A good PC spec!

[No Longer Active]

Hi guys,

Another question (im everywhere lol) !

Can anyone tell me a reasonable spec for a pc running fs2004?

The pc i have at the moment is only a 2.6ghz single core and its real rubbish dell stuff, with only 1gb of ram, ive seen better graphics on a calculator compared to the graphics on my rubbish dell pc, my monitor is bulky and the whole thing is just horrible, no good for games other than playing tetris, viewing internet or word.

i loaded FS2004 on to the WINDOWS XP partition on my Apple MacBook, just to see how the performance is and graphics etc, my macbook is an intel core 2 duo, with 2gb of ram and 64mb graphics, and FS 2004 works like a dream, its perfect!

So am i right to think that an intel core 2 duo processor with 2gb of ram will be a completely reasonable spec to have to have and a 64 or 128mb graphics card be ok?

Again i cant stress how much i need to keep the cost down as im a poor student lol, so im going to make the pc tower myself.

So guys whats your verdict on a completely satisfactory spec that wouldnt cost too much?

Thank you very much if you can help!

[Jackpilot]

I am very far from being computer guru, but from your description I would say that one more gb of Ram, a 128mb video card , and a good monitor would do wonder on your "rubbish computer" and fit a "poor student" budget.

Just a thought.

[No Longer Active]

Cheers for the advice,

Ive upgraded my pc as far as i can get it, my pc wont accept another 1gb of ram, and i dont think my power supply could handle a graphics card as it just about copes with the graphics card built into the motherboard!

Im thinking on the lines of......ebay?

Thanks

Alex

AP08

[rhysb]

Yeah ebay is a good start. My fs2004 PC I use for testing has a pentium 4 single processor at 3.0ghz which runs with 1.5gig of ram with a 6600gt nvidia card and I can get 25fps in very dense addon areas and 60fps cruising etc.
A single core will run fs2004 excellent just make sure its a good one and nothing like celeron or a budget cpu. You can get a pentium 4 cpu over 3ghz for next to nothing now

Rhys B

[Michael Carter]

I have an Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 processor with 2GB L2 cache, two gigabytes of memory, and a 256mb X1950 video card on it's own power supply.

There isn't anywhere in the world I can't go with less than 20FPS including any and all third party scenery installed and the DF727.

You can buy or build a computer that will make FS9 scream for dirt cheap.

When I bought and upgraded this system out of the box, I nearly died at what I had been missing on my old system.

[388TH_A]

Im running a AMD AthlonXP 1700+ 1.4Ghz with GB ram and 512Mb video and that runs fine for me

[Rodney]

Have a look on your local craigslist. I see systems in my area alot for $150-$300 that would be a step up.

[P1IC]

You can buy or build a computer that will make FS9 scream for dirt cheap.



Skunky! This may very well be true, and I REALLY hope it is :D, but I don't know enough about the dark dungeons of Windows systems to be able to make the right choices so that this Valhalla will be mine!

At this point I must confess to being a Mac user - and I just would love for there to be a Mac version of FS so that I can get on with it, and not have to faff about with the Windows OS. I won't tell you the trouble I have got into with … no, I'll take that no further, because I said I wouldn't tell you!

But of course that won't happen. MS will absolutely not produce a version of FS for the Mac, and I can't afford a new Mac with Intel which will run Windoze quite happily, and I've now decided that the basic PC with Windows XP which I got for other stuff (mainly writing PIC code using Microchip's absolutely excellent IDE) just does not do it, even after upgrading to an Nvidia 6200 (wow, I hear you say :) ), so it's time to get down and dirty and build a PC (and as a Mac user, I must now go hence and wash out my mouth with soap and water, for uttering these words).

But … yep, you got it. What do I put in the box? Your starter for ten. My budget $300US. Your mission, should you wish to accept it. This message will self-destruct in ten seconds. Nine … Eight …

[Michael Carter]

I've never built a computer. I wouldn't trust myself to match components so everything plays nice together.

I shopped until I found a pre-built system with the specs I was looking for and could afford. None will come with very good graphics as you are using what's on the mother board.

Find at least a 2 gigabyte system memory at 800 Mhz FSB or better, and at least a 2.0Ghz processor with at least an L2 cache of 2MB. This is way beyond what was available when FS9 was released. Well, it might have been available, but it was very expensive back then. You'll have to add the video card so get a system with the latest PCI x16 slot.

You can still find Pentium IV processors way above 2.0 Ghz for a single-core. Now, FS can't take advantage of more than one core, but if you get a dual core system, it leaves room for background programs to run without choking FS. If you buy a single-core Pentium IV, buy the fastest you can comfortably afford, over 2.0 Ghz. It is usually based on the 775 socket, same as most dual and quad-core processors.

If you get a dual-core processor, at least 2.0 Ghz, but higher are even cheaper now. But make sure the L2 cache is high so you don't have stutters and delays in loading scenery.

Go here to begin your adventure: http://www.newegg.com/Index.aspx?nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&utm_source=SEM&utm_medium=GoogleAdwords&utm_campaign=Branding

[Kennair]

Hey P1IC, I've seen FS running on a Mac ;)

Alex, I agree, try and stretch your budget to a 128 or 256Mb video card (I'm not sure you actually buy anything below 256Mb these days??). The rest of the system should screem FS9 along!

Ken.

[o76o]

I think your best bet is to get a cheap gigabyte motherboard, intel core 2 duo over clocked, a nvidia 9600gso, and use on board sound from the motherboard. 2gb of crucial ddr2 ram is cheap these days.

Try to re use your current case to save you some money. depending on what power supply you have, you might be able to keep that as well.

I will try to get you some exact model numbers, maybe tomorrow morning.

with my system, you will be able to run FSX, nevermind fs 2004 ;-)

[No Longer Active]

Hi, was just scrolling through old posts etc, etc and come across this posting, i never actually did tell you guys what i ended up buying/running...so heres an update for you!

Software:
Microsoft FS2004 - Century Of Flight
Just Flight - VFR Photographic Scenery - East & South-East Vol 1
Just Flight - VFR Photographic Scenery - Central & Southern England Vol 2
Just Flight - VFR Photographic Scenery - Wales & South-West England Vol 3
Just Flight - VFR Photographic Scenery - Northern England - Vol 4
Just Flight - British Airports - East England Vol 1
Just Flight - British Airports - South East England Vol 2
VFR Terrain - England & Wales (Think its by Just Flight, not too sure?)

Base Unit:
ATX Tower Case
MSI Intel Motherboard (accepts a Core2duo Maximum but not a Quad)
E2200 Intel Dual Core CPU (2.2ghz x2)
520Watt Power Supply
ATI Radeon HD 3600 1024MB Graphics Card (VGA + Digital + SVideo)
320GB HD / DVD-RW / Net Card / Sound Card with Gameport / USB etc

Display:
LG Flatron W2234S - 22" Monitor

Controls:
CH Products Virtual Pilot Pro Yoke (Gameport)
CH Products Virtual Pilot Pro Pedals (Gameport to USB Gameport Adapter)
Custom-made Panel inc Throttle Quad, Engine Start, Avi Panel, Lights panel, Flaps, Landing Gear Switch, Trim Wheel, Parking Break

The PC Base Unit i built myself using all new parts from internet total cost including shipping was £218 and i paid £116 for the monitor. Seems a pretty nice future proof pc and will be very easy to upgrade, my case is nice and big so plenty of room for extras etc in near future.

My pc is a flight sim pc only and runs FS9 like a dream, my graphics card is decent and produces some decent graphics and it punches out fs9 really fast too, no delays jolts or jumps, nice smooth lines and the colour is awsom!

The whole lot didnt cost much at all!

****** NOW YOUR UPDATED*******

Alex Pilot 2008