Hi all. Here's the deal. I'd like to build a gaming pc. One that will run multiple flight games or sims. FSX or other types, combat fs, other fs games etc. I plan on using a single LCD or DLP display, the larger the better without any graphic problems (like 52"). This computer will only be used for gaming purposes with LAN capibilities and perhaps wi-fi. What kind of hardware would you recommend to accomplish this? I figure I can do this under $2000. Any thoughts, concerns? Thanks.
Hi, well flight sims dont have such a demand on hardware... Never used the latest one let alone which would be best but i advise a Mid spec computer... something with a little bite for future proofing $2000? want it gold plated as well? Seriously your looking to spend that much on a pc just for flight sims? im sure you have enough cash there then... Since your in the US, i cant really give much advice on where to buy this stuff from but from past experience tells me someplaces like Newegg.com and the like. To me a medium build would be Intel Core 2 Duo processor Preferably something over 3.00Ghz 2 - 3 GB or Ram for future proofing perhaps an Geforce 8 Series card or better ... either ASUS or XFX Motherboard as i feel they are the most trusted Power supply wise i would aim for 450 - 500 W but with your budget you could go higher and higher or even buy 2 of the same build with a large amount of change Hope this helps a little
Thanks. Yes, that helps. If anything, it's at least a starting point. My experience in the past with gaming (fs) software has always been a slow computer. Granted, my computers back in the day were not designed for the newer games, but I want to completely avoid this. (Current computer for "current" games) I want to be able to run a variety of games/sims and not worry about display frame rates or slowing/freezing games. I understand that FSX is the most extreme software to run so if I can build something that is close to running that game in full, I should be on track. Of course, it only shows the minimum requirements so I'm not sure how much higher I should shoot for. Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2 / Vista PC with 1 GHz equivalent or higher processor 256 MB of system RAM for Windows XP SP2 / 512 MB Vista 14 GB available hard disk space DVD-ROM drive 32 MB DirectX 9 compatible video card required Sound card, speakers or headphones required for audio Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device 56.6 Kbps or better modem for online play Although, I have money to spend (call it an investment), I don't have money to throw away, so the $2000 was a benchmark. Most decent gaming PCs I've seen, retail for about that much so that's where I got that number. I guess I could copy one of those systems. Perhaps one of you gents could point me in the right direction. Thanks again.
Hi, Well replicating an OEM system is almost impossible. most companys such as Dell seem to use economic parts to cut costs. not really ideal for gaming but their partner company Alienware focus on the likes You could get a nice little package if you had an Alienware system. in my dealings with them is their excellant warranty... i took out a 5 year CAR and they would collect it the same week and have it back to me the following week Alienware PC's i could never get into an OEM system because i love custom builds a good site to check Minimum Specifications is Can You Run it by System Requirements Lab. it does compare you current build but gives you a good insite into a recommened system System Requirements Lab. Hope this helps a little more
Not to fly in the face of what's been posted so far, but Microsoft Flight Sim applications use among the most power of any "game" if you would call it that. According to Tom's Hardware you can only play Flight Sim X on an nvidia graphics card, but since Tom's Hardware is practically owned by nvidia, I'd take that with a whole pot of salt. Certainly a Quad core CPU of considerable power, 4GB of RAM and a Geforce GTX275 or GTX285. I'm not sure whether FSX supports SLI or not. I think it does. Very large displays have lower resolutions than smaller ones, so you may not have as much of an issue running games as with a 30" PC monitor.
Did some more research and needless to say the THG report was biased. I would still recommend a card as powerful as before to guarantee top performance at 1920x1200 with max settings AA enabled, but an HD4890 should be just as competitive.
sammoris, Thats where I'm coming from. I'd like to get the largest display possible without causing problems with the game. In fact, I've pretty much decided on using two graphic cards. So, trying to build a system with this in mind is where I need some help. I don't want to bottleneck anything.
For most games I would recommend a Radeon HD4870X2, it's reasonably priced, it's really powerful, it's a good all-round choice. However, I don't know how well it works in FSX. I just know it works well in most other games.
Interesting enough, I found a whold other forum that discusses this in detail. For those who may be interested, here is a link: http://www.flightsimworld.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67053&st=0&p=1040251&#entry1040251
