Which version??

[Zaphod]

Hi all.
I'm about to purchase FSX having been a great fan of FS9 for years. I've now got a PC, built with FSX in mind by my son-in-law, which should be up to the task but I'm confused which version I should buy.
I don't do any on-line flying and don't think missions are of great appeal as I prefer to do my own thing.
Would I be right in saying that some aircraft downloads have been specifically designed for one version or the other? Do all versions come with the latest service packs? Is there a difference in performance or system requirements between the three versions?
Price is not an issue.

Thanks in advance.

Zaphod.

[Daube]

Go for FSX Gold, it's the best choice you can get, since it includes everything for a limited price.

For info, here are the main FSX versions:
- FSX basic
- FSX Deluxe/Professional, which is FSX + the Maule (excellent) + the Goose (excellent as well) + some sceneries + some missions + the FSX SDK.
- FSX Acceleration which is not a stand alone, it's an addon for FSX or FSX Deluxe, and adds the Hornet + the Merlin + the Mustang Racer + Carrier operations + Air Racing + Helicotper hoist system + basic engine damage handling + missions + scenery
- FSX Gold which includes everything above without any exception.

[Zaphod]

Cheers Daube.
Just the info I needed!

Ordering now.

Zaphod

[Daube]

You're welcome

One last thing: as said above, FSX Gold contains FSX Deluxe and FSX Acceleration.
You must install FSX Deluxe first, then install Acceleration on top of it.
Once Acceleration is installed, it's up to date, you WILL NOT need to install the SP1 and SP2 patches.

[Zaphod]

Thanks again for the advice. Looking forward to the postman delivering FSX any day now and finally going over to the dark side

Zaphod

[Daube]

In the meanwhile, here is a bunch of things you could do:
- FSX wil not like to be installed on the hardrive that contains the operating system. So if you have a second disk, prepare some space for FSX on it.
- make sure your Windows is up to date with Windows Update
- update your DirectX9 runtimes (download dxwebsetup.exe from Microsoft)
- make sure your C++ runtimes are up to date
- you might also need to install the .NET Framework stuff, but I believe this will be done by Windows Update...

Also:
- before installing FSX, make sure your antivirus is turned OFF. I'm talking ONLY about the antivirus, NOT the firewall which should never be deactivated EVER !
- before installing FSX, make sure you're not running any program that creates virtual drives, like Daemon CD or Nero, it might cause some conflicts with the install program
- Don't forget to launch the installation with the option "run as an administrator" (right click on the installation exe file)

Good luck

[Zaphod]

Now you're begining to scare me!
I do have a seperate drive but it's not sata and is very slow (5200rpm) so I won't be using that for anything other than backups.
I have Windows update turned on so should be up to date on that score.
DirectX should be OK as the PC isn't that old and was built with a Kick A**e graphics card so fingers crossed.
As for the rest of the stuff I think I'll just "suck it and see".

Zaphod