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

Good morning and thanks in advance for any suggestions. I just installed WD's 74GB Raptor SATA hard drive last night. All went smoothly but I have not put anything on it yet. It's my 2nd drive and will be used only for FS9-related stuff. What should I use for "allocation size" when partitioning the drive with Win XP's diskmgmt.mcs program? Please let me know if I should not use the 'default' choice. P.S. Is it really true that it doesn't matter whether you use the SATA or legacy power connector? WD says there's no advantage to the SATA power connector.Specs:Intel D875PBZ moboP4 3.2 Ghz1Gb DDR400 RAM, set up for dual-channelMaxtor 120Gb 7200RPM, 8Mb cache HDWD740GD …

Hi ALl.Firstly, you will see my specs in my sig,so you know what I'm using,now then, I just can't seem to get sb relay 1.2 to interact with fs9 and sb host etc. I have even tried turning off my firewall,and security prog. even then I just don't seem to be able to get sb relay to show in the list of sessions to connect to in fs9. I can create a session etc, but not connect to sb relay, I have checked the FAQ and read the readme, has anyone else had this issue,or know of anything else to try.I can't be the only one,surely not.thanks in advanceSteve,

I'm quite happy with the 52.16 drivers for my Ti4200 card, but wondering if anyone has found the newest 53.03 drivers to fix any problems or improve either performance or visuals.. Having limped along with various "black screen" problems in FS9 until the 52.16s were released, I'm hesitant to experiment unless there is a clear benefit to changing..

Hi Everyone,I am getting ready to build a new system around a MSI 875P NEO-FIS2R MOBO. When I go over to the Kingston memory page (recommended by MSI) and select memory for the 875P chipset from MSI, I am confronted by a slew of choices, that quite frankly are a bit confusing to me. The MSI specs say: Main Memory

I am finding that when minimizing FS then returning it to focus later, that I have lost the sound from FS. I also appear to have lost sound for other apps as well. This also sometimes occurs when switching between views in FS. It's rather random in nature (doesn't always occur, but is a "pain" when it does :) ).My sound (imbedded chip) is a Avance AC'97 chip, imbedded into an ABit BD-7II motherboard. Any advice as to how to get rid of this problem?If I do end up going to a PCI sound card, any suggestions? I would need to have something that I could use with VATSIM, etc. (mic is in duplex mode).Thanks,Bruce.

Hey everyone,Well, for Christmas this year, I got the dual joy of CH Products' USB Flight Yoke LE and USB Pedals. I have been playing around with them, and didn't like the level of response when near neutral and giving small inputs. It was just too darn sensitive, so I searched the forums and found that CH Control Manager would fix it. Here is where my problem begins:I plug in my devices, and Windows (and therefore FS) detect it fine under Game Controllers under control panel. I go into Control Manager and click claibrate and I watch my devices disappear from the Game Controllers menu! At first, I thought they were just totally gone, but CH Control Manager still dete…

I see my new P4 3.0 heatsink (Intel) already has a block of heatsink grease/putty on the copper bottom.Have any of you also used more grease on them or just let it go with the Intel factory installed grease ?I can't see how adding any more can do much good with this goo already stuck to the copper block of the heatsink.. Might also void the warranty if they find it there ? Opinions ?(could have saved some money if I had known it already had grease):-)

Anyone know if there is a virtual device driver out there that will combine multiple game controllers into one (so that the PC sees only one combined unit) in the same way that Bob Church's Control Manager software works for CH sticks, throttle, yoke and pedals.Bob? you got a generic version anywhere? ;)

Hi FolksIve been using this joystick for a few weeks in FS2002 and cannot seem to work out the best senstivity options for this joystick. As it is USB i installed the joystick using the drivers that were already in the hardcoding for it but also downloaded Thrustmaster vers 3.10 to use as a calibration tool.has anyone experienced problems with this joystick. For me it seems to always veer to the left, even when on automatic calibration it appears slightly left of centre and when i fly it swerves quite violently at times. This has been with various default and 3rd party addons. Ive checked the usual ie its not on autopilot, checked trim, just wondering if its a bug in the …

HelloI have a bit of a bother. I got a MSI 865PE Neo2 motherboard for Christmas, and I was installing it today. Rigged everything as it should be, hooked up the necessary cables for a first run, pressed the power switch, the power and HDD lights cane on, and bang(after less than a second of being on) the lights go out and everything falls silent. I checked the rigging of the power switch wires to the board, as well as the reset switch, and they are just fine. I even tried a power and reset switch from another case to see if the one on the case the board is in is messed up(it worked about 2 hours earlier when it was connected to the old board). Everything comes on upon…

Hi All,I read a forum item from a couple of years ago and it looked like CH Products were going to produce a force feedback yoke, but it never happened. Does anyone know if one is in the works from any manufacturer?Have a FF Joystick but prefer my CH Products Flight Sim Yoke and Pedals. Sure would be nice if they were FF.Thanks, and happy 2004.Sydneyborn :-)

ok installed an old dvd drive it works fine. Only problem is, it won't read dvds because i don't have the right codecs. Since Microsoft in their everlasting wisdom have decided to charge for dvd plugin codecs, where can i get dvd codecs for free (and also works with winXP?)Ps. The drive is a TOshiba i got off a Dell desktop

Hi All,For Christmas I got a few new parts for my computer, so I upgraded it. It went from an AthlonXP 2400+ w/ 512mb PC2700 of generic RAM in a generic case to an AthlonXP 3000+ (333mhz fsb) w/ 1024 of OCZ DDR PC-2700 Rev 3.2 ram in an Antec PLUS1080AMG case.My system specs are below but I'll post the key parts again:- Asus A7N8X (1007 bios)- AthlonXP 3000+ (333mhz fsb)- 1024 (2x512) OCZ DDR PC-2700 Rev 3.2 RAM- PNY GeForce 4 TI4600- Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 PCI Adapter Card- Maxtor ATA/133 80gb 7200rpm Hard Drive- IBM Deskstar ATA/100 30gb 7200rpm Hard Drive- Windows XP Pro SP1 (all up to date according to Windows Update)In my old setup everything worked fine, I was just bi…

Its strange it just crashes and go's to a blue screen with no writing my spec is below can anyone help ?

Here are my fs9.cfg settings:Mode=1280x1024x32TriLinear=1UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=25TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=400TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=50.000000TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=19TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.000000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=9.000000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=2242456This is REALLY depressing.Tim

I just set up my ABS X-5 and I have to say WOW. I just did a base install of FS9 and PMDG 737 NG and I took off from Seattle with all sliders maxed and I never went below 22.My last system a P4 1.9 with a Ti4200 64 meg never made it beyond 6.I set weather to real and then to heavy rain and I did not see much of a difference.I am totally in Flight Simulator Heaven.I did upgrade to the catalyst 3.10 since the new rig came with 3.8.I still need to install all my SIM FLYER Sceneries and Ultimate Traffic.I have to say this was worth the $$$.As some of you know I did alot of research and asked alot on here which way I should go and I feel so far I made a good choice.Thanks for …

I have recently bourght a new AMD FX51 3200 super computer. The great news is that it is very fast. With all settings set to max at 1280 x 1024 in 32 bit, with FS Traffic (100%), PIC B767-336ER (Wilco), add on Airports like Gary Summons British Airports, my frame rates vary between 55-65 FPS. However I invested in a Radeoen Video Card 9800 XT and although the Frame Rates are excellent, the image qquality is not anything as sharp as the Nvidia cards. The worst probelem is that the shimmering is terrible, even with the 3.9 and 3.10 drivers. The lines on the runways and wires on fences, Pylons, building edges is terrible. I have written to ATI who "suggest" that I am the onl…

Hi AllI realise that this is slightly off topic for this forum, but I was hoping that some of the hardware geniouses in here might be able to help me.in part of my .cfg there is a line that I don't understand what it does for the sim, any ideas at all[DISPLAY]UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=35TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=400 < < < this is the line, what's this 400 mean, ie, what happens if you increase it, or de-crease it,thanks for any info you might haveSteve,

This is how my graphic has been working for the past several days.I noticed my fan stops spinning at some moments. As a result my PC crashes.Do I need to buy a new card or is it fixable? http://server2.fs2002.com/uploaded/dec03/fsscr002_32.jpg http://server2.fs2002.com/uploaded/dec03/fsscr003_29.jpg

I've now got my computer's DVD setup running smoothly but there is one last question I have. I want to be able to run DTS 6.1 sound from my computer but I'm not sure how to go about this. My current sound card (SB Live! 5.1) decodes Dolbly 5.1 and EAX. I've seen Power DVD offer software packages for DTS but I'm not sure if that's all I need. Apparently my version of PowerDVD does decode DTS but I get no sound when I enable it. My question is, do I need a new soundcard to decode DTS or is it software driven?

Hello,Any help? I currently got a GF4 ti4800.I'm looking at the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, but it is only 128mb. Is that still ok? My specs:AMD athlon 2800xp1GB DDR400 PC3200 RAMAsus mobo.Regards,Alexander Martin.

I'm still using Win98se so for my new system I need a new OS also...*I* can't see any reason to use more than Win XP home upgrade version for what I do. Any reason "XP home" wil not work just fine for sims including MP on-line ? Any hidden problems on this ? I just can't see spending twice the price if I don't need to.I DID turn down a wee bit lower price on OEM XPhome version in favor of a retail XPhome upgrade. A little more money, but I wanted to get the manuals etc. New system parts are on order and should need OS by next weekend :-)Went with NewEgg.com for first time.ASUS P4C800-E DeluxeIntel P4 3.0c CPU1G Crucial 512 X 2 DDR PC-3200WD 120mb SATA (for use with RA…

Hi and merry Christmas,I just got my ATI Rad. 9600XT and when i open FS9 everything works fine, but when i hit a cockpit gauge or something it just freezes my system?? How can i fix that, is there a way to fix it?

Hey guys,I just upgraded my RAM with another 512Mb PC2100DDR. It seems to be working fine in the BIOS and in general Windows use. When I used FS for the first time this morning I was greeted with crashes to desktop and I couldn't load the simulation itself. Eventually it packed up completely and FS refused to run even to the opening screen.This was using the 40.72 drivers. I reinstalled my original drivers which came with the card to similar results. It would run in software but not in hardware graphics mode. I then got the latest 53.04 Detonators and installed them and it works, but with one major flaw. The blurries are everywhere in force. The CaptainSim 727, the apple …

Hi all,I'm deciding on the components for a new PC which will replace my current Athlon 2000XP, Ti4600 128Mb card, 1Gb PC2100 RAM, 40Gb IBM Deskstar. This system will instead run Project Magenta software, FSMeteo, Radar Contact etc.I normally wait until I can double my processing power but I desperately need to separate Project Magenta from FS2004 as it's killing my frame rates. So, slightly earlier than usual, I'm now looking at a new system based on the P4 3.0GHz.Here's the shortlist...Antec SX635BII caseMSI 875P Neo (MS6758) moboIntel P4 3.0GHz 800MHz.1GHz PC3200 (comprising 2@512Mb Crucial sticks)IBM/Hitachi Deskstar 80Gb 180GXP hard drive.Gainward FX5700 Ultra 960 12…