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

Hi all, first let me give a background to my current situation-I have a reasonably strong setup.2.4ghz,712mb ram(256+512) baracooda 80gb hdd, xp(home)all based on a asus p4xp motherboard. From day one I have had good frame rates but severe stuttering to go along with it. This issue exists in fs9,fs2k2,cfs3 and msts. Based on the excellent advise given during my previous rant on this forum I junked my fx5200 based graphics card and installed a 128 mb radeon 9800 pro. It made a HUGE difference to the frame rates-money well spent. But the stutters are still there!. I did all the usual magic-ending all uneeded processes,turning off avg,de- activating the firewall,setti…

Hi all,I'm a seasoned PC hardware enthusiast and have been building my own PCs for 5-6 years now. About two months ago, I ventured into the world of Macs as I found the exterior look of the Mac mini too hard to resist. I also wanted to see what all the fuss about the Mac OS X was about. The more I use Mac OS X, the more I love it. (For those of you who are skeptical or unsure, see http://www.anandtech.com/mac/. There are some fantastic articles there about using a Mac from a PC user's perspective.)The problem with the Mac mini is that it's very slow compared to my PC, even when doing simple things like Web surfing and e-mail. (Bear in mind this is a completely unfai…

Here is an article that I found this morning. The author states that we are now have CPUs that are fast enough and that we should just upgrade our video cards to get better performance.http://www.tomshardware.com/column/20050511/index.html I think he is partially correct in that we need to be able to get data to and from the CPUs much quicker, but stopping progress on faster chips is not a very good idea. Kind of like NASA being stuck in low earth orbit for the past 30 years. I just read where the new boss at NASA wants to press on to further places away from the earth. http://remotefarm.techcentralstation.com/051005D.htmlThat is great. In order to do that, we must contin…

I need to buy a Monitor for Flight Sim. Is there an advantage of a widescreen vs 4:3 (regular) size? I am inclined to buy Widescreen monitor. Whatever is your answer... please elaborate. Much appreciate it.PS: I could care less that I can use it for DVD movies. This is to be used only for Flight Sim.

Before we all get overly excited about the new Microsoft 64bit Windows XP as well as the new CPU's from AMD and Intel there is something to take note of:http://simhq.com/_technology/technology_043c.htmlBasically we will not see any benefit in FS2004 with a 64bit OS and 64bit hardware until FS2004 (or FS2006) is completely rewritten in 64bit code. What's even more upsetting is that according to this article you will notice a significant performance hit if you try running FS2004 in Windows XP 64bit.

Hi Folks - I've been reading over the data put out by ID Software of Mesquite, Texas last summer on the testing they did on ATI's X800XT-PE and Nvidia'S 6800 Ultra video cards using the video game DOOM 3. It appears that the 6800 is better in several categories including frame rates. 1. How does FS 2004 operate on these cards? Are these the best cards out there for Flight Simmers or are there others that give better performance? 2.What is the best processor to use with these cards to get optimum performance? Thanks, Ken

Hello everyone!First of all - I know VERY little about computers.Now, would someone be kind enough to explain to me in layman's language, what all this 64 bit stuff is about?I'm vaguely aware that MS will be bringing out a 64 bit OS. But what does this mean with regard to hardware?Simple answers please - it'll help me (and those too afraid to ask) understand.Much appreciated!http://online.vatsimindicators.net/916312/3.png

Hello friends,I am new to the avsim forums and I look forward to participating very much. Anyway, I am no computer guru but I do have some idea of what i'm doing. I've decided that i'm going to take the plunge and buy a high end flight sim dedicated computer, it not be connected to the internet. I had it confirgurd with the help of a computer tech but I would vey much value all your opinions. I am also wondering if the sound card is good enogh to avoid ATC stutters? Will it run cool enough? Please suggest any changes to the system, the specs are below:Processor: AMD Athlon 64 4000+/1MB CacheCPU Heatsink/Fan: AMD Retail Heatsink and FanMotherboard: Asus A…

Several people seem to have 10,000 rpm Raptor hard disks in their FS systems. Has anyone done a before and after comparison of FS performance after installing one in place of a conventional 7200 rpm drive?--Bryn

A picture is beginning to emerge that shows AMD dominating Intel, in performance, across their whole processor line up.Intel had high hopes for their Dual Core, and today, with the NDA expiring on the X2, it looks like the X2 beats Intel dual-cores in practically all applications.What does Intel have to do to make their chips run faster and cooler than they currently do?Its a silly question, I know, but are we seeing the beginning of the end of the Intel days?

Hi,I post here after searching the Internet and racking my brain trying to figure out why in the world joysticks stopped working with FS9. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.I recently had a problem with display drivers and accounts requiring me to replace the settings file for my 'Owner' account. All programs and settings are now back to normal and work fine. Before I had this problem and replaced the account data, I had no problems with FS9's joysticks, everything worked fine.When starting FS9, going to settings and controls, I click the check box to enable joystick. Upon clicking assignments, there is no joystick tab like there used to be with FS9. Clicking cancel…

Hi thereAre there any Tips on Installing the SP2 patch for WindowXP and MSFS 2004?Would apreciate if there areThanksMC767

Well I have done my research and Im thinking of doing this for a enw system:CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra ATX AMD MoboAMD Athlon 64 3200+1 GB RAMGeforce 6600 GTSamsung 120GB hardriveWhat do you guys think? Any suggestions or changes for parts in a similar price range? I havent picked out a case yet, and will probably buy it from a local computer store so I dont have to pay for shipping.Thanks,Matt

I'm gonna buy a new system:Asus A7N8XAMD Sempron 3000+512 DDR(2x256 Dual Channel)Asus GeForce 6200And I'm curious what FPS to expect on MSFS 2004 on HIGH settings and for example with the PMDG B737 ???

If you have an ATI 800 or 850 X or XT graphics card...**RUN**..don't walk to download the OMEGA Cat 5.4 driver suite. Make sure you crank up all the 3D options to full bore AND most important, place ATI A.I. (bottom right of mask) to 'HI'.You will be amazed as to the new clarity and 3-dimensionality of your 2004 scenery world. It was stunning. I've never seen driver performance like this to date. Ever! The graphics and ground scenery are crisp and lifelike with no blur-to-horizon at all. Yes folks, right out to the horizon with all my graphics cranked over to the right, they are now as clear as a bell. This is a first! It seems ATI did some major tweaks and cleani…

I'm at work now so I can't write a lengthy post about my findings with the latest batch of video cards being and/or have been released in 2004/05. To make this quick I

After many weeks of research and $2145 in peices and parts, I finally put together my "Dream System"ASUS A8NSLI DeluxeAMD Athlon 64 4000+Leadtek Geforce 6800 Ultra 256mb (one card)2 gigs Corsair RamEnermax 535 SLI ready PSUWD 36 gig 10,000 Raptor HDD (no RAID) (Maybe later)Seagate 80 gig Sata for FSCOF and ??all this into a Lian-Li 6070B Plus Case(Amazing case - has ducted exhaust fans with ducts over cpu and graphics card(s)Hyundai 19" 8ms refresh LCD MonitorJust finished it yesterday and I am amazed that everything is working - no duds!This was my first complete build. I have upgraded systems for years. I sat there for a full ten minutes with finger on the start button …

Hi guysWould really appreciate some advice. Am trying to do a clean install of Windows XP using the OEM Windows XP Product Recovery CD I got with my PC. My PC is now 2 years old. I inserted the CD and selected the 'Install Windows XP' option. I get an error message saying that the version of Windows on my PC is newer than the version on the CD and therefore it wont reinstall.I thought that Windows SP2 might be the cause of the problem, but when in go to the Add/Remove Programs facility, i very oddly can't see SP2 on the list(??) How would I therfore uninstall SP2 and SP1 for that matter if i dont see them in the program files list in the Add/Remove options.If i do a s…

The question is: will a new graphics card improve my frame rates? I know from reading posts in this and other forums that FS2004 is mainly processor-dependent for fps but as I cannot afford to upgrade processor, ram and motherboard, the only thing I think I can afford to upgrade at the moment is my graphics card, a Geforce 3 200Ti. I get around 20-30 fps with medium settings flying in the virtual cockpit (1024x768, detailed 3D clouds, no traffic), but sometimes the scenery is much jerkier than others, even thought the fps counter can show a reasonable 25 for example. I also get 2 second stutters when approaching an airport. If I upgraded to a better graphics card (not …

I don't know how in the heck I missed hearing about this thing, but I just sat here with my jaw dropped watching the videos of this thing in action on their website. If it really works as well as it did in those vids, I'm all over this and will probably give myself a Christmas present here... ;)Anyone have one and care to comment on how it compares to what you see going on in those vids? I read something about needing to have a 60FPS framerate - surely they can't be serious with that in FS2004 - you can't hit those numbers at hi-res with AA/AF even on a 6800 or X800.Thanks!

After suffering FPS woes and just general instability and after much file cleaning, spyware zapping, prefetch cleaning, head scratching and tantric meditation, all to little avail; I opened up my computer case, chased away the herds of dust bunnies, and scrubbed the thick layer of grime from my boards, and...at LEAST a 5 FPS boost, (averaging probably more). So the moral of my story is: "Cleanliness is next to goodframerateliness".Best regards,Erik

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well after struggling for weeks and weeks with the original Dell Dimension 8400 that I got 2 months ago, I finally got a replacement PC this past week.In the interim, Dell had shipped me another replacement PC that hadincorrect, and cheaper components than the original one that I had purchased. After hours of arguing with several people that could barely speak English and more hours of being on hold, Dell finally reluctantly agreed to send me a suitable replacement that is similar to the one that I had originally ordered. In the mean time, since they agreed to ship this latest creation oft…

Since I've not been involved in flight simming for a number of years I was not aware of the problems publishers were having with stolen copies of their products.I am retired but travel frequently between Florida and the midwest. Those trips last up to a month at a time. It would be convenient for me to be able to run my regular installation of MSFS2004 on my desktop while at home and a similar installation on my laptop while away.Over this past weekend I purchased several quality (defined as those recommended by many here at AVSIM) aircraft add-ons. Upon inquiry, I was informed by the rep from one publisher that because of theft problems their policy was not to allow the …

Just wondering if anyone has come across a Tutorial or other document that explains - in Plain English - exactly what all the choices mean in the Settings/Display/Hardware dialogue. FS does not seem to offer an understandable explanation of what anti-aliasing, tri-linear etc, MIP mapping and so forth are and what you can expect if you change the settings.I'm sure alot of folks would like to know if such a Tutorial or other document exists and where it can be found.

All of a sudden I see these commands in my startup"C:Documents and SettingsAll Users.WindowsStart MenuPrograms|StartupI tried to delete them, I could NOT!Another command file "t7e39i.exe" or "j78xnte.exe" are recognized as spyware. I delete them, but they come back.I ran a virus check......it show NO virus.Would appreciate any help.Thanks.Abe