hobofat

Thanks for the feedback! There were a lot of tough choices to be made, as I had a very strict budget. A few items I did not want to compromise on, CPU and video card in particular. But with the rest I had to shave off $15 here, $30 there. I ended up paying more for the PSU because I wanted it fully modular. I've used a non-modular PSUs before (had to replace one in my old Dell) and it was a nightmare. But blue drives were cheaper than black, the Fractal Design case was the cheapest of the full towers I was interested in, air cooler etc. But they were all compromises I can live with, and things can be adjusted in the future. The hardest item to pick was the motherboard, since I'm not all that computer savvy and they all kind of looked the same to me. I always inspect the 2 - 4-star reviews on Amazon and Newegg, and every motherboard I looked at had a similar amount of disgruntled users with a varying array of problems, so I went with a board that people said "felt solid." Not sure if that was the best choice or not, but I'm hoping it will be sufficient.

Hey, So I find this build really interesting because I *just* hit order on amazon.com for my own custom build that is more or less the same. I had to make a lot of compromises because of budget, one of which was not getting an SSD. But I feel like it was a fairly good go for my first try! Now just to await the arrival of all the parts ... CPU: Intel Core i7-4770KCPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14Motherboard: MSI Z87 MPOWER ATX LGA1150 MotherboardMemory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 MemoryStorage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive x2Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video CardCase: Fractal Design Define XL R2 (Black Pearl) ATX Full Tower Case Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I happen to like windows 8, spent the last few wells using it at my dad's place, the dislike seems more reactionary than anything else. Think I might go ahead and just save up a bit more and go with the i7.

Hey guys, So I'm no PC genius, but I need a new rig, and the wife said I could build one, so here are a couple of builds I'm looking at. One is within budget (under $1500), and the other is over, but the over-budget build has the i7, and the under-budget an i5. I'm wondering, in terms of future upgradeability, if I shouldn't just dig deep and go over-budget. Just looking for comments/suggestions/ideas! budget-build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1CZos over-budget build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1CYfw

My first recommendation is to take the time to set up your controls to your satisfaction. I was put-out at first with how X-Plane assigns controls, very different than FSX, but all the options are there and once you are set up you'll have a pleasant experience. My second suggestion would be to check out X-Aviation's store and if you have a bit of disposable cash, get a few add-ons. I have the MU-2, the DC-3, the Jetstream 32, and the CRJ-200 and I get incredible enjoyment out of all of them. A new Saab 340a study sim is coming out shortly, worth looking into. My computer can't handle much in the way of scenery, so I can't be of assistance there, however, xpfr.org has an incredible photo scenery of French Polynesia. Not sure compatibility with X-Plane 10, though.

Wowzers. This is awesome. Cannot wait to put my new machine together for this!

I think it depends entirely on your means. The SAAB is not yet released, but I own the JS32 and it is a very, very fun aircraft to fly. It looks beautiful, and flies even better. It's great for short flights, simple, but you can still fly by the book, so to speak. I couple it with the KLN90B gps (freeware) with navigraph data for IFR flights. You will get your money's worth with the JS32. So, why not both?

I agree with this assessment. I really enjoy the ATR. It's definitely a kick the tires, light the fires kind of plane, but it flies well, and it looks good to boot. I use it to "relax" a bit, great when you only have a short time but want to get a flight in. Know what you are buying before you buy it, but that shouldn't be hard since McPhat makes no false promises in the advertisement of this plane.

That's the information I need, right there!

That's fantastic news! And a gorgeous plane. Looking forward to seeing the coming previews!

Can't tell if sarcasm or .... I, for one, do appreciate it because it means I don't have to go to the "other" forum to find out about my Carenado products, which I purchase direct from Carenado. Can't wait for updates for the two planes I actually own though!

I'm 16 hours into the Jetstream, it's awesome. Start saving for it now!

I've been wanting to do one for a long time -- can't think of any better aircraft than the Moo. Great visuals for all the time I'll be spending in the cockpit, great handling for an actual flight experience (rather than point and click flying), and can fly high and fast or a bit lower and slower for gorgeous scenery. Great thing about the simulator is that fuel costs are irrelevant

Hard at work planning an around the world trip to celebrate the Moo!

I tried doing some research into that and as far as I can tell there are CRJ-200s with autothrottles, but its only a retrofit option, they came out of the factory without it. How that relates to alt/speed restrictions on the FMC I'm not sure, but I haven't noticed the lack of them to be honest. The plane is heaps of fun to fly and maintaining the correct speeds manually teaches you a whole lot more about flying than plugging numbers into a computer inside your computer.

Let's see, only looks like I've booted up two games outside of X-Plane 10 in the last 8 months or so: GT Legends and Borderlands 2. I've also been playing a lot of chess tactics problems on Chesstempo.com. I still have a dismal rating, but it's nice to see my rating slowly develop and easily see the solution to problems that would've stumped me a couple months ago.

Can I get you anything to go with your melodrama? Of course you'll still be able to 'fly'. Just not with aircraft developed only for v.10. It's not like everything you're flying now will suddenly vanish into thin air.

I can't speak to the Chipmunk or T28 but I own and often fly Leading Edge's DC-3. It looks gorgeous, and flies well. I have no flying experience outside of simulators, but I can fly historical routes and get the times spot on, which I consider to be a selling point for the flight model. These are my six entirely subjective reasons for recommending the DC-3: 1) Versatility: Works great both VFR hand-flying and instrument flying. 2) Feels heavy. A lot of smaller GA planes start feeling the same to me, the DC-3 has character and its handling reflects that. 3) Lots of historical flights to replicate: passenger, cargo, and military. Not everyone is into that, I enjoy the heck out of it. Lots of information, including scanned timetables, are available online. 4) Looks fantastic but doesn't hurt my poor, dying piece of junk laptop. Sorry Lappy, I didn't mean that. Don't die on me. 5) I can't come up with any points of reservation regarding it. I'm confused as to why they based their model on one with no rear passenger door (have yet to find a picture of a DC-3 without a rear door, though they did exist apparently), but there are liveries available to rectify that - which is good enough for me. 6) Leen de Jager (sorry if I spelt this wrong...) has done repaints for it, and he only does A-class work.

BWolf7, Fantastic shots with the new chopper and new airfield! They seem to pair very well.

I read "one day after the 737" as the very next day after the 737 is released, and thought, "uh-oh, this isn't going to end well!" Gotta be careful with all us literalists around these parts Congrats on getting the Moo to this point, I for one am grateful and looking forward to putting her through the paces soon.

Since you are trying to gauge interest, I'll be upfront and say I'm not interested. I love cars, I've got other games/sims for that. I would love to see you finish a plane project that is up to your standards, however.

Congratulations! Looks fantastic in the screenshots, and I look forward to trying it out in-sim later on. Thanks for your hard work on this!

So I have been immensely enjoying JRollon's Jetstream 32. I don't get a lot of sim time, so the 12 hours I've put on her recently says a lot. Anyway, I've been slowly simulating all of Direktflyg's domestic JS32 flights around Sweden. Pretty flat terrain (so my laptop doesn't crap out on me) but enough lakes to keep the scenery interesting. Using a (non-gaming) laptop limits my external visual eye candy severely, but Javier did such a good job with this plane it doesn't matter. Here are three shots from a flight I took between Direktflyg's main base at Borlänge (ESSD) and Göteborg (ESGG). Climbing out of Borlänge: Approaching Vänern, Sweden's largest lake. Final approach at Göteborg (so sad without buildings and a city!):

I personally like the new feel to the cockpit (since I'm in a simulator might as well go back in time!). Your attention to VRAM budget and optimizing for online flying is a huge plus!

The EADT project is a freeware effort by a small group of hobbyists, and one of the most respected names in X-Plane for the amount of personal time donated for everyone's benefit. It's second to none for the price you pay. This isn't Mortal Kombat. There is no "battle of developers" with the last one standing. There is room for both a higher-end payware model by PMDG and EADTs freeware model.