System Minimum Requirements for FSX???

[Balsa_Pilot]

According to Microsoft:
Operating system Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).... I have Windows 7.
Computer processor 1.0 gigahertz (GHz).... I have 3.50 GHz
Memory 512 MB RAM for Windows 7 and Windows Vista.... I have 8 gigs.
Hard disk space 14 gigabytes (GB) available hard disk space.... I have 1 Tb.
Video card 32 MB DirectX 9-compatible video card.... I have NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 w/1gig.

While I know I don't exactly have a "super computer," it still far exceeds the minimum requirements to run FSX. One would think that I could run it at at least 20 fps, and look at least as good as fs2004. I've NEVER seen more than 11 fps, and that is with the settings at less than medium, and autogen at very sparse. No air, ground, or boat traffic, and no addon's (except for my beautiful Carenado aircraft), and it still runs like a slide show! Am I missing something? Do I need to go out and buy a high end liquid cooled gaming machine just to run FSX? Did Microsoft LIE about the minimum requirements?

I've been running FS2004 for years with tons of addon's, all of the sliders and settings maxed, I even use payware aircraft as AI traffic, and I get better than 150 fps! I must say it looks pretty good for a 13 year old flight sim, but Carenado is no longer making any new aircraft for FS9. The planes that I have purchased for FSX I can't even enjoy because the sim is just too sluggish. Sure I can set all the setting to very low, but it looks absolutely horrible. The funny thing is, X plane 9 runs smooth as silk; the problem is, I hate everything about X plane. So I guess since I can't really run FSX, P3D and Flight Sim World would be out of the question too, huh?

[papituwall]

The weak point in your computer seems to be the graphics card. You don't detail the processor. But I see people with better systems than mine having problems. It seems that these simulators perform different in each PC.

I have an HP pavilion with i7 @ 2.8 Ghz, 8Gb memory, 1+2 Tb HHD's. From HP had a GTX260, was not bad (very good for FS9) but needing DivX-11 for P3D, I changed the GPU for a 660GTX considering that I shouldn't install a high end GPU in a medium-low old PC.

I have win10 and use FSX-SE (with Steve's Dx10 fixer) and P3DV4, also I have FSW and DCS and the PC performs decently. Of course I have learned that my PC doesn't like clouds so y fly mainly in clear days with my small aircraft collection.

I reckon that I should spend +3.000€ in a new computer but money apart, I'm afraid of investing this money and really not achieve the perfect PC.

[garymbuska]

I hate the words minimum system requirements as in most cases it really does not tell you anything at all. It means this is the least amount of hardware/software that will at least allow the program to run.
Of course they do not tell you that it will run at top speeds but it will run.
First thing you need to do is to forget about the minimum system requirements. Even though FSX is a old program it is a GPU CPU and RAM hungry program. so it depends on what you want to do if you want to be able to run fsx with all the sliders set to the max than you will need to have a system that will do that. No that does not mean you have to lay out thousands of dollars for a system.
you have to decide if you want to buy a pre built system or build one yourself.
Do not let the thought of building your own system scare you it is really not that hard at all. The hardest part is the mother board and all the wires that connect to it. But the mother board comes with a detailed manual that tells you where each plug goes and in most cases you can not get them wrong as the plugs are designed to go into one place only . It is the single wires like the HD busy light that can be a problem. But as long as you pay attention to the manual it is a breeze.
Of course the CPU is the scariest part you have to make sure you put enough thermal grease on it and put it in the right way and make sure you are grounded as static charges can and will destroy it faster than you can blink an eye.
I do not mean tp scare you but this is the hardest part so if you are not comfortable doing this than do not try it.
A good CPU will run you around $300.00 at least and I would hate to see you destroy it by not doing it correctly and trust me it can be done.
About four years ago I think I decided to update my old 16 bit system. I shopped around and had no real time frame as to when I wanted to have it up and running so i watched for sells and purchased the equipment one piece at a time.
The only thins I did not have to buy was a case and a monitor. Every thing else I had to replace. To me the most important part is the mother board because it is the mother board that will allow you to run the latest CPU'S and the most ram and the higher end video cards.
As you can see by my signature I have a descent system and run FSX full out with no problems and i only spent about $800.00

[Sinkrate]

Hi BP,

I’m not at all sure it’s your computer that is at fault as I used to run FSX just fine on my previous computer, which had inferior specs to yours. I was running it on Win XP 32bit OS and of course, not at fully maxed out settings, but it looked better than FS9 on the same machine. I now run FSX, FS9 & XPX on Win 10 with all settings maxed out on my latest machine. I still like FS9 and would never give it up no matter how difficult Mickey makes it for us to use it.

If I were you, I would be inclined to persevere with the settings (including screen resolution, window mode, and renewing the FSX config. file)) before giving up on FSX. I’m not sure what effect a 64bit OS has on it as I only ran it on 32bit before. As you have 1TB hard drive, would it be possible to install Win XP 32bit or similar in a dual boot configuration, as XP is definitely better at running some progs. I would do exactly that if I didn’t still have my old computer.

Regards,

Sink

[Balsa_Pilot]

Thanks for the info guys. Yeah I've built my own pc's in the past, lightning took out my latest one and I needed to get something fast because of my job. I ran out and purchased a wal-mart HP computer for like $499.99 added ram and my INVIDIA GTX 260 card, and a much larger power supply. I think the processor is the weakest link in the system as it is an AMD Phenom II duel core 3.50 GHz. I knew it wouldn't be nearly as good as my old rig that got zapped, but it ran FS2004 exceptionally well and I figured it oughta at least run FSX at a fair rate. My old rig had an i3 processor with GeForce GTX 750 Ti, and 8 gigs of ram. Still it wouldn't run FSX at max settings, but I got somewhere around 50 fps with medium+ settings. I still like FS2004 and it looks really incredible for an old sim, but I miss the little things on FSX like the clickable ATC menu, and the g force simulation when taking off in VC view. Also, Carenado has some great aircraft for FSX that are not available for FS2004. I suppose if I want to run FSX or other sims I'm just gonna have shell out a few more hundred bucks.

[garymbuska]

Thanks for the info guys. Yeah I've built my own pc's in the past, lightning took out my latest one and I needed to get something fast because of my job. I ran out and purchased a wal-mart HP computer for like $499.99 added ram and my INVIDIA GTX 260 card, and a much larger power supply. I think the processor is the weakest link in the system as it is an AMD Phenom II duel core 3.50 GHz. I knew it wouldn't be nearly as good as my old rig that got zapped, but it ran FS2004 exceptionally well and I figured it oughta at least run FSX at a fair rate. My old rig had an i3 processor with GeForce GTX 750 Ti, and 8 gigs of ram. Still it wouldn't run FSX at max settings, but I got somewhere around 50 fps with medium+ settings. I still like FS2004 and it looks really incredible for an old sim, but I miss the little things on FSX like the clickable ATC menu, and the g force simulation when taking off in VC view. Also, Carenado has some great aircraft for FSX that are not available for FS2004. I suppose if I want to run FSX or other sims I'm just gonna have shell out a few more hundred bucks.

I am an INTEL user I have never liked AMD and had heard some bad things about them. But I now realize that most of that was just rumors or trash talk. AMD CPU'S are not that much different than INTELL but there are some differences that do make a difference but that is all technical stuff and does not belong here. Before you do any thing find out if your mother board will support a different cpu than the one you have.
Mother boards are designed to support a particular socket which determines what CPU you can use. Shortly after I built my system INTELL up dated the bridge inside the CPU I am using my son wound up buying that one and my mother board will support it if I ever want to change but for now quite happy with what I have I can always add more ram as my system will support 32 gigs and at a faster speed than what I am currently using.
But to me building your own system is the way to go as you will not have all the junk on your main hard drive and you will have your own copy of Windows which store bought system do not have. and you decide what you want or do not want.
As for lighting buy a UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply a Battery back up I use one at home and at work APC makes some systems that they will guarantee will not destroy your system. It is money well spent.

[Balsa_Pilot]

Yep, it was an expensive lesson learned that a surge protector alone is just not enough when it comes to lightning. I not only lost my PC, but also a Playstation 4, surround sound unit, and a 65" two month old LCD television. Pretty much everything that was plugged into that room of the house was toasted. I now own a UPS and I hope it is never put to the test. I don't want to go through that again. Anyway, I don't think I'm gonna try to upgrade this wal-mart PC any further. I'm probably just gonna grab a bare bones deal that has a decent processor included, and maybe try to find a deal on the GTX 1080 video card. Have you seen this thing? It's mouth watering! But it's like $550.00. It'll be a bit before I build anything, but I guess if I'm gonna do it I may as well build one that is gonna last at least a few years before its obsolete.

[napamule]

I built my own rig. I run FS9 (499 fps) and FSX (locked at 30). If you read up on rigs, you can get a decent rig for less money by shopping around (Amazon is my main one). The magazine I read is Maximum PC. Every month they have a 'Rig of the Month'. They can be $4000 (SLI, etc, etc) but can be $900 (Intel, etc). The key is MB! And 7200 rpm HDrive. Then 4 gb (NOT 6 gb or 8 gb) video card and a GOOD PSU. Go from there. I have a i7 2600K, XFX R7-360 2 gb DDR5, Corsair 650 80+ PSU, 8 gb 1300 Dual Channel Ram, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit. Cost? $900. I make videos with Fraps and it renders them at 60 fps. Life is good.
Chuck B
Napamule

[garymbuska]

Bare Bones deals can be a way to go you can find some good deals. They some time come with a choice of a CPU or a power supply and some times a video card as of this post the latest card from NVIDA is the GTX10 series
I got a GTX 9 series on sale it can run most if not all of the current games out there
The mother board I bought is still available and is considered descent it will run the I7 series CPU's here is a link to it https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8Z68VGEN3/

[napamule]

Just don't buy a HP Envy, with i7 for $900. It has multiple problems. Not 3.4 ghz but 2.7 ghz. 300 watt PSU. Ram clips break. Optical drive last 2 months. etc.
Chuck B
Napamule

[villagedefrance]

I also build my own rigs.
Currently I'm using an AMD FX9590 8 cores @ 4.7Ghz, 16Gb of DDR3 and an EVGA Geforce GTX1060 6Gb card on Windows7 x64.
Now the interesting bit is that I used to have a smaller CPU before (AMD FX 6 cores @ 3.9Ghz) and upgrading my hardware did not make much of a difference.

The real performance (FPS) improvements can be achieved by tweaking your FSX.cfg file.

The things to look for are as follow:

[Display]
BLOOM_EFFECTS=0
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=30

[GRAPHICS]
HIGHMEMFIX=1

[BUFFERPOOLS]
UsePools=0

[JOBSCHEDULeR]
AffinityMask= (depending on CPU)

Go to http://www.gatwick-fsg.org.uk/affinitymask.aspx?SubMenuItem=hardware to calculate your Affinity Mask.

The general rule is always to avoid using the FIRST core for FSX on a multi-core CPU, so Windows can function correctly in the background.
So if you have an 6 core CPU you only use 5 for FSX, only 7 cores on an 8 cores CPU.

The second rule is about Hyper-Threaded (HT) CPUs. Intel are pretty much all HT CPUs while AMDs are not (unless you have a new Ryzen).
The Gatwick Affinity Mask calculator will do the maths for you ...

BUT, if you have (like me) an AMD FX CPU then my tip is to pretend you have an HT processor! Yes .. I know ... doesn't make sense but it works!
In my case, I have 8 cores but I only use 6, 3 physical and 3 Hyper-threaded.
So my Affinity mask is 84 only, instead of 128 which is 7 physical cores without HT.

Ultimately, if all this technical stuff is too much for you then you should consider SteveFX DX10 scenery Fixer because it does it for you.
https://stevesfsxanalysis.wordpress.com/how-to-purchase/

DirectX10 is also advantageous if you have a good Graphic Card and a less good CPU, as DX9 uses more CPU processing power and DX10 uses more GPU processing power.

Happy tweaking!