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

Hi Guys, I am on the look-out for a laptop. I have never much followed the laptop scene, and thus don't know what's hot and what's not. I thought I would seek advice from knowledgable people (that would be you). If I just start with a general overview of what I am going to be using the laptop for, and then we can take we can take it from there. The laptop will need to run concurrently Flight Simulator X and Visual Studio 2008 Professional (when it arrives) at a reasonable resolution (the screens native resolution?). Further, with those closed I would like to be able to run 3D Studio Max 2008 with Photoshop CS3 running. I do have a size constraint - 29.5 X 4.75…

Hi folksI just switched to an ASUS 8800GTS 512 from an ATI card.The 8800 is the new 2nd generation card.I love the colours and the crisp images the 8800 produces, however mid and long range texture quality is no way near the ATI card, I'm getting the notorious blurries.Textures around the aircraft are crisp clear, but quality diminishes pretty quick a bit further away.Before I get the bashing:Yes, I read through the web, yes I have nhancer installed, yes I tweaked the FS9.cfg for all possible TERRAIN settings forward and back for 2 days but I'm still not satisfied with the results.Is anybody out there who successfully tweaked a 8800 card to produce high quality textures w…

Both my computer and my wifes, are side by side on a double long desk in our office. Since my wife got her laptop, she hardly uses her desktop anymore. I thought it would be cool to be able to use her 19" LCD as a second monitor in FSX along with my 24" WS LCD. I was wondering if I could get some type of video A/B switch where her computer would still be able to use this monitor and all I would have to do is switch it to the other channel and use it on my PC as a second monitor.If this is possible, what would I need as far as hardware and software? Also, is it going to be a problem since both monitors have different native resolutions.Thanks for any help/advice.Rob

Will a 24 inch monitor native 1920 / 1024 res screen support lesser resolutions, such as 1280 / 1024? I ask because I use the TH2GO.Many thanks. Keith

Please help me with blurries/shimmering issues on new computer running FS9. (Have used FSX only a little but no blurries or shimmering-only frame rate issues.)My system is an HP Quad Core Q6600 2.4ghz with 3gb physical memory, Nvidia 8500GT, Vista Home 32. Add-on programs are Just Traffic, all PMDG and Level-D 767.I know that this has been addressed from a lot of different angles-I have read many, many posts on the issue but I cannot find any solution that is even close to acceptable. I have tried turning AA on and off both on the card and within FS9, have tried turning sliders up and down in many different combinations but the only noticable changes are to frame rates,…

The Dreamfleet Dakota that is featured in the current "PC Pilot" - issue 52 - is reviewed as not Vista 64 compatible. Whilst I am aware of driver issues with Vista 64 I am surprised that some add-ons - & presumably other software - will not run under it.As I am contemplating Vista 64 for my new computer with 4Gb memory I would appreciate knowing what FS relevant software won't run with it.Chris

Shouldn't my ATI SAPPHIRE X1650 512mb show good graphics in FSX.http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/pr...?gpid=162&grp=3

Hallo everybody,I have searched the forum, but have not found an answer quite to my point.See my specs below please. I have second monitor I tried to plug into my dual head graphics card.Running FS9 I have had no problem moving any undocked panel window to another monitor without performance degradation.With FSX however, any attempt of moving even slight bit of the undocked window results in very heavy slideshow-like stutter and my fps drops down to 1-2 fps.I tried to turn video acceleration for the second monitor off, then on, but it does not seem to change anything at all.Given my specs below do you reckon running the second monitor is asking too much of it?Thanks for y…

I've posted here because I'm at a loss as to which forum to use for this, and I noticed that a moderator had moved a topic related to FS9 and Vista to here.If this problem has been discussed elsewhere, please point me in the right direction - I've reviewed every reference to the main words that Google returns, and although I'm pretty sure (by a number of oblique references) that this must be occurring to others, I haven't managed to find it anywhere.The problem is with the default flight, or rather, the creation of any saved flight from the Free Flight menu. The option is right there, and I can change plane, time, weather and location, and press the Save button, but nothi…

Hi all,I just upgraded my ATI 7.1's to the latest 8.3's and am happy to report that in using FSX, there is a marketable improvement in the fluidity of the sim. I also get faster graphic updates on ground textures as compared to my bench-7.1'sI give the the new 8.3's an FSX-Thumb's up! :)

Just bought my first widescreen monitor....(Acer 19" DVI.. Res. is 1680 by 1050 )What would be the best way to set things up...Do you need to run the screen resolution in the game (FS9...FSX ) the same as your monitor? Does this also apply to your Graphics Cards Resolution? Monitor= 1680 x 1050 NativeFSX Setting =1680 x 1050 8800gts settings =1680 x 1050 And how about Refresh rates? Are higher better? 75 being better than 60....Thanks for any input.....Digital Storm DesktopWindows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts)Case: Digital Storm 850Si Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)Processor: Intel Co…

Went into a Sharper image today and saw they had everything on sale. I think they are not doing very well.I saw this seat that had the built in speakers. Youve seen them before and like the pad you lay on your seat, mostly a gimmick.Its not one of those lay on the floor c shaped game seats but a full swivel,raise and lower seat.I had read some good reviews and at 20% off and 60 day return, I bought it. I think it was about $230 after taxes and sale.I was not expecting much but I am AMAZED.If you have ever bought a cheap chair then you know how muddled the sound is. Voices from ATC and atis come through the bass and overall is a sound wreck.This setup actually works WELL a…

Im thinking of going to a quad core CPU. Although my current e6700 overclocked nicely to 3.4 and is running FSX just fine with all my addons, I have the upgrading bug. (happens every year to me about this time.) I am thinking of getting either a Q6600 2.2 Kentsfield or a Q9300 yorkfield. The price difference is a little less than $100. Would it be work getting the Q9300? Im not that knowledgable about CPU's, but I thought I read somewhere that the smaller die on the yorkville will cause less heat and therefore make it a little more overclockable.Also, would I see any improvement over my current 6700 with either CPU, or should I just sit tight and wait for something new i…

Hi,With so many addons, custom AI, scenery, and utilities, it would be a shame to face a hard disk crash or another computer failure that would render the FS installation unusuable.I generally do not back up data as most of I have the originals for, except documents which I save in different places. But I was thinking about setting up a backup solution of some sorts, of course inexpensive to protect primarily my FS installation.A couple of ideas come to mind:1) RAID1 - I have no RAID currently, just 1xSATA-I WD Raptor drive. This seems to be the seamless solution, but since Raptors are kind of expensive it may be a bit expensive to do this. Also, can I set up a RAID if I …

Hi everybody, Please allow me to add, some Vista Ultimate users should maybe wait for the next 'wave' as this SP1 apparently doesn't have the necessary language pack fixes yet. Only 'Ultimate-English' will work OK AFAIK. My personal recommendation would be, make sure all the device drivers are upto date. Particularly those of the network interfaces. Finally, please don't forget to make the necessary backups before going ahead. Cheers and kind regards Jaap

Just a heads-up that Creative has released a new driver for XP and Vista OS's that resolves the issue for systems with 4GB of RAM and the Digital I/O detection issue when restarting your computer. I'm getting ready to install the new driver and just maybe it might fix something, maybe not...http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/w...asp?action=nextBest regards,Jim

My GigaByte board is probably going to be replaced under warranty since the on-board sound will not work. I had been planning on trying to overclock my Intel Core2 Duo E6400 (never done this before but I am told I have a good CPU and mbo for this) but should I maybe take this opportunity to upgrade my E6400 CPU to a more powerful Duo Core or possibly a Quad core? From what I

The way my machine is built, the video card is towards the bottom of the case and upside down --with the video card fan casing hanging downwards. So it is just slightly difficult to see. When I clean out my machine I have mainly concentrated on the CPU heatsink while the fan side of the vid card always appeared quite clean, although because of it's placement a bit difficult to see. A bit of dust collects on the underside of the card - which faces upwards - and is easily cleaned. Because I have been having some trouble, I decided to take the vid card out - had a look at the fan, it had a little bit of dust on the leading edges of the fan blades, but otherwise looked OKTH…

Hi all. After giving up with Crysis my next target for decent framerates at my resolution of 1680x1050 was FSX. I've read a few reviews about it being a CPU hog and not responding well to GPU power. I recently got a Crossfire setup with a 3870 and 3850, but by far and away the biggest gain was from my new CPU which is a Core2 E8400 which I've overclocked to 4.3Ghz. What amazed me is that even at this frequency, 1.3Ghz above stock speed on a brand new CPU, Core0 is for the most part maxed out at 100% usage, and Core1 takes a severe bashing too! I've followed various guides and I at last have between 30 and 60FPS at 1680x1050 with most settings on high with 2xAA and 4x AF a…

Does anyone have the Saitek Aviator stick? It's more of a military stick I guess, but it looks cool with the covered launcher switch and dual throttle levers. I have a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro now, which is just fine for what little I know about flying. Not really looking to upgrade, just thinking out loud. Or how about force feedback? A flight yoke and rudders would be cool...while I'm at it, how about a quad core and a couple 24' monitors......Sorry, I just recovered from a nosedive into my keyboard. I'm OK now.Bob

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel MotherboardIntel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHzCORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12V / 750W Power Supply orOCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700WSeagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/sTuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler?Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer CaseMicrosoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home PremiumKingston HyperX NVIDIA SLI-Ready 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)x2 = 4GBMy first home build, would appriciate any advice, any incompatable or better deals, thanks in advance.Jerry

Hey guys,I'm not in a position for a new computer, so I'm just going to upgrade my video card for now. I have an older m.b. so I'm stuck with using AGP cards. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what the best to buy would be. I've been given a budget of only $100. HELP!

Does anyone know of where to get one and how well they work?I'm guessing that my wifes puter suffered a major brown=out (house is surge protected,been hit and it works) because it killed everything..Sound card had leaky capticors...Vid card fails all mem tests...MotherBoard was replaced..and it still suffers...The reason I.m concerned is that I just bought us both new Digital Storm machines and I don't want this to happen to these.......Any help would be great.....

Hello everyone I need help with building a new systemI was wondering about this setup:ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel MotherboardIntel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core ProcessorCORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12VEVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MBWestern Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MBARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU CoolerAntec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer CaseMicrosoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home PremiumCORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)SAMSUNG Black 20X DVDTotal = Around $1300.00ThanksJerry

I just switched over from nvidia to ati in hope of finding better fsx compatibility but unfortunatley AA is still not working with the dx10 preview. That means this is a microsoft problem. What is Microsft doing about this?