OT - Video Card Question(s)

"Jay Honeck"
Any suggestions?

New (larger) power supply for the MB & daughter cards.
Save the second one, install it "somewhere", buy a normally open relay, wire
it to the first power supply and you now have all the power you'll ever
need. Run the MB from the new larger supply and the HD's and other junk
from the second.

It works pretty good, this is the way I"ve got my old PC set up and I've
never had a power issue.

Jim

"Jay Honeck" wrote

Anyone got a better idea?

I've spent five hours dinking around with this, between trips to Best
Buy and time researching on-line, and I'm starting to go cross-eyed!

Jay;

The day after Thanksgiving sales are almost here. Go get in line at about
04:00, and get one of the good buys on a new computer.

It will be almost as cheap as all of the work-arounds suggested, and you will
have something that will work for a few more years.

I'll bet that running the computer you have at the maximum limits of performance
in the Kiwi will be producing a lot of heat, which is a bad thing for the life
of a computer. I'll bet you will be buying a new one within a year, anyway.

Get an extra case fan, too. Less than $15, I think.
--
Jim in NC

On the bright side, if you buy a new PC, you don't have to worry about
upgrading the power supply on the old one.

Good point... (Typical pilot way of approaching expenses, BTW... :-)

Up till now, I've been very proud that I've been able to build the Kiwi
largely without spending a lot of money. The PC, adjustable pilot's
seat, parts and labor to construct the "fuselage" have all been
entirely donated, which means that they cost me exactly ZERO.

Really, the only thing I've had to buy are the yoke & rudder pedals,
and various USB and power extension cords. (The Kiwi is about 20 feet
from the PC that powers it.) Well, and the projection system -- but we
already had that in-house.

The more I delve into this video problem, however, the more I see that
I'm looking at an obsolete system that can't be fixed with band-aids.
Running MS Flight Simulator X properly is going to take every ounce of
speed available in computers today, so I think I'll start looking into
a good gaming PC.

There is a local place in town (Neocomputers -- you can see 'em here at
http://www.neocomputers.com ) that is run by some good local people. I
think I'll see what they will charge to create the "ultimate" MS-FSX
gaming computer system for me.

Anyone got any other suppliers of complete "God Gaming Systems" that
they might recommend?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

my suggestion:
- motherboard with either raid on board or a extra raid controller
(fasttrack has cheap and good ones)

What is your opinion of this system set-up? Would a system like this
make FSX fly? If not, what would you change?

INTEL CORE DUO PROCESSORS E6600 CORE 2 DUO 2.40 GHZ 4M / 1066 FSB
$416.00
INTEL CORE DUO MOTHERBOARDS INTEL DQ965GF DDR2 MOTHERBOARD
$153.39
DDR2 MEMORY 2 GB DDR2 667 MEMORY $426.00
IDE HARD DRIVES MAXTOR 160GB 7200RPM 8MB SATA HARD DRIVE $78.63
CD-ROM DRIVES LITE-ON 16X DVD 52X32X52 CD-RW BLK COMBO $60.00
PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARDS EVGA 7800 GT 256MB PCI-E VIDEO CARD $348.00
SOUND CARD CREATIVE SOUND BLASTER PCI 128 $19.00
FLOPPY DRIVES SONY 1.44 FLOPPY DRIVE WHT $13.68
MID TOWER CASES EVERCASE WITH FRONT USB2/1394 400W $68.50
POWER SUPPLY INCLUDED (UNLESS DESCRIPTION SAYS NO PS) $0.00
CASE FANS TWO EXTRA YATE LOON CASE FANS $20.00
OPERATING SYSTEMS MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP HOME OEM SP2 $99.00
WARRANTY THREE YEARS PARTS & LABOR

SYSTEM PRICE $1702.20
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

MS is dropping support on XP Home before long, but will
continue support for XP Pro. You should be sure to get the
Vista upgrade coupon, too.

Be sure the game allows you to split out the portion of the
display you want, it sounds as though you want to have just
the panel on one display and the outside world on the other.

Be sure that the video cards are designed for independent
output and are compatible with each other and the software.


A DVD RW 16x dual layer drive also does CDs, being able to
record a 8.5 GB DVD might be useful.


I would be sure the sound card will run a 5.1 system if you
want the "best" sound effects.

PCIe video cards may not work in the standard PCIe slots,
they have PCIe 16x slots for video, be sure about what slot
the mobo has for the second video card.



"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
| my suggestion:
| - motherboard with either raid on board or a extra raid
controller
| (fasttrack has cheap and good ones)
|
| What is your opinion of this system set-up? Would a system
like this
| make FSX fly? If not, what would you change?
|
| INTEL CORE DUO PROCESSORS E6600 CORE 2 DUO 2.40 GHZ 4M /
1066 FSB
| $416.00
| INTEL CORE DUO MOTHERBOARDS INTEL DQ965GF DDR2
MOTHERBOARD
| $153.39
| DDR2 MEMORY 2 GB DDR2 667 MEMORY $426.00
| IDE HARD DRIVES MAXTOR 160GB 7200RPM 8MB SATA HARD DRIVE
$78.63
| CD-ROM DRIVES LITE-ON 16X DVD 52X32X52 CD-RW BLK COMBO
$60.00
| PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARDS EVGA 7800 GT 256MB PCI-E VIDEO
CARD $348.00
| SOUND CARD CREATIVE SOUND BLASTER PCI 128 $19.00
| FLOPPY DRIVES SONY 1.44 FLOPPY DRIVE WHT $13.68
| MID TOWER CASES EVERCASE WITH FRONT USB2/1394 400W $68.50
| POWER SUPPLY INCLUDED (UNLESS DESCRIPTION SAYS NO PS)
$0.00
| CASE FANS TWO EXTRA YATE LOON CASE FANS $20.00
| OPERATING SYSTEMS MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP HOME OEM SP2
$99.00
| WARRANTY THREE YEARS PARTS & LABOR
|
| SYSTEM PRICE $1702.20
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|

Mercy!!!

You don't need all of that to run it. You could spend a lot less than that, on
something that would be just fine. Half that, or less.

Look at the worst buy website, for the day after thanksgiving sales.
--
Jim in NC

In article .com,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

What is your opinion of this system set-up? Would a system like this
make FSX fly? If not, what would you change?

INTEL CORE DUO PROCESSORS E6600 CORE 2 DUO 2.40 GHZ 4M / 1066 FSB
$416.00
INTEL CORE DUO MOTHERBOARDS INTEL DQ965GF DDR2 MOTHERBOARD
$153.39
DDR2 MEMORY 2 GB DDR2 667 MEMORY $426.00

2 GB is minimum, 4 GB is better

IDE HARD DRIVES MAXTOR 160GB 7200RPM 8MB SATA HARD DRIVE $78.63

160 GB HD is good for reliability; $79 price is high (Maxtor SATA 300 GB
is only $80)

CD-ROM DRIVES LITE-ON 16X DVD 52X32X52 CD-RW BLK COMBO $60.00
PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARDS EVGA 7800 GT 256MB PCI-E VIDEO CARD $348.00
SOUND CARD CREATIVE SOUND BLASTER PCI 128 $19.00
FLOPPY DRIVES SONY 1.44 FLOPPY DRIVE WHT $13.68
MID TOWER CASES EVERCASE WITH FRONT USB2/1394 400W $68.50
POWER SUPPLY INCLUDED (UNLESS DESCRIPTION SAYS NO PS) $0.00
CASE FANS TWO EXTRA YATE LOON CASE FANS $20.00
OPERATING SYSTEMS MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP HOME OEM SP2 $99.00

VISTA available 30 January 2007; XP sunset is 2009, Service Pack 3
may/may not deliver in 2008

WARRANTY THREE YEARS PARTS & LABOR
SYSTEM PRICE $1702.20

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
my suggestion:
- motherboard with either raid on board or a extra raid controller
(fasttrack has cheap and good ones)

What is your opinion of this system set-up? Would a system like this
make FSX fly? If not, what would you change? [snip]

lol...

Yes, a system like that would "make FSX fly". As NCJim says, it's
overkill. But hey...it's not terrible to overkill. Gives you some
breathing room for the future.

That said, the component prices for some of the stuff in that list sure look
steep to me. For example, you can get a Lite-On dual-layer DVD burner for
under $40. Paying $60 for a "combo" drive (ie, no DVD burning capability)
isn't reasonable, especially for that brand. And the video card, being a
mid-range for today's selection, should cost some $100 less than the price
you listed.

I did a quick check on the CPU, and that is also listed on your sheet $100
higher than the current street price.

I don't have a specific reference for the exact motherboard you've got
speced, but $150 is a pretty nice motherboard. It should have on it a
perfectly fine audio interface, obviating any need for an add-on card.

Other things wrong with the configuration, IMHO...

The hard drive is WAY too small. For that price, you ought to be able to
get something in the 200-250GB range, which is IMHO about as small a hard
drive as anyone ought to consider these days. If you can justify the
expense, even better is to go with some 2- or 3-drive RAID configuration.
Depending on how you set it up, you can get data protection (as Martin
suggested), a significant performance boost, or both.

And why bother with the floppy drive? Martin's wrong, you don't need a
floppy anymore. When XP first came out, motherboards didn't have built-in
support for the SATA controllers, and the XP install didn't include RAID
controller drivers. But motherboards today include a lot of new
functionality, including making a SATA drive look just like any other IDE
drive as far as Windows is concerned. No need to install drivers from a
floppy. Besides, unless you're building the PC yourself, OS install and
configuration is someone else's problem. If they need to install drivers
from a floppy drive, they can stick one in temporarily, just to get things
going.

Pete

Hi Jay...
a noble cause...I hope to take advantage of it "someday" when Sara and
I get around to visiting.

Have you checked Tigerdirect(.com)? I noticed quite a few 'old tech'
video cards(some dual) a few weeks ago when I was looking for myself.
Make sure you dont get a 4x only card if your AGP is 2x..etc...FYI

Can your Dell take a standard replacement power supply? a
350-400W'er is not ridiculously priced...if a standard size one will
work

OR OR OR...
If you are happy with the video and PC you have, why not get an
amplified video splitter.

MCM Electronics
http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp?...i d=83%2D8299
or
http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp?...i d=83%2D7734
or 4-way
http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp?...i d=83%2D7733

For about $60-100 for splitter + cables you may be able to do it
without hacking into the PC.

--Don Byrer
Don Byrer
Commercial Pilot / CFI Student
Electronics Technician, RADAR/Data/Comm @ CLE
Amateur Radio KJ5KB

"I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
"I know what it sounds like....when doves cry" (Bird Strike 8/29/05)

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
[...]
There is a local place in town (Neocomputers -- you can see 'em here at
http://www.neocomputers.com ) that is run by some good local people. I
think I'll see what they will charge to create the "ultimate" MS-FSX
gaming computer system for me.

Anyone got any other suppliers of complete "God Gaming Systems" that
they might recommend?

Frankly, Dell would probably be just fine. Stick to their XPS line, or the
Alienware division they just bought. Other places you could check include
Hard Drives Northwest (www.hdnw.com) or VoodooPC (www.voodoopc.com). Both
are known for being reputable vendors of high-performance computers.

That said, if you can get a competitive price and the level of service you
know is appropriate from your local store, I'd say that's the way to go. I
wouldn't pay more than a 10-20% premium to buy local (not counting sales
tax), but as long as they aren't gouging you compared to mail-order, there's
a lot to be said for having a local vendor to provide support, especially in
those first two to four weeks as you use different elements of the PC and
discover minor (or sometimes major) problems with the hardware.

Pete