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

...to be advised today during bootup that I needed to reactivate Windows within 3 days. This was a week or so following warnings that my main HD was about to fail. It was making occasional odd chirping noises and then started spinning down spontaneously and refusing to restart unless I shutdown the system for 20-30 minutes. Fortunately I managed to achieve an exact up-to-date copy of the drive's contents onto a larger replacement while it was still working, so I was spared having to restore and update an older image backup. The replacement drive is also a Deskstar (now Hitachi 7K250, previously IBM 120GXP) but much larger capacity (160GB compared with the previous 60GB).E…

Installed FS 2004 again for the first time on several months. All default scenery untweaked win xp system with zillions of background processes.Start the default flight at KSEA on a Cessna 172. 15-20 fps very erradic and extremely low refresh of mouse and keyboard.All full and all optimizations off on my 6800 ULTRA 4x aa and 8x aniso. After taking off I got frames in 25-35 but my keyboard was still very sluggish to fly with.CPU temp -15 with prime 95 torture test blend it goes down to -16 and SuperPI quite similar. My A64 is at 2,5 gig currently and my mem at 250 Mhz at CAS 2,5-3-2-8.So it looks like I still got some tweaking to do but not to bad at first try. 1600x1200 o…

Hi Guys,This is what I finally decided to buy, the only thing going on here is Windows XP Pro and FS2004 with all my addon's.Thermaltake Intel P4 Spark7+ Cooler For the processor.Asus P4C800-E-Deluxe Motherboard (Intel 800/533 FSB).Intel P4 478 3.4 GHz 800 FSB 2MB (HT) Extreme Edition.2GB (4 pcs 512) DDR (400) PC-3200 RAM (Corsair).Enermax EG851AX-VH(W)FM 660Watt Dual Fan.Enermax CS-A666TA Mid-Tower.Western Digital 74 GB SATA 10K Raptor.Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS Platinum.Asus DRW-0804P 8X/4X DVD-/+RW 12X DVD 40X24X24 CD-RW.Mitsumi 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive.eVGA GeFORCE 6800 ULTRA Extreme Edition 256MB DDR AGP 8X/DVI/TV-out.I want to thank everyone for their help, I did alo…

Hi Guys,First off, thanks for the help so far!!!.What is the difference between the two boards other than the price?.1. BFG Technologies GeForce 6800 ULTRA2. eVGA GeFORCE 6800 ULTRA Extreme EditionThanksMike

i updated my BIOS ealier today, unfortunatly i made a BIG booboo, i installed the BIOS for the ABIT NF7-S2 instead of the BIOS for the NF7-S 2.0 (it was not untill after that i realised they were not the same, the ABIT Flashmenu would not work in auto mode so i updated by selecting the file to use) the PC sort of runs but it will not run correctly, not well enough to do anything. i have the correct BIOS update now but can't get it to flash, i updated using a windows flashing utility from the board makers, but this will not work now to put the correct one back. and when i try to flash from DOS it stops with the error message; this is not an award BIOS.

What would you recommend I upgrade? I'm not REAL happy with the perofromance of FS9 especially with the PMDG 737. I am torn however. I'm wondering if it is even worth it to upgrade now, or if I should wait for FS2006 to do any upgrading. What do you guys think? Anyway, here are my current specs...Athlon XP 3000+ 333FSB1024 GB DDR RAM (1 is 3200RPM, 1 is 2700 RPM)40 GB Western Digital 7200 RPM HDSoundblaster Audigy X GamerGeForce 4 Ti4400 w/ 128 MB DDR RAMI've been feeling very uneasy lately because my CPU is running hotter than it should be...56C-that's with very few programs running. So, I'm kinda leaning that way, but I've only had it about a year. Anyway, what should I…

I have just purchased an ATI Radeon 9800XT (256MB) and I tested FS2004 with it. I was quite disapointed by the performance, compared to the GeForce4 I had before.My configuration:Pentium 4 2.8 GHz HTAsus P4P800 Deluxe motherboardRAM 2GBCatalyst drivers version 4.8LCD screen (1280x1024)If some of you have a similar configuration, I am very interested in your feedback. I can't get more than 30 fps with FS2004.One more thing:In the drivers option, in the SMARTGART tab, it appears that AGP and Fast Write are Off. They are greyed so I can't turn them on. I tried to configure my motherboard, which support AGP 8X, but I found nothing.Any info is greatly welcome.Eric

Some time ago I had installed a newer version of the motherboard Intel chipset driver into Windows XP, and had made a restore point before this. Graphics appeared to be more stuttery in FS9, so I restored to my previously made restore point in XP.As things don't appear to be quite the same still, I'm thinking of installing the older driver again. Is it necessary to "uninstall" the current driver first? Or does just installing over the current driver version work just as well?Thanks for any help,Bruce.

.....has no one yet come up with a fail-safe routine which avoids the end user having to start from scratch with reformats, reinstalls, etc, etc.? Computers and modern operating systems are supposed to make life easy yet this is one aspect that seems to have been ignored or avoided because it is perceived as being either too difficult or fraught with danger for the user.There must be many like myself with evolving complex and highly configured system/software setups who are currently using a mainboard that's a couple of years old and which imposes a ceiling, without overclocking and the risks that that entails by so doing, on the CPU/Memory speed. It is likely that I will…

I have a new computer. I had FS2004 installed on the E drive in my old computer. The old operating system was XP Pro and so is the new system. The drive was formatted in NTFS. I installed the drive into my new computer as the E drive again. I installed FS2004 on my new faster C drive and wanted to copy the scenery, gauges, aircraft, etc. from the old drive to the new drive. The files are all Read Only and I can

I've upgraded my current rig (see below) almost as far as I can, except the graphic card. Since the new line of ATI cards has come out, I see that the price of a 256 Mb 9800 Pro has dropped significantly. I'm wondering how much of a performance increase this would buy. My performance now is OK in clear weather, but complex weather bogs it down considerably. My frame rate is locked at 25, and I'm running my LCD monitor's native resolution of 1280 x 1024.I guess it depends on whether FS2004 is CPU-bound or GPU-bound. I've seen both claims made on various forums. Anybody know for sure?DanAsus A7N8XBarton XP 2800+ OC'ed to 3200+ (200 x 11.0)Radeon 9500 Pro2 x Corsair 51…

As for myself... I'm going to hold off on the install until I see a bit more about it from end users I think..You going with it right off ? Waiting ?Heard any reliable stories about sim problems encountered ?

YADR...(yet another driver release) Here is one interesting note from the "read.me"-Direct3D driver efficiency has improved considerably. Significant performance gains are noted in multiple "CPU-bound" cases, including 3DMark2001, Aquamark 3, Comanche4, Dungeon Siege, and Unreal Tournament 2003 and 2004. Typical improvements are in the 1-5% range. CPU-bound? FS2004? Hmmmmmm...could be.Cheers,btPS...YMMV

Hello everyone. :)I'm running 2K4 on an AMD 64 3500+ w/an ATi Radeon x800 Pro 256, 1024 of PC3200 DDR RAM, Windows XP, SoundBlaster Audigy 2 on an Abit AV8K8t800 mobo with latest drivers.I've tried just about all these tweaks I can find and NOTHING will get me above 12 FPS in VC. I've lowered the setting sliders all the way down on ever panel. No FPS improvment. I've maxxed them, same FPS. I have unlocked the FPS slider, no improvment. :( I think I have a pretty respectable rig - I shouldn't be running this slow!!!If I go to chase view, I can get in the low 30s. Looking straight down on the plane or straight up with no clouds. If I zoom in on the plane from spot …

Of those user who report problems with FS( not loading, crashing, low fps, etc are using home-built pcs as opposed to commercially built ones?I'm using an 18 months-old standard Dell 2350 Dimension as follows:2GHz Celeron processor512 Mb RAM60 Gb hard disk (7200rpm)Intel Extreme GraphicsWindows XP HomeNokia 445XVa monitorI have had very few CTDs and get 14-18 fps flying a Cessna 172 or similar which I prefer, with full UK VFR Scenery, admittedly without AI traffic.I could get higher fps, but I find the present level acceptable and flyable and I'm reluctant to spend a further 50% of the cost of the Dell for an uprated video card which (according to comments in the forums)…

Ok, I'm still trying to sort out how best to maximize my older system - PIII 500, upgraded to a 1.2 Celeron. 384 RAM... upgradable to 768.The existing card is a Diamond Viper 770 Ultra 32.I don't know how to evaluate which new video card is right, i.e., which card will I get the most performance from without wasting money?And, as in the subject, I don't know how to tell if I should get a "better" video card, or if I can get better performance from adding a stick of 256 and buying a less expensive video card.I don't know how dependent FS 2k4 is on RAM, and I know more never hurts, but I'm wondering if I'd even see much of an increase just with adding 256 megs.Thanks,Andrew

Does anyone out there still use a USB adapter to connect a gameport device into a USB port? I have had one for a while now, but recently have started having some problems with it. Basically what happens is that sometimes, usually within a few minutes of starting flightsim, my rudder control will simply stop, and the rudder will just go full left. This has a nasty tendancy to happen right around the time I am starting takeoff, and usually puts me in the grass. Usually, all I do is unplug the thing and reconnect it (thank goodness for usb), and once it reconnects I am back up and running again (and it rarely happens again during the flight). The weird thing is it only …

I just noticed I have some conflicts with my new video card, anybody have a solution for this:I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 PCI busI/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 Direct memory access controller I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF Intel® 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV/E Processor to AGP Controller - 2561I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF RADEON 9800 PRO (Omega 2.5.58) I/O Port 0x00002000-0x00002FFF Intel® 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV/E Processor to AGP Controller - 2561I/O Port 0x00002000-0x00002FFF RADEON 9800 PRO (Omega 2.5.58) Memory Address 0xE8000000-0xF81FFFFF Intel® 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV/E Processor to AGP Controller - 2561Memory Address 0xE8000000-0xF81FFFFF RADEON 9800 PRO (Omega 2.5.58) IRQ 18 R…

I have two keyboards now that are pretty much useless. They have the old large AT style connector. I had a converter from AT to PS2, but one of the pins broke and now I cannot seem to find a replacement (Compusa had the PS2 to AT for $13!!!). I ended up buying their $12 keyboard and mouse combo. Can they be converted to USB (for home cockpit use) or should I just junk them this September in the computer recycling event of the year?

When making changes to the fs9.cfg file in XP, if I want to comment out the origional line when entering a new line, what is the comment out character? I used to know this, but it's been so long I can't remember. Thanks.

Hey all :)Wondering if I could bother y'all for some advice. I just purchased FS9 2 days ago. It's not running as smooth as fs2002 (I expected this) and trying to figure out the best way to max my performance. Now, my system (prepare to laugh HARD..lol) :Prepackaged HP, Intel celeron @ 633mhz512mb ramxp homeGeforce 4 Mx420 PCI (64 mb mem)Yeah...I know this thing is a dinosaur. I purchased this while at university about 5 years ago. I'm not a gamer, so this has served me VERY well over that time. only upgraded the ram, os, and video card. FS2002 ran great. 20-30fps in the air, 10-15 on the ground-- and smooth with settings about medium. With FS2004, rarely get over 1…

Just purchased XP and after 5th reinstall am still stuck.A combination of XP being completely rubbish on security and BTInternet ditto ... means I'm coming to the end of my tether trying to get XP up and running without viruses (they get sent before I even open IE or can install the latest security updates ... )SOWho has any opinion? I can revert to 98SE very happily - I know it well. Or do I persist and try to get XP running (oh god) without all the ********* crap security BUT with an extra 512mB of RAM?Current specAthlon 3000+512mbWindows SEnVidia 570098SE or XP?

Hi,I just thought you guy's might be interested in this.it is available from the UK, I assume they will ship overseas, I got mine this morning, can't wait for it to go dark,check out the details below, I have attached a picture too, Steve.I won't put the web site link in until I hear from Ken, in case it causes a problem advertising thew site etc.I just bought this from here in the UK, it costs

hi alli did a test on my system and i got a paltry 4800 points from the system mentioned below,is this good with regard to systems of this age?thx

I was just wondering if running 2 monitors on one video card would affect the frame rate. Currently I am running 2 Sony 21" at 1280x1024 32bit, on the X800 pro. I'm getting around 20 fps at busy airports and up to 70 in the air using a boieng 777-200. I have most of the sliders maxed out and I think I'm running at 4x anti alis.This system is: AMD 64 3500+ 939 ASUS A8V Deluxe with wifi GCorsair TwinX1024 3200 XL Pro 2 36gig W.D. Raptor drives in Raid256 X800 proWindow xp homeAntec True power 550wThermaltake Premier V5000A caseHuggsKittiex:)~