Best Sim Computer

[FlorianR]

I am planning on getting a new computer. My MacBook Pro simply wont be able to handle the ever-increasing detail in upcoming planes and sceneries. Below is a list of several computer is have looked at and their price/specs.

Some advice and telling me what computer you run X-plane on would be greatly appreciated  .

Cheers, FlorianR

Workbook1_Sheet1.pdf

[UH-60 Blackhawk]

Not a 27" IMac used by the family-terrible frame rates with low rendering options and somewhat frequent crashes.

[Kesomir]

I run x-plane on a core i7 (first generation) oc'd at 3.8GHz, 8Gig of RAM, GTX 570

For the money either the top or bottom ones will give you a better performance return for your money than the mac pro, although if you're using the computer for other stuff, you may want to get the mac (but it won't run x-plane faster than the other two, and possibly slower)

If it's just for x-plane, then you could get one of the pc's and use your current macbook for mac stuff.

I'd probably save the money and get the Alienware as it's branded, although the unbranded is clocked higher.

Maybe wait until Xplane 10 is released before buying, you'll prob get the same stuff cheaper or better stuff at the same price then.

[FlorianR]

Thanks for the replies. I am still saving for this this, and hope to buy it early this fall- hopefully after v10 has been released. I also plan to keep my macbook and only use the desktop computer for X-plane. Since I am going to spend a lot of money anyways, I though I'd rather go for the best and spend an extra 1K instead of buying some cheap crap that doesn't last 2 days. Whats some of the best stuff out there?

[Kesomir]

Don't forget the law of diminishing returns.

May be best to not go all out, and then replace earlier.

[Nova]

You really should get the components by yourself and then build the pc.

I don't know the us prices, but 2700 dollars are ~1800 €.

If i would buy all the components by myself i would end up with a sum of about

1200 €. And i'm pretty sure, you can save a few hundred bucks too, if you don't

buy a prebuild one.

I had my CPU clocked to 4.5GHz for a week. But dropped it back to only 4GHz

since i don't even have games, that need so much power. Plus running the CPU

on those speeds really eats into their lifespan. 1.35V for the core is not so good,

but on the other side: who uses his pc longer than 3 years?

And for the graphics: a 580 or even a 590 are way toooo expansive. The 570

is already not a good choice any more, considering that you pay way more

but you get only 10% more performance compared to a 560.

And more than 8GB RAM is not necessary.

[OlaHaldor]

I bought three new components just a few days ago. A motherboard, CPU and RAM. I chose to keep my GTX 275 from a couple of years back. It was a choice between those three components or a GTX 570 since they cost exactly the same here. After reading a bit, I'm happy with the choice. My graphics card can handle most games yet, and it seems the only thing holding performance back was the CPU.

So my new system is this:

Gigabyte PH67-UD3 B3

Intel i5 2500K (Sandy Bridge)

Corsair 8GB DDR3 1333MHz

The price for these components was mind blowing low for the performance. Just about $600 !

You will need a case, a hard drive or two, a graphics card and a power supply, but that shouldn't go over $1500 in total. You can reach far if you don't need state of the art graphics card in your rig. An older one like mine is sufficient even for GTA IV on maximum settings. Same thing for X-Pane!

[Simmo W]

Love these topics. Old motto, only upgrade when u need to. Every month you wait, something better is released, often cheaper! My pc is almost 2yrs old, one of the first i7 systems and I don't see a need to upgrade my gtx275 gpu  until early 2012, 560 or better is looking nice! When I bought the i7, I was concerned at paying the 300 premium for it, but guessed it would last me longer. Best decision I made. So pay a little more for the i7 (new one) if u can. Have fun with your new toy!

[Goran_M]

Carbin (The person who has twice quoted kesomir with his own spam links)

I am getting a little tired of deleting your spam posts.

If you want to quote someone else, then it's no problem.  If you quote someone again with spam links to Apple products that were NOT in the original posters forum post, you will be banned.

Have a nice day.