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Software & Hardware Guide Copyright 2013 – AVSIM Online Page | 1 Software & Har

Software & Hardware Guide Copyright 2013 – AVSIM Online Page | 1 Software & Hardware Guide for FSX Version 1.0.4.6 Date of Issue: March 10, 2013 Compiled by Paul Johnson, AVSIM Hardware and Operating Systems Forums Manager With the advent of the new breed of Intel multi-core processor – the i7, Bloomfield, Sandy and Ivy Bridge, and some correspondingly huge advances in the graphic processor unit, FSX seems, at long last to be delivering on Microsoft’s “As real as it gets” sales statement…This compendium has been re-created as the beginning of a ‘melting pot’ of the most effective ideas, suggestions, facts, from many disparate pieces out of other guides: from present and past members, and from the current members and staff of the Avsim Family, the cream, if you like, of the forum posts that have dealt with hardware problems, software problems, FSX problems, overclocking problems and tweaking, etc.. This is the current fodder of our great hobby. Documents like this are a living entity, changing and growing as the hardware and software environments change over time; as new information or products become available. We will endeavor to keep it as current as possible. As you read, also keep in mind concerning new hardware and configuration, this guide cannot tell you how to spend your hard-earned paycheck, or how to setup your “Windows Experience”, but note - a high-performance pc is necessary for FSX, and is only achieved by rigorous paring down of those pretty visuals of the stock Windows, along with the purchase of high-end, or mid-to-high-end hardware, and much customization of the system itself and of the fsx.cfg. The adage “cheap things are seldom good, and good things are seldom cheap” does apply very often in the FSX world, (also often applying to software addons once you find out how big this world is!) Read all you can – use the internet/Google and other guides, too, but also note the date published. We also hope this will help many of you – especially the newcomer - to gain greater enjoyment from the hobby, and perhaps provide answers to some of the questions that pop up, whether rejoining the hobby, buying or building a new PC, maybe looking to upgrade, or just simply tweaking the fsx.cfg. This is a living document that is updated frequently and it is under revision control. The original document resides at AVSIM.com. Please do not copy or host this document elsewhere. Acknowledgements We wish to acknowledge the major contributors to the accessible AVSIM knowledgebase compiled in this guide: Our grateful thanks... Nick "Nick N" Needham, Jesus “Bojote” Altuve, Ryan “Tabs” Maziarz, Holger "Genius" Sandmann, Phil Taylor, Pete Dowson, David "OPA" Marshal, Srdan “Kosta” Kostic, Bill "Fr.Bill" Leaming, Michael "FS-GS" Greenblatt, Steve "DX10" Parsons, Luis Feliz Tirado, Max “TechGuyMax” Cowgill The following have also significantly contributed to the advancement of FSX performance and understanding within AVSIM: Jim Young, Zach Waddell, Dario Iriberri, Bruce K, Ryan Butterworth, HL James, Richard Asberg, Bob Scott, Christopher Low, Mike McCarthy, Corey Meeks, Paul "PJ"Johnson. Software & Hardware Guide Copyright 2013 – AVSIM Online Page | 2 Contents The Hardware Environment ………. ………………….……………………………………………………….3 Processor……………………………………………………………………….……………………..3 Mainboard………………………………………………………………………….…….…………...3 Memory……………………….………………………………………………………….………….. .3 GPU…………………………….………………………………………………………………..........4 Storage……………….………….………………………………………………………….…………4 Raid…………………………………………………………………………………………………….5 Cooling………………………….………………………………………………….……….…………5 Overclocking…………………………………………………………………………………………..6 The Software Environment………………………………………………………………………………….…..8 Operating System………………………………………………………………………….………...8 Folder Options………………………………………………………………………………………..8 Windows Update………………………………………………………………………….………….8 UAC ……………………………………………………………………………………….…………..8 Overclock………………………………………………………………………………….……….….8 Background processes ………………………………………………………………….……….….8 Page File…………………….…………………………………………………………….……….…9 Desktop Heap Limitation…………………………………………………………………………….9 FSX Installation ………………………………………………………………………….…………..9 Nvidia Drivers and Inspector………………………………………………………………………..9 The FSX.CFG File………………………………………………………………………………………………10 Modifications and Additions to the FSX.CFG File…………………………………………………………...10 Addons: Missing Alphas and MipMaps……………………………………………………………………….15 DX10 “How-To”……………………….…………………………………………………………………………17 DX10 Notes……………………………………………………………………………………………………...21 Delidding the IvyBridge, by “TechGuyMax…………………………………………………………………..25 Appendix and Glossary………………………………………………………………………………………..37 Software & Hardware Guide Copyright 2013 – AVSIM Online Page | 3 The hardware environment Perhaps the hardest choice for the beginner - and the easiest choice for the long-time sim flyer, is “What pc should I buy?” The simple answer is – don’t. Either build it yourself, or have someone trustworthy, (someone who uses FSX preferably!) build it for you, and for a couple of reasons: 1). Prebuilt – or ‘proprietary’ - systems are usually built with the bios paired up with a customized operating system, such that upgrading or overclocking becomes difficult in the least, and maybe not even possible. Examples of vendors that package systems in this manner are: IBM; Dell; HP and Gateway, Toshiba and Sony. 2). The second reason is, FSX usually requires a good deal of “tweaking”, with a strong recommendation that the processor be overclocked. If you build the system yourself, you are halfway there, as it usually takes a leap of faith for a raw beginner to enter the BIOS and begin an overclocking adventure! 3). The third reason is that one is able to make a more educated choice of components for that pc; much better that you decide on your graphics card, than some unknown tech at HP. FSX is not an “average” game, nor an “average” application. It is almost unique in the computer world – possibly only bettered only by the various graphic design programs such as AutoCad. Following the addition of any number of popular addons, one finds out that FSX will eat processors, memory and graphics cards for breakfast, and so keep that in mind when purchasing your components. Processor: FSX is known as being “processor-bound”, and so in order to make our latest Boeing 737 appear to fly realistically through a graphically perfect world on the biggest or widest monitor(s) one needs to obtain the most powerful processor one can afford. One can have the best and fastest graphics card in the world, but it cannot display more than the system which is feeding it, and so one ends up having the “tweaker blues”, trying to get ‘better graphics’ or ‘better frames’. So - purchase the fastest ‘unlocked-clock’ processor you can afford, so make the choice only after reading and studying the many forum posts to find the most used and the most recommended processor you can. These charts here group current cpus by their performance, price and best value, etc... At the time of writing there are only two processor manufacturers – Intel and AMD, and over perhaps the last ten years, Intel has been producing the stronger chip, in the guise of the i7, i5 and i3 series – the i7-2xxx-K and i7-3xxx-K procs are the ones recommended here, being used in the higher- end 46 – 5.0GHz gaming pc, with the i5-xxxx-K used in the mid-range 4.2 – 4.6GHz gaming pc. In 2011 Avsim conducted a voluntary performance-testing “FSX Mark11”, publishing the results here. This will give one an idea of what one might expect from a particular choice of components. Be aware of the socket and the warranty (Intel) (AMD) policy before you buy. Mainboard: Very much a matter of personal preference based on experience, as there are a number of very good vendors who have catered to the pc “gamer” world over the last few years. Purchasing considerations are: processor compatibility, overclock-ability, memory type and speed, PCI slot(s) and type, hard drive interface(s), usb ports & version(s) and interface, on-board video capability and wireless capability. It is also not likely that you will be able to use the on-board video with FSX. Memory: This must be matched to the mainboard Memory Support List for compatible DIMMS, but most major gaming dimms - Corsair, G-Skill, Patriot, Mushkin will work. Here is what an ASUS QVL looks like. What is important is the highest speed rating, with the lowest CL timings, the lower – the better, and in most cases, one should purchase ‘performance’ memory with guaranteed timings and speeds. Sandy Software & Hardware Guide Copyright 2013 – AVSIM Online Page | 4 and IvyBridge procs are both dual-channel, so one should buy a minimum of 8 gig of ram in two x four GB DIMMs – not 16GB in eight x 2GB DIMMs. While FSX won’t be using 16GB, there are many creative ways to use that extra memory, so it’s not wrong to add extra if you wish. The GPU: The GPU is one component that needs to be matched to the processor speed, or better than the processor speed. Too “low-end”, with a fast proc will result in a bottleneck, and be the cause of never- ending “tweaking blues” and overheating. You will want a gpu that can take everything that the system can push, and in Nvidia-speak, that will generally mean a “GTX” – not a “GT” or “GTS”. Be aware that there are various levels of effective performance here, too. The first number in the Nvidia lineup is the generation, with the second and third numbers being the performance rating – the higher the number – the higher the performance, 8 being the King, but with the 9 being Emperor. ATI follows a similar pattern, though using four numbers instead or 3, eg, 5870. The first number is generation, second number is family, third and fourth number is performance level. e.g. a 4870 is 4th generation. The 8 = family, so the “48XX” are of the same generation and family, with uploads/Management/ fsx-guide 1 .pdf