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Flight Sim build thoughts & Input

Ethnod
By Ethnod
in New Builds and Planning
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Hi Guys,

 

So a friend of mine is looking for some advice on an upgrade or new build…  well due to the age of the machine I am not recommending an upgrade. So any way, where I am stuck is that he only plays flight simulators and tbh I don’t so I have no idea what kind of hardware is needed. Seems like he mostly plays with X Plane or X Pilot, I forget which one.

So any thoughts and recommendations on min and recommended specs? I want to recommend something where he is not just pouring money into a nice machine just cause he can but I also want him to still be able to play Flight Sims in 4-5 years.

 

 

Thanks, I am just out of my depth here and while I could make a recommendation and get it right I would rather hear from someone who knows more

Never trust a man, who, when left alone with a tea cosey... Doesn't try it on. Billy Connolly
Marriage is a wonderful invention: then again, so is a bicycle repair kit. Billy Connolly
Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes. Billy Connolly
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Flight sims, including X Plane (but to a lesser degree than FSX) heavily utilise CPU IPC. X Plane has some decent multi threading abilities, but I'd recommend a 4770K OC'd to the wall. You also will need a decent GPU, GTX 770. X Plane is huge, I think it comes on 12 or so discs, so look to also invest in storage and lastly flight peripherals. Flight simming is an expensive hobby.

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Flight sims, including X Plane (but to a lesser degree than FSX) heavily utilise CPU IPC. X Plane has some decent multi threading abilities, but I'd recommend a 4770K OC'd to the wall. You also will need a decent GPU, GTX 770. X Plane is huge, I think it comes on 12 or so discs, so look to also invest in storage and lastly flight peripherals. Flight simming is an expensive hobby.

 

this +

-i tought it uses about 120gb of storage once every part of the world is installed (you don't have to install every part if you don't want to)

-if he doesn't already, i would really recommend a joystick/?yoke? (my €50 logitech extreme3D isnt the highest quality (quite big deadzone), it still is better than a mouse)

build log: diagonalmod (RIP?)


i know i use many of these: ( ) and these: ... (i really do... (sry...) ) edit: and edits

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Get a Saitek controller, those things are excellent.

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this +

-i tought it uses about 120gb of storage once every part of the world is installed (you don't have to install every part if you don't want to)

-if he doesn't already, i would really recommend a joystick/?yoke? (my €50 logitech extreme3D isnt the highest quality (quite big deadzone), it still is better than a mouse)

Depends on what he flies, the feel of a yoke + throttles + pedals makes you feel like you're in control but will sett you back $200-300. I have that same stick as you and really like it for Flyin. Airbus aircraft.

You're probably right, I'm not sure about storage but just make sure you get enough and I would recommend installing it on a different drive to windows. Also make sure you leave enough room for adding aftermarket aircraft and scenery. These will increase your experience 10 fold. It may be that a 180 or 240gb is what you need and it will e up to you whether it's worth it or not

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My mate is a pilot and he has a joke, pedals and so on, he has all that gear. Where I am falling down is the PC hardware. 

 

Ok so CPU is important, might see what his budget is for that and figure it from there.

Any thoughts on RAM?

Never trust a man, who, when left alone with a tea cosey... Doesn't try it on. Billy Connolly
Marriage is a wonderful invention: then again, so is a bicycle repair kit. Billy Connolly
Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes. Billy Connolly
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@Ethnod

 

depending on the budget and visuals you want to see, you really can go "balls to the walls" (linus his words)

 

on the x-plane website you can see this:

 

Minimum System Specifications

X-Plane 10 requires, at the minimum,

Dual Core, 2.5 GHz or faster

2 GB of RAM

A video card with at least 500 MB of VRAM.

DVD-ROM

Note that the version of the X-Plane 10 flight simulator we sell here at X-Plane.com will run on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. If you’re interested, you can get more info on using X-Plane with a Mac.

 

Recommended System Specifications

For the best experience, we recommend the following system specs:

 

a 3 GHz, multi-core CPU (or, even better, multiple processors),

4 GB of RAM,

a DVD-ROM, and

a DirectX 10-capable (DX11 preferred) video card with 2 GB of on-board, dedicated VRAM.

 

 

however the Other Notes part is the most interesting

 

 

Other Notes edit: copied from the site:

X-Plane will take advantage of as many cores or distinct processors as you can afford. Having 16 cores split among 4 CPUs is not required by any means, but Version 10 would be able to use every one. No more than 4 GB of RAM is necessary, but the more VRAM you have, the better–X-Plane 10 can easily use 1.5 GB of VRAM at the maximum settings.

In order to use the full version of X-Plane, Disc 1 of the installation DVDs must be in your disc drive when launching the simulator. (This is not the case when using X-Plane for Professional Use; in that case, the USB key replaces the Disc 1 DVD.)

When running X-Plane on Linux, please note that you must install the proprietary Nvidia or AMD drivers. X-Plane will not run using Gallium or Mesa open-source drivers.

 

edit: so an overclocked 4770K and a 770 would be enough. you would still have some computing left for mods

build log: diagonalmod (RIP?)


i know i use many of these: ( ) and these: ... (i really do... (sry...) ) edit: and edits

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i would recommend 8gb ram tho.

 

Why?

 'They' state no more than 4 yet you say 8, why.

 Two motoes to live by   "Sometimes there are no shortcuts"

                                           "This too shall pass"

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Why?

 'They' state no more than 4 yet you say 8, why.

you probably could do with 4, but i always love a bit extra (maybe 6 would be enough to edit: or even 4)

i guess i personaly more of a multitasker, i keep forgetting not everyone opens more than 1 program :D

build log: diagonalmod (RIP?)


i know i use many of these: ( ) and these: ... (i really do... (sry...) ) edit: and edits

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I'll probably recommend 8 gig for future proofing sake

 

Thanks for the advice guys :)

Never trust a man, who, when left alone with a tea cosey... Doesn't try it on. Billy Connolly
Marriage is a wonderful invention: then again, so is a bicycle repair kit. Billy Connolly
Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes. Billy Connolly
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