To upgrade to vista or to not upgrade to Vista

[bok269]

That is the question.  I have a free upgrade coming.   FSX is running reasonably well on my computer now.  How will it effect FSX if I upgrade?

[Nick N]

2 words

DRIVER SUPPORT

Right now it

[bok269]

Problem is I have to apply for the upgrade by March 15.  i dont have to install it right away, so I can wait for patches to be released, but I might as well get it.

Right now Im running 2x 512 MB RAM, 2x Intel core duo 2.0 GHz proccessors and the NVIDIA GeForce 7600

[Nick N]

[quote]Problem is I have to apply for the upgrade by March 15.

[Katahu]

This is what makes Nick so well-liked in the SimV forum. His advice is well said.

[reider]

I have Vista 64 bit, it runs perfectly well with FSX.  No worse, slightly better in the load times of the individual parts and a slight improvement when the memory card is used too.  I use it in 1 gig of ram and have not had to buy more ram to achieve it.  My new machine has 2 gig of ram, that is the only reason for the increase on that machine, not because of any needs arising from Vista.  I too am getting the free upgrade, I applied for it weeks ago.  If it only goes over the top of my MCE 2005 then ok, given the choice I will install it on the second partition and dual boot, though I think this option is unlikely.  In a normal upgrade its possible, in this one tied to the upgrade of MCE 2005 I cannot see them allowing it and think it will be doctored.  Not that I wish to keep MCE 2005 that much, ordinary XP Pro maybe.  The 32 bit version allows more software to run than the 64 bit does, so this is an advantage too.  I am glad I have both though, since I have the Standard and the Deluxe versions of FSX and can easily compare and use the two operating systems.

Reider

[DONTREADMYUSERNAME]

i think you should wait. Vista probably has some bugs and im gonna waith till about june/july for the fixes and some decent card support.

[Scorp64]

New guy to the forum, but not to Vista.

[bok269]

Thanks for the help.

Another question:
Im thinking about what to do with my expansion slot.  To improve FSX and eventually Vista, should I go for a better graphics card or more RAM?

[reider]

Depends what you have now, if its 1 gig and a weak video card then improve the video card now and add a gig later when you can.  If less than a gig then improve the memory first.  The video card may be throttled by the processor if its weak, but I guess this is ok as it sounds like its a `made for Vista` machine.  I found a Geforce 7600GT and a gig of memory for

[Scorp64]

The GeForce 7600, while not the "top of the line" DX9 card, is more than enough to run Vista with all the eye candy, and run FSX acceptably.  The problem you're likely to run into is the RAM.  Don't worry about Vista showing you 66% memory usage while it's sitting there doing nothing.  That's the SuperFetch at work trying to anticipate what you want to do next.  If an application needs that memory Vista's SuperFetch will get out of the way.  But Vista does require more memory than XP and FSX likes to have plenty of memory too.

[reider]

Mine already had a gig of mem in and I added a gig plus the 7600.  I`m more than happy with the results, at a reasonable price.  Settings are mainly Ultra High with traffic at 100%, I like my eye candy very much indeed.  Though the other sliders are not all the way across.  I`ve achieved a nice balance of frame rate, eye candy and fluid movement in the game, without any fiddling with the settings.  Though I fully understand and back anyone who does.  Whatever works for the individual is what matters at the end of the day.

Reider