New computer, new FS?

[DenisH]

My wife surprised me with a 78th birthday gift of a new Dell 630 gaming computer with extra memory and upgraded  video card. I am relatively new to FS (and computers) but have enjoyed  the past 6 mos flying  FS9 on my old machine.  This pleasure was enhanced by the excellent advice I've rec'd from people in these forums.  I will continue to fly FS9 but am tempted to install FX10 now that I have a puter that will handle it.  I've been reading some horror stories about the bugs in FX Gold edition and wonder what you chaps think of it? I searched the forums here but can't find any discussion on the merits of the various FSX editions. Is there a forum thread you can recommend?  Thanks in advance. 

[Daube]

There are some topics talking about it, but to be honnest, just like you I've never been so lucky with the "Search" tool of this forum

FSX had two versions: normal and Deluxe.
Deluxe had two more planes, Maule and Goose, some more detailled airports, some more missions, and the SDK for those who are able to build sceneries or planes or any other kind of addons.

Then came Acceleration. Acceleration is an addon for FSX, with three more planes (Mustang, Merlin and Hornet), more sceneries, more missions, and some more features (aircraft-carrier operations, engine damage, Reno-style air race, etc...).

Finally came FSX Gold. That's not a new version, in fact it's just a pack, containing FSX Deluxe and Acceleration, so you really get everything.

Important thing is that FSX Gold is less expensive than buying FSX Deluxe and Acceleration separately. So FSX Gold would be the best choice.

Now, when it comes to your computer, you have to be warned. Contrary to FS9, FSX will NOT work very well out of the box. You will have to learn the "tweaks" to make it use efficiently the power of your computer.

Tweaks are just modifications of the FSX.cfg file. Perhaps you already did something like that with your FS9.cfg file ? There are parameters that you can modify, and parameters that are hidden, so you have to add them and set them to correct values.

There are plenty of informations about the tweaks, just take your time to read the sticky topics and the replies from NickN. It will take a while but in the end there's nothing too complicated.

FSX will be more frustrating than FS9 to be set up correctly. However it will bring you different things to appreciate, things that you won't find in FS9, things that depends on your feelings, things that you may appreciate or not. It's up to you. If you have some money to spend in a game, it's worth a try. It won't damage your FS9 anyway

[jlab58]

i switch from fsx regular to fsx gold deluxe recently and i dont regret it at all. you have a couple more regular airplanes plus f18 hornet, more airfield too. i, like you. ham not a computer geek. i never play with the cfg files i dont even know what they are and where to fine it. so i simply use the fsx parameters to get the best use of my game and i enjoyed it so far. simply have fun.

[hhomebrewer]

Denis, take heed of the warnings about FSX right out of the box. I installed it maybe four to six weeks ago, and it was a disaster of biblical proportions. The water looked just abysmal. I fought it for about a week, then took it off. Just for kicks, I put it back on based on a few suggestions from the good kids here, and it worked fabulously. I think my problem was in the water settings. I had it at Max 2.2x something. I tried 1.1x (or something) and it worked well. I don't have REX, KEX, TEX, GEX, MEX or ZEX. I just have the basics. For me at this time, that's enough. If you want to see the trouble I had, look for a thread named "New FSXer..." from about a month ago...

[flaminghotsauce]

DenisH, have no fear. Get the Gold version, install it and adjust a few settings. I always turn up the airplane settings to full, so the aircraft will look GREAT. Weather I fudge around a bit, scenery also. Make sure your graphics settings match your screen native resolution and you're good.

You will LOVE it. No need for add-ons, it's a beautiful game, the cockpits are far better, the aircraft all seem to handle better to me, and the scenery is better.

AND, install FS9 right along side it. Best of both worlds. Enjoy!

[DenisH]

Many thanks to all you fellas who responded to  my earlier query. I have the gold and it works well except for a few glitches here and there. I will follow the advice on fixing these given in other threads and see what I can do.  Again, thanks to you all.