NEW SYSTEM : will this be good enough to play BS at full settings?

[JEFX]

I am almost ready to buy this new system.

I was wondering what you guys techno-gurus thought?

Will this be really fast enough to play BS at full settings?

Will there be a problem with windows x64 and lockon?

 

 

ASUS SKT. 939 NFORCE4 SLI X16

MS WINDOWS XP PRO X64

SPI 550W EPS 24/8PINS W/ SLI

AMD A64 FX-60 BOX 939 90NM

2 x CRUCIAL DDRII 128X64-400 1GB

2 x WD 250GB 3.5 SATA II 7200RPM

1x NVIDIA 7900GTX/2DHT/512M DDR3

 

thanks for your kind answer

 

JEFX

[SuperKungFu]

just to be honest, i don't think anyone can give you a fair answer except the devs or beta testers. Although it was mentioned BS will run about the same fps as FC, we cannot confirm it yet since the game is not out yet. Only when the game comes out then it would be ok to give an answer. But i can say this, the Fx-60 is duel core, and Lock On didn't take advantage of duel core yet. I remember reading the fx-57 would actually do better or something. Other than that, i can say you can at least run at a decent fps and setting (probably not all max though because thats crazy). especially in a helo crushing tanks.

[JEFX]

Thanks for your answer

 

I agree, my question was not good.

Lets say, is this one of the best systems to play lockon now?

(lets hope BS will be about the same)

 

thanks

 

JEFX

[DrCR]

Wait, if you can, for a few months. A lot of tech is coming out right now or soon. That said, you may then be able to pick up a 939 on the cheap because of this.

 

If you have to buy now, I would get a 3500+ A64 939 and OC it. If you're scaried of OCing though, then yes, you can't get a better single-core than the FX60. I'd also recommend a Seasonic S12 for your PSU. The 430W should do you just fine, but you can go for the 500W or 600W if you really want to. Case wise, if you're still choosing, I would recommend the Antec P180, the SPCR version if you like black colored cases. I like some others, but this case is a good turnkey solution for good airflow and low noise for the not so PC-case-geek oriented.

 

Skip WindowsXP-64. Just get a copy of OEM WinXP 32bit and wait for Longhorn for a 64bit WindowsOS. Longhorn/Vista is looking worse and worse, but it would be better than going for the stop-gap XP-64. I'm personally hoping for an offical or at least quasi-offical OSX86 myself though, with Win2000 or XP-32bit for gaming. :)

 

Let me know if you have any other questions. :)

 

DrCR

 

___________

ProCooling.com

SilentPCReview.com

[SuperKungFu]

Lets say, is this one of the best systems to play lockon now?

(lets hope BS will be about the same)

 

yes u will be very happy with that current rig. But DrCR is right. Lots of new tech growing these days. If you can wait.

[Groove]

afaik Starforce dont support Windows 64 and besides this the game will get low fps on your PC, if you fly low for example.

[Mustang]

From my experience so far, if you can run 1.12a comfortably with *most* settings on high you'll be ok with 1.2 ;)

[Dutch60]

Nice new system

 

Hi JEFX,

 

Nice new system.

 

Just my guess simply because I am not a LOBS beta tester.

 

But I think you run the following settings easily.

Textures = High

Scenes = High

Civilian Traffic = Yes

Water = High

Haze = Advanced

Lights = All

Visibility Range = Medium (This one on High gives big FPS hit)

Effects = High

Heat Bluer = On (This looks so cool)

Color = 32bit

Resolution =

 

1280x1024 (8xAA 16xAF) for normal Game play and an average of 30 FPS

1600x1200 (4xAA 8xAF) for track playback with an average of 25 FPS

 

Remember you could go for an SLI system and get a second 7900GTX.

 

Personally I will wait for Vista plus BOB by Oleg and the next generation in

processing power like Intel Conroe Extreme or AMD AM2 K8L and DirectX-10

compatible graphics hardware.

[TucksonSonny]

I am almost ready to buy this new system.

I was wondering what you guys techno-gurus thought?

Will this be really fast enough to play BS at full settings?

Will there be a problem with windows x64 and lockon?

 

 

ASUS SKT. 939 NFORCE4 SLI X16

MS WINDOWS XP PRO X64

SPI 550W EPS 24/8PINS W/ SLI

AMD A64 FX-60 BOX 939 90NM

2 x CRUCIAL DDRII 128X64-400 1GB

2 x WD 250GB 3.5 SATA II 7200RPM

1x NVIDIA 7900GTX/2DHT/512M DDR3

 

thanks for your kind answer

 

JEFX

 

 

That should be good enough but I just want to warn you that AMD is moving to new dual-core AM2 chips:

 

At this moment the FX-62 and Athlon 64 X2 5000+ is out!

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1966027,00.asp

 

AMD moves to DDR2 while bumping up the clock rates of its top tier CPUs. The new dual-core Socket AM2 chips put one more nail in the coffin of single-core desktop processors.

[Nate Dogg]

If that mb isn't AM2 then the DDR2 ram will not work, only ddr 400mhz ram will go with it.

I would also wait a while, unless your current system is really average

[dynamocl]

If you go for socker 939 now, you may be limiting your future upgrade options, because, as stated above AMD have moved production to the new AM2 socket (and this apparently is appreciated by MS becuase it will work very well with Vista apparently).

 

939 chips are still being produced, but soon won't be (I think they are stockpiling at the moment). So if you wait, or go for an AM2 motherboard, you are likely to find a better CPU in the future that is compatable (instead of replacing the majority of the components).

 

Remember lockon is CPU limited (i.e. the graphics card is not the bottle neck, its the CPU), so SLI(ing) 2 cards may be overkill.

[NEODARK]

yeah, definitelly wait. right now is NOT the time to buy an FX60, specially when a value chip will obliterate it a month or two from now (Thats conroe)

[JEFX]

thanks!

 

Good morning you all.

Thanks for all the answers! (it is morning here in Montreal)

 

 

 

Some people say 'wait' and some say 'it depends if your system is old' ...

 

 

 

to Nate Dogg

 

What I have now is :

 

ASUS montherboard with P4 2.4 Gherz (2 years old)

ATI X800XT (AGP 8x) (upgraded last year from my old Radeon9800pro)

1.5 G RAM

 

and it is very slow (average 15-20 FPS in the air but 6-12 on the airbase and above cities..) It is even slower with SU-25T, it looks like a slide show and sometimes, when I fire a pair of rockets, I go down to 1 FPS for a few seconds and slam into the ground while in pseudo-pause mode...)

 

I am definitely ready to change and I have been frustrated all year playing FC with a slide show. My question is: are those mentionned above specs going to give me a smooth gameplay?

 

 

 

to DrCR

 

'you can't get a better single-core than the FX60'

 

Single core? it IS a dual core no? but I guess you mean if I am to be using only half of it, because Lockon is not dualcore optimised, it is still the fastest in single core mode? Am I getting right?

 

‘I'd also recommend a Seasonic S12 for your PSU’

 

Thanks for the recommandation, but I want to know why?

 

‘Case wise, if you're still choosing, I would recommend the Antec P180, the SPCR version’

 

I was just thinking about that : I hate computers with lots of noise (I am a musician) and I take your suggestion very seriously. Is that the best solution for balance between good cooling and little noise?

 

‘Skip WindowsXP-64. Just get a copy of OEM WinXP 32bit and wait for Longhorn’

 

I dont understand fully : some people say that Lockon will not work under XP64, and the guy at the computer store tells me that in order to use that motherboard (or CPU I am not sure?) it needed XP64 ???. What is OEM WinXP 32bit ? And pardon me again what is Longhorn?

 

 

 

to GROOVE

 

‘the game will get low fps on your PC, if you fly low for example.’

 

What do you mean, even with the superfast FX-60 chip and big graphix card and RAM? What is low for you? and will it be noticeable (slide show)?

 

 

 

to Dutch60

 

‘Remember you could go for an SLI system and get a second 7900GTX.’

 

What do you mean, this is not an SLI setup? ( ASUS SKT. 939 NFORCE4 SLI X16 with FX-60 AMD)? And I thought that Lockon did not need the 2 graphic cards? what would it bring me to get a second one? (forgive my ignorance…)

 

‘1280x1024 (8xAA 16xAF) for normal Game play and an average of 30 FPS’

 

By average do you mean, in general? will you still get 10 FPS around airports like I do now with my 2 year old CPU?

 

 

 

to TucksonSonny

 

‘At this moment the FX-62 and Athlon 64 X2 5000+ is out!’

‘AMD moves to DDR2 while bumping up the clock rates of its top tier CPUs. The new dual-core Socket AM2 chips put one more nail in the coffin of single-core desktop processors.’

 

Would FX-62 be MUCH better than FX-60? and will it work with Lockon? When you say that it is out you mean announced but not yet for sale, no? (I read the article you quote, thanks). Or is it for sale somewhere?

 

Also, do you think that a 5000+ is enough (because it is half the price of the FX-62)

 

 

 

to NOEDARK

 

What is Conroe?

 

 

thanks again you guys for all your advice, this community is incredible!

 

 

 

JEFX

[JEFX]

NEW VERSION

 

Now, just for the sake of discussion (or maybe for real?)

How about this possible system? would that be better? speed wise, upgradability wise? compatibility with LOFC?

 

CPU : AMD Athlon 64 FX-62 Dual-Core 1MB Per Core 90nm (Socket AM2) (Retail Box-w-Fan) 1031US$

 

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120987&Category_Code=AM2

 

Main Board : Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI Audio/GB-LAN/IEEE-1394a/PCI-E/SATA3G/DDR2/ATX 64 (Socket AM2) 234 US$

 

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=110829

 

Graphix card : (1 or 2?) Asus GeForce 7900 GTX 512MB DDR3/PCI-E/HDTV-Out/Dual-DVI (Retail Box) 487 US$ (each)

 

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=190279

 

RAM : 2 GB (2 pcs 1GB) DDR2 (800) PC2-6400 Corsair w/LED (TWIN2X2048-6400PRO) 230 US$

 

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=140669

 

Power Supply : OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX 2.2/EPS/SLI Power Supply 128 US$

 

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=101207

 

HD : (1 or 2) Western Digital 150 GB 16 MB Cache SATA 10K Raptor (WD1500ADFD) 261 US$ (each)

 

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=150351

 

Tower : Antec Performance One P180 ATX Mid-Tower w/No Power Supply 129 US$

 

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=100998

 

 

thanks a million again

 

 

JEFX

[NEODARK]

Conroe (unlinke AMD's AM2 socket) is a new CPU architechture by Intel, that will by launched sometime in July.

 

Basically,

 

the "value" processors keep up, or surpase the "top of the line" processors today. (think FX60) So its not worth it for you to upgrade to a technology that has no upgradability, specially since you are starting from scratch, and AMD's AM2 is simply support for DDR2 ram. (in short, nothing revolutionary yet on AMD's side)

 

In my case,

 

I have some of the newest possible components today, so Im not upgrading right away, the performance jump would not be HUGE to me quite yet.

 

For you.

 

Your old system P4 @ 2.4ghz is definitelly getting a bit long in the tooth, BUT its still fast enough to last you a month to wait for better tech thats around the corner.

 

If the technology was several months out, I'd say go aghead and upgrade NOW, but its so close its not worth it to not wait.

 

-Longhorn

 

Is the next version of the Windows operating system, but dont worry about it, its at least a year away for now.

 

:D

[JEFX]

thanks NEODARK for all those wise advice.

I am a bit confused about all the possibilities!

 

JEFX

[WhiskeyRomeo]

thanks NEODARK for all those wise advice.

I am a bit confused about all the possibilities!

 

JEFX

If you have a budget target in mind mention that.

It will focus some best-bang-for-the buck vs. 2nd mortgage type system suggestions.

[JEFX]

Thanks WhiskeyRomeo

 

I dont want to go much over 2500$ (US) for the machine itself.

I dont need anything else.

 

I am craving for fluid flight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

(I do have a great flat viewsonic 22'', great sound system, CH stick, throttle and pedals, G15 keyboard, TrackIRpro4, etc.)

 

 

JEFX

[WhiskeyRomeo]

Now, just for the sake of discussion (or maybe for real?)

How about this possible system? would that be better? speed wise, upgradability wise? compatibility with LOFC?

Your new AM2 list looks pretty awesome. And it doesnt bust your budget - even better.

 

better speed wise? maybe; but the peformance of FX62 (2.8ghz) is not 40% better than the 5000+ (2.6ghz) as the price might lead you to believe. Maybe 10-15%.

939 FX60 vs AM2 FX62 performance could be fairly close based on early results seen in pre-production testing.

From an article @ http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/amd-socket-am2.html

 

better upgradability? Absolutely - future proofed! You'll have future CPU choices later on as AMD starts to turn out 65nm AM2 CPUs next year.

 

compatibility with LOFC? Unknown territory as of yet.

 

I havent seen any head-to-head comparisons with AM2 FX62 and a similar priced Intel Conroe yet. It appears the consensus is that Intel can win back the performance crown (at least for a while) later this summer.

 

With LOBS pushed back a bit and some of the biggest changes to CPU and Motherboard taking place this summer it seems a wait and see position maybe warranted. (But if that money is burning a hole in your pocket - that AM2 package still looks pretty sweet)

[Prophet_169th]

It will be interesting to see what the Conroe has up its sleave. Intel is by far ahead in clock speeds ( I like to think I have a part in that:) ).

 

They just need a better architecture. If they do with Conroe, well then more power to them, I hold no loyalties.

 

I wish I heard more about the performance. I see them go by everyday, pretty to look at.

[TucksonSonny]

Intel is by far ahead in clock speeds ( I like to think I have a part in that:) ).

 

They just need a better architecture. If they do with Conroe, well then more power to them, I hold no loyalties.

 

I wish I heard more about the performance. I see them go by everyday, pretty to look at.

 

Conroe runs @2.66Ghz (maybe copy from AMD’s architecture)

 

Apparently conroe prototype has hit the FX-60 benchmarks (Or maybe it was only PR noise).

Let’s hope that AMD finally gets some competition in the top segment and that prices finally will drop.

 

But the thing is the FX-62 @2.8Ghz AM2 DDR2 (with the famous integrated memory controller inside the CPU) is already in the stores (princely about 1000$+) but maybe by the time that we see a Conroe in the stores we can already look at FX-64/66 @3.0/3.2Ghz stock?

[Prophet_169th]

New Intel® Core™ Microarchitecture Features

Several advances mark the new microarchitecture:

 

Intel® Wide Dynamic Execution –– Delivers more instructions per clock cycle, improving execution and energy efficiency. Every execution core is wider, allowing each core to complete up to four full instructions simultaneously using an efficient 14–stage pipeline.

Intel® Intelligent Power Capability –– Includes features that further reduce power consumption by intelligently powering on individual logic subsystems only when required.

Intel® Advanced Smart Cache –– This includes a shared L2 cache to reduce power by minimizing memory traffic and increase performance by allowing one core to utilize the entire cache when the other core is idle.

Intel® Smart Memory Access –– Yet another feature that improves system performance by hiding memory latency and thus optimizing the use of data bandwidth out to the memory subsystem.

Intel® Advanced Digital Media Boost –– Now many 128–bit SSE, SSE2 and SSE3 instructions execute within only one cycle. This effectively doubles the execution speed for these instructions which are used widely in multimedia and graphics applications.

 

I particularly like the sound of the Wide Dynamic Execution. I think this is probably what is helping the Conroe.

[VMFA-Blaze]

-Longhorn

 

Is the next version of the Windows operating system, but dont worry about it, its at least a year away for now.

 

:D

 

Isn't the new Windows Operating System going to be called Visio?

I know that originaly the plan was to call it Long Horn, but I read somewhere that "BG" has changed the name again, for about the fourth time. (LOL).

 

I think that were going to see this most likely in the fall...

 

~S~

 

Blaze

[WhiskeyRomeo]

Isn't the new Windows Operating System going to be called Visio?

Vista ... and its looking like 2007 and probably a rollout to the corporate networks first.

 

[NEODARK]

yup, it is.

 

longhorn was the codename before the official name was designated.