A new monitor and a whole new FSX.

[arrowmaker]

A couple of days ago I took receipt of my new monitor, an Asus PB27Q. For the last eight years I've been running flight sims on an old Samsung 1024x1280 19" monitor and recently decided it was time for a change. To coincide with this new arrival I decided to do a fresh install of FSX. So after many hours of reinstalling FSGlobal 2010, REX Essentials+Overdrive, all my Orbx sceneries and several of my favourite aircraft (mainly my A2A and Carenado add-ons) I was ready to go.

Let me tell you friends that running FSX in 2560x1440 is a joy to behold. The VC's of Carenado's HD Series models are pin sharp and I seem to be seeing detail that I missed on my old monitor. Also, after upping the texture_max_load in the FSX cfg to 4096, the clouds are simply breathtaking.

I just wanted to say to those of you running on pretty old monitors, that maybe, as long as your system is up to it, it's time to consider an upgrade. You won't regret it.

[Dumonceau]

I've always wondered, if you up the textures to 4096, what is the hit on FPS??

[arrowmaker]

I've always wondered, if you up the textures to 4096, what is the hit on FPS??

Just did a quick test. Same quick flight (A2A Cub out of Compton-Abbas), with frame rates set at unlimited. With these things it's hard to gauge the variance, because when set at unlimited, frame rates tend to be all over the place. However with the texture_max_load set at 4096 (in the FSX.cfg) I was getting frame rates of around 38- 45, whilst with the load set at 1024 I was getting around 42-50.

So to answer your question, with the max_load set at 4096 I guess I'm losing between 3-5 FPS. Depending on your scenery add-ons this may or may not be a significant hit. I tend not to buy frame rate heavy airports and most of my aircraft are GA and warbirds. No PMDG 737 NG's for me. So the frame rate loss is a worthwhile trade off, at least for me.

[Rudyjo]

I went from a 15 inch monitor to a 17...19...22 and I now have a 25 inch. Every time I increased the size, for a few days I said "WOW".
After a few days, it didn't seem that big anymore.
The same thing happened when we went from a 32 inch TV to a 55 inch. The 55 inch doesn't look that big anymore.

I guess you get used to it and it just seems normal.

[arrowmaker]

I guess you get used to it and it just seems normal.

Yup. Totally agree. After playing around with FSX, for the better half of this morning, I can't imagine going back to anything less than a 27". To be honest it doesn't actually appear to be large. I've quickly gotten used to the size. This is my first wide screen monitor and what's impressing me the most about it is the 2560x1440 resolution. I'm just loving it.

[Dumonceau]

Just did a quick test. Same quick flight (A2A Cub out of Compton-Abbas), with frame rates set at unlimited. With these things it's hard to gauge the variance, because when set at unlimited, frame rates tend to be all over the place. However with the texture_max_load set at 4096 (in the FSX.cfg) I was getting frame rates of around 38- 45, whilst with the load set at 1024 I was getting around 42-50.

So to answer your question, with the max_load set at 4096 I guess I'm losing between 3-5 FPS. Depending on your scenery add-ons this may or may not be a significant hit. I tend not to buy frame rate heavy airports and most of my aircraft are GA and warbirds. No PMDG 737 NG's for me. So the frame rate loss is a worthwhile trade off, at least for me.

Thanks!! Just did the change and indeed, things look more crisp and clean! Of course, I have a 22" monitor @ 1920x1080.

[Roger]

Arrow maker, where did you buy it in the UK?

[arrowmaker]

Arrow maker, where did you buy it in the UK?

Picked it up from Amazon UK. I took out the free trial of Amazon Prime in order to get free next day delivery. Also, with Amazon I know that if I have any issues there will be no problems with returns. If you are looking at 2560x1440 monitors, in the UK, then price wise you are looking in the £400-500 region. The other monitor I was looking at was the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM. However this seems to have significantly more quality control issues that the Asus.

I suggest you read the reviews and watch the many videos on You Tube. Also make sure your graphics card can output the required resolution. I have a humble GTX 570 and it seems to be doing fine.

[Roger]

Thanks for the info:ernae: I will be building a new pc in the next month or two and want to compliment it with a decent monitor. Like you I have been using a 19" Samsung for maybe 8 years and it's time to pass it on to my back-up pc.

[kilo delta]

Arrow maker, where did you buy it in the UK?

On another forum that I frequent I've heard some good things about the Catleap/Qnix QX2710 27" 2560x1400 monitors. Very reasonable prices and they are overclockable to 120hz too. I'm considering picking up one myself to compliment my old Dell 3008WFP.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/QNIX-QX2710-LED-Evolution-ll-Matte-Perfect-Pixel-27-2560x1440-PC-Monitor-/111088789065?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item19dd686649

http://wecravegamestoo.com/forums/monitor-reviews-discussion/13500-qnix-qx2710-review-2560x1440-matte-overclock-able-pls.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhaiUgELLnM

[TeaSea]

Thanks for the info:ernae: I will be building a new pc in the next month or two and want to compliment it with a decent monitor. Like you I have been using a 19" Samsung for maybe 8 years and it's time to pass it on to my back-up pc.

Let me know what you decide on Roger....I'm also building a new PC (collecting a couple parts every few weeks) and I've not selected a monitor yet. All I've decided is that it must be at least 24".

I have the graphics card though.....

XFX Double D Radeon HD 7970, 3GB 384 Bit DDR5....goodness, that's a mouthful.

Looking at your links there Kilo Delta.

[Meshman]

Hey...! I bought an Asus 27" a couple of months ago. Still haven't taken it out of the box, but I hope to finish the last bits needed to get the system up and running... soon! :icon34:

Nice to hear you're getting good results.

[MCDesigns]

Congrats on the new monitor. I have two 27 inch LG LED monitors and love them!