Microsoft Flight Simulator X

[Beirut]

Beirut, I'm going for it. Will buy the dandy thing probably tomorrow, along with a nice joystick, and next year (January), if I like the game, I will add up with the expansion pack and probably some extra content.

Will it run smoothly on a

Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.0GHZ
3.3 GB DDR2 RAM
256MB nVidia 7900GS

?

Hey Edyz,

It will run well as long as you match your flight style to your specs and your expectations.

If you want to fly the heavies (747 et al) out of major airports near big cities, you're doomed. Or at least mostly doomed. Forget about fancy airport AI with moving baggage carts and all that. Ain't gonna happen. However, you should get some decent flights with good eye-candy out of major airports if you lower the settings appropriately. You'll need to grab some tweaks so you can play with the .cfg file settings. They will make a very noticeable difference.

On the other hand, if you handle the settings well, and fly the right plane (not an FPS killing add-on), you should get some very nice bush and mountain flights with excellent eye candy.

Don't forget that FS9 (FS2004) will run very well on your rig and still has lots of life in it. You'll be able to do things you could never pull off in FSX. It's subjective, but reasonable(?) to say you'll get ten times the performance out of FS9 than you will out of FSX. And vice versa. FS9 is still an excellent sim.

Have you flown FS9 yet?

[edyzmedieval]

FS2004, yes, but only a long time ago, and not on my rig. I don't own it.
I tried FSX last night on it (don't ask), on ultra high everything and 1900x1200. The thing is it didn't even try to go on ultra high, it looked like a 640x480 game.

Will it run on this:

3.2 GHZ Intel Pentium IV
2GB DDRII RAM
ATI Radeon X700

?

If FSX will not prove viable, then FS2004 will be on my shopping list.

[Beirut]

FS2004, yes, but only a long time ago, and not on my rig. I don't own it.
I tried FSX last night on it (don't ask), on ultra high everything and 1900x1200. The thing is it didn't even try to go on ultra high, it looked like a 640x480 game.

Will it run on this:

3.2 GHZ Intel Pentium IV
2GB DDRII RAM
ATI Radeon X700

?

If FSX will not prove viable, then FS2004 will be on my shopping list.

An ATI X700 is very weak for FSX. I thought you had a 7900GS card?

[edyzmedieval]

My laptop includes the 7900GS while the 4 year old desktop incorporates the X700. The only problem with my laptop is that it has only a Core 2 Duo 2.0GHZ. I don't know if this is fast, but surely, it doesn't work too good with FSX unfortunately.

[Husar]

Have you tried the game on the laptop?
I'd expect the laptop to outperform the desktop, wouldn't worry too much about the Core 2 Duo, especially if the game is somewhat optimized it should outperform the Pentium 4.

[edyzmedieval]

Yes, I tried it only on the laptop, and it works like a 640x480. The outside looks kind of bad, and I put everything on max. I have no clue what to do next.

[edyzmedieval]

I tweaked FSX now and it works good now, especially with Service Pack 1 which gave me some more FPS.

Now, the question is. I want to buy some payware add-on packs.
I have an option between 3 packs, which are expensive, I admit, but since I'll hopefully be getting a rig, I want to get them.

- FS Global 2008 (35 quid)
- Switzerland Pro X (will be released later on this year - it will be absolutely incredible but... 130 euros!!!!)
- Flight Environment X + Ground Environment X - about 90 $

Anyone giving me any tips? I really want the Switzerland Pro X, but I highly doubt I will want to spend my earnings on that.