[lhp]

My son has a:

new Compaq Presario
Intel Pentium D Processor 820
Memory 1024 MB
Hard Drive 250GB

with Vista


He is wanting to purchase and install the above Microsoft Flight Simulator X.

A. Will this software work on the above listed computer?
B. What other "accessories" is required or recommended?

He has no other "computer games" on his computer. This is the only one he wants to install.

I told him I would need to research this before I allowed him to purchase the software because I have read "somewhere" that this is a very "intense" game and is hard on a computer.

Thanks!!!

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What kind of graphics card is on the computer?

He might not be able to run it at the highest settings but it can be run at lower settings. These are the requirements pulled from the FSX website.

Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2 / Vista
PC with 1 GHz equivalent or higher processor
256 MB of system RAM for Windows XP SP2 / 512 MB Vista
14 GB available hard disk space
DVD-ROM drive
32 MB DirectX 9 compatible video card required
Sound card, speakers or headphones required for audio
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
56.6 Kbps or better modem for online play

The only accessories would atleast be a joystick. I'm a logitech guy so I recommend them, but people do have other preferences.

If you're wanting to give him a more realistic experience something like this would help:

http://www.saitek.co...d/proflight.htm

[ADNoland]

What kind of graphics card is on the computer?

He might not be able to run it at the highest settings but it can be run at lower settings. These are the requirements pulled from the FSX website.

Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2 / Vista
PC with 1 GHz equivalent or higher processor
256 MB of system RAM for Windows XP SP2 / 512 MB Vista
14 GB available hard disk space
DVD-ROM drive
32 MB DirectX 9 compatible video card required
Sound card, speakers or headphones required for audio
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
56.6 Kbps or better modem for online play

The only accessories would atleast be a joystick. I'm a logitech guy so I recommend them, but people do have other preferences.

If you're wanting to give him a more realistic experience something like this would help:

http://www.saitek.co...d/proflight.htm

[lhp]

Thanks so much for that link. That Pro "thingy" (don't you admire my grasp of technical jargon) looked cool and I am not even into these kinda things.

I checked his computer and he has:

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Drive

Display Devices show Single Display with Monitor selected.

Color Quality - you can select 16 bit or 32 bit (he is currently running on 32)
Screen Resolution - you can select 1024 x 600 to 1208-1024 (he is currently running on 1024 x 768)
Refresh Rate - you can select 60 Hertz to 85 Hertz (he is currently running on 60 Hertz)

It has options for setting: 3D Settings and
Launch Zoom Utilities

These are the days that I miss my oldest son being home. He is currently attending Tennessee Tech University (majoring in Chemical Engineering) and I am lost without his help!!!!


On a financial note: Does this software "hurt" a computer? Will it make a new computer (that does not have any other games on it ) to "stressed out" or even crash???

Thanks for the link and info.

[ADNoland]

I'm looking into this Intel Graphics Accelerator, it appears to be onboard graphics. While I guess it could run the game, someone else may know something more definitive, but compared to an actual graphics card it won't be as good of an experience.

As far as gaming hurting a computer, I don't think it would add anything more to the normal day to day wear that naturally occures on a computer. I doubt you'll be doing any overclocking so I wouldn't worry about that.

**Edit
Something I just thought about, there is a demo out for this game. You could try running it and see if it works, that'll give you a hint as to how the game will run.
http://www.microsoft....aspx#downloads

If you have a decent connection it shouldn't take too long to download.

Edited by ADNoland, 19 September 2007 - 06:04 PM.

[lhp]

Thanks so much. I feel much better!!

I will download your link on his computer!!!

This is for my youngest son who is 16. He has autism and is spellbound by flying.
He found the Pro "thingy" on the internet on his own, after I mentioned it a few minutes ago, and he is thrilled!!!

We are going to have a spaceship that will fly to the moon by the time we are finished!!!

Thanks again!!

[Troy]

Thanks so much. I feel much better!!

I will download your link on his computer!!!

This is for my youngest son who is 16. He has autism and is spellbound by flying.
He found the Pro "thingy" on the internet on his own, after I mentioned it a few minutes ago, and he is thrilled!!!

We are going to have a spaceship that will fly to the moon by the time we are finished!!!

Thanks again!!

I just wanted to pop in and say you sound like an awesome father! I hope you get it working. Please, feel free to ask any more questions!

[ADNoland]

Did you have any luck in downloading the demo and getting it to run?

[lhp]

Did you have any luck in downloading the demo and getting it to run?

Finally at 7PM last night we were successful!!! It downloaded fine. Took about an hour. But then the system would not play it. After it downloaded....it just went back to the advertisement screen that I downloaded it from. No Icon on the Desktop....nothing.

So I got brave and search the Termporary files until I found it and this new Vista system kept asking me for "permission". Apparently the system was satisfied that I was giving it "oermission" and opened it up. The Demo plays for about 30 minutes and is long enough to give a good representation of how it will look on the system.

My son and I agreed that it looked pretty good ( of course I am sure the extra $120.00 graphics card makes it all the better) but we feel like it will do for now. We would rather spend the $150.00 om the Pro "thingy" when it comes out next month.

My husband will be back from San Juan tonight and we are going to see if the Demo passes his approval. If so....it is a sell!!!

Thanks so very much for all the help.. The Demo was the selling ppint. Now all we need is Dad's OK!!

[ADNoland]

I'm glad to hear it, if you have any other problems or questions we'll try to help.

[Troy]

Sorry! I mean a good mother! Glad you got it working, though.

[lhp]

That's ok. Dad travels a lot so I answer to ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!

[lhp]

Got the game....he is hooked.

Now after "promising" that the demo graphics were just fine....he now wants better graphics.

So we are going to get him a graphics card and the new Pro Yoke "thingy" when it comes out.

What kind of graphics card would you recommend for his system? And is that something I can slip in or do I need to take it to our local Patton Computers (they do a wonderful job and are pretty reasonable on their pricing),.



Thanks!!!

[Troy]

Now after "promising" that the demo graphics were just fine....he now wants better graphics.

Of course, it's called "The Curse of the Gamer"

Okay so now that some upgrades are in order, we need to know a few more things:

1) The exact make/model of the system. If you are unsure, we can help you find out.
2) The power supply (PSU) specifications. Adding a graphics card will equal more power needed - if your current PSU isn't up to the task, it may need to be upgraded as well. If you open the side of the case, you should see something like this:



Please report back with as much information as you can about the PSU.
3) Your budget, so we can get some idea of what components you could choose.

Cheers

Edited by FPVDriF6, 23 September 2007 - 06:07 PM.

[warriorscot]

You might want to post this in Hardware/Upgrading forums might get you a quicker response.

Probably the most important aspect is what kind of interface you have for the graphics cards if its AGP you will be a little less lucky they are pretty much obsolete but if you look around you can find something better than what you have(intel integrated while improving isnt great). If you have PCI-Express you are in luck you will find something no bother.

With FSX you have the choice of getting a DX10 graphics card which will add allot to the realism but they are a little bit expensive at least for good ones although there are very cheap dx10 cards they arent all that great at the moment($200-$300 for a good one), so might not be an option but there are plenty cheaper DX9 cards at the moment you cant go wrong with an ATI X1950 Pro at the moment stupidly cheap and good performers last gen but that is why they are cheap the price/performance with them is the best ive ever seen on a video card and I'm thinking of getting one myself till dx10 cards improve or drop in price.

Find out what you can get,(CPU-Z located in my sig will help) and get back to us.

[spoon007]

you're an awesome mother...!!!