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

With a mixture of both SATA2 and IDE drives, and assuming the SATA2 format provides for faster data transfer, if I wish to install WinXP (or maybe Vista later) on one drive and FS9 onto the other, I assume that I'm better off utilizing the faster protocol (SATA2) for the FS drive. Am I correct in thinking that the FS drive will get a lot more data to transfer than the one with the OS?Thanks- Bruce.

hey there i got a question about the PMDG panel. im having some problems with it. my problem is that when i try to fly the aircraft FS2004 quits by it self. i took the gauges out of the gauges folder in the main fs folder and tried again and it workd. however, the panel did not have gauges showing. The other problem are the Maingeard which are twisted forward and the nose gear is pointing to one side here is a pic: http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/arc...eenShots396.jpghttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/arc...eenShots395.jpghere is the panelhttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/arc...eenShots393.jpghttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/arc...eenShots391.jpgplea…

Hi all-I just bought O&O defragmenter. I see there are several selections for defragmenting your drive; last access, complete, etc. Is there one method better or worse for FS9?Thanks,Mark

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1985723,00.asp

I've already chastised myself for doing dumb things. I was lucky enough to win an AMD 4800+ 2X CPU last weekend at a flight sim show here in Denver, and am planning on putting it into an A8N32-SLI with 2GB of RAM. The thing is- right after the win at the show, I won again (ticket draw), and had the opportunity to pick up an ATI X1800 512MB card, but after walking up to the podium I chose to take a rain check, as somehow it just didn't feel right to me to get 2 great prizes when most everyone else had none (had I won this second prize later in the evening and seen that everyone was taking what they could, I most likely would have taken it- so I felt a bit dumb later abou…

Hey everyone, It's been a while since i've been in the hardware forum. OK, I have posted in the past about a bottle neck in my new system.(see sig below) I just got the new Piper Cheyenne yestersay, and another forum member there was suprised at my performance with my new system. It was worse with the on board sound when new, so I went and got a Turtle Beach Catalina card. It did improve , but I still am not content. Well, tonight, while in the Cheyenne at Fly Tampa KBOS, I was getting a stuttering 17-18fps in VC. I then turned off the sound via the alt menu and it shot up to a smooth 26.9. I have it locked at 27fps. I am now convinced that my audio card is the culprit st…

Hi, I am pretty tired of never having a decent performance in FS2004, it's okay but never that 'extra' that make everything run smooth. I try to keep my computer as clean as possible, defrag once a week and so on. So I thought about just buying a cheap but still good computer. When Vista and FSX is out, I will buy something special :9For the moment I have this computer from autumn of 2002:Intel Pentium 4 2.53GHz (512KB)Western Digital 120GB 7200RPM IDE HDDPCI Microtower (4x5)nVidia GeForce4 Ti4600 128MBCD-RW/DVD combo16x DVD-ROM56K modemIEEE 1394 adapterTurtle Beach audioIntel 10/100 EthernetWindows XP HomeAnd the package I found is a bundle of these components which is …

Guys-I have a Linksys BEFW11s4 wireless B router and it's going out on my I believe. Before ordering a new one, let me explain.It will connect via my cable modem to the 'net for a few minutes, hours, or just seconds but eventually it will cause the connections to time out. The solution is to unplug the power supply from the unit and wait a few seconds before plugging it back in, and then it works again until repeating the whole process over again.Any suggestions?thanks!

I am considering upgrading to a newer computer. Currently I have a Dell Dimension 4600C. It has a 2.8 GHZ Pentium 4 WITHOUT hyperthreading and 533 FSB. I have 1 GB of SDRAM memory and a 73GB 10000 RPM SATA HD. I use it primary for browsing on the web and Flight simulator.My question is would I notice a noticeable performance increase in FS if I would to upgrade to a machine with the following:1.)a faster processor (3.0 or 3.2) with HT technology 2.)a video card like a NVIDIA 7900 series video card3.)faster RAM4.)Faster front side busI appreciate any and all advice you all might have.Mike

I am using an Asus 8AN PCI express motherboard with an Nvidia 7900GT PCI express video card in dual monitor mode. Whenver I try to put a 2D window (thrust, GPS, COM, etc.) onto the second monitor, flight simulator crashes. I am using flight simulator 2004 in windows XP. I have tried reloading the flight simulator, reloading the operating system, upgrade video drivers to current, upgrade motherboard drivers and bios to current, change dual monitor mode, change refresh rates and resolution. No luck. Any ideasBJ

First off, here are my specs: AMD 4000+ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe MboeVGA 6800GT1.5 Gigs RAMSince I installed some megascenery, I've had this problem. I flew from DEN-LAX-SEA without any framerate problems, but about 15 minutes into cruize, my CPU usage shows 100% with FS taking it all up. When in SEA with Fly Tampa and megascenery, I got about 20 FPS on taxi and climbout (I believe around 50% or so CPU usage)...but once I go open firefox or whatever when at cruize, after I checkin about the 2nd time every 10 minutes or so, my frames are at about 3 FPS, and eventually I can't reopen FS to where I have to shut it down. So far, it's only happened at cruize for SEA-DEN, and I wi…

I've just installed the recently released "AMD dual core optimiser". Task Manager indicates that sometimes the two cores are under load while fs9 is running. Fs9 runs fine and I can't say I've noticed any change in performance one way or another.The problem I have is that the window that displays the aircraft you choose to fly doesn't! It remains black all the time.I'm picking this one will be hard to fix apart from uninstalling the optimiser.Anyone have any ideas?Thanks

WIll my ATI 850 XT card be capable or running this>?I am asking this because in my "settings" window I cannot as yet set the resolution past 1792 x 1344 and the 2407WFP is native at 1900 x 1200.Maybe I am using a "too old" driver? (Omega 2.6.87, as this runs my FS9 the best I found). So maybe i f I installed th latest driverts this will certainly be avilable?I am only expecting delivery next week so I am asking in advance.allen

Is anyone else experiencing problems using the boards AA with nvidia cards, either shimmering, unresponsiveness or other problems?Paul.

Has anyone here with Norton AV seen a marked increase of alerts for the "ICC Profile TagData Overflow" worm. This is the one that passes itself through image and data files such as JPEGS. I have gotten atleast 4 alerts in the screenshot forum here, and a growing amount throughout the web. Norton detects and blocks it from affecting the system, but with auto block activated, it blocks the IP address from access for 30 minutes. (I can override this manually or by rebooting) My own AV scans and spyware sweeps are clean so I know it's not me. According to Norton they claim there isn't any known false positives. Other sources on the web claim Norton's being over sensitive and …

I'm in the process of buying a new PC for gaming. Currently running a very old AMD 1.8MHz w/ 1G ram and an ATI All-in-Wonder 128M card. There's an HP Pavillion on sale right now for $800.00 with following specs:- AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4200+- 2GB DDR2 memory- 250GB HD- NVIDIA GEForce 6150LE graphicsIf I upgrade this with a higher end graphics card I'm curious what kind of performance I could expect with FS9? Currently I run with most graphics turned way down (I fly the PMDG 747 a bunch).Are there any known issues with turning off the built-in 6150 and adding a better card?And lastly - is it worth just going for a 512Mb graphics card or is a 256Mb enough for today?A…

My task manager stopped displaying the top menu and only shows running programs. How can I get it back to 'normal'?Thanks,Howard

Hello,I have just bought a new laptop sony FE21H and it has:Resolution Format 1280 x 8001GB RAMNVIDIA

Fellow Simmers, Howdy back again needing some veteran knowledge and brain power here ;) I just recently got on newegg and started looking at the fastest processors on there well the most expensive. :( Ok the most expensive AMD's I am looking at right now on there such as theAMD Athlon 64 FX62 Windsor 2000MHz HT Socket AM2 Processor Model ADAFX62CSBOX - Retail 64 bit Support: YesHyper-Transport Support: YesL1 Cache: 128KB+128KBL2 Cache: 2 x 1MBMulti-Core: Dual-CoreMultimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, 3DNOW! ProfessionalOperating Frequency: 2.8GHzProcess Type: 90 nmSeries: Athlon 64 FXVoltage: 1.35/1.4VModel #: ADAFX62CSBOX Item #: N82E168191…

I'm fortunate to have won an AMD64 X2 4800+ dual core processor (I would have asked this question before had I bought it). I currently have an AMD Atlon 64 3700+ (San Diego core), in an ASUS A8N-SLI board.I have yet to figure out if the A8N-SLI wll work with this chip, in the meantime until I next upgrade. However, if it does, what in anything to I need to do with WinXP to make use of the new CPU? I undestand that dual-core means not alot with FS9, although I heard the MS FS designers talk about the fact that FSX will use mutliple threading. I anticipate buying a new motherboard sometime around the end of the yaer, maybe in conjuction with Vista, as I've always re-inst…

www.matrox.com/mga/media_center/press_rel/2006/epica_series.cfmBet it won't work with FS - or if it does, I won't be able to afford it.--Bryn

Hi GuysI'm hoping someone can help. I have today installed a second Asus 7900gtx pcie SLI card to my system.After doing so the card is recognised etc but when I plug the monitor in,Viewsonic VX924,it doesn't fire up the screen, I have to plug the monitor back into the existing card to get the monitor to fire up.I have updated drivers on both cards.My intention is purchasing 3 more monitors for a multi monitor set up.Help and/or advice would be appreciated.ThanksSteveAMD Athlonx2 64 4200A8N32-SLI Deluxe2mb Crucial pc3200Thermaltake 650W PSU250gb CAVIAR SE SATA112X Asus EN7900GTX Viewsonic VX924

I posted this in the hardware section, but seems everybody is talking about video card issues in the general discussion forum. I will be buying a new computer within the next few weeks, and I need to know what video card to get. I won't have alot of money to dish out right now for the video card (around $200.00 max $250.00), so I need something that will run decently on the system that I will be buying. My other problem is I don't want to get a video card that I will be having problems with such as black boxes in the scenery or "AA" issues due to driver problems. I have read different forums where people have tossed their NVIDIA cards for ATI. Any recommendations will be …

I have tried 3 different keyboards with the same result. Some of the same keys on all the keyboards do not work in windows. I have tried both USB and PS2 connections.Anybody have any ideas?Thanks a lot,Howard

Info at:http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/info/e3.htmOfficial Press Release: http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/info/press/Pr...udderpedals.pdfMick!