Simviation Forum - Will this run FSX well?

Jun 22^nd, 2009 at 6:53pm

pear40 Offline
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Hello!

Posts: 168

Some of you might remember me, I doubt it though. I stopped coming to this forum when I realized my PC was completely incapable of running FSX whatsoever. (And by that I mean less than 1 FPS on the lowest settings)
It's a HP Pavilion a1700n.
AMD Athlon 3800 64x2 Dual core processor
1024 MB RAM
250 GB hardrive
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE
OS: Vista Home premium

2 years after I bought it, I can buy this computer for the same price: $800.

Processor: AMD Phenom 9550 quad core processor
Harddrive: 640 GB
RAM: 6 GB
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 9100
OS: Vista home premium.

Will the computer I'm thinking of buying run FSX at medium/low-medium graphics at at least 30 FPS?

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Reply #1 - Jun 22^nd, 2009 at 11:17pm

specter177 Offline
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Make sure you have the 64bit version of Vista, or that extra two gigs of ram will be wasted. Other than that it should be fine. Don't know much about the AMD processors though.

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Reply #2 - Jun 23^rd, 2009 at 9:19am

ShaneG Offline
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AMD & ATI don't do FSX any justice. (or any other games I've played.)

If you can find a nice Intel & Nvidea combo, you'll be MUCH better off.

Trust me, I went the wrong way. Wink

For ANY OS, as Spectre said, go 64bit, you don't want to waste all that RAM. Wink

Best advice, save a bit more, and get an i7 system. $800 is a huge first step towards one, and you'll be running FSX at close to the max that is possible, instead of compromising and pulling your hair out for a few more FPS and less stutters. Cool

♪♫♪‼

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Reply #3 - Jun 23^rd, 2009 at 2:39pm

pear40 Offline
Colonel
Hello!

Posts: 168

ShaneG wrote on Jun 23^rd, 2009 at 9:19am:

AMD & ATI don't do FSX any justice. (or any other games I've played.)

If you can find a nice Intel & Nvidea combo, you'll be MUCH better off.

Trust me, I went the wrong way. Wink

For ANY OS, as Spectre said, go 64bit, you don't want to waste all that RAM. Wink

Best advice, save a bit more, and get an i7 system. $800 is a huge first step towards one, and you'll be running FSX at close to the max that is possible, instead of compromising and pulling your hair out for a few more FPS and less stutters. Cool

The problem is, $800 is the absolute limit of what I can spend.

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Reply #4 - Jun 23^rd, 2009 at 4:27pm

ShaneG Offline
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If you lower your expectations of what you want it to do with FSX, then it isn't a bad system.

It just won't do what you expect in your first post. Which is what you asked for.

Is this a prebuilt system, a private sale, or a wish list from web site?

♪♫♪‼

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Reply #5 - Jun 23^rd, 2009 at 5:25pm

pear40 Offline
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Hello!

Posts: 168

ShaneG wrote on Jun 23^rd, 2009 at 4:27pm:

If you lower your expectations of what you want it to do with FSX, then it isn't a bad system.

It just won't do what you expect in your first post. Which is what you asked for.

Is this a prebuilt system, a private sale, or a wish list from web site?

Prebuilt, from HP.

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Reply #6 - Jun 24^th, 2009 at 2:02am

Alonso Offline
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Is that a laptop computer? Because I've never seen an "nVidia 9100" on a desktop.

If it is a desktop one, you may get a better deal for $800 buying it for parts at Newegg.com

Core i5 2500k @ 3.8 - 8GB DDR3 - GTX 560 OC - 60GB SSD - 1TB HDD - Cyborg V.1 stick

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Reply #7 - Jun 24^th, 2009 at 8:49am

FlyingPerson Offline
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Yes, it would be better to buy parts. At Nvidia.com the 9100 stands under "Value", which is the lowest it gets. For a low price, you'd be better off with a cheap 9800 like this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339

or a little cheaper 9600 GT like this one, but it will also lower your performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130424

OR if you are willing to spend some more, you can get a GTX 260 with better performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000380048%201067926...

It has been mentioned already, but Intel is way better for FSX. You could maybe get a cheap quad core or a strong dual core.

Specs&&Intel M C2D P8400 2.26 GhZ&&nVidia GeForce 9600M GT&&4 GB DDR3&&320 GB HD&&Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32&&&&&&&&&&Flown: Boeing 737-3Y0 (2) Airbus A330-343 (1) Airbus A321-211 (1) Boeing 737-883 (1)&&&&&&Flown Airlines: SAS Braathens, SAS Norway, Thomas Cook&&&&Summer Flying Time:&&&&A340-300: 11,9 hours&&A340-500: 5,1 hours

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Reply #8 - Jun 24^th, 2009 at 4:45pm

pear40 Offline
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I'm sticking to prebuilt, because I have no knowledge of how to put together a computer.

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Reply #9 - Jun 24^th, 2009 at 5:47pm

SubZer0 Offline
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For the sake of you not going out and wasting $800, I've spent some time on Newegg.com looking for the best deal for less than $800... Don't sweat it, you're welcome!

This computer here has the potential to run FSX on medium-high settings smoothly and problem free. Better yet, it's only $740, so you're $60 under budget for a few drinks to celebrate Wink

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227158

Specs (for everyone else to see and compare!):

Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400(2.66GHz)
Memory 4GB DDR2 800
Hard Drive 500GB SATAII
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTS-250 512MB
Power Supply 700W
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Do yourself a favor and get this system instead of going with AMD/ATI for a gaming system... TRUST US!

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Reply #10 - Jun 25^th, 2009 at 12:12am

flaminghotsauce Offline
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Posts: 181

Pear40, I don't think you should buy that. Its kind of marginal on the CPU. I had the 9500, a 2.2 ghz processor, and it had stutter problems with FSX. Mine had some math error and there was a patch that caused a 10% performance hit. the 9550 is a step up I believe, but is still the 2.2 ghz processor.

I'm now running the Phenom 9850 quad-core 64 bit, and it handles it nicely. My machine is the HP 9350f I believe, I bought it refurbished for $600 with the Nvidia 512 meg GPU. I don't overclock either. Stock computer, stock FSX install. Runs nice.

BUT, if you have the $800, that IBuyPower machine above would be even better.

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Reply #11 - Jun 25^th, 2009 at 6:33am

Groundbound1 Offline
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pear40 wrote on Jun 24^th, 2009 at 4:45pm:

I'm sticking to prebuilt, because I have no knowledge of how to put together a computer.

That's what we're here for!

Trust me, with a little advise on which parts to buy, (which you just got) and the courage it take to make that first scary leap into a build (can be really scary, I know) putting a machine together isn't really that hard at all. Most things will only connect one way. And nothing beats that "I did it myself" feeling! Wink

I think if you were to consider it, you'll find you'd have a much better computer for the money!

Specs: Asus Crosshair nForce 590 SLI,
AMD Athlon X2 6400+ w/ZeroTherm BTF90,
4GB G.Skill PI Series DDR2-800,
Sapphire HD4870 512MB,
PC P&C 750 Quad, in a CoolerMaster HAF932

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Reply #12 - Jun 25^th, 2009 at 5:24pm

ShaneG Offline
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I turned into a Martian!

Posts: 10000

pear40 wrote on Jun 23^rd, 2009 at 2:39pm:

ShaneG wrote on Jun 23^rd, 2009 at 9:19am:

Best advice, save a bit more, and get an i7 system. $800 is a huge first step towards one, and you'll be running FSX at close to the max that is possible at this moment in time.

The problem is, $800 is the absolute limit of what I can spend.

$800 is the limit you can spend now. Wink

Save it. FSX isn't going anywhere for a long time, and ANY compromise you make now, is going to cost you again in the near future when FSX addons are beyond your new rigs capabilities.

You have $800 now, in less than a years time worth of saving, current i7 system prices are coming down all the time as newer and better stuff comes out.

With i7, you have the possibility of future upgrades, and your up and running on current gear. Wink

It's not that far away... if you have the will power.

♪♫♪‼

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Reply #13 - Jun 25^th, 2009 at 11:41pm

pear40 Offline
Colonel
Hello!

Posts: 168

SubZer0 wrote on Jun 24^th, 2009 at 5:47pm:

For the sake of you not going out and wasting $800, I've spent some time on Newegg.com looking for the best deal for less than $800... Don't sweat it, you're welcome!

This computer here has the potential to run FSX on medium-high settings smoothly and problem free. Better yet, it's only $740, so you're $60 under budget for a few drinks to celebrate Wink

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227158

Specs (for everyone else to see and compare!):

Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400(2.66GHz)
Memory 4GB DDR2 800
Hard Drive 500GB SATAII
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTS-250 512MB
Power Supply 700W
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Do yourself a favor and get this system instead of going with AMD/ATI for a gaming system... TRUST US!

Oooooh! That computer looks fancy! Grin

Thanks for the link!

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