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

I wasn't sure where to post this, so moderator can move if necessary. Here's my question: I have a an old computer Intel Celeron 500 with a 13 GigHard drive. It has Windows XP Professional of all things on it. I found this computer next to my apartment dumpster and refurbished keeping the harddrive intact becuase it already had WIndows XP Professional, but I do not have WIndows XP Professional disks, but I do want to be able to archieve the XP Profess. installation against loss. (yes, I am well aware about copy issues ect, but I already know that I cannot move a copy of XP Profess. onto any other computer, it would not work, so I feel OK to keep it where it is)My main com…

Hello,I was wondering if someone knew how to link different throttle controls on my yoke to the same engine, for example I would like to fly the 747 or any four engine airplane for that matter and would like to link the throttle for engines 1 and 4 to the first throttle control on my yoke, and would like to have engines 2 and 3 linked the next control on the yoke, is this possible?Thanks,Jeff USAF

Hello All,Whenever I go into Options/Controls/Assignments, some keys are automatically assigned to joystick buttons, such as "view cycle". Now whenever I delete this assignments, turnoff my PC, boot up again, FS9 has put them back in. This is really annoying, is it a common bug or am I missing something?Also, I have a "Top Gun Afterburner 2" and the rudder is not functioning well, I guess you could call it "sticky." I have tried re-calibrating numerous times. Anyone got any advice, apart from buying a new joystick?Thanks,Paul

Hi all,I recently bought a new stick of RAM, increasing my 512 megs to 1.2 gigs. I figured this step would eliminate some of the problems I've had with FS9. I thought a whole new world of virtual flight would open up to me as I patiently waited for the new RAM to arrive in the mail. Well, my hopes were immediately dashed upon my first flight with the new RAM.I was hoping that my RAM would help with the instrument refresh rates in virtual cockpit. No such luck. I went through all the threads on that topic, and it would seem that FS9 is just that way. That I can accept, though I wished I'd read the threads before I ordered the stick of RAM.But, the most troubling thin…

Hello all,I have an annoying issue that I just cant figure out. On every approach especially with POSKY airplanes, my throttles will become decoupled and i can never get them back to work properlly..has anyone had this issue..ive tried drivers for my force feedback and everything..nothing has worked..is it something in the aircraft.cfg file?help please!Thanks,Stephen

Tough to find info on this subject in searches throughout the various forums. I just discovered that my cheap ATI graphics card has two ports on the back and I have this old Packard Bell 15 inch monitor so I went out and bought the adapter to let me hook it up. I'm running a pretty beefed up system - (AMD 64 3200, 1Mg of memory and my FS system on a SATA hard drive) so I normally get very good response from FS9. However, when moving an undocked second window to the second monitor, polygons from the autogen scenery below simply wack out. Now, were I really stoned, these giant distorted buildings growing like crystals off the landscape might be pretty cool but those old hip…

Still battling intermittent CTDs here.Direct X has become a focus. I'm using Win XP Home.Video card is BFGGeForceFX 5700oc, using 61.77 driversdated July 2004. There is one later version that seems tohave nothing I need. How do you all swap-out drivers like fuses?I read here how folks try different drivers all thetime. Isn't that sort of tricky?So I don't know how to find what version of DirectX I'musing. I see the latest is 9.0c, and the video card manufacterer's trouble-shooting guide identifies CTDsthat might be caused by a driver issue, or a Direct X issue.I would've thought a compatible DirectX 9 version wouldbe incorporated in the FS9 install routine.Anyway, I've al…

Hi,I have a Sidewinder FF2 and the force effects work well... But is there a way to have the joystick act as a classic joy with the "return to center thing" instead of the force effects in FS2002 ? (useful when flying an airbus)Is there a way to have the joystick self-center itself and at the same time the force effects like ground bumps and gear retraction (not the control surface forces) in FS ?I also didn't manage to turn off the force effects and replace them with the self-center "function" in sidewinder central (driver 4.0)...Can you help me ?Thanks :)

I've been struggling for some time to get better performance out of my system. Apart from specific FS-related things, I've tackled the system itself - very nervously. You will understand that I am not an expert on the inner workings of 'putes.I now have the latest BIOS and chipset drivers and a few more grey hairs. The one issue I can't get my head round is something called an AGP Miniport. A search in the formus revealed that it seems a good idea to have the latest drivers for this beast - whatever it is. I have a Gigabyte GA-81PE1000 motherboard with an Intel 865PE chipset. I've looked on Intel and G/byte web sites for info but can't see anything. Can anyone tell me…

I can feel spring getting nearer and with that comes the urge to upgrade :-lolI currently have two drives for 280GB total storage:160GB Maxtor DiamondMax9 and 120GB WD 120JB. Both have identical specs: 7200 RPM and 8MB cache though the 160GB is slightly faster and comes with (P)ATA133 vs ATA100 for the WD.I was thinking about getting a 74GB 10K RPM Raptor SATA drive. However, my computer case, being only 18cm tall and all, only has room for two 3.5" drives. I can't really afford one external drive aswell as a Raptor right now so I'd loose about 46GB of storage. This is why I'm not sure. I *think* I could manage to delete or burn some stuff out to DVD but it would be a bit…

Can anyone help ????Suddenly my keyboard has started playing up. I initially found that on my Microsoft IntelliType keyboard that when I hit the <.> it would produce a . (stop char) followed by a CRLF (Enter key). Also, hitting would produce XX and would produce p. (letter p and a stop).I tried redownloading the keyboard drivers from Microsoft, but no joy. I then tried swapping with an older standard 102 key keyboard. This resolved the odd key responses, but now I find that none of my key combinations are recognised. Obviously this causes a nightmare in Flightsim.This is a cry for help - can anybody offer advice as to where the problem may lie ????HELP?Regards,Stuar…

I set my my joystick to full sensitivity, but it isnt sensitive enough. I had this problem a year ago and I remember you had to change a 0 or a 1 somewhere in the files so that it becomes more sensitive. I had my comp reformatted and I dont remember the procedures. Could someone pls help me out here.

I just added another 512 ram...although I find the sim smoother, fluid, I am not sure if I find a big diff? I looked in my system specs after install and it shows only .95 ram, I thought it should show...1056, unless the window can not read over 999? I know on my laptop(512) it is showing 491mgs ? That, I think, I understand. But with the 2 sticks of 512..the window either can not read over 999 or the ram is not rcognized?Like I say...the sim is smoother, but I still have some issues here, that I thought would go away...like I seldom see FPS in 30-40's mostly 15-25 high...6-8-10-----14 -17 norms?If the window can not read over 999..well , I will deal with itThanksMike

I am trying to calibrate the CH USB Pedals via XP. I am using the XP native drivers only. I click on the CH USB Pedals option from the game controller dialog via the control panel, click on settings, and then it takes me into a wizzard to do the calibration. It is asking me to click a controller button. There ISN'T one on the Pedals. The Yoke Dialogs seem more applicable to the game device itself.Any idea how to calibrate the Pedals via XP? Or do I have to install the CH Control Manager (which I don't really care for) to do the calibration.Thanks!Barry

It's my 1st time trying out a military jet and i can see it's gonna be awhile before i go online and make a fool of my self , what a different world of flying this is. I hate the look of virual cockpits and don't care if i ever see on but this cockpit is really nice and doesn't have that hand drawn virtual look to it-i read the manual but can't seem to get the ils running -the loc shows but the glide slpe indicator doesn't and mabye i should get an aircraft carrier too, can some one help me out cause this is all new to me this jet stuff and how does the after burnere work? Thanks it's F-16C_HAL_v2 Falcon Block 50 hellenic air force jet by Kirk Olsson -----Louis

Hi,I am wondering what the technologies are these days in joysticks. After MS stopped producing their Sidewinder Precision Pro joysticks, are there still any around that use optical sensors instead of pots (that wear out over the time) ? Are there perhaps any that use magnetic sensors to derive positions ? I want to recommend one to a friend and as I am still happy with my Sidewinder Precision Pro after all these years I wonder whether the same reliable technology is still available.Thanks for any feedback.Cheers,Siggy

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I would love to have some feedback on which would be best for Fs2004Anyone with some experience in making choices at this high end is very welcome you may even like to suggest other things or mixtures of hardwareAlso for color richness and clarity which is best 19 inch lcd at 20msor 19inch crtMany thanks to all replys in advanceThe company is http://www.xpcomputers.co.nzChoice no.1 NZ$1,899.00+GSTCPU: Intel Pentium4 3.0GHz socket 775 FSB800Mem: Dual Channel 2x512MB PC3200 DDR400 RAMHD: 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard DiskGraphics: Gigabyte X700PRO 256MB DDR3 PCI-EOptical drive: 16+/- R/RW Dual Layer DVD WriterCase: Thermaltake VA3000 Dream Tower Series Tsunami With 400W PSUMB:…

Just wondering how many processes most people are running when they run FS. I use FSAutoStart but can't seem to get lower than 28. A lot of them are services running for Norton Internet Security, but I don't know which I can disable while I have FS running without compromising the security. Anybody with tips for me there? Messenger also keeps starting even after I end it. Not sure what that's all about.Tim

Anyone here using HDTV as their computer monitor for Flight sim?I mean..if you can use the DLP Projectors , why not use a HDTV?Is there any problems or limitations?

Folks, been thinking of getting Track IR3 for my combat sims. I was wondering if anyone uses it for civvie FS, be it MS or another like X-plane. Any comments? I imagine it would be great for VFR and helicopter flight but not so much for the big iron.

I know this was talked about before but I can't seem to find it using the search feature so I will ask again. I have a 17" Sony SDM-HX7 flat screen monitor and currently I have the refresh rate set at 60Hz but I can set it as high as 180Hz. What are the advantages of the higher settings (if any) and what is the best setting to run FS2004?

I just bought the new AMD 64bit 3000+ processer, but the performence on fs is not satisfied at all! I'm thinking to sell it and buy a P4 3.2E and OC it to 3.8 as I still have an asus P4C-800 mobo.I wonder how this Intel processer will run on fs2004 after overclock, anyone has a smiliar system please tell me what fps you can get on fs2004.Thanks!

Hi everyone,I'm thinking of getting a Dell 20.1" widescreen(1680x1050 Pixels) monitor to use with Flight Simulator 2004. What are your thoughts?How does PMDG 737, Lago MD-80, Feel There EMB-145, PSS A320, etc, look on a widescreen monitor? Do most panels work with this type of monitor or are they distorted? Is there a wesbite with pictures of FS2004 on a widescreen monitor?Would I be better off geting a standard 20" LCD versus a 20.1" widescreen monitor?Thanks,GP