Setting Up Multiple Touch Screen Monitors for Flight Simulator Configuration with Peripheral Integration
Please forgive the detail on my grandson's a-building flight simulator (they both are now doing flight training in the initial format in a C-172) and both want to become pilots.
Aso, even though I am a retired military and FAA ATC, I am new to Windows (long-time Mac user) and my two grandsons and I are together building a flight sim for my two grandsons and really could use some help in setting up the hardware/software up properly, especially on how to set up the three to four touch screen monitors (three in the instrument panel) and one 'spare' that will run windows 11 simultaneously... and since I am only at their house in Va. Beach, Va. for two months or so a year (May & Dec) and they are only 14 & 15, sometimes they are not up to speed and I certainly am not. Their dad is 'gone' and since I am their only grandpa left and at age 77 have only their futures to help them with, I admittedly splurged on the Flight Sim and since I don't play golf, drink, do drugs (I'm also ex-military) or spend except on them, please humor me for spending on them.
So, here's the setup, and could really use any help or your expertise, ideas, thoughts, and suggestions if possible.
The system is based on a Windows-based machine with triple LG OLED TVs (one 65" and two 55" as side monitors). So far, I have gotten MSFS 2020 to run on two of them simultaneously (X-Plane 12 as well) and I think not being able to get all three LG OLEDs tv's in synch is an LG 'remote control' setup issue but that's not critical as I can always call LG support back if needed.
So the heart of the flight sim is:
The motherboard is an ASRock X670E Taichi Carrara AMF with DDR5 RAM slots and dual PCIe 5.0 card slots, The rear I/O panel houses 10 USB ports: eight Type-A and two Type-C. The two Type-C ports are USB4, connecting through the CPU and add-on Intel Maple Ridge controller instead of the board chipset. They can operate up to 40Gbps and support power delivery up to 9V at 3A or 5V at 3A. Though the ports are both marked as Thunderbolt,
The CPU is an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 4.7ghz 12 core AM5 processor.
The GPU is an ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTXTM 4090 OC Edition 24GB GDDR6X with DLSS 3 optimized inside and out for lower temps and durability.. 2 (Native HDMI 2.1a) & x 3 (Native DisplayPort 1.4a) HDCP Support (2.3).
Each TV is connected to a separate 4090 port (five total with four simultaneous use capable). The 65" LG OLED runs off one of the HDMI ports and the two 55" OLEDs run off DP outlets on the 4090 to HDMI converter cables to HDMI inputs on the TVs' and the fourth port is reserved for an HP Reverb G2 VR headset.
The flight sim instrument panel is composed of three 15.6" HD touchscreens with one spare (hopefully to view the Windows home screen) and after speaking to the J5Create tech support who assured me I could plug in their J5 adapter into one of the USB-C/thunderbolt slots on the rear of the ASRock X670E. it would run all four of them simultaneously since the frame rate of the instruments is very low and the CPU very high-end. So, I purchased their J5 create USB-C to 4 port HDMI adapter Hub-multiple monitor splitter that supports 4 1080p 60 hz displays (for the four total touchscreens). The J5create 4 port HDMI adapter Hub also has its own 'plug and play' software drivers, thank God.
There are two 'yokes', both Honeycomb Alphas and one Honeycomb Bravo throttle quadrant along with two Logitech rudder pedals.
In addition, I purchased Air Manager 4 as well as the knobster.
The system also has eye tracking (TrackHat) and HCS voice packs.
After setting up ONLY the TVs and connecting them to the ASUS 4090, it told me to set all settings to ULTRA which I did when running the two TVs simultaneously (still can't get the third to run at the same time due to the TV remote control bugs), everything worked perfectly but back then, I did not have the J5create HDMI splitter/adapter or software installed yet for the in-panel instrument monitors set up or running.
There are also two 16-slot USB-C hubs and another as a spare if needed to power and/or run all sorts of peripherals.
There are also, for future expansion, two 'Stream Decks, one a 32-button XL and a Stream Deck Plus, and finally, a U-Shake6 (includes SRS License for Bass Shaker).
Again, any help is appreciated, esp with the software setting up and formatting MSFS 2020.
Tom tommylaws1@gmail.com
1 Answers
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Hello Tom,
Firstly, your dedication and enthusiasm for supporting your grandsons are absolutely commendable! It's always a pleasure to assist someone so invested in nurturing the next generation of aviation enthusiasts.
Let me dive into your setup and offer some assistance:
1. Main Display Issues:
- With your triple LG OLED setup, ensuring that they're in Extended Mode (and not duplicate) in Windows Display Settings is paramount. This allows each screen to act individually.
- Given that you've mentioned some success with X-Plane 12, the settings you've applied there might give clues to getting the third MSFS 2020 screen operational.
2. Touch Screen Monitors:
- Ensure that you've installed the provided 'plug and play' software drivers for the J5create HDMI splitter/adapter. This is crucial for its optimal operation.
- Once installed, it's good practice to reboot the system.
- For the instrument touchscreens, assigning each to display specific flight instrument panels from MSFS 2020 would be logical. You can use tools such as Air Manager 4 to help manage these displays.
3. ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTXTM 4090: This beast of a GPU should be able to handle multi-monitor setups with ease. Ensure that the latest drivers are installed. This helps with stability and performance.
4. Flight Sim Peripherals:
- Given your rich array of peripherals, I'd suggest ensuring that they each have their respective drivers and software updated.
- Remember to calibrate each peripheral within MSFS 2020 for a seamless flight experience.
5. Air Manager 4 & Knobster:
- These tools are fantastic for creating realistic flight instrument panels. Make sure you've set them up correctly and that they are communicating properly with MSFS 2020.
6. USB-C Hubs:
- Often, overloading USB hubs can lead to power delivery issues or data bandwidth limitations. Although they seem like plug-and-play devices, ensuring they're not overloaded and that you're using quality cables is important.
7. Software Setup:
- Given the depth and breadth of your setup, configuring MSFS 2020 to communicate correctly with all your devices might require some tweaks.
- Navigate to the Controls section in MSFS 2020. Here, you can assign specific functions to each of your devices. Do this for all peripherals to ensure an immersive flight experience.
8. Further Suggestions:
- Given that you're in Va. Beach, VA only a few months a year, it might be beneficial to document all configurations and setups in a shared online document (e.g., Google Docs). This way, any changes or updates can be tracked, and it provides a reference point for troubleshooting any future issues.
Tom, your setup is truly impressive! If you can provide more specifics on any challenges or particular areas you're struggling with, I'd be more than happy to assist further.
Wishing you and your grandsons many happy flying hours!
P.S. For more advanced technical assistance, you might also want to contact MSFS 2020's official support. They often have specific troubleshooting guides that might help. But of course, always feel free to drop a line here; this community is here to help!
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