Hawkeye07 wrote:OAM, from your personal experience is Orbx really that good a product? I've been thinking about buying it but with my computer I wonder if it would be money down the tube.
How is it on frame rates for example? I've seen some of your screen shots and they really look great but then again you have other enhancements too don't you?
Do you have a Laptop, or a Desktop computer?
If it's a laptop you might be better off staying with what you have.
If it's a desktop, then you could make a very nice move up,
IF you're willing to buy a different CPU.
Your graphics card is perfect for FSX, and even OK to good with Prepar3d V3. V4? Maybe OK.
But not so for your CPU.
First I have to make a couple of assumptions. If it's a desktop.
There is a good chance that your motherboard has an LGA1156 socket. That is the place where you put the CPU.
This is how your "
i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz" CPU compares with a few other CPUs.
From
CPU Benchmarks
BTW - if you intend to stay with FSX, don't worry about an i7. FSX will gain very little from it.
Why replace your CPU? Because the more detail your computer can handle, the more worthwhile the Orbx scenery will be.
What many people don't know, or think about, is that at it's most basic level Orbx is photoscenery.
However, it's photoscenery done right. All the buildings, trees, etc are placed on top of the photoscenery.
But like I said,
that's at it's most basic level. Other things come into play as well, such as the best mesh (height detail of the terrain) out there.
So with your old, slower, CPU you would have to cut back on some of the scenery detail. Some, but not all.
As an aside, photoscenery is less demanding than standard FSX scenery.
YouTube has a few hundred hours of "How to replace your CPU" videos. There are steps that have to be followed, but it's pretty easy.
Here is a shortened video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuGwPnWrpowSo if you wanted to replace your old i5..... How much?
Probably less than you think.
Intel Core i5-680 3.60GHz 4 MB LGA1156 Processor $99.99Or used -
Intel Corp Core I5-670 3.46 Ghz Processor $44.95 + free shippingPersonally, I'd have no problem buying the used CPU.
The last thing is your RAM.
Although FSX, being a 32bit program, can't use more than 3.4 GB,
FSX along with your operating system would benefit from the extra RAM. Because, right now BOTH are sharing your 4GB. And THAT will cause slowdowns that you don't want.
Is Orbx worth it? I would have quit yeas ago if I had to use only the standard FSX scenery. I did try another well known scenery maker's scenery but wasn't impressed. When I tried FTX Global (Base) I liked it, and it has only gotten much better over the years.
Yes. It will be expensive getting started with Orbx because there are two absolute purchases that you HAVE to make;
FTX Global Base Pack - New and better scenery for (almost) the entire world. The North and South polls are pretty poor.
FTX Global Vector - This VASTLY improves the coastlines, lakes, rivers, roads, bridges etc. It really does make a significant difference, even flying at 32,000 feet.
There are a couple of "strongly suggested" purchases;
openLC North America - This package is almost as good as the dedicated areas such a Pacific Northwest.
openLC Europe - If you
never want to fly in any of Europe, you can skip this one. But if you ever do fly there, it makes a huge difference.
One relatively cheap suggestion is the ORBX FTX Trees HD. If all you do is takeoff and fly high, you could skip this one. ORBX FTX TREE'S HD Review -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnFJgdndtWQNormally, Orbx sales run from 20% to 35%. With the 48% off sale going on now, you might want to buy the Orbx basics and try them out. See how your computer does with them, and THEN decide if you need the CPU & RAM upgrades.
by OldAirmail » Tue Aug 08, 2017 7:11 pm 
