Computer suggestions

[Ryan M.]

Hey guys, 

I'm thinking of getting a new computer, and this is what I have in mind. Do you think this is a good setup for running X-plane?

 

• 15.6" Full HD 1920 x 1080 Matte

• Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M 2GB

• 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ

• 8GB DDR3L at 1600MHz

• 1TB 7200rpm HDD

• Intel Wireless-AC 3165 + Bluetooth

• Windows® 10 Home 64-Bit Edition

• 8X DVD Rewritable Drive
  White-LED illuminated keyboard
  Fingerprint Reader

 

[chris k]

A 15" monitor? Whats wrong with your existing monitor? thats really really small... circa 1980s screens.

 

Oh, the finger print reader is not relevant, unless John has written FingerMAXX for activation of skymaxx.

 

the 960M is unremarkable. You will be disappointed...

 

_______________
 

EDIT: after looking at it for a while, I just realised, this is a LAPTOP computer.

 

No, a laptop is never a good setup for X-plane. You are thermally throttled most of the time, have low-power and thus low-performance components (battery life and heat trumps power and performance), and generally are paying *more* than if you built a desktop system, since the form factor is what you're paying for vs. an equivalent desktop system.

 

If you want a computer for X-Plane, you should build a system designed for x-plane... i.e. full desktop system, i5/i7 at 3.5 Ghz or better, GTX 970, etc... Not a laptop.

[captainamerican]

A 15" monitor? Whats wrong with your existing monitor? thats really really small... circa 1980s screens.

 

Oh, the finger print reader is not relevant, unless John has written FingerMAXX for activation of skymaxx.

 

the 960M is unremarkable. You will be disappointed...

 

_______________

 

EDIT: after looking at it for a while, I just realised, this is a LAPTOP computer.

 

No, a laptop is never a good setup for X-plane. You are thermally throttled most of the time, have low-power and thus low-performance components (battery life and heat trumps power and performance), and generally are paying *more* than if you built a desktop system, since the form factor is what you're paying for vs. an equivalent desktop system.

 

If you want a computer for X-Plane, you should build a system designed for x-plane... i.e. full desktop system, i5/i7 at 3.5 Ghz or better, GTX 970, etc... Not a laptop.

 

While were at this, I'm thinking of upgrading my computer hardware. So far this is what I've been running it on:

 

- 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon

- 12 GB Ram

- AMD Radeon HD 6870

- 512GB HDD

- 24" Monitor

 

The specs may not seem high end, but I run X-Plane with moderately high settings and get a plausible 30ish FPS. However, I am looking to max out my computer and push for some higher settings in x-plane, as well as accommodate my machine for Adobe programs and such..

 

Any suggestions/thoughts? 

[mgeiss]

I would suggest an Intel 4790K or 6700K and a Geforce 980ti if it fits your budget. X-Plane is still heavily dependent on CPU-speed (single thread performance) rather than the numer of cores. Six or more cores only make a difference when using very "heavy" sceneries. At least that's what I am experiencing.

Edited November 9, 2015 by mgeiss

[Jah]

I'm right now running this specs:

 

- Core i7 4770k 3,5Ghz

- 8GB Ram (To be upgraded to 16 in the near future UHD Mesh needs it)

- AMD R290X 8GB VRAM

- 512SSD

- 27" Cinema Display 2560x1440p

 

I'm totally happy with my R290X and with the 8GB of VRAM it has, you never suffer any sort of stuttering even with UHD Mesh everywhere! And you get this card right now for only 330Euros... in my opinion its worth the money compared to the extrem expensive 980ti (700-800 Euros)

 

 

And here is my Graphic Setup in Xplane with which I get about 30FPS over heavy crowded places (EDDF etc.) and way up to 80FPS (GCLA Photoreal Scenery)

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zbzzh540cae3v1e/xplane%20settings.jpg?dl=0

Edited November 14, 2015 by Jah

[Ryan M.]

I'm right now running this specs:

 

- Core i7 4770k 3,5Ghz

- 8GB Ram (To be upgraded to 16 in the near future UHD Mesh needs it)

- AMD R290X 8GB VRAM

- 512SSD

- 27" Cinema Display 2560x1440p

 

I'm totally happy with my R290X and with the 8GB of VRAM it has, you never suffer any sort of stuttering even with UHD Mesh everywhere! And you get this card right now for only 330Euros... in my opinion its worth the money compared to the extrem expensive 980ti (700-800 Euros)

 

 

And here is my Graphic Setup in Xplane with which I get about 30FPS over heavy crowded places (EDDF etc.) and way up to 80FPS (GCLA Photoreal Scenery)

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zbzzh540cae3v1e/xplane%20settings.jpg?dl=0

How much did the total setup cost?

[Jah]

I paid something about 900-1000€ back then. Without the monitor, if you plan to get a Apple Display try to get a used one. I choose the "old" cinema display because of the non thunderbolt connection.

 

I just put the system together for you with the today prices: still about 900€ the i7 got more expensive, but the rest got cheaper.. so this was just on one site, so you maybe found cheaper parts all over the internet...