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

Putting together a new system and looking at the 8800 video card. See that it comes in 3 flavors 320M - 640M and 768M with increasing prices all around.My puzzlement is because with my current card, 7600GS/512M and using Memstatus I have never gon above 300m usage no matter where I put my sliders.The 320 seems a bit small but wouldn't the 768 be overkill?Does anyone know if DX10 will have an effect on this?Thanx,VicVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/

OK it's a while since I built my current system so the new specs are confusing me and I need help please.The new Intel E6850 has a FSB of 1333MHz, I assume that means a real FSB of 1333/4 (333MHz), is that correct?If the above is true and I want to o/c a bit would PC6400 DDR2 RAM (real speed 400MHz) be OK?Or does the E6850 need to have DDR3 RAM and a mo/bo that supports DDR3?I notice that Gigabyte have a mo/bo that supports both DDR2 and DDR3 but it implies that DDR2 will only provide a FSB of 1066.Help!!!

Because of heavy video stutters in fsx with my x1900 ati (I tried every possible solution, none worked), I purchased a new Vga, nvidia 8600 gts. Not only I still have stutters in fsx: now, in any directX graphic application (games, movies, etc.) I have audio crackling/popping I didn't have with x1900, but only on Windows Vista (on Xp sound is perfect). Obviously I updated Vga e audio drivers. I think there is something wrong with ALC882 (audio chip on my abit ab9 mother board) and 8600 gts on Vista. Anybody has a similar hardware? Do you have the same problem?Thank you.IgorSys spec:abit ab9intel e6400 (not Overclocked)Nvidia 8600 gts2 Mb ramWindows Vista Home PremiumWindo…

Well, I have ONE component at my house, and could not resist popping it in my current build to see how it might boost FSX.All I can say is the above. Seriously! "EVGA 7950 GT KO" 512 meg card for 225 bucks at Fry's on clearance sale. It is amazing. I was struggling to get 25 fps tweaked, and now get 50 to 70 with no changes to a fresh cfg. I simply can't wait for all my parts to come in.... 6750 dual core, new mboard, raptor drive, mushkin low latency ram....fun stuff in store, because to be honest Im happy with how it is right now...!! so, if you are stuck and FSX is running poorly for you, maybe make a move like me...if you can get lucky enough to find this card,…

Have my parts on order but haven't received them yet so I've been reading everyting I can find on overclockingand have a question.My system (when I get it) will be:Q6600 CPUP5N32-E SLI 680i motherboard2g (or 4G) Mushkin 996535 DDR RamKandalf LCS CAse with built in liquid coolingThermaltake Toughpower 850W PS8800GTX 768 video card (1 only)320G 7200RPM Samsun drive for XP/Vista(maybe)2-74G WD Raptor 10K drives in RAID 01 500G Samsung 7200 drive for backupsKnowing absolutely zip about o/c - I want to get a good o/c but I don't have to be on the absolute edge of performance.I read where you can o/c the CPU and the memory.My question - should one o/c the memory first and get i…

Which is the better graphic card for FSX the 8800GTS or the ATI 2900XT? From what I have read the 2900XT has slight better performance than 8800GTS but sure if it makes much difference in FSX. ATI generally have a clearer sharper display is this still the case with the 2900XT?Andrew

Hi ThereI have built a couple of machines over the years - and find that they all have their little idiosynchrasies.My last machine was an AMDxp 2400. With that one it was quite difficult to install the cpu heatsink. The cpu slid into the "frictionless" base holder easily - but to attach the heatsink you had to connect a steel spring to one side of the cpu base and then very carefully push the other side down with a screwdriver. One slip and you could push the screwdriver through the motherboard.So with that machine, despite the recomendations to install the motherbard into the case first and then install the cpu/heatsink - it was far easier to install them onto the mothe…

With the new Intel chips being released they have dropped the price on the Q6600, is it better to upgrade to the Q6600 Quad Core 2.40Ghz or the new E6850 Dual 3.0GHz at 1333FSB as they about the same price? You could most likely overclock the Q6600 to 3.0Ghz. I have a E6600 running at 3.15GHz with standard cooling. Whats better GHz or Cores?Regards,Andrew

Hello,I am thinking about setting up a three monitor system for FS2004. Here are my system specs. What would I need to complete this task and what monitors should I buy?Intel Core 2 Extreme X68002-XFX GEFORCE 8800 GTX XXXAsus Striker Extreme4-Gig Corsair XMS2 DOMINATOR Twin2X2048-9136C5DEnermax Galaxy 1000w2 Western Digital 10,000rpm Raptor Sata hard drives (150Gig each) - (RAID0)Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS PlatinumAsus DRW-0804P DVD-RWSony DRU-830A Dual Layer DVD Multi driveMitsumi 1.44MB 3.5"Enermax Mid-TowerCoolmaster MusketeerCoolmaster Cool Drive 4Typhoon VXThanks

I have the following USB CH Controllers - FlighSim Yoke, Pro Pedals, and Throttle Quadrant. I have two computers and wondering if there was a way to utilize these controllers as common between the two computers without having to physically disconnect from one and connect to the other. I have FS9 on one computer and FSX w/Vista on the other. Is there a USB device I could use so that each computer can access the controllers.ThanksWilbert

hii downloaded the sp1 but after i installed it fsx wont run the microsoft flight simulator x thing pops up for a minute when i click on the shortcut on the desktop but then it just dissaperes any idea why?

Hi Davis,Could to see you back, posting. You mention the earthquake and flooding. Hope you were not affected too badly. I sent you an email @ 30gigs.com. It was returned undeliverable. If you can send me a quick email to [email protected], I sure would appreciate it.Thanks.AbeP.S. I said in my email:"The forum is EMPTY without you. You are the one that put life in it. Hope everything is ok with you."

Over on Anandtech, they have a write up about how using video cards with large memory results in problems on Vista/32. A 2 GB address space issue. It seems the more memory on your video card the more problems you will have with Vista. Is anyone happy with Vista and a 640MB+ video card running FSX, is XP a better OS for FSX?

Well, I tried to update to the latest ATI drivers and noticed that FS9 wouldn't stay in AA mode when I would minimize the program and return to it. I would have to go back into Catalyst Control Center and reset it.So I went back to old drivers 7.3 when I didn't have the problem. But I have same problem now with those drivers.I've tried deleting FS9 config file to start from scratch and that doesn't even help.Anyone else having this problem?

I have been rebuilding my computer using all the old parts except for a new MOBO ASROCK 4coredual -VSTA and new Core2Duo E6600. I just turned on the machine for the first time - expecting it to possibly burst into smoke and flames, but most probably to attempt to boot up off my old Hdd which has WindowsXp installed and then to tell me to go away.BUT it booted into Windows!!!!!!It wasn't too happy because it started saying that it had found new hardware and wanted to install drivers - so I quickly turned it off. I had intended to re-format the Hdd and reinstall everything.But -- I have never experienced this before and have always re-formatted and re-installed everything.…

Hi guysHave been using FS2002 in the distant past on my old machine Intel P4 2.4 with 512Mb SDRAM, shared video on Gigabyte 8LS533 (Yeah, I know).Having recently retired, the grandkids have presented me with FSX to help fill in the days, and although it runs (sort of) at 5-8 FPS, it's obvious I need a new machine.A local store is currently offering a system which seems reasonable: C2 Duo 6600 or C2D6700 for $120 Australian more2G DDR2 800MHZ Ram256M 8600GT PCI Express or Gigabyte 8800 GTS for $250 Australian moreQuestion therefore is1 Will this machine run FSX at a reasonable FPS?2 Should I take the optional better processor and video card?Thanks for any offeringsJaje

I have an issue that I'm hoping someone can help me with. I have a pretty powerful computer and the graphics look great, but the meshes aren't loading until I'm right on top of the area. I have my Level of detail area set to large. Last night we flew over the Grand Canyon and I was not too far from it and the canyon walls were very smooth and didn't look fully loaded. Here's a screenshot.http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4221/20...22922921ww9.jpghttp://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3707/20...04156156mq4.jpgHere are my settings:http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/7774/settingspf5.jpgI had my texture mesh resolution and texture res set all the way to the right when I took tho…

Since my current Asus A8V Deluxe mb refuses to function stable with any SATAII disk I wan't to replace my mb. But selecting one is very difficult. Reason I can't be certain that it will work with my components. That's my first priority that my new system should be fully stable which isn't the case now.I intend to use it with the following components I already have, twoWESTERN DIGITAL RE 160GB SATA/300 16MB WD1600YS in raid 0One 60 Gb Maxtor IDE driveOne Sony CD and one LG CD/DVD comboAudigo Player Soundcard550 W PSU in a ATX chassi.PCI card with extra USB 2 portsI intend to buy apart from the mbGraphics card (preliminary choice BFG GEFORCE 7950GT 512MB OC DVI HDTV PCI-E)2…

I have built a couple of machines over the years - and find that they all have their little idiosynchrasies.My last machine was an AMDxp 2400. With that one it was quite difficult to install the cpu heatsink. The cpu slid into the "frictionless" base holder easily - but to attach the heatsink you had to connect a steel spring to one side of the cpu base and then very carefully push the other side down with a screwdriver. One slip and you could push the screwdriver through the motherboard.So with that machine, despite the recomendations to install the motherbard into the case first and then install the cpu/heatsink - it was far easier to install them onto the motherboard f…

It's rare to see FSX used in motherboard reviews. Overclockers Club has reviewed all three Abit P35 boards using FSX in separate reviews, hereIP35 Pro - http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ip35__pro/IP35 - http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ip35_darkraider/IP35E - http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ip35economy/and X-bit Labs has a review of the Pro model (without FSX usage) here that makes this a leading contender for plopping in that lovely G0 Q6600 in the very near future. :-jumpy :-jumpy http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboard...t-ip35-pro.htmlWhen I checked Abit's USA site, the manuals weren't available for download yet, but these reviews pretty much…

Well, the beat goes on. Having procured the Matrox analog TripleHeadfor my three 19" moniotrs I am not happy with the drop in performance. I do not mean frame rates either though for me, below 10FPS starts to spell trouble. So, I jotted an E-Mail off to the man, Francois Dumas over at one of his hang outs and will post that message to you all for your comments. Maybe I am just expecting too much from an underdevloped new aspect of this hobby and may just send it all back and await further hardware develoments. Anyway, here is what I posted to Francois:Francois, You are indeed a very busy man but if I might have a moment. I have recently become interested in and purchase…

In FS9, I'm noticing significant shimmering (and aliasing) of "distant" textures, and especially AI planes (not the default ones). Now, I know AI planes have a number of LODs, but I don't recall from my older system seeing AI planes flashing at low LODs.I suppose this is a driver issue (I'm running 158.22); any thoughts? Should I revert to earlier drivers?Thanks,Nicolas in CYOW

I am ordering all parts on the 22nd after the price drop. Already decided on the e6700 dual core - gonna overclock. Will be running XP and not interested in vista and DX10 for quite a while. I have a 256 meg card at the moment, and would like a 512 card that is NOT a performance drop from my current card. I have been partial to ATI in the past, due to image quality (in my opinion) but am not sold on a brand.What do you think is the best option for bang vs. buck at the 512 level and above for DX9??I have priced an x1950 xt 512 flavor at 275 shipped, newegg does not carry it though :( I have also looked at the 8800GTS 640 meg version, but more money and DX10 compliant.…

Hello everyone,As most post here discuss about the framerate performance when running FSX. I know this thing is higher the better.In fact, is there a highest framerate (or framerate limit) that our eyes can take? which mean any level higher than that bring no difference to our eyes?Anyone know about the visual display framerate of modern real flight simulator in the flight training center? Those big boxes.Alkit

I just put a AMD64 X2 6000+ in my system from a X2 4600+. FSX running very smooth with FPS holding around 25-30 at KSEA in LDS-767. FPS is locked at 30. Performance monitor on my G-15 shows CPU use hovering around 50% and Memory between 45-60% I'll start bumping up the graphics to see how far it will go.Anyone with a AM2 AMD mobo should look into a CPU upgrade sincce the prices just dropped. The 6000 was $169.00 USD retail boxed at pricewatch.