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System Requirements for MS Flight Simulator 2004? (Read 1848 times)

Jan 31^st, 2010 at 2:48am

kmullin211984 Offline
Lieutenant Colonel
I Like Flight Simulation!

Posts: 8

Hey Guys, I am getting MS Flight Simulator 2004 in a few days and wanted to know if my laptop was good enough to run the game at its best settings i.e. having the best graphics, no slowdown, no poor frame rates. It's really important to me that I have a good experience with this game. I also played it safe and bought a joystick. I'm gonna go ahead and list the system requirements first and then the specs that are on my computer. Also, anyone know how the graphics will look? Again I want to have everything set at max so I have the most realistic experience possible. I'm running it on a Dell Laptop D610.

Here are the MS Flight Simulator 2004 Minimum Requirements:
Pentium III or Athlon equivalent CPU
1 GHz CPU Speed
128 MB RAM
Windows 2000/XP Operating System
32 MB 3D Video Card (Graphics Card)
32 MB Video/Graphics Card Ram
Direct X Version 9.0c
2.2 GB Free Disc Space
4x speed or faster CD-Rom drive

Here are the specs on my laptop:
Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.73GHz CPU
1.73 GHz Performance Rated at: 2.595 GHz CPU Speed
1015.4 MB RAM
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Build Service Pack 32600)
Intel(R) 915GM"GMS,910GML Express Chipset (Video/Graphics Card)
128.0 MB (Video/Graphics Card RAM)
Direct X Version 9.0c
68.9 GB Free Disc Space
_NEC DVD+-RW ND-6650A DVD ROM Drive

Again, I want the graphics to look gorgeous and not have any slow frame rates. I've seen some gorgeous videos of flights on YouTube and that's how I want mine to look. Thanks so much for your help!

Kyle

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Reply #1 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 6:07am

ShaneG Offline
Colonel
I turned into a Martian!

Posts: 10000

The minimum specs listed on ANY piece of software is just to get it to run.

NEVER use them as a guide line for performance. I found this out the hard way, and had to rebuild my system much sooner than I had planned.

MSFS is notorius for bringing desktops to their knees, and laptops don't fare much better. You can use them, just keep some realistic expectations for the performance based on your hardware. Wink

Wink

To have ALL the sliders maxed, get great visuals, and good smooth frame rates (20-30fps), you need specs similar to these for FS2004:

- 2.5ghz or higher cpu (the faster the better)
-2 GB minimum of RAM (This is pretty mandatory, FS is Memory hungry)
-512mb graphics card, the Nvidea 8800 series is king here on the older sim. ( Fozzer gets away with less, but he's special. Wink

Wink

)

Then it's a great idea to replace the stock AI with addons such as PAI, MAIW, or WOAI. The default AI uses the stock aircraft, and they have a massive impact on performance when you get enough of them flying around. The addon AI is made specifically for the purpose, and are light and easy on frames.

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Reply #2 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 6:30am

Fozzer Offline
Colonel
An elderly FS 2004 addict!
Hereford. England. EGBS.

Posts: 24861

ShaneG wrote on Jan 31^st, 2010 at 6:07am:

The minimum specs listed on ANY piece of software is just to get it to run.

NEVER use them as a guide line for performance. I found this out the hard way, and had to rebuild my system much sooner than I had planned.

MSFS is notorius for bringing desktops to their knees, and laptops don't fare much better. You can use them, just keep some realistic expectations for the performance based on your hardware. Wink

Wink

To have ALL the sliders maxed, get great visuals, and good smooth frame rates (20-30fps), you need specs similar to these for FS2004:

- 2.5ghz or higher cpu (the faster the better)
-2 GB minimum of RAM (This is pretty mandatory, FS is Memory hungry)
-512mb graphics card, the Nvidea 8800 series is king here on the older sim. ( Fozzer gets away with less, but he's special. )

Then it's a great idea to replace the stock AI with addons such as PAI, MAIW, or WOAI. The default AI uses the stock aircraft, and they have a massive impact on performance when you get enough of them flying around. The addon AI is made specifically for the purpose, and are light and easy on frames.

Tee-Hee... Grin

Grin

...!

.....he's also very tight when it comes to spending money!... Wink

Wink

...!

Paul....G-BPLF...FS 2004 (and FSX)...FS Nav...and loadsamoney!... Cool

Cool

...!

Home built, Desktop Case... Wink

Wink

...!
Gigabyte Socket A, PCI+AGP Motherboard.... Wink

Wink

...!
AMD Socket A 2600+MMX Thoroughbred (2.1Gb) Processor... Kiss

Kiss

...!
nVidia AGP 7800GS 256Mb Graphics...

...!
2Gb DDR Ram... Roll Eyes

Roll Eyes

...!
750 Watt PSU.... Cool

Cool

...!

...and a smoothy-smoothy 20 FPS (locked)...All the Sliders Maxed!.... Tongue

Tongue

...!

Paul...My Bank Manager loves me to bits!... Kiss

Kiss

...!

Dell Dimension 5000 BTX Tower. Win7 Home Edition, 32 Bit. Intel Pentium 4, dual 2.8 GHz. 2.5GB RAM, nVidia GF 9500GT 1GB. SATA 500GB + 80GB. Philips 17" LCD Monitor. Micronet ADSL Modem only. Saitek Cyborg Evo Force. FS 2004 + FSX. Briggs and Stratton Petrol Lawn Mower...Motor Bikes. Gas Cooker... and lots of musical instruments!.... ...!
Yamaha MO6,MM6,DX7,DX11,DX21,DX100,MK100,EMT10,PSR400,PSS780,Roland GW-8L v2,TR505,Casio MT-205,Korg CX3v2 dual manual,+ Leslie 760,M-Audio Prokeys88,KeyRig,Cubase,Keyfax4,Guitars,Orchestral,Baroque,Renaissance,Medieval Instruments.

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Reply #3 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 2:33pm

kmullin211984 Offline
Lieutenant Colonel
I Like Flight Simulation!

Posts: 8

ok guys. Thanks for all your help. That didn't help me much as I'm not very tech savvy? Anyone else have any other answers?

Kyle

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Reply #4 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 4:26pm

microlight Offline
Colonel
It's a bird...
Southern UK

Gender:
Posts: 2236

Hi Kyle, welcome.

I routinely run FS9 on my laptop, a HP Compaq 6715s, which has dual-core AMD Turion x64s at 1.6Ghz, and 2Gb RAM, plus ATI Radeon X1250 onboard graphics, which allows me to run the program pretty well; only stutters a little in heavy weather and high graphics loadings, but otherwise very acceptable.

I don't expect it to run like a high-end desktop, so am not disappointed when it doesn't! It does however have the advantage of being with me wherever I go!

Silver lining.

Wink

Wink

BAe ATP for FS9 now available! www.enigmasim.com

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Reply #5 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 6:58pm

Capt.Propwash Offline
Colonel
Let's get a little mud
on the tires!
KCHS, Charleston, SC, USA

Gender:
Posts: 1958

here are my specs, which are VERY close to what you have...

DELL INSPIRION 2200 LAPTOP
OS Name    Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version    5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
Processor    x86 Family 6 Model 13 Stepping 8 GenuineIntel ~1396 Mhz
Total Physical Memory    1,280.00 MB
Total Virtual Memory    2.00 GB
Page File Space    4.10 GB

Display:
Name    Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/GMS,910GML Express Chipset Family
Resolution    1024 x 768 x 60 hertz
Adapter RAM    128.00 MB (134,217,728 bytes)

Drive    C:
Size    24.24 GB (26,024,783,872 bytes)
Free Space    13.61 GB (14,611,591,168 bytes)

Drive    F:
Size    297.44 GB (319,368,982,528 bytes)
Free Space    265.75 GB (285,352,132,608 bytes)

I routinely get between 9-12FPS in level flight @ 10,000' over Atlanta, GA / LAX / SFO / DALLAS.

20+ if Clear skies looking at the bottom of the plane up to the sky..

2-5 Extreme Stormy Weather, vis ~1/4nm, winds 090@56

I am also running REAL ENVIRONMENT PRO, ULTIMATE NIGHT ENVIRONMENT, and a few other scenery enhancements that I cant think of at the momment. if you want a S/S of what mine looks like, ... look here...http://205.252.250.26/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1264233124/4#4 ; (scroll down about 1/2 way for a shot of my 777 and Lear45)

The thoughts and expressions contained in the post above are solely my own, and not necessarily those of Simviation.com, its Moderators, its Staff, its Members, or other guests. They can not, are not, and will not be held liable for any thoughts, or expressions, or posts that I have made, or will make in the future.

Computer Specs:: Acer Aspire Laptop..Win7 Home Premium 64-bit (sp1), AMD Athlon II X2 P340 (Dual Core) [2.2 Ghz], ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 (256mb), 4GB DDR3......FS9.1(sp3) / FSX (sp2)..... Ultimate Terrain X, Ground Environment X, REX, FTX ORBX PNW-PFJ-NRM-CRM, OZx, Tongass Fjords, Misty Moorings

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Reply #6 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 7:10pm

ShaneG Offline
Colonel
I turned into a Martian!

Posts: 10000

kmullin211984 wrote on Jan 31^st, 2010 at 2:48am:

I wanted to know if my laptop was good enough to run the game at its best settings i.e. having the best graphics, no slowdown, no poor frame rates.

It's really important to me that I have a good experience with this game.

Again I want to have everything set at max so I have the most realistic experience possible.

Again, I want the graphics to look gorgeous and not have any slow frame rates.

Did anyone read his post? Undecided

Undecided

It's NOT going to happen on that laptop, sorry.

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Reply #7 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 7:32pm

SeanTK Ex Member

Yeah, the original poster's specs are WAY below what is necessary to run FS2004 at max settings. I'm afraid that you are going to have to make a lot of ~~animal~~ sacrifices to get FS to run well with that setup.

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Reply #8 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 8:16pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Kyle,

Spend some time looking at the older postings in this forum section. If you do it will become clear to you where that laptop will stand performance wise.

If your standards are high, as you seem to indicate in your posting, then you will not get what you want from the machine that you mention. Unfortunately the answers you'll get are not what you want to hear.

FS2004 ... and FSX are well known "machine testers". Even though it is "old".... FS2004 is a real load on all parts of the computer system.

best,

.................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

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Reply #9 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 8:41pm

kmullin211984 Offline
Lieutenant Colonel
I Like Flight Simulation!

Posts: 8

Ok let me clarify!!! lol....I didn't mean for my post to come across as it did. Yes, it would be awesome for my compu to be able to run MSFS 04 with max graphics. I'd be happy just to get the dang thing to run lol. I know it will, but I would like some decent graphics and not too much slow down. Those are my main concerns. I don't have a hardcore gaming machine, so I know my machine won't be able to handle tons and tons of graphics. All I want is an enjoyable time flying, but still have decent graphics and recognize some landmarks. I want it to be as real as possible for me. That's all. I can currently run The Sims 2 and Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 just fine on my laptop. And, I can also run the FSX Demo fine. So I'm not really anticipating problems. I've read reviews of the game, and heard that it works just fine on regular machines. Someone posted a link earlier today showing their specs (which seemed to be close to mine) and what their screenshots looked like. The only thing that concerned me was the 9-12 fps when scenery was around and 20 when you were in the air. That seemed slow to me. What does everyone else think?

Kyle

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Reply #10 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 8:50pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Kyle,

The framerates mentioned are likely what you can expect with that machine if you turn up the graphics. That is what people are saying here.

best,

.................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

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Reply #11 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 9:24pm

Capt.Propwash Offline
Colonel
Let's get a little mud
on the tires!
KCHS, Charleston, SC, USA

Gender:
Posts: 1958

i fly my rig (laptop) maxed out on everything, except "aircraft realism" {i like to fly helo's so i keep those around 1/2 way for better handling}

the FPS numbers that I gave are flying maxed out on my rig... which is close to what you have now. So being that... you could use that as a possible benchmark.

you WILL have an enjoyable time flying, but it also depends on how intense your addon scenery is that you picked to download. I have run across some (FlyTampa HONG KONG) that no matter what i can not get more than *2* FPS on my rig.

as for the FSX Demo giving good frames, that is to be expected.. because it is only the DEMO!!! Microsoft wants you to get interested in it and buy it, then when you try to play it.. OMG you can not even see airport buildings, NO AUTOGEN.... its a baren wasteland because you have to have all your sliders on NOTHING! -- waste of money as in my case. I can not fly FSX DELUXE because it is a baren watseland.

you WILL be able to fly FS9 / 2004. you WILL have an enjoyable time doing it. there are more than enough downloads out there that have been around for 6 years, so there is no shortage. PLUS.. you CAN use FS2002 downloads and they will work just fine, so that means you have at least *8* years of downloads available. HAPPY DOWNLOADING!!!

The thoughts and expressions contained in the post above are solely my own, and not necessarily those of Simviation.com, its Moderators, its Staff, its Members, or other guests. They can not, are not, and will not be held liable for any thoughts, or expressions, or posts that I have made, or will make in the future.

Computer Specs:: Acer Aspire Laptop..Win7 Home Premium 64-bit (sp1), AMD Athlon II X2 P340 (Dual Core) [2.2 Ghz], ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 (256mb), 4GB DDR3......FS9.1(sp3) / FSX (sp2)..... Ultimate Terrain X, Ground Environment X, REX, FTX ORBX PNW-PFJ-NRM-CRM, OZx, Tongass Fjords, Misty Moorings

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Reply #12 - Jan 31^st, 2010 at 10:06pm

kmullin211984 Offline
Lieutenant Colonel
I Like Flight Simulation!

Posts: 8

Thanks for making me feel better. That's the best post i've heard all day lol. i'll let u know what it's like when it gets here from amazon. and i bought a joystick woot! cuz running a flight sim with the keyboard stinks lol'

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Reply #13 - Feb 1^st, 2010 at 1:06am

Rocket_Bird Offline
Colonel
Canada

Gender:
Posts: 1214

Hi,

I used to run FS2004 with almost full graphics (at of course, a modest resolution) on a almost similar spec laptop, albeit you have more ram than I did and I was running a Geforce go 6200 as opposed to an Intel Chip.

From your specs, the major bottleneck that will occur in running FS is going to that intel chip your running for graphics. But then, according to a passmark benchmark, it actually performs better than my old 6200... sooo... you might get some modest graphics going on as long as you keep your resolution down. If you can run FSX demo with at least some playability, it should run a lot smoother for FS9.

Just don't install high resolution add-on clouds (ie: REX or HDE) and anything like that and everything should be okay.

Cheers,
RB

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Reply #14 - Feb 1^st, 2010 at 1:21am

kmullin211984 Offline
Lieutenant Colonel
I Like Flight Simulation!

Posts: 8

Question. What does resolution have to do with stuff? Thanks again guys.

Kyle

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