oliveDrab

Dear Experts / Guru's / Novices / Anybody:

I'm contemplating buying a new Desktop computer and of course I need to consider what graphics card to get for optimal flight simulator operation. My last laptop was a Dell Inspiron 8200 which worked out ok. It had a Mobility Radeo 9000 Graphics card, 384 Mbytes of RAM, and a 1.9 Ghz Pentium. But that was 4 years ago.

Does anybody have any recommendations for a good computer / graphics card combination?

Thanks
-oliveDrab

Jimmbbo

I researched building a new computer, bought the parts and built it in December - Turned out to be easier than I expected, and a lot of fun in retrospect...

Decided I wanted a dual-processor CPU and motherboard and a fast video card with SLI video upgrade possiblities - near but not at the top of the "bleeding edge" of PC technology for graphics intensive gaming and RC sims. (BTW, G3 runs flawlessly with all features maxed out)

Chose WinXP 64 because I had to buy a OS anyway, and the CPU was 64 bit, so it made sense to get a 64 bit OS - would do the same again... Overall, Win XP 64 is a good OS Much more stable and crashproof than Win XP 32 (Coulda waited for Vista, but would still be waiting ) altho' the drivers are not as plentiful as for WinXP 32, I have only one problem that remains unfixed... ATI has yet to provide a driver for their TV USB All the rest of my hardware either has updated drivers from the mfgr's webistes or runs on those on the Win XP 64 CD.

Spent about a month doing the research (learning about SATA, SLI, dual channel RAM, North and South bridges, etc) reading tests and reviews and buying components ( www.mwave.com had the best overall prices for the components I chose, but there are other good sites as well). Assembly took a long weekend (mostly because this was the first time I'd done this... Reckon my next PC will go together much faster - maybe a day and a half).

Once the PC was turned on and the "smoke test" was passed, it took about two days to get everything tweaked and running normally... Biggest headache was resetting all the passwords and other "cookie" information at the various websites..arrgh [:@]. I'm sure there is a way to carry the cookie info over, but didn't know how and didn't want to add another learning curve to the process


Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Toledo 4400+ (Near the top of the Athlon dual CPU line - decent bang for the $ - www.planetamd64.com is the "RCU webiste" for AMD 64bit CPUs)

Motherboard: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (Dual video card capable - Other good SLI boards available - this one was well reviewed.)

Video: eVGA 256MB GeForce 6800 GS (Only have one installed so far - will pick up a second for the SLI feature when the prices drop. Good capability for the $$)

RAM: 2GB (TWINX 2048) Corsair Dual Channel RAM (Matched pair of 1GB RAM sticks)

HDD1: WD Raptor 74GB SATA 10000 RPM (fastest drive in tests/reviews - they now have a 150GB version !! Installed OS, games and sims on this drive - lightning fast!!)

HDD2: Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 250GB SATA 7200RPM (Almost as fast as the Raptor at about half the price - installed "normal" software, data, etc on this disk)

HDD3: "Legacy" IDE HD from my old PC - Can keep all my old data files without having to transfer to a new drive

HDD4: Seagate 300GB external USB/Firewire HD (for backups and photo storage - definitely an "extra", but CompUSA was running a $100 special - couldn't refuse )

DVD RW: Pioneer DVR 110

CD RW: "Legacy" from my old PC

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5/450W PSU

OS: WinXP x64


Total cost was a bit north of $1700 (excluding the USB HD). Comparable "custom built" systems from online dealers averaged around $2600 at the time. Problem with these systems is that I coudn't get "exactly" the configuration I wanted... had to compromise on something... If you're comfortable banging around inside a PC box, I recommend it as a way to get exactly the system you want, learn some new stuff and save a couple of bucks... Besides, I got to scavenge some of the old PC hardware - gotta recycle, you know

Would I do it again for my next PC? In a hearbeat! [sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

PlaneHeli

Jimmbbo

Those computer specs sound outstanding.

Noticed your rules on the bottom of your post.
You missed Rule Number 3 - Nice landing Captain, - Ill that the ugly one.

Jimmbbo

Thanks! Really happy with the system... don't know if the CPU or video card (or both) is responsible for the great G3 performance, but at this point, am just enjoying the ride...

Uh Huh... and before inflight meals disappeared, there was the FO stating "I'll have the chicken"