what to do.....what to do.....

[Maachine]

so this paycheck i'm buying a X-52 hotas setup. now, i'm considering either upgrading to 8GB ram or buying a table and chair set for my daughters playroom. i'm thinking i shouldnt be selfish.....would an up grade from 4GB to 8GB really improve performance? if not, i'm definitely going with the table set just so i can say i'm not a bad father.

 

at most i think i'm getting 30FPS on medium settings and 1366x768 resolution.

 

toshiba laptop, win 7, nvidia geforce GT 330M GPU w/ 1GB memory, i7 quad core, 4gb ram

 

what do you guys think?

 

i apologize if this is the wrong forum for this thread, but this place is alive with viewers.

[agrasyuk]

you probably should have posted in hardware section.

 

more ram will not hurt of course, and that will be somewhat noticable but i don't think it is the weakest link, mobile video card IMHO and that can not be easily solved.

 

sorry but table set and chair for daughter playroom beats computer hardware every time, regardless of performance cost or anything. unless you have two of them already get the set.

no sarcasm at all

[Maachine]

you probably should have posted in hardware section.

 

more ram will not hurt of course, and that will be somewhat noticable but i don't think it is the weakest link, mobile video card IMHO and that can not be easily solved.

 

sorry but table set and chair for daughter playroom beats computer hardware every time, regardless of performance cost or anything. unless you have two of them already get the set.

no sarcasm at all

 

ya i was looking for a forum like that, couldnt find one. maybe i didnt look hard enough.

 

dont worry, my daughter has plenty. i understand you are being serious, but she is well taken care of. ya, so if it's only going to be somewhat noticeable, i'll throw the ram on the back burner and get her the set.

 

thanks for the input. and moderators, if you catch my thread and want to move it, feel free. wont hear any gripes from me.

 

and if anyone else has suggestions on how i could possibly get some improvement out of this laptop, i'm all ears. thanks again guys

[MatzWarhog]

I would imagine that the bottleneck is in the onboard GPU. Not a lot you can do about that, aside from upgrading to a desktop PC. Which price wise will likely surprise you. A decent gaming PC can quite affordable if done right. Stay with the HOTAS and the playroom items... the HOTAS will be easy to plug into a desktop when you get one. JMO. :)

 

Matz

[Maachine]

ya i had a feeling it was going to be the video card that was the weak link. upgrade in ram is only 50 bucks so i'll do that sooner or later. i do plan on getting a nice gaming desktop someday. another project i have on the back burner list.

[Sven2157]

Forgive me but I must ask, your OS is obviously 64 Bit, correct? Otherwise, you are capped at about 3.5GB± in a 32 Bit OS.

 

If I were you, I would spend the RAM money on your daughter. You'll feel better, and this will allow for you to then better justify setting cash away for a gaming PC. I would get off the laptop ASAP.

 

As far as RAM is concerned in general. At most you need is 4GB of RAM for gaming/day-to-day-work. Most games are programmed to NOT use more than 2GB. I am not sure how DCS have set their 64 Bit version, but I have 32GB of G.Skill RAM, and I have yet to use more than 5GB while my TrackIR, Saitek SST, TeamSpeak 3 and A-10 is running.

 

8GB+ of RAM is more for doing a ton of Photoshop or 3DS Max work( which I do, and why I have 32GB ), or the like, as these are programs, that are programmed to utilize everything you can throw at it. I just started my first A-10 Paint scheme, and noticed I was using 12GB with the 64 Bit Photoshop CS4 running and ALL the paint kit files open( 12 @ 5.4MB each ).

 

The Saitek X52( not pro ) is what I have and they are relatively cheap now. I do suggest that. The SST Software will help tremendously! If you need a good profile( which will work for both the 52 and 52 Pro ), I could send you mine; just let me know.

 

Hope that helps! ;-)

[Maachine]

thanks sven. i need the laptop. i work offshore in the gulf of mexico and need it for work and entertainment purposes. my plan has always been to have a desktop for the house and use the laptop for offshore. just never got around to buying the desktop yet. i bought a nice laptop, which this is, so i can play games on it. and it has done this well up until i decided to start playing A-10C. so now that i am wanting to play this sim, my need for a desktop has gone up.

 

and ya, windows 7 is a 64 bit operating system

 

what is the SST for?

[The LT]

The GPU is the obvious bottleneck here, I would actually start saving for a desktop PC if I were you. The laptops aren't really designed for that kind of thing. :)

[Sven2157]

thanks sven.

No problem! ;)

 

i need the laptop. i work offshore in the gulf of mexico and need it for work and entertainment purposes. my plan has always been to have a desktop for the house and use the laptop for offshore. just never got around to buying the desktop yet...

I completely understand, but if you go with your daughter's needs, you will be able to say to your family, "Daddy's Turn!". LOL! As mentioned by The LT, your Video( GPU )Card in that laptop will ultimately be your demise. Unfortunately, I know of only 2 or 3 laptops that you can upgrade the video card in.

 

what is the SST for?

The SST Software allows for the mini-mouse to function properly( installs the HID drivers for it ) on the Throttle, as well as profile usage and switching. For example:

 

Here is the profile that I use for My Saitek x52. For those that are familiar, I tried to keep it close to the Gunslinger Profile for Falcon 4.0: Allied Forces that I had grown accustomed to.

 

The profile was created using the Saitek SST Software and then the commands were printed, again from the SST Software to PDF format using freeware called PDF995, so I could print a reference sheet. I am also constantly changing( tweaking ) it here and there.

 

As you can see, I have button functionality for about 30 buttons( this includes the 1 POV Hat and 2 Hats Switches, as they can be assigned to function as 4 or 8-way buttons ), in 6 different modes. The stick has 31 buttons, but I use the "Pinkie Button" as a shift-state button. This allows the other 30 buttons to be programmed differently, than non-shifted buttons. Thus, giving me about 180( 30 buttons * 6 modes ) buttons to help keep a true HOTAS situation.

[The LT]

It is a bit offtopic, I know, but I don't use the mini-mouse for the mouse cursor, I use it for slewing and it works like a champ. :)

[Sven2157]

It is a bit offtopic, I know, but I don't use the mini-mouse for the mouse cursor, I use it for slewing and it works like a champ. :)

 

So do I. I just use the Pinkie Switch to engage it! :doh: ( page 6 )

[The LT]

i bought a nice laptop, which this is, so i can play games on it. and it has done this well up until i decided to start playing A-10C. so now that i am wanting to play this sim, my need for a desktop has gone up.

 

I suggest you actually start saving for some peripherals then? Like the pedals, if you haven't got them. Also, you may want to look into MicroATX desktop systems. They are really quite compact and "semi-portable" but can mount a decent motherboard with a decent GPU or even an SLI/Crossfire setup if needed. You will probably be able to move it without problems, the only concern here is the Display which will be harder to ship from place to place.

Edited January 10, 2013 by The LT
overquoting

[Maachine]

oh ok i follow. the SST is the software that comes with the joystick for programming. thanks for the link.

 

by the way, my plan has always been to upgrade my RAM on this laptop. last night my daughter threw out that she wants a table for her playroom, and glow in the dark stars for her bedroom, and to paint one wall orange, one wall red, one wall blue, make the carpet a different color....ect. ect.........so really it's not about her "needs" per say, it's about her "wants". she's a spoiled and demanding girl apparently.

 

i felt the need to defend my decision making.

[The LT]

So do I. I just use the Pinkie Switch to engage it! :doh: ( page 6 )

 

Can I give your profile a spin, Sven? Where can I get it? I got my X52 Pro only a couple of weeks ago, still looking how to best employ the shift-state button! :)

[The LT]

oh ok i follow. the SST is the software that comes with the joystick for programming. thanks for the link.

 

by the way, my plan has always been to upgrade my RAM on this laptop. last night my daughter threw out that she wants a table for her playroom, and glow in the dark stars for her bedroom, and to paint one wall orange, one wall red, one wall blue, make the carpet a different color....ect. ect.........so really it's not about her "needs" per say, it's about her "wants". she's a spoiled and demanding girl apparently.

 

i felt the need to defend my decision making.

 

I believe Laptop RAM upgrades aren't that pricey nowadays, or are they? I belive they are if you're using outdated DDR-2 ram which somehow costs up to 2.5 times more than the modern DDR-3 RAM. :doh:

[Maachine]

i dont mind some off topic chatter. i like seeing your conversations cause it gives me food for thought. like sven already hooked me up with a profile. i like it

[Maachine]

to upgrade from 2gbx2 ddr3 to 4gbx2 ddr3 is only 44$ on ebay.

[Sven2157]

Can I give your profile a spin, Sven? Where can I get it? I got my X52 Pro only a couple of weeks ago, still looking how to best employ the shift-state button! :)

 

You sure can! Sven2157's DCS_A-10C_x52_Profile

 

I designed this from the ground up, as I didn't like the profiles that were available. Also, as I stated, I tried to match the original Gunslinger Profile for Falcon 4.0:AF, as I had grown use to using that sometime ago. After hours of messing around and learning DCS A-10, I found that the Coolie Hat( Pinkie + POV1 ) and DMS( HAT3 on Throttle ) were the 2 most used of the HAT switches.

 

Also note that I just got TrackIR 4 days ago, but still use the POV1 to look around in cases that warrant it. As always, feel free to modify it as you need( credit for the starting point would be nice ;) )

 

Let me know what you think...

 

*** EDIT ***

 

IMPORTANT!!! Make sure before you load the profile that your slider is in the middle position! 0-5% is for speed brakes retract and 95-100% is for speed brakes extract. However, this is employed with a CONSTANT KEY PRESS!

 

ALWAYS UNLOAD/CLEAR THE PROFILE BEFORE CLOSING THE SAITEK PROFILER SOFTWARE!!!

 

EDIT 2

You may need my DCS Keyboard LUA file: =170=_A-10C_Keyboard

 

EDIT 3

The Keyboard Layout and the file link have been updated to reflect te files combined in one ZIP file and now uploaded to the DCS World User file addess.

Edited January 14, 2013 by Sven2157
Added warnings, Edit 2 posted link for DCS .LUA File, Updated Links

[Sven2157]

to upgrade from 2gbx2 ddr3 to 4gbx2 ddr3 is only 44$ on ebay.

 

Does your laptop's SODIMM support 4GB sticks?

[The LT]

You sure can! Sven2157's DCS_A-10C_x52_Profile.zip

 

Also note that I just got TrackIR 4 days ago, but still use the POV1 to look around in cases that warrant it. As always, feel free to modify it as you need( credit for the starting point would be nice ;) )

 

Let me know what you think...

 

*** EDIT ***

 

IMPORTANT!!! Make sure before you load the profile that your slider is in the middle position! 0-5% is for speed brakes retract and 95-100% is for speed brakes extract. However, this is employed with a CONSTANT KEY PRESS!

 

ALWAYS UNLOAD/CLEAR THE PROFILE BEFORE CLOSING THE SAITEK PROFILER SOFTWARE!!!

 

Thanks Sven, I'll give it a spin! And I have yet to order a TrackIR as well. :) Hopefully in a couple of weeks.

[Maachine]

not sure. i was going to look into it more when i finally decide to buy. i'm pretty sure i can upgrade the RAM with no problems. it came standard with 4GB so i assume i can up grade to the next level.

[Sven2157]

Thanks Sven, I'll give it a spin! And I have yet to order a TrackIR as well. :) Hopefully in a couple of weeks.

No problem, I hope you enjoy it!

 

Note that I added a 2nd Edit to include my LUA file for use with the Saitek profile. I also have the Saitek Pro-Flight Rudder Pedals, so you may need to re-adjust your rudder mapping, if you are not using those.

[The LT]

not sure. i was going to look into it more when i finally decide to buy. i'm pretty sure i can upgrade the RAM with no problems. it came standard with 4GB so i assume i can up grade to the next level.

 

Sometimes, the laptop has 2x2Gb sticks in it and no empty slots to add memory, so they have to be swapped out for 2x4Gb sticks. Make sure you have a free RAM slot by unscrewing the RAM panel (should be marked) and looking inside. You may have to get 2x4Gb sticks rather than one.

[Sven2157]

not sure. i was going to look into it more when i finally decide to buy. i'm pretty sure i can upgrade the RAM with no problems. it came standard with 4GB so i assume i can up grade to the next level.

 

NEVER ASSUME! Was that one 4GB stick, or 2 x 2GB stick? You should consult the manufacturer's website to make sure. ;)

 

Adding a stick of 4GB could render your laptop in-op. If the motherboard doesn't support it.

[The LT]

No problem, I hope you enjoy it!

 

Note that I added a 2nd Edit to include my LUA file for use with the Saitek profile. I also have the Saitek Pro-Flight Rudder Pedals, so you may need to re-adjust your rudder mapping, if you are not using those.

 

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. From the sound of it, your profile probably suits me more than the others lying around.