Need some more advice

[NicksFXHouse]

Nice! My friend came over last night and told me he was busy all day sowing his jib after blowing it out on their return trip during the cyclone event here last week.

Ahhhhhhhh.. thats right! I heard about that storm on the news

Were you in that mess?

[congo]

If you go to the system properties and disable your sound card, then fly FS9, you would find a huge frame rate jump because the CPU cycles to the sound system are not being used.

Hey, I just tried this and FS9 would not load, I also tried it by disabling sound in bios, same result.

If I use the ingame key to disable sound, I gain a full 8 percent in FPS, going from 35 to 38 FPS at the default flight screen.

I have always noticed a similar result in 3Dmark and other software that gives me an FPS readout.

The storm was North of us, we got rain and wind, not bad here. But I did fly into the eye in FS9 using real weather when the storm peaked just 1 hour before striking land! I wrote a short memoir in the FS2004 forum about it.

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/ ... 1142845512

[NicksFXHouse]

Hey, I just tried this and FS9 would not load, I also tried it by disabling sound in bios, same result.

If I use the ingame key to disable sound, I gain a full 8 percent in FPS, going from 35 to 38 FPS at the default flight screen.

I have always noticed a similar result in 3Dmark and other software that gives me an FPS readout.

The storm was North of us, we got rain and wind, not bad here. But I did fly into the eye in FS9 using real weather when the storm peaked just 1 hour before striking land! I wrote a short memoir in the FS2004 forum about it.

Glad it missed you!

Hmmmmmm... I can disable sound in the device manager here and FS gives a warning but it will load. Strange it would not work for you.

[congo]

Yes, that is strange, I'm using onboard sound, I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

I just linked some images to that FS2004 story.

[Jimbo]

Yes, that is strange, I'm using onboard sound, I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

I just linked some images to that FS2004 story.

Sounds Very interesting Congo!

Unfortunately im in the UK, in Sunny Sheffield*, and i have no chance of good weather, or an Enjoyable** day on the beach or sea!

* = Rather cold here
** = Without been blown off the beach!

You are lucky, you have somewhere warm you can go!

LOL

James

[Jimbo]

[quote]
I think I owe congo an apology. My response earlier in the thread was not about being put off because he disagreed with the things I posted. On the contrary, everyone here has both experience and technical knowledge to share. No matter how much or how little one knows, what one person may lack another can fill in. In between all that most have formed opinions based on their knowledge and experience.

I am not an expert on every card, board or processor. In example, I did not know the newer 7900 series cards had been found to work without issues and that is why I suggested a short wait before purchasing that series of card. In reading the thread and based on the experience from those in this thread who do know the card works well it was my recommendation to suggest a bit more money be spent on the GTX version because James wanted products that would be better suited for FSX use. Being the GTX version has 512mb video memory and a higher clock, and because FSX is geared for hardware which will probably have 1024 video memory standard, my recommendation would place him in the realm of having the ability to run FSX with little loss in performance or visual appearance. Doubling that card in SLI later this year or next year would mean his system would be well above standard for using FSX.

The processor recommendation was based on costs. When the FX-57 drops in price another 200 dollars, its performance to cost ratio makes more sense however by then newer chips will be on the market and it is quite possible a better cost effective solution would be available. If I have the money to spend the FX-57 would be my choice simply because I do not have to overclock it to hit 2.8g.

The 3700+ and 4000+ SD cores will provide a good base for his system however in order to maximize the system potential they must be overclocked at least 15% or more. That does not mean FS9 requires the overclock to run well, but items such as AI and weather set up high will run much better with the processor overclocked.

Overclocking is not always a solution for people who do not know how to do it correctly. That goes for both processor and video system. A good and safe overclock sometimes requires the addition of special HSF for both processor and video adapter. That added cost along with the risk in replacing a video card HSF with an aftermarket unit when one is inexperienced can result in disaster, therefore spending a few hundred dollars more on hardware which is already keyed to the higher clocks without overclocking becomes a wise investment.

I can also say without reservation the dual core processor (if you pick the right one) is better than a single core in gaming. The problem with dual core processors is they are NOT plug-n-go for the typical inexperienced user. You must learn how to use a dual core environment in the OS settings and understand the affinity timing issues which must be tweaked. It is an entirely different ballgame however once a system is correctly tuned the dual processor setup is completely superior to a single core. Consider this

[NicksFXHouse]

[quote]

Thanks for the detailed consideration.

I have decided, and i am going for the 7900GTX purely for the 512MB ram.

Regarding the CPU;

Whichever CPU i get (3700+ or 4000+) im sure it will be up to the job of FSX, along with a 7900GTX.
Whats everyone else think?

And Yes, if i get the 3700+ or 4000+ i will do a slight overclock. All i need is some experienced users to help me do this safely. The only reason i want to overclock the CPU is so that it doesn't bottleneck the 7900GTX. So if someone can give me some help on a

[Jimbo]

[quote]

Congo and others here have a great deal of experience with specific motherboards. When it comes to overclocking there is a learning curve for the base process and for the BIOS/motherboard you are working with. Once you have the system up and running with the proper drivers and BIOS settings and it is running smooth and stable, I would post back with system specs and request overclocking information.

[ctjoyce]

Its a new socket from AMD. There are many improovements, amung them are DDR2 Support, so AMD systems can now have the "advantage" of DDR2. However now mabe companys will bring the friggen timings on those things down.

Cheers
Cameron

[ctjoyce]

True. However the AM2 release has sparked many improvements. DDR2 timings will finally drop, now that DDR2 is going to be market wide. Intel finally pulled its head out of its arse, and engineered quite the core featuring a 65nm process pipeline to keep up with AMD. And finally (and probibly the best) 939 stuff is going to come down in price atleast $50.

Its a buyers market kids, start countin those pennies.

Cheers
Cameron

[congo]

Its a buyers market kids, start countin those pennies.

Considering the cpu alone will hit the market here locally at about 120,000 pennies, kids need not apply.

I removed my previous post because it contained nothing but badly researched BS.

The AM2 is a socket design, the fourth on the amd64 platform. 754, 939, 940, and now AM2.

The socket will support DDR2 as previously mentioned.

It basically means that all the overclockers will have to throw their 3rd party heatsinks in the rubbish bin because they won't fit anymore, we all need to buy new mainboards and CPU's and new ram.

Nice going AMD, way to generate some business!

Basically, there is one model of X2 CPU that will exceed current specs, and one FX dual core. Everything else is more or less same old same old with the exception of power requirements which are down a bit on some models.

Now here is where it gets even worse..........

After the first release of these pretenders, there will be a second release of new cpu's for socket AM2 that will be on a new 65nm silicon process and that will be the next REAL improvement.

This is the worst technology release I've seen in a while but it should lead to better things eventually.


The upshot of all this AM2 stuff is that it is not going to be much of an improvement (if any at all) on anything available now. The only way it could impact people who buy new systems now is if ram manufacturers suddenly stopped making DDR ram modules, and we have about 2 years before that will happen. (so I've heard)

[Jimbo]

Aaah ok, i understand it now.

I'm sure i will be fine with my proposed plan of buying the AMD 64 3700+ or 4000+.

Thanks all.

James

[Jimbo]

All that is left now is the PSU and the System Case.

I still need to decide on the PSU...

But my knowledge when it comes to a PSU is not very good.

Also reccomend me any GOOD quality system cases.

Any suggestions?

James

[ctjoyce]

Read my PM on PSU, and as for the case, I'm loving my Thermaltake Soprano, but if you want the ultamate piece of kit look at the Lian-Li series. They will blow you away. Also the Silverstone cases are also very nice, however on the pricy side. That TJ07 is to die for though. A watercoolers dream case.

Cheers
Cameron

[Jimbo]

Read my PM on PSU, and as for the case, I'm loving my Thermaltake Soprano, but if you want the ultamate piece of kit look at the Lian-Li series. They will blow you away. Also the Silverstone cases are also very nice, however on the pricy side. That TJ07 is to die for though. A watercoolers dream case.

Cheers
Cameron

Thanks for the PM!

I'm looking for a "Standard" but quality case. such as:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products ... _uid=90602

I wouldn't call it standard, but more "Posh"...

Either way i like that sort of case.

Im interested in Antec Cases, i also very much like this one:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products ... _uid=99134

Thanks again.

James

PS: Thanks CT for the PM, ive decided to get the Hiper type R PSU.