Buying new PC : NEED SUGGESTIONS !!!

[menef]

Hi ! I'm going to buy a new PC, so I need suggestions about the minimum system requirements necessary nowadays to run quite well both FSX and P3D. I'm NOT interested in installing new global
sceneries requiring huge resources. My goal is to run well the latest addons ( =planes). So I won't buy a monster machine but an average system abreast with the times. Thank you in advance !!!

[dhazelgrove]

Basically, an I5 processor, at least 4GB RAM and the best graphics card you can afford.


Dave

[Hdguy]

I went with AMD 8 core @ 4.0 16 gig set ram and 2 SSD's. One for FSX and one for the OS.. Add a AMD R9 280 Vid card and FSX for me is the best it's ever been.

[stansdds]

FSX still performs best on Intel CPU's and Nvidia graphics cards. With an eye to the future, even though it is expensive, the new Intel Skylake CPU's seem to provide a good boost in FSX performance.

[txnetcop]

If you want a very good low price, the FX AMD 8 Core does very well with FSX, but if you want a kick-ass mid-range PC that will carry you well into the future I highly recommend the new Skylake i5 6600k LGA 1151 processors. The run circles around the best AMD out there, but you will pay around $270 for the CPU. I just built one for a friend on an ASUS Z170 platform with a refurbed Nvidia EVA Superclocked GTX 970 ( graphics card clocked at 4.5GHz. WOW what a speed demon! Makes FSX look next generation with DX10. I did stick with 64bit Windows 7 as it is still the most stable OS for FSX.
Ted

[William]

The Core2Extreme line OC'd to 4GHZ or higher + a decent SLI enabled LGA775 mobo would run you about 100 bucks on ebay and should match a mid end 1st or 2nd gen I5. A GTX 950 2GB should be enough for graphics unless youre going 4K then i'd recommend a GTX 970. As far as OS, i'd stay stick with Windows 7. I'd also recommend a SoundBlaster chip since those have THX audio enhancers, and with the proper speakers your engines will shake half the room.

[menef]

Thank you mates for your precious support !!!:very_drunk:

[fsxar177]

I tell people this all the time..

Go to ecollegepc.com , and choose their custom Intel series. Then pick/choose what you'd like.

You'll save hundreds.

My last three FS PC's have been from them, and they are rock solid.

- Joseph

[CanadaKen]

I think you will have to choose based on your simming future.

FSX still needs clock cycles.....does not do a good job of using more than 1 core.
FSX needs only a very good video card.

P3D uses multiple cores and getting better with each release. P3D has offloaded A LOT of work
to the video card (GPU) so you need to spend more on your video card than you had to with FSX.

I agree the 6600K is a great CPU for the price!!!

K

[Stefano Zibell]

Just my 2 cents here: SLI is a waste of everything, energy, money and performance. Just save what you'll expend extra on the motherboard and extra card and... get a better card.

If you don't plan on overclocking, get the non K version of the same i5 processor and a cheaper motherboard.

Don't save on the power source, and get an ssd if you don't already have one.

[William]

Just my 2 cents here: SLI is a waste of everything, energy, money and performance. Just save what you'll expend extra on the motherboard and extra card and... get a better card.

If you don't plan on overclocking, get the non K version of the same i5 processor and a cheaper motherboard.

Don't save on the power source, and get an ssd if you don't already have one.

Thats only true to a degree. FSX doesnt like SLI. If he plans to play any other games, it would be an investment for the future to at least have a mobo that can accept an SLI configuration.

[flaviossa]

FSX don´t like SLI but P3D likes. And a ton of modern games/simulators in the market uses that too. Even if you don´t go that way for now, you need to think in future upgrades and a SLI setup is definetely a way to go :encouragement:

[Stefano Zibell]

SLI never really pays. Future upgrades? Just get a new card, new cards replace older models, with the same price. It will do much better. And spend less energy.

Or just get a better card right away.

But each to their own opinion.

[William]

SLI never really pays. Future upgrades? Just get a new card, new cards replace older models, with the same price. It will do much better. And spend less energy.

Or just get a better card right away.

But each to their own opinion.

No offense, but are you stupid? Lets say i get a GTX 960 for 200 bucks and the mobo cost 100 bucks extra. Ive spent 300 bucks aka the price of a GTX 970. In 1.5 years i buy another GTX 960 for 120 bucks and SLI it. I now have the performance of a GTX 980TI for around 400 dollars when the GTX 980TI costs 650 right now. Its a long term investment but in also makes sense in the long term.

[Stefano Zibell]

No offense, but are you stupid? Lets say i get a GTX 960 for 200 bucks and the mobo cost 100 bucks extra. Ive spent 300 bucks aka the price of a GTX 970. In 1.5 years i buy another GTX 960 for 120 bucks and SLI it. I now have the performance of a GTX 980TI for around 400 dollars when the GTX 980TI costs 650 right now. Its a long term investment but in also makes sense in the long term.

You'll never get that performance, plus you'll get non-consistent framerate, will need to wait for driver fixes, you'll need a lot of power which costs money (both initial investment and long term), you are not considering that new cards will launch etc, etc.

Plus I'm not american. Price difference over here is different. No offense, but you call me stupid. That's an offense. Way to go.

SLI makes sense if you're stupid rich and wanna game at 5K with multiple titans. Otherwise it is not a good deal and terrible advice.

[ejoiner]

Hi ! I'm going to buy a new PC, so I need suggestions about the minimum system requirements necessary nowadays to run quite well both FSX and P3D. I'm NOT interested in installing new global
sceneries requiring huge resources. My goal is to run well the latest addons ( =planes). So I won't buy a monster machine but an average system abreast with the times. Thank you in advance !!!

Highly recommend the Lenovo Erazer 510 machine. I've had one for over a year and its AWESOME. Very cost effective new PC and expandable. I have put in two new hard drives (expansions) and a new video card and all popped right in. Great PC for the money.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/desktops/erazer/x-series/x510/?cid=%20us:sem%7Cse%7Cgoogle%7Cshopping%7C13300&ef_id=VN55@QAABaPJG5vS:20151020001829:s

[wombat666]

You'll never get that performance, plus you'll get non-consistent framerate, will need to wait for driver fixes, you'll need a lot of power which costs money (both initial investment and long term), you are not considering that new cards will launch etc, etc.

Plus I'm not American. Price difference over here is different. No offense, but you call me stupid. That's an offense. Way to go.
SLI makes sense if you're stupid rich and wanna game at 5K with multiple titans. Otherwise it is not a good deal and terrible advice.

Well excuse me!!
I've been running high end cards in SLI for some time and the performance has always been better than a single card.
And I'm neither 'stupid rich' or 'gaming at 5K with multiple titans'.
But I build my own rigs and I choose carefully.
Driver updates have been free from trouble and the power issue is irrelevant. (But we are on Solar)
'Non consistent frame rates'?
FSX runs at high settings on my rig at a consistent 50FPS, so unless you have had experience in building your own systems and running SLI then perhaps you might just let the subject go.
:encouragement:

[Jafo]

Many here have their computer specs in their sigs....
I can't be bothered...but since the Op's asking... [both FSX and the OS are on the M.2x4 - there wasn't a faster alternative at the time]....;)

FSX runs OK ...;)


Thermaltake Level 10 VL300A9N1N Titanium Limited Edition Case [No.221]
Corsair ASX 1200I Platinum Certified 1200w Modular PSU
ASUS X99 Deluxe LGA2011v3 MotherBoard
Intel i7 5960x 3.00Ghz @3.50Ghz LGA2011v3 CPU
Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 LGA2011 CPU Cooler
32G Corsair Dominator Platinum [4x8G] 2666MHz DDR4 Ram
ASUS Strix GTX980 4GB GPU
512G Samsung XP941 M.2 PCIe x4 SSD
2 X 240G Corsair Neutron GTX SSD
1 X 3TB Western Digital Caviar Green Sata2 HD
2 X 2TB Western Digital Caviar Green Sata2 HD
Thermaltake eSports Level 10 M Hybrid Wireless/Wired Gaming Mouse
ASUS BC-12D2HTBlu-Ray/DVD-RW
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.

[Stefano Zibell]

Of course I have experience on the subject, but I'll let go.

Clearly I'm the one bothering your well established convictions.

[roger-wilco-66]

If you want a very good low price, the FX AMD 8 Core does very well with FSX, but if you want a kick-ass mid-range PC that will carry you well into the future I highly recommend the new Skylake i5 6600k LGA 1151 processors. The run circles around the best AMD out there, but you will pay around $270 for the CPU. I just built one for a friend on an ASUS Z170 platform with a refurbed Nvidia EVA Superclocked GTX 970 ( graphics card clocked at 4.5GHz. WOW what a speed demon! Makes FSX look next generation with DX10. I did stick with 64bit Windows 7 as it is still the most stable OS for FSX.
Ted


Between the specifications the OP asked for and what is available today, Ted's suggestion makes perfect sense (especially the Skylake solution), in my humble opinion.

Cheers,
Mark

[sixstrings5859]

My old XP gaming rig is finally doa so now it's time for a new one. Been doing a lot of research and found a really good site on different builds from budget to high end. All the parts you need are listed and linked to Amazon and tested to work together. Now i can have the computer of my dreams for around $1500. If i bought one factory built it would be around $2400 and up. That's a big savings! This site will walk you though the whole process too. here's the link...hope it helps. http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/ I'm a combat flight sim guy-(CFS3-multable versions,Il-2 series,Flaming Cliffs.OFF...) but i saw this post on the home page.

[stansdds]

I tell people this all the time..

Go to ecollegepc.com , and choose their custom Intel series. Then pick/choose what you'd like.

You'll save hundreds.

My last three FS PC's have been from them, and they are rock solid.

- Joseph

Interesting, I'll bookmark their site even though I have a long history of building my own.

[txnetcop]

My old XP gaming rig is finally doa so now it's time for a new one. Been doing a lot of research and found a really good site on different builds from budget to high end. All the parts you need are listed and linked to Amazon and tested to work together. Now i can have the computer of my dreams for around $1500. If i bought one factory built it would be around $2400 and up. That's a big savings! This site will walk you though the whole process too. here's the link...hope it helps. http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/ I'm a combat flight sim guy-(CFS3-multable versions,Il-2 series,Flaming Cliffs.OFF...) but i saw this post on the home page.

This is a pretty decent site, some info is a little dated: http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/sitemap.html and for the true techie it doesn't go into enough detail in some areas but for someone who has never built a computer or only builds periodically, I think sixstrings contribution is very good. I have been building gaming units since 1998. I never counted but I guess I have built over 500 custom units. I was also a test engineer for TechCor until Dell absorbed them. I have been involved with high-end mainframe computing and programming since 1979. The industry is moving at lightning speed and let's face it guys, NONE OF US KNOW EVERYTHING! I subscribe to many hardware magazines...though they are getting fewer. I highly recommend Maximum PC if gaining more hardware knowledge is your desire, but nothing replaces actually getting your hands into it. So, if we are going to criticize someone else's idea as to what a person needs for FSX, P3D, X-Plane, etc., let's keep in mind that we are to be helpful not critical of another. Let go of the egos when dealing with this subject. This is a great forum and we all have something to contribute.
Ted

[Daveroo]

Ted?...........i DO know absolutely EVERYTHING !!!!!......................................well that i know anyway..:biggrin-new:...........we all still learn new things daily eh?...... :encouragement:

[menef]

THANK YOU to all for suggestions/opinions !!! Now I've more clear ideas. THANK YOU :-)

[rvn817j]

There is no doubt about what Ted says....lots to know about this subject and it changes daily. I try to simplify by perusing www.tomshardware.com from time-to-time. There are many good articles and every once in awhile a roundup on GPUs and CPUs with a focus on "bang for the buck". It is now pretty well known that the new Intel "Skylake" processors are good replacements for just about anything that is older than the most recent generation of Intel processors. Combine the new Intel CPUs with the Z710 MB and you have faster DDR4 memory and faster SSD (M.2 I think). You also have some MBs with broader graphics bandwidth for faster graphics. Here's a link to a recent Skylake article on Tom's - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skylake-intel-core-i7-6700k-core-i5-6600k,4252.html. Here is the latest (bang for the buck) graphics card review - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html. Good luck with your selection, but I still home brew to save "dinero".