System Hardware: PC | MOBO | RAM | CPU | HDD | SSD | PSU etc

I would like to ask some advise. Im on a budget and have a new computer in the works but havent settled on which CPU to get. I have narrowed it down to to two CPUs both similaar in price, but diferent in number of cores. Both are around $190. I have a new ASUS P5Q SE PLUS mohterboard which is compatbile with both. Which CPU would be better for running FSX?One is Intel Core2 Quad-core Q6600 Kentsfield at 2.4ghz at $189.99 price. The other is Intel Core2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale at 3.16ghz at $187.99.Should I get the dual core E8500 which runs at 3.16ghz, or should I get the 4 core Q6600 which runs at 2.4ghz? They both cost the same and within my budget, but im not sure …

I,m running FSX with onboard sound would I gain any performance with a dedicated sound card? If so any suggestions?Thanks,Tom

can u tell me how can i check my video card and see if it is working properlly cuz i feel that my card the bfg gtx280 oc2 is not working good when i play the game i see during flying a big mix of graphic and some desktop icon show on the sky:)how can i make sure that my card is working propebly ? any program for exam the card/thanx i did try the ati tools and i start the artifacts test and after 2 min i got some yellow dot on the screen so what does that mean is my card not working? plz help

Okay, so my computer purchase is on hold due to family emergancy and I likely won't shell out my money till Intel's first quarter at this rate. I'm not planning on doing an OC on either, and I'm seeing mixed reviews on your run of the mill 920. I'd like to go for the 4-6gb of PC2-8500 RAM or if I go the DDR3 route with an 920. I've read some of Nick's posts on that the 920's moot unless you're planning to OC the hell out of it and due to family medical issues a 940 is out of the mix. So, I can either sit on my old P4 2.4ghz longer or go for the 9550 with the bells and whistles considering the i7 is replacing the 9450, and the QX line come first quarter.This would of been …

Hi,I need a monitor because my tv only supports 1280x720, it can go higher, but it can't support a higher resolution with the correct number of hz so it is all fuzzy. It is a 30in 1080i lcd tv. I don't know what to do as far as monitors go, what do I need for resolution, ms response time, contrast ratio, and brightness? I don't need to worry too much about viewing angle as I am right in front of it, but it could become a factor. I have a very limited budget because of my computer purchase, but let me know about everything.thanksAnthony

Hello,I did upgrade my PC to do 28fps in all reasonable scenarios everything maxed out. Target was to spend as little as possible.My set up is Asus P5Q, Intel core 2 duo E5200, 2*1Gig DDR800 from Mushkin, 500 Gig Samsung T-166 Spinpoint HD and MSI Ati Radeon HD4670 512MB. Everything works like a charm, everything is fresh install and all drivers updated.Only problem is with ATI, I do have CCC v8.11 and yes fps is great (locked 28) but image quality is not as good as with my previous Nvidia 6800 GT. I have tried several tweaks and made some progress but still some awful looking textures around.What are the optimal settings for ATI card - with Nhancer things used to be real…

I've been running FS9 for some time using a set up and configuration that has proven to be stable (touch wood) and that I'm happy with in terms of performance (or as happy as you can ever be in not needing that next FPS or % of traffic!)My issue is that there are several new add ons that are out there, or that I've hangared, that I'd like to add. My problem is wondering if I'm going to destabilize that configuration. I'm also getting to the point where disk space on my existing machine is becoming a more likely issue (85% used) of 80gb I have two questions. Is there any size at which FS9 as a library becomes an issue? I'm 40gb plus; provided there's space for temp files e…

hello,although I've read before about suggestions to set up games resolution equal to desktop resolution because games would be better performing, I did not verify that suggestion so farlast night I tried that in FSX and (!) I've checked out that suggestion: increasing resolutions (in my case, from 1600x900 to 1920x1200 to 2560x1200) wouldn't cause the huge fps drop I would expect: I've noticed only 2 or 3 fps drop :( I have a non professional technical knowledge of computers, thence I'd like - if possible - a quite comprehensible explanation of this peculiaritythanks

Has anyone complimented their pro flight yoke with throttle quad with the saitek pedals? I am having issues using the pedals as every time I engage left/right rudder, I see flaps effects as well. Is there some configuration I'm missing that will lock the pedals to just rudder and ground wheels control only?

Just a question....I bought my system with 4GB of Corsair Dominator DDR2 ram. I switched from Vista to XP and noticed XP only sees 3.25 GB of it. I took the 4th stick out to just run 3GB as I figured I may run into errors and other issues otherwise. Should I keep it at 3gb or put the 4th back in?Also I've seen a lot of references to the "3GB Switch" and so on - I was just wondering if someone could explain the purpose of it, how it works and if it is something I should look at. I've tried the search function but there's so many posts referencing it indirectly I can't find one that actually explains what it does and when you should use it.My system specs are in my signatur…

I am shopping around for a new video card, and was wondering if anyone has one of these new GTX 260 with 216 stream processors, and how it performs in FSX. I am also wondering if the different clockspeeds between the OC, OC2, And OCX would make any difference as to which one to get? I was considering an ATI 4870, as I have been a long time supporter of ATI, but from what I have seen here, NVIDIA seems to outperform ATI in FSX, and I think it is time to change brands. My HD3870 chokes badly in clouds.Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!Thanks,Bill

hello all. when i got into fs during high school my system was adequate for fs 2002 and to a certain degree fs 9. and i loved it fs, flying all night across the pond in a 767, short hops in a 727, flight sim is all i did. and then i went to college and began my flight training, and for a while flying in real life held me over. but now i am having serious flight sim withdrawl, however my system wouldnt be able to handle fsx. and i havnt really kept up with the new hardware and stuff. and i was just wondering, does anyone know where i could get a good system to run fsx for cheap, or what kind of hardware i would need. any help with this would be greatly appreciated. thanksa…

I am running FS9 in Vista and I cannot get antialiasing to work at all.I have seen other posts similiar to this but not one of the solutions has worked for me so far. The last thing I tried was download enhancer and rename the default FS profile from the nVidia control panel and recreate a new FS profileI am stumped and frustrated because I finally have a PC that can run FS9 with the settings maxed and I can't get rid of those jagged lines:-mad My system list belowFS9Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit4 GB RAMnVidia GTX 260 with 178.24Q6600 @ 3.2 GHz

I am currently running MFSX with Vista on a Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, E4500 @ 2.2GHz, 2200 Mhz, 2 Cores and 3 gigs of RAM. My graphics card is a Radeon X1300/X1550 Series, ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x7183), 1440x900 x 74 hertz, 32 bits/pixel, 256 MB RAM (not the best but all that will fit in my "slim case" computer). I am currently using a 19' Dell flatscreen monitor but am thinking of upgrading to a larger monitor, like maybe a 24'. Will this work with my system and will my FSX graphics remain clear and sharp.Thanks for the help.Jeff EvenRocklin, CA, USA

Alright bright lads, I've got a problem that I hope your braintrust can help me out with.I have noticed with certain addon aircraft (Dreamfleet Wilco,and others) that I can attain my locked framerate value in the VC AS LONG AS I DON'T MOVE MY MOUSE. Once I move the mouse, the frames drop by 10-15 fps. "Weird," I thought. Once the mouse stops moving and disappears from the screen, up pops the framerate again and all is well.Does anyone else notice this problem?I have a USB optical mouse and the rest of my computer specs are in my signature. Any help from you wise sages would be most appreciated.Many thanks.

I'm looking at building a PC that can handle anything in FS9 ex: Your using Active Sky with overcast skies and rain using Fly Tampa scenery with 100% traffic.This is what I have so far, I'm just looking for inputIntel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHzSpire Socket 775 Intel FanAsRock 4 core 1600 Motherboard4GB RAM 6400 DDR2500 GB Hitachi 7200RPM 8m cacheGeForce 9500GT 1GB PCI Express Video Card

I recently got a 22'' wide screen and really like how much better everything looks except for one thing, 2D cockpit. The VC looks great, but when in 2D the panels are stretched out. I have made the config edit for wide aspect ratio but I dont see a difference. Is this normal or do I need to make other changes?Thanks, Jim

Hi all,I've recently just bought a new PC - Specs are:Windows Vista 32 bitQ6600 2.4GHznVidia 9300GS 256mb (being replaced)3GB RAMI'm struggling to run FS smoothly no matter what settings I have them on. I've been messing around with the settings and I can't seem to get over 25fps whether it's maximum settings or minimum (fps unlocked). I've tried everything but I can't seem to get anything better.For example, I max the settings out (except the clouds) and get near enough the same FPS as minimum settings...If anybody can reccomend anything like screen resolutions, tips etc it would be appreciated.Thanks,Sam

This will be my first attempt at building a PC. This is what I have come up with so far:Component Item PriceCPU Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cashe 164.99Fan Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm 18.99Motherboard ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX 129.99HD Hitachi P7K500 500GB 7200RPM 64.99RAM G.Skill 4GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 44.99Video Card EVGA 512-P3-N860-TR GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 104.99Sound Card ASUS Xoner DX 7.1 PCI Express 89.99PSU BFG ES-800 109.99DVD RW Samsung SH-S223Q 28.99Case LIAN LI PC-65B Mid Tower 119.99Monitor ACER P243WAid 24" 1920 x 1200 339.99OS Windows XP Home 89.99 Total: 1…

Hi all simmers. I

I don't understand anything anymore. I don't really have a problem with Vista, I'm just tired of getting ntdll.dll crash to desktop. Performance is fine on my setup using Vista, it just isn't reliable enough to "lose" myself in my pretend simming adventures. So, I think I'll go back to XP Pro for simming and use Vista for my day to day computer addiction.Anyone else finally had enough? I know I've posted a couple different threads in the last few weeks kind of dealing with this, but now I am just frustrated enough that I need to take drastic measures to get my simming life where I want it. Is there anything else I should know about dual boot Vista/XP limitations? Th…

Hi all,I have a problem with AA Supersampling.My SpecsWin XP Pro 32BitGPU nVidea 9600GT 512MbCPU Core 2 Duo E8400@ 3GhzPSU Corsair 650TXDDR2-RAM KIT 2048 MB, PC2-800 MHzSATA II Seagate Barracuda, 7200.11, 320GB, 16MB CacheThe only game I'm running on this system is FS2004. My problem now is:Whenever I turn on AA Supersampling or the combined mode between SS and Multisampling my sys crashes. This happened the first day I got the system after I turned on SS for the first time (4 months ago). BTW I

Edit: X58 obviously !I'm assuming I could run a little cooler and maybe get in tn the 3.6GHz range on my Abit board, though I only have 1x2 3200 RAMs so might also need to switch to a 2x2 config. I would probably wait several months before doing an x58 build.scott s..

Has anyone been able to find a decent cpu cooler for the Core I7 Yet? I've seen a few reviews like the Asus unit, but nothing for sale at places like Newegg. The one unit by Dynatron, had a pretty poor review.

Guys,I look to your knowledge and experience for some advice. My last system I built was over five years ago and a complete rebuild is long overdue.These are the main components I plan on getting:Processor: Intel Core i7 965Motherboard: Asus Rampage II ExtremeGraphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 280 1024MB SC EditionNow, from what I can gather that particular processor can take 1333Mhz memory but I plan on over clocking so what memory would you recommend?Secondly, I really want to get a Dell 30" screen, possibly a second too in the future - would SLI be beneficial at those resolutions? (2560x1600)Many thanks in advance,