Computer Compatibility?

300w p/s is low and you don't say what video card is in either setup.
If it's an integrated (on board) card it won't be sufficient.
The links don't work.

Thanks, I was going to post below, but wasn't sure what the policy was on posting links. Even if it was a 2.5 ghz or 2.8,which seems to be all I can find, will it still be able to handle the game? After posting the original thread I found the article on here about if your computer is compatible or not. It said a minimum of 3.0 ghz, so that was my concern. What P/S would you recommend? Also, I guess the only thing I can think of right now that I have trouble figureing out is if certain video cards are suitable for the job. How do I tell and is there anything in particular I should look for in a video card for this specific game?

This is the video card for the HP as well as the link

Video Card
ATI Radeon HD 4350 graphics

Link
http://www.refurbdepot.com/HP_PAVILION_HPE-112Y_VT637AA.cfm

750w p/s is good, especially with 8 gigs ram.
That card is on the low end at $40 but you would get (low medium) decent performance certainly not maxed out.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001T9MYO6/?tag=ricksphotograpag1-20

easyrider003 wrote:

I am in the process of looking to purchase a desktop computer to operate Microsoft Flight Simulator X. I have came across this computer which is new

This one is a Gateway DX4300-01U Desktop PC - AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 810 2.6Ghz, 8GB DDR2, 1TB SATA HDD, DVDRW, 300 Watt PSU, Media Card Reader, HDMI, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $649

and also this one, but is refurbished

it is the HP Pavillion Elite HPE-112Y $689

I hope the links work. The first one is new and the second is refurbished but for 50$ more you get a 3 year extended service plan. I am not looking to spend a fortune. Hopeing to keep a complete setup around $800. Will either of these computers operate Flight Sim X? Which would you recommend? Would you recommend any others? Thanks for any help you can toss my way

as mentioned above, the power supply just barely makes it.
the CPU is pretty good
the RAM is overkill as far as FSX is concerned. Half as much would be more than enough.
the video card will be disappointing. It's not near enough graphics power to run FSX smoothly and with decent image quality.

something like a GT240 or equivalent ATI card would be the minimum I would recommend.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134088

of course the best thing would be to forget about proprietary junk like HP or Gateway and have reputable a shop build you one to your specs for FSX (you could do it easily for that price range) or if you are up to it, build it yourself. it's not difficult if you approach it carefully.

Well since I have been looking for a new computer for FSX for awhile I have found that all I want is a quad core processor with 2.7GHz with 2mb cache but I am stuck on the graphics card, doesn't need to be much, I mean I get 30fps with high settings with no auto gen with my 256mb chipset and a 2.0GHz 2 core and 2gb of ram. Then again I have changed the game so much to make it run better.

Then again I have changed the game so much to make it run better.

you can only change setting so much. It will go as far as your CPU/GPU resources can manage.
If you're only interested in smooth play and good frame rates then your minimal video card and 2.7gig CPU with 2 mb L2 cache will be OK, but don't expect much eye candy.

If you want to run the sim at full res on your 24 in. monitor at 8XAA with everything turned up close to the top as I do with mine, you will need a lot more. Dont' get too hung up on frame rates with FSX. They don't count like they do in other games.
I lock mine at 20 to 22 FPS and that is plenty for smooth operation at all times.

When I had a look at the PAVILION ELITE HPE-112Y as per easyrider's link yesterday, under Specifications I saw the following:

Hard drive
1 TB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec)
5400 rpm

Thinking that we've been using 7200 rpm for years and am quite sure that the newer HDD are even faster I figured aahh... THIS then is what 'refurbished' means: It's a good way to get rid of outdated parts.

But then I'm currently not in the loop re computer parts and deemed it prudent to keep my trap shut.

Any thoughts on this HDD?

Nice to see you Michael 🍻

Any thoughts on this HDD?

Nice to see you Michael

Nice to see you too Rick.. I've dropped in a few times to see if you were around, but you seem to have been quiet lately..

I think that 5400 rpm must be a typo. we haven't used those on desktops for many years. They are still the standard on Laptops though.

7200 rpm drives are still the standard although Western Digital and Seagate (others as well) have produced 10000 and 15000 rpm drives that are nice, but for the price of a 600 gig Velociraptor (10,000 rpm) you could buy a 2 TB drive with performance almost as good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136555

the really fast drives now are the solid state SSD drives - but still way too expensive.

here'a an example of a 160gig SSD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167017

Michael_H wrote:

.. I've dropped in a few times to see if you were around, but you seem to have been quiet lately..

Haha.. this is because people tell me I talk too much. Truth though, I log in almost regularly but the site is slowly but surely dying.

Back to topic: Never having owned a laptop I wasn't aware that they use HDDs with 5400 rpm. This would explain how this kind of typo appears.
Though you'd think that if you're advertising any product you'd proof-read before you publish or post the ad on the net.
Not surprisingly then that simpletons like myself get confused and start suffering from insomnia. 😀

Thanks for those links - very handy for updating the AI inside my brain 😀

...but for the price of a 600 gig Velociraptor (10,000 rpm) you could buy a 2 TB drive with performance almost as good.

Bit confused here, what type(s) of 2 TB drives would that be in terms of speed?
Re the Velociraptor... two of those 600 GB ones would be essential nowadays. Considering that in a few months the prices will have dropped considerably, it's not a bad option.

The SSD drives on the other hand despite their attractiveness in almost every aspect haven't got the storage capacity yet and are simply too expensive still.
In one of the articles I read several months ago about SSD drives it was claimed that you either could not or should not defrag an SSD drive.
For us simmers defragging occasionally seems to be inevitable.

Thanks for your input, don't be a stranger 🍻

yeah that helps me decide my processor but now about the video card I've been looking at something simple, what you got? right now I have a 256mb chip set.

I'm using this one Brickwall, but you don't need to spend that much dinero really - or, on the other hand you could spend a lot more...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434

something like this one is reasonable and gets good reviews

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130535

I don't know how much you want to spend, or what sort of motherboard you are contemplating, but for sheer value and bang for your buck, I would rec. this processor: of course this means a socket 1156 board and DDR3 memory which will set you back a bit more money, but well worth it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

Good Luck

thank you I will look into that second card. 😀

Oh before I finish I have one more question, what is the sign of a slow video card compared to a slow processor, I heard that a slow processor will lock up for a few seconds and then continue but a slow video card is slow and laggy.

Brickwall132 wrote:

Oh before I finish I have one more question, what is the sign of a slow video card compared to a slow processor, I heard that a slow processor will lock up for a few seconds and then continue but a slow video card is slow and laggy.

well it depends on a whole lot of things going on - either of those two components being weak, along with other things can cause all that behaviour.

But in general if your CPU has enough power, the sim will run fairly smoothly but with a poor video card you will get the poor graphic quality as well as choppiness.

below are two pictures
the first was from several years ago on a system I had with a low end video card but good CPU. As you can see the graphics are pretty bad

the second with a fairly high end video card (GTX 260) and high end CPU.
both are resized.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/mhoratio/ScreenHunter_121.jpg

http://www.mikeserv.org/gallery/Horatio/Personal+Photos/Clipboard01.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1