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

I'm in the market for a webcam, but I'd like it to work well with cam2pan - could some users post some recommended brands/models that work well?Thanks in advance!Best,sg

Hi,Need help! When I turned on my PC today, WinXP didn

I dont know a lot about 'puters, but would like your comments on this upgrade that was suggested to me by a few IT folks at my office.mobo:gigabyte 7VRX 1.0 to MSI K8N Neo Platinumvideo:GF TI4200 128 to GF 6800 128cpu:AMD2100 (1.7 ghz) to AMD 64 3200+few other changes300w to 450w (required??)1gig ram to 1gig pc3200 DDRI understand that this should be fairly well balanced.Comments and or suggestions?

And can tell us about the difference in FS2004 performance you have seen since installing the new card? ;) I am just curious. I don't plan on getting one these new cards for while but I'm surprised that no one(ok, maybe one person did) around here has posted about having gotten one and what the result was, yet.I know these new cards are pretty darned expensive, which is why I don't have one yet. I should quit buying addons for a while. :-lol But I am pretty surprised there isn't a couple of people that have upgraded to one yet and came on here to post about the glory of it! Or about how it only made a ho-hum not too big a deal difference, if that is the case.Cheers,JimFoo…

Hi,This is for those of you who have a third-party version of the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (like from ASUS) which has a temperature monitoring system in its software:Has anyone looked at the GPU temperature while flying in FS2004, particularly when flying third-party add-on aircraft like those from POSKY or PMDG and with add-on airport photorealistic scenery and/or with 38M terrain mesh?I want to know how much this card actually does heat up when really being pushed to its limits.Thanks for anyone with input on this matter.John

Not sure if this is old news but if it aint , here it is for those that like to take the early plunge :-)http://tinyurl.com/4sse6

I have an ATI Radeon X800Pro. 256 Megs, DX9 capable. Could be my imagination (doubtful) but texture loads are much snappier. Gone is the majority of texture lag, i.e. Aircraft appears white, and then textures appear.It appears the DX9c is written for the bigger cards. I perceive that MS has told DX9c about larger frame buffers, and like my old drill sergeant used to say, "...use em if ya got em!"Other that that, I see no difference. As always, these observations are just "my 2 cents" worth.Cheers,bt

Hello,I have a goos setup xp1800+, 1 go ddr pc3200, 9600 xt 500/340 but when I fly on ivao(or offline) and if there is a good overcast weather, my fps are half of clear weather one. even with no AA and AF, fps drop to 15 fps sometimes(I use 1280*960 32 bits on a 19' monitor)CLera weather screenshothttp://perso.wanadoo.fr/okcmoua/seb/fs2002/pss3.jpgOvercast screenshothttp://perso.wanadoo.fr/okcmoua/seb/fs2002/pss4.jpgIt could also coming from the pss 340 but even with a free bae146 it decrease to 20-25 .I hope that my cg could do better than that?My processor is my oldest component (I coma from my config xp1800+, 512mo sdram,fx5200) as simulation use a lot of processor pow…

Hi everyone, just a quick question on video cards since Im planning on upgrading my rig soon. Just curious on which video card would most people choose if going with the Geforce 6800 Ulta or the Radeaon X800 XT.Thanks,Bill

Hi,Today I went out and bought a USB 4 Port Hub because I now have too many devices with USB plugs for my two USB ports to handle. Anyway, I plugged it all in and it worked like a dream, until, when in the middle of a short flight, I suddenly felt the urge to connect the hub to the power, which I hadn't done before. The back of the package said that it highly recommended you have it plugged in whenever possible, although some devices do not need power.So I plugged in the power, and it turned itself off for a second and then came back on, giving me 4 grens for the four ports but still giving me a red light for power. I thought it was kinda strange, but I left it how it was…

Has anyone tried the new ( beta) Nvidia 62.20 driver ( to be found athttp://www.guru3d.com/).I've installed them and it seems at first glance that they give maybe 1 or 2fps increase (This on the default SeaTac/C172/day) flight - difficult to be certain .Seem smooth- again difficult to be sure if it's any different from the last lot.Previous here were 61.76.System.MSI KT6V-LSR(MS-7021)AMD Athlon XP3000.768 MB 333mhz DDRAMTi4200/128MB GPU.Maxtor 80GB HDD(7200rpm)Maxtor 40GB HDD(7200rpm)LG CDRWLG CDR 52Xo/b AC97 soundThermaltake 480W PSUWinXP- SP1.Direct X 9BSaitek Cyborg 3D JoystickNo OverclocksDave

Just changed my ATI Radeon 9700 Pro to an ATI X800 Pro and wondered what should be entered in the display.cfg The previous setting was;-;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 2k/XP;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004E44:ati2dvag.dll]Disable=1[00001002:00004E44:ati2dvag.dll.1]MinDriverRev=6.14.0001.6307Disable=2Thanks in advance

What's the best rudder pedals for FS2204? The picture of the CH Pro pedals makes me think they would not be the best. Real airplane rudder pedals, it seems to me, are operated with your toes, with you heels on the floor. This allows better control when making small rudder inputs. The CH Pro pedals are made so that you have to put your whole entire foot on the things, which would make it difficult to input small amounts of rudder. But I could be wrong! Anybody have those pedals and are they any good?

Hi, I'm about to upgrade. I figure with all the knowlege of pros and cons (and stay-away-froms) in this forum it's better to ask than to just go on the advice of a salesperson. Someone here said stay away from "LE" cards - that's what the salesman recommended ;)The cards are basically the ones available at CompUSA (I have a credit) and here's a link to the page of the cards:http://www.compusa.com/products/products.a...1&CusaNe=200454And I don't know, for example, if I should necessarily get a card just because it's 256 vs. 128 megs... My system:Win98SEDell Dimension XPS T500 upgraded to a Tualatin (Celeron) 1.2Ghz384 RAMDiamond Viper 770 Ultra 32 (I think it's AGP)Tha…

I finally broke down and purchased FS9..got a good deal after being a happy FS2K2 Pro user for a long time. Just looking for some opinions as to how FS9 will run on my system and any recommended upgrades. Specs are as follows:Asus A7NX-X MoboAthlon XP 2400+512 PC2700 RamSound Blaster LiveThanks!Mike

$200 - I don't know if this is old news or not.http://www.chproducts.com/retail/usb_throttle_quad.htmIs this a lot less expensive than other comparable controls?Andrew

Hello,I looked at the pinned threads and couldn't find anything on this. forgive me if this is REALLY redudant.My ground textures are really weird. below say 5000ft, the texture would be really pixelated and appear to 'flash'. If I mess around with the mip map slider, it would go blurry.I remember having this problem in the past. I had a GeForce FX5600 ultra, and I upgraded to a FX5900SE, and the problems started again. I know it's either a FS2004 setting or my driver settings.can anybody point me out in the right direction?thanks a bunch.-Chaz

Hi All,I'm no sure if this is the proper forum or not; but I have an issue with an "el cheapo" pc I just got, and I've never seen this before.I got this pc as part of my plan to build a multi-pc flight sim setup.It has an nForce2 chipset with an on-board GF4. It also has a (supposedly) 8x AGP port. The port functions. I can plug my 9600 Pro into the port, and get video; but it is operating in PCI mode (which is not that big a problem with a 128 Mb card). There is no where in the BIOS to set anything related to AGP (Aperture, accel, etc.), apparently no AGP drivers, and definitely no AGP acceleration.Has anyone ever run into this? Is the on-board video the problem?I'm…

I have a CH Products PC yoke, it's about 4 years old. I'm not entirely happy with it's pitch axis, seems to have a non-linear effect. Anyway, my wife thinks I need another one and has asked me what I would like. I see the USB version of the same yoke has more features (prop RPM, mixture). Has anyone had experience with the USB version and can compare to the PC version- does the USB bus offer better features for a controller, or has CH done anything great with the yoke control elements in the past several years? And is anyone using another yoke that I should also be looking at?Thanks,Bruce.

If you have a p4 with hyperthreading and want to set your processor affinity to 0 permanently. (Ie. if you have the Flight1 Meridian), go here to find out how.http://robpol86.com/tutorials/imagecfg.phpSel ..............

HELLO..Im upgrading my computer so i can get better frame rates when I am on FS 2004.I have read lots in the forums and this is what i have decided to upgrade to....CPU...AMD 64 3200 MOTHER BOARD.MS1..k8t-FSR VIDEO CARD???.MSI FX 5900XT-VTD 128I will also add more ram and a 420 power supply..I know this is a tired subject but If any one has a similiar system just let me know your ideas..Thanks..Terry Harris...4yr FIGHT SIMMER ADDICT

Naturally I'm looking to spend the least and get the most performance...I'm not sure which way to go - build, or buy - since so many retail systems seem to be a good value.But, I figure there are some experts in here...Thanks,Andrew

I'm going to order a new Alienware system today or tommorrow, and I have a couple questions for current owners that I can't ask their sales reps.AlienIce - the video cooling that adds lights to the air ducts... how loud are they, and is it worth the $70? (was $50 yesterday.. arghh)AlienAdrenalin - Video Optimization app.... I get a feeling that it only controls stuff that's built into the nVidia drivers these days, but it might be useful... is it worth the $29 extra?I know I sound like a fool for saying I'm paying the premium for an Alienware, and then asking about odds and ends prices.... but I'm cheap and still really want an Alienware.//Ryan

Hi. I have an amd 2.6 pc with a fx 5200. Not a good vidcard, eh? Fs9 runs fine (smooth) until 3d clouds come in, even the smallest enhanced cloud bmp's cripple my sys. Will the latest vidcard models make the difference or does the amd chip also cause the dip? How do you rate the Ati radeon 9800 se 128 ddr? (not too expensive) will it do the job?Paul

OK, long story short:System: 1998 Dell Dimension XPS T500, upgraded to Tualatin 1.2. (Celeron-esque I guess); Video: Diamond Viper 770 32 Ultra; 384 Ram; Win 98SE.I bought FS2k4 'cause it was $10 after rebate ;)Had CTD with time change and frozen gauges, and someone recommending checking DirectX to see if I was current. I was at 9a and updated to 9b....WHAM!On Top, IP Trainer, and FlitePro no longer work! Yikes!I found out my Viper doesn't play with DX9.x.My options are many, I know. But - can I downgrade to an older version of DirectX? (I doubt it)Is anyone else running those other programs?I thought about upgrading to a (cheap) but better video card, but I'm wondering i…