Ok new computer for FSX and Vista any advice???

[masmith]

Im thinking of building a new computer for the release of FSX and Vista, My budget will be around

[ctjoyce]

Your gonna need more cash. Also a 3.5Ghz dual core dosn't exist anymore. The highest clock is going to be 3.2Ghz and thats a EE kentsfield ($1200)

Basically get around 1200 GBP to be able to build that.

Cheers
Cameron

[GreenNOS]

well, if and when you get a computer, you should down load and check out this:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=65926&clcid=0x409
 it is the Windows Vista hardware adviser. it will let you know what needs to be upgraded, and what will work.


hope this helps

[masmith]

What do you think of these specs, and components,

AMD 64bit 2.2GHZ Dual Core4200+
PSU 600watt
Asus A8N-SLI
RAM 2xCorasir 1GB
Western Digital 250GB SATA150 7200rpm 16mbCache
Sony CRX320E 52x32x52x16 CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Samsung Floppy drive SFD 321B Black
Nvidia GeForce 7800GTX

Total

[NicksFXHouse]

Your going to have to increase your budget. If you are planning on using the new system for FSX and Vista, I would recommend the following based on hardware available today:

1. Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130037


2. Memory (MINIMUM 2 GIGS for VISA AND GAMING)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227225


3. Video Card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130279

(You can add another one for SLI much cheaper next year)

4. Make SURE the PSU can handle 2x7900GTX in SLI and have power to spare


Considerations:

1. Visa will be worthless for at least a year from today, if not longer, because of the bugs of a new OS

2. FSX may be released before Xmas... that is the target date for its release but nothing official has been set.

3. New hardware hitting the market needs several months, at minimum, to make sure there are no serious bugs that require fixing and if there are, they are corrected in BIOS updates.

4. If you are planning a game system, you would be better off with an AMD system over an Intel. A good rule of thumb for system (processor) comparison performance in gaming is to take the speed of the Intel processor (in example 2.8gig) remove the decimal, add 2 zeros and you have the equivalent of AMD in game performance. In other words, a 2.8gig Intel processor is the same as buying a 2800+ AMD. Being you can obtain 4000+ AMD processors, your better off with AMD when it comes to graphics performance. Intel on the other hand is far superior to AMD for video editing and other types of multimedia work. It is the same for dual cores. AMD is far superior for gaming over Intel but Intel is far superior in just about everything else.

5. Newer motherboards and video cards will be available as the year progresses. Some people are not willing to wait for the hardware to appear and for it to go through its 'test' period. If you can wait until October or November there will be more to choose from and the price of the EXPENSIVE hardware (listed above) at today's prices will have come down in price significantly.

[ctjoyce]

Thanks Nick, I really didn't want to type all that this early.

Basically my only add to that is that you need to think about if you plan to upgrade your system at all in the future. If so then you really should think about getting an AM2 socket system with a NF5 board.

Cheers
Cameron

[NicksFXHouse]

As for the processor... right now dual core is almost useless for FS9 unless you understand how to assign cores to different processes and set up affinity. You can see a good jump in FS9 performance by doing that however FS9 does NOT recognize a dual core, at all.

That being said, unless you are running other games and software which IS dual dore aware, AND you know and understand how to setup and work with a dual core to help FS9, buying a dual core now may be a waste of your money.

The dual core you chose (2.2gig) is a joke anyway... if you were to go dual core it would be better to go with a 4800+.

That being said, if you buy a single core san diego (3700+ or 4000+) now to hold you over till next year, the dual cores which Vista and FSX WILL recognize, will have come down in price and you will probably have a better selection to choose from.

The bottom line is this:

If you want to build now you will have to realize that in order to be FSX and Vista ready (at least with a decent system) it will cost ALLOT more than it will if you wait until the end of the year or a bit longer to buy the same hardware whith improvements. At the same time, if you wait the newer hardware will more than likely be much more Vista and FSX friendly however NO ONE knows for sure how the newer hardware will fair until it has been on the market for a while and NO ONE knows what it will cost.

[richardd43]

My only addition to this would be to wait on the graphics card until DX-10 cards are available

[ctjoyce]

Its not worth it. Vista isn't coming out until next May, and neithar are DX10 cards. It really dosn't make sense as no games are coming out right at the launch of Vista, and therefore for about 6 months to a year everything will still be DX9

Cheers
Cameron

[richardd43]

Its not worth it. Vista isn't coming out until next May, and neithar are DX10 cards. It really dosn't make sense as no games are coming out right at the launch of Vista, and therefore for about 6 months to a year everything will still be DX9

Not being an employee of MS I can't verify that but I was under the impression it will be a first quarter release.

[NicksFXHouse]

Not being an employee of MS I can't verify that but I was under the impression it will be a first quarter release.

That release date is for the general public release and it was not set in stone.

Even if Vista manages to hit the open market by Q1 07 don't count on it being a turn-key OS. As it stands right now features are being eliminated in order to make a Q1 07 release and between that and the lawsuits pending from Symantic and Adobe along with the lousy driver support, May 07 would be a better estimate for Vista being ready for full use.


Edit: However, anything can change between now and the end of the year....


As for processors (getting back to the above conversation) single or dual, always choose the processer with the LARGEST cache.

[ctjoyce]

True that. Also has anyone heard about the hardware codeing that MS is implamenting for Vista? Basically theres going to be a codec on the piece of hardware, and if it dosn't have it, vista will not recognise it. And this codec can only be issued by MS. Basically what this means is MS decides which companys live, and which die.

Damn and I hade huge hopes for this OS too

Cheers
Cameron

[richardd43]

Basically theres going to be a codec on the piece of hardware, and if it dosn't have it, vista will not recognise it.

Thats interesting, which piece of hardware is this gem going to apply to and any idea what does/doesn't happen it you don't have it?

[ctjoyce]

Its all hardware. Motherboards, Video cards, processers, RAM, everything thats in your case.

MS is going to screw themselves if they do this. They already are getting sued by people for other things relateing to vista. The thing that I find funny is that companys spend so much time protecting their product from hackers, that they end up pissing people off in the long run. I mean look at my other thread. And thats only XP. I would hate to think about what I would have had to do if it were vista.

Cheers
Cameron