: |
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if you research more... you'll realise that you wont able to run FSX without a slideshow even if you had the fastest rig setup with currently available top of the line hardware...
its all over the community forums... FSX was just not desinged to optimise the use of the CPU... forget about Dual/Multi Core optimisation...
basically... it looks good... but not significantly better than what you'd get if you had FS9 setup with just a few essential addons... and believe me... i've seen most of FS ever since the days of FS2000 and what not.. and FS9 can really put FSX to shame...
even for the future... theres only so much the graphics cards can do.. if the software can exploit the fastest CPU... you might as well forget about buying it and hoping the hardware will catch up when the software itself aint no good...
take a look at this "recommendation" if you will... and everyone still says its not enough..
| Quote: | Hi all,
Thought this may be of interest to those wanting to fly with the FSX
By Roy Chaffin's
" FSX and a new PC "
Introduction
There is Good News and Bad News. The "good news" is, I have finished my research into the hardware that is necessary to run FSX properly. The "bad news" is as I feared, it is currently impossible to build a PC that can run FSX to its full potential, where you can "Max Out" all the settings and still get over 20 fps at "low level" in a scenery intensive area like Seattle.
You can however build a machine that can run FSX well, as long as you have realistic expectations, are prepared to accept compromises and spend a shed-load of money. Over the past few weeks a lot of time and effort has gone into testing the various options. My starting point was my own existing P4 3Ghz HT system with 2gbs of DDR RAM and an Nvidia 6600 256mb video card, which was clearly not up to the task. It would run FSX but with many options turned down or off. Really a "Non-starter" !!!
Specification
So what did we end up with ?
In a few words, the fastest PC than can be built with parts that are currently available to the public, and at a cost that really will make most peoples eyes water. I will start with the specification and then explain the reasons and options if there are any.
Video Card - Asus EN8800GTX 768mb DDR3
Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X8600
Motherboard - Foxconn 975X7AB
RAM - 4Gbs of Kingston KVR667D2N5/1G (fitted) 800 on order
Power Supply - Hyper Power - HPU-4M730-SK (730 Watt)
Hard Drive/s - SATA2 7500rpm 500Gb
DVD Drive - Sony Dual Layer DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW and DVD-RAM
Operating System - Windows XP Pro
Graphics Card
All the major components in the PC have an effect on the overall performance but the graphics card is probably the most important. There really is only one option when it comes to a graphics card, the new "Nvidia 8800 GTX". Nothing else performs like it with FSX, and in my opinion nothing else is good enough.
This version of FS is all about the visual experience, so don't skimp or try to save money in this area. It is a beast of a card, being pretty long, taking two slots and being very heavy. There is 768mbs of DDR3 RAM onboard and FSX needs every bit of it. This is an expensive card and prices vary considerably, but currently there is nothing to pick between the names on them, as they are pretty well all the same. As long as it is the 8800 GTX, just get the best price you can. In the UK £450 is a good guide.
You can in theory "SLI" three of these graphics cards together, for better performance, but at the price they are, I fear this is not an option. Apart from having a space issue not only on the motherbaord but also in the case. Cooling of the top one or two cards would be a major problem.
While on the subject of this brilliant graphics card, removing it once installed can be difficult. As on most AGP or PCI Express motherboards there is a locking catch at the end of the slot to stop the card falling out, which is very necessary with this "lump". Great idea, but with such a large card the release catch is hidden under the double width card and impossible to get at with your fingers when the card is in place. My advice is attach something like a piece of cord to the release catch so it comes out beyond the card so you can pull it to release the catch if you need to. (just a helpful tip)
Main Processor
The main processor is also an important item and we boiled it down to one of two. My recommendation is the top of the range Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X8600. This is currently the fastest processor money can buy. More about the alternative later.
Motherboard
Very few people give enough consideration to the motherboard, and tend to treat is like “the table” that you put everything on, but if you want performance then getting the right one is vital. I deliberately went for a Foxconn 975X7AB because all tests indicate this is the best option. Foxconn has been making components for motherboards for years, but have only relatively recently got into making the whole thing. Well the results are fabulous. If you have problems finding one my supplier listed at the bottom of this report will be happy to sell you one. Alternatively if you cannot find one ,I would recommend an Intel board.
RAM
When it comes to RAM I suggest you need 4gbs of the best and fastest you can get. DDR3 800 is perfect, but my test machine only has DDR3 667 at the moment, as I am waiting for the 800 to arrive. Our tests have shown that slower memory really "chokes down" the overall performance of the machine. 533 memory does not perform well, 667 is good, but 800 is better.
Power Supply
The power supply is a very important component in this machine. The graphics card takes a lot of power and even the processor is fairly hungry. I would suggest a good quality 650 Watt PSU is fine but should be considered the MINIMUM you should use. Personally I went for a 730 Watt unit.
Hard Drives
Now we come to Hard Drives. These have to be SATA2 7500 or 10000 rpm drives. But be sure you set the jumpers so that they perform in SATA2 mode. Personally I went for 7500 rpm as I feel they run cooler and are currently more reliable.
DVD Recorder/Player
The DVD drive is up to you. I would recommend a recognised name that gives you Dual layer, and all three formats DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW and DVD RAM.
Operating System
When it comes to operating system you are limited to Windows XP at the moment.
Comment
This system will give you good performance with FSX but you need to set the sliders and options carefully.
Cost
The system I just laid out costs approximately £2,500 sterling, which does not include a monitor, keyboard, mouse or joystick etc. In other words just the box. That to me is expensive to use a package that costs less than £100. But we are all enthusiasts so we pay the price !!!
Possible savings
If money is an important consideration, then there are a couple of things you could cut down with only a relatively small drop in performance. Firstly you could go for the Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 processor, which is only slightly slower, but saves you quite a lot of money. Lastly you could go for 667 memory rather than the 800, but that really only saves you a small amount. A word of warning, however tempting as it is to change other things in my list for alternatives, you would be wise not to do so, because you will pay the price in lower performance. You have been warned !!!
Performance
So what performance can you expect from the system above? Well much rubbish is spoken about frame rates with people quoting silly numbers with no details of the environment that they are flying in. It seems that “bragging rights” are a bit like men talking about the size of their manhood; Not to be believed. We can all get 50 fps on an average machine at 40,000 feet where there is no scenery, but that means nothing.
In my opinion you should also set the “max frame rate” to “Unlimited” as it appears from my tests that holding it down reduces the overall frame rates rather than increasing them. This does not seem correct, but it is true, and I know others have found the same.
Summary and Conclusions
To sum up, if you take my advice exactly as it is laid out, you will end up with a PC that will run FSX nicely, be it not to its full potential, but this is the best we can do at the moment.
Personally I think it is poor that Microsoft have yet again put out a product that requires hardware that is not yet available and unlikely to be for some time. I would love to know for sure what FSX was demonstrated on, but I have my strong suspicions that is was not a PC or at least one that is available to the public.
MS always say they like to build their new products to take into consideration the advances in hardware to come in the future, but this time I fear they have gone way to far into the future, making this product “unfit for purpose” well at least for most users and the foreseeable future. In two years time, when the hardware has caught up and another version is about to be released, it will be good.
So the choice is yours, you can either spend a huge amount of money now and have a machine that will run it reasonably well, or save your money until things get better and cheaper. What is for certain from my tests, is it is pointless and a total waste of money to try and upgrade an existing machine, because it will not “cut the mustard” no matter what you do.
As a final word, I will just say that I am happy with the machine I have finally built and I am sure it will serve me well, but I am eternally grateful that I had the facilities to test and evaluate before I had to spend my money,
As usual I want to thank my supplier SRS Microsystems here in Watford www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk for their cooperation during these tests. If you want good service then they are worth giving them serious consideration.
OK time to have some fun with the new system.
Have a good one J
Roy |
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