I want to improve my PC's specs where possible...

**mrogers** · October 1st, 2009, 22:58

Here's my PC specs...

Intel P4 650 3.40Ghz HT CPU
GA-8N775 LGA m/board,
420w PSU
FSB speed is 800mhz, can be increased to 1066mhz apparently in BIOs
2x 1024mb DDR2 667 1.8v Corsair sticks (I think this is as high specs as it can go for this m/b)
2 spare RAM slots
Nvidia Geforce 7900 GT/GTO 256mb PCI-E
1x160 GB SATA HD
1x external 500GB SATA HD
Windows XP Home Edition sp3 (32bit)

I want to see if I can improve on these specs a bit more for faster speed. I'm thinking of upgrading my 256mb GF card to 512mb, would this make much difference? would a 512mb Nvidia 8800 be suitable for my pc specs?
Anyone with computer knowledge got any recommendations for me on the above?
Rather than buy a new PC I want to hang on to this one a bit longer if I could. I do have the $$ to buy a new fast tech PC, but not yet.

**Wulf190** · October 2nd, 2009, 00:11

You could upgrade to a better video card, or get more memory. The Video card will allow you to pump up the visuals more, you can add high settings of AA and AF with out the frame rate hit you would currently take at the same settings. More memory would help give you system more room to spread out the process load. You can go up to 4GB of memory (though XP pro 32 bit will only see and use 3.25GB).

But the real draw back you are facing is CPU power. Your board can't support any of the 'current' LGA775 CPUs.

Flight Simulator is the odd ball 'gaming' programs that gets more performance from CPU power then from the graphics card, or memory.

I'd say if you want more performance, look at upgrading your mother board, CPU and 'maybe' memory. AMD is really a good choice if your on a tight budget.

**mrogers** · October 2nd, 2009, 01:39

Originally Posted by Wulf190

But the real draw back you are facing is CPU power. Your board can't support any of the 'current' LGA775 CPUs.

Wulf, do you mean that there are now "newer" LGA775 CPUS that my current m/board would not be able to handle?

I'd like to consider the option of a vid card upgrade and adding more memory,if that might help my PC spread the load of running FS,
otherwise I'd be looking at a completely new PC.

**txnetcop** · October 2nd, 2009, 03:57

Originally Posted by mrogers

Here's my PC specs...

Intel P4 650 3.40Ghz HT CPU
GA-8N775 LGA m/board,
420w PSU
FSB speed is 800mhz, can be increased to 1066mhz apparently in BIOs
2x 1024mb DDR2 667 1.8v Corsair sticks (I think this is as high specs as it can go for this m/b)
2 spare RAM slots
Nvidia Geforce 7900 GT/GTO 256mb PCI-E
1x160 GB SATA HD
1x external 500GB SATA HD
Windows XP Home Edition sp3 (32bit)

I want to see if I can improve on these specs a bit more for faster speed. I'm thinking of upgrading my 256mb GF card to 512mb, would this make much difference? would a 512mb Nvidia 8800 be suitable for my pc specs?
Anyone with computer knowledge got any recommendations for me on the above?
Rather than buy a new PC I want to hang on to this one a bit longer if I could. I do have the $$ to buy a new fast tech PC, but not yet.

Unfortunately on that particular board even with I-DNA BIOS you cannot upgrade to even 775 socket Penryn Core 2 Duo CPUs, and now we are into Nehalem CPUs. Depending on the amperage that PSU puts out and under % of a load you might get away with adding an 8800GT but FS9 benefits more from memory and cpu speed. The 7900GT/GTO card is pretty darn good for FS9 though. I know that there is a DIP switch on that motherboard to move the memory to 1066mhz but it was rarely successful. Usually it just froze up.

The new Nehalem i5 Cores are out and the 1156 socket motherboards. These are really decent motherboard/CPU combinations considering price/performance. You can buy the motherboard, 4GB of memory for a very low price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...-_-Combo263538

I would get 6GB of memory and you can still use Windows 7 RC until August of next year for free. If money is an issue is this a nice upgradeable option. There are more i5 Cores coming out in January, but the 860s competes very well with its i7 950 big brother which costs more. I hope this is of some help to you.
Ted

**mrogers** · October 2nd, 2009, 12:14

Thanks for taking the time to reply. it seems that there isnt much more that I could do for my current pc. It runs pretty well with FS9 all maxed out, but could do with the extra cpu speed for smoother running.

Txnetcop, if you don't mind and have some time to spare, could you draw up a new pc spec list for me to build a new pc? A good high end PC with windows 7 (or XP) also capable of running FSX fast as well ( I intend to keep running FS9 as well for some time) $$ isnt an issue with me as I can afford it, but at a sensible price level if possible.

**LouP** · October 2nd, 2009, 13:16

My next rig will most likely have an I-Core 940 or 960 with 6 gig ram, dual gtx-285s with twin 300 gig raptor drives. I think that should handle most things today

.

LouP

***Dangerousdave26*** · October 2nd, 2009, 13:19

Originally Posted by mrogers

Txnetcop, if you don't mind and have some time to spare, could you draw up a new pc spec list for me to build a new pc? A good high end PC with windows 7 (or XP) also capable of running FSX fast as well ( I intend to keep running FS9 as well for some time) $$ isnt an issue with me as I can afford it, but at a sensible price level if possible.

I second that request

I also am looking to upgrade the rig.

I also am not going to care about what I spend to build the rig.

The bottom line for me is it has to run FSX Gold with Full eye candy.

Not that I will be leaving FS9. I just like having options. That and I paid 39.00 for FSX Gold and I would like to use it.

Looking over your specs I was going to say the best I could see that you could do is upgrade the PSU and video card but if Txnetcop says the video card might not help much he's right. Especially if your plan is to add FSX.

The better PSU like more RAM is still always a good thing to have.

A new build will suit you better.

***Dangerousdave26*** · October 2nd, 2009, 13:27

Originally Posted by LouP

with twin 300 gig raptor drives. I think that should handle most things today

.

LouP

Why so small when 1 TB drives are so cheap?

Actually just now looking at newegg there are only 11 hard drives listed that are 400 GB to 800 GB but there are 17 hard drives listed for larger than 1 TB. Which surprised me.

I know the TB drive is awful large and seems that you could never fill it. At one time I thought the same about the 250 GB drive I have now until I filled it last year (or came real close).

Funny how most of the space was being used by FS

**txnetcop** · October 2nd, 2009, 13:59

Originally Posted by mrogers

Thanks for taking the time to reply. it seems that there isnt much more that I could do for my current pc. It runs pretty well with FS9 all maxed out, but could do with the extra cpu speed for smoother running.

Txnetcop, if you don't mind and have some time to spare, could you draw up a new pc spec list for me to build a new pc? A good high end PC with windows 7 (or XP) also capable of running FSX fast as well ( I intend to keep running FS9 as well for some time) $$ isnt an issue with me as I can afford it, but at a sensible price level if possible.

I run FS9 and FSX and no reason not to. I have too much invested in FS9 to toss it and it still looks great with the changes I've made to it. I will PM you with a spec list. What online computer parts shops do you use in NZ?
Ted

***srgalahad*** · October 2nd, 2009, 14:40

Originally Posted by Dangerousdave26

Why so small when 1 TB drives are so cheap?

Actually just now looking at newegg there are only 11 hard drives listed that are 400 GB to 800 GB but there are 17 hard drives listed for larger than 1 TB. Which surprised me.

I know the TB drive is awful large and seems that you could never fill it. At one time I thought the same about the 250 GB drive I have now until I filled it last year (or came real close).

Funny how most of the space was being used by FS

Ahhhh.. the "I can buy a warehouse so why use a shoebox?" question...

As fast as seek times may seem, the more cluttered a drive is, the longer it takes to find a particular bit. The base thought amongst retailers and their suppliers is that more than one drive is too complex for the 'idiots who buy computers' so give them a monster drive and call it "C:".

My approach: A small, tight primary drive ("C:") for the OS and essential services ( two if you want the redundancy of RAID) and then such additional reasonable-size drives for all the other bits. One benefit is that a physical HD failure will not destroy everything at once.

-- I have two fast 500Gb drives (in a RAID array) for my "C:" drive (with Vista and a recovery partition it shows 461Gb with 421Gb FREE). Then I have 2 500Gb drives - one solely for FS and one for Photoshop, FSPS, Office, yada, yada... (BTW, my FS install isn't huge but it's only using 53Gb of a 500Gb drive - and that's with 400 a/c installed)

Want to store millions of pics, songs, videos? go with E-sata or even USB external drives. After all, it's only the computer equivalent of a 'junk drawer'. One you can disconnect and lock away for safety if you feel the need.

Rob

**mrogers** · October 2nd, 2009, 15:42

Ted, I appreciate your professional advice, thanks. Youre right, I also have too much invested in FS9 to toss it out. I plan to run FSX Deluxe with Acceleration (with full eye candy of course), I've got them both here.
I've not used online NZ pc shops before, but here's a list of them here. Some of them let you choose the parts and they build them for you. I wouldn't mind paying the freight to send the built pc to my doorstep.

http://www.pconlineshop.co.nz/

http://www.pcshop.co.nz/

http://www.spannerbox.co.nz/

http://www.taurangacomputers.co.nz/index.htm

http://www.globespec.co.nz/

**txnetcop** · October 3rd, 2009, 06:57

OK since I don't have time to do free system analysis and recommendation to everyone that asks here is a thread that should help you in determining your next build for the future:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...972#post261972

It is very general but gives you the best parts tested in four catagories and still allows a lot of latitude for personal taste and preference.
Ted

**LouP** · October 3rd, 2009, 07:11

Originally Posted by Dangerousdave26

Why so small when 1 TB drives are so cheap?

Actually just now looking at newegg there are only 11 hard drives listed that are 400 GB to 800 GB but there are 17 hard drives listed for larger than 1 TB. Which surprised me.

I know the TB drive is awful large and seems that you could never fill it. At one time I thought the same about the 250 GB drive I have now until I filled it last year (or came real close).

Funny how most of the space was being used by FS

Hi Dave,

Raptors are 10,000 rpm drives. Supposedly makes a huge difference over the standard 7,200 rpms that most of us have. Last time I looked the largest 10K drives were the raptors and they seem to be getting rave reviews. Not sure why they don't make the high speed drives bigger.

LouP

***Dangerousdave26*** · October 3rd, 2009, 07:16

Originally Posted by txnetcop

OK since I don't have time to do free system analysis and recommendation to everyone that asks here is a thread that should help you in determining your next build for the future:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...972#post261972

It is very general but gives you the best parts tested in four catagories and still allows a lot of latitude for personal taste and preference.
Ted

That list is exactly what i wanted.

I had a general idea of which parts I want but was not sure which motherboard and memory to go with.

I have been using Corsair memory on my current rig but thought I would more to OCz but I see Corsair is listed Best so I will stick with the brand I have.

***Dangerousdave26*** · October 3rd, 2009, 07:33

Originally Posted by LouP

Hi Dave,

Raptors are 10,000 rpm drives. Supposedly makes a huge difference over the standard 7,200 rpms that most of us have. Last time I looked the largest 10K drives were the raptors and they seem to be getting rave reviews. Not sure why they don't make the high speed drives bigger.

LouP

I knew there was a logical reason for it.