Simviation Forum - Just a simple question before I buy it.

Apr 8^th, 2004 at 3:11pm

Selbio Offline
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I'm sure this has been discussed over and over but I'm tempted to buy fs2004.

I'm not crazy about cloud density and none of that kind of thing but I do like the sky colors in fs2k4. and the atc and all of that stuff.

I want to play fs2004. Grin

The reason I ask is because of my system spces.

AMD XP 3000+
512 ddr 2700
160gb hard drive
Windows XP Home.
here is the deal---> Integrated Via Km/Kn 400 S3 video card with 64mb shared memory.

This system plays fs2002 with all settings max except for fsaa and aicraft shadows/reflection and extended textures the rest is max and I have no complaints so far.

13-19 fps in real busy airports with pai and ATC at 100%
and 50(locked at 50) in the air.

Thanks in advance,
Selby

Best Regards,&&Selby&&

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Reply #1 - Apr 8^th, 2004 at 3:16pm

Billerator Offline
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Im not sure, but when I had my integrated graphics card none of my games could launch except for simcity, they all said that i apparently had 0 video memmory.

Did you have any of these problems at all?

Maby have a look at the hardware section of the forums.

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Reply #2 - Apr 8^th, 2004 at 8:42pm

dave3cu Offline
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Hi Selbio,

Guess the 1st question would be: Can you find DirectX 9.x drivers for your video chipset? If not you might be up the proverbial 'brown waterway without a suitable propulsion device'.. Wink

By any chance is your's an EMachine (specs sound familiar)? If so you may have an AGP slot available to upgrade your adapter.

Or list your System brand and model and we can check it out

Cheers,
Dave

At that time [1909] the chief engineer was almost always the chief test pilot as well. That had the fortunate result of eliminating poor engineering early in aviation. Igor Sikorsky

I intend to live forever....so far, so good. Steven Wright

You know....you can just rip up a to-do list.

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Reply #3 - Apr 8^th, 2004 at 9:44pm

Selbio Offline
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I haven't had any problems with any other game. I have never experience any 0 memory problems.

My pc has DX9.0 the latest version whatever it is.
My system model is a Compaq S6500NX with the specs I listed on my first post.

I have windows xp tweaked to where I have the necessary processes running.

It does have an AGP slot in there but since I just got this pc from compaq yesterday brand new I'm avoiding sticking my hands in tower.
The water and aircraft reflections in fs2002 work perfectly. I remember I had to change something in there when I had the Gforce mx 440.

Best Regards,&&Selby&&

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Reply #4 - Apr 10^th, 2004 at 10:24am

dave3cu Offline
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3CU, Northern Wisconsin, USA

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Hi Selbio,

Looked up your specs.

Ya, go for it, if you havent already. The additional features and scenery are well worth it.

I have an HP very similar to your Compaq, 'cept I have 'upgraded' my graphics from the integrated (Intel) to a Geforce2. I fly both 2002 pro and 2004 with settings similar to yours, and get FPS similar to yours in both.

You'll find the biggest FPS killers to be AA and 3-D clouds in fs2004. I fly with them off unless i'm looking for the awsome screen shots that 2004 can yield.

WHEN!! you decide you want those awsome graphics 24/7

your power supply may need to be upgraded also as HP/Compaq desktops tend be a stingy in that respect. (Didnt see your p/s listed in the specs, but I think 250W output or better is recommended for mid and upper range graphics adaptors)

Cheer and happy flying,
Dave

At that time [1909] the chief engineer was almost always the chief test pilot as well. That had the fortunate result of eliminating poor engineering early in aviation. Igor Sikorsky

I intend to live forever....so far, so good. Steven Wright

You know....you can just rip up a to-do list.

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Reply #5 - Apr 10^th, 2004 at 6:49pm

RIC_BARKER Offline
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If you do want to upgrade to an AGP card, you should ask Compaq about their upgrade policy. You might still be able to get a card from them "cheap" so to speak, as I know Dell do this (in the UK at least).

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Reply #6 - Apr 10^th, 2004 at 7:42pm

Selbio Offline
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Dave,

When I first had my pc it came with a 250 they replaced it with the same exact system but the psu looks different but it porbably is 250 or maybe 300 who knows.

On the other system I did a few things just to see if the psu was a crappy one and it actually passed everything, it even had short circuit and overload protection. So the psu should be ok.
I'm going to go ahead and get fs2004 and I can turn some settings down if necessary.

RIC

According to Compaq I can add memory and other add-on cards but they will not be covered by their warranty.

They do offer and recommend an ATI 9200SE with like 64 or 128 I cannot really remember for about $89 USD and they have it out of stock as well. I will wait until they have something better and then I'll buy it that way it's also covered by their warranty.

But I'll get fs2004 and give it a try, who knows It may not be so bad on my system.

Thanks everyone for the input.

What's with setting the frame rates to a certain value? What happens if I set them to unlimited? Will it put too much strain on my system? Will it damage anything?

Best Regards,&&Selby&&

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Reply #7 - Apr 10^th, 2004 at 8:44pm

RIC_BARKER Offline
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"Shazzam"

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Quote:

What's with setting the frame rates to a certain value? What happens if I set them to unlimited? Will it put too much strain on my system? Will it damage anything?

You can artificially "lock" the framerate in fs to a decent value, leaving the reamaining "surplus" processing power for other things, such as processing gauges and the like. You certainly won't damage your system by unlocking the framerate, but you might notice stutters as the system has to "take a breather" to load textures for example.

Ric B.

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