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WTB: Ultimate computer for Flight Simulator 2004

F

Floppies_only

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Feb 15, 2008
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Washington, United States of America
Gang,

It seems to be slim pickin's for used desktops that can do a really good job of running FS9 from 2003. One thing I'd like to add (out of many things you can add to FS9 to make it better) comes from here:

http://www.blueskyscenery.com/index.html

I was hoping to be able to get a system with three 3-D video cards that runs fast (I was told the simulator can't take advantage of multiple core CPUs) and a version of Windows that I can put online so I can do those downloads. Has anybody got any ideas on what I should look for on eBay? I don't seem to be finding too much and really, since I only jumped from Windows 3.1 to XP a year ago, I really don't know what I am doing. Any help would be appriciated. If anybody can put me in touch with someone who wants to upgrade and sell their old system, that would be nice, too, but please reply off list so as not to discourage others.

Thanks,
Sean
 
Quick questions.

Are you trying to build a machine of that time period, or do you just want to play the game nicely?

What processor and graphics chip does your current Windows XP machine use?

Any reason for wanting three separate cards instead of a single fast unit?
 
Not being an avid gamer myself but I'd imagine Vogons would be a good place to start http://www.vogons.org/index.php

It's primary focus is gaming on x86 systems.

It's pretty cool you stuck with Windows 3.x up until recently. I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences and systems you ran it on sometime.
 
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SpidersWeb said:
Quick questions.

Are you trying to build a machine of that time period, or do you just want to play the game nicely?

What processor and graphics chip does your current Windows XP machine use?

Any reason for wanting three separate cards instead of a single fast unit?
Click to expand...

Actually, I was a Macintosh guy although after learning about the machine gun towers at their factory in China, I never got my iMac back out of the box after it had to go to get fixed. I need to, though. I was hoping that I could get an extremely inexpensive machine that would allow me to play FS 2004 well, and planned to buy the downloads to make the game better with the iMac. For some reason, there are like a million things you can get for FS 2004/FS X that make them so much more realistic. I even plan to use the 19 meter terrain mesh (data points every 19 meters horizontally) to ask for a quote on outsource.com to generate a map of two places I was before and during the war with fine contours so I can read the battlefield and try to piece it all together. The military maps they used in the war had 85' contours - not too useful in a desert when the typical terrain feature is ten feet high.

The three screens are desired because a pilot uses their peripheral vision at the time of touchdown to judge how high off of the runway they are. For some reason my landings had just gotten good, and now I'm crashing all the time. Probably because I turned the wind on - that makes it much harder. Anyway, somebody told me that FS 2004 can't utilize a multi-core CPU, so I thought that I might be able to get the cast-off machine of a gamer from the era for a good price. I just want to kick around the Mojave Desert that I liked so much before it became Tweaker Alley and try to hang onto my spacial relations to stave off dementia.

Sean
 
Caluser2000 said:
Not being an avid gamer myself but I'd imagine Vogons would be a good place to start http://www.vogons.org/index.php

It's primary focus is gaming on x86 systems.

It's pretty cool you stuck with Windows 3.x up until recently. I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences and systems you ran it on sometime.
Click to expand...

Actually, I got this idea for a novel and planned to write it with a bunch of different word processors. Then my cat died and somehow that turned into a buying spree because I didn't realize I was filling my time buying vintage instead of interacting with him. I wish I'd known. I did use Word for Windows 3.1 on an IBM PC/AT with 8 Megs of RAM. It ran nicely, but the whole width of the text couldn't be shown on the monitor. I have kept track of my financial accounts with Works for DOS version 2.00, and it's database works very well for making sure the bank doesn't add ficticious charges to your credit card account or false withdrawals from your bank account. I've heard that banks will do the second thing, but the only trouble I've had with the credit cards is having my number stolen and needed to file a fraud claim to get the charges removed. I can actually do that just by looking at the statement. I think I used Lotus 1-2-3 for the same thing for awhile, too, just for fun. I once kept my feelings journal using Wordperfect on a PC. I seem to remember writing a post I called "Negative margin hell" back then.

But what's really fun with 3.1 is that it lets you have long, complicated games of solitaire often, and it's more rewarding than loosing all the time.

Sean
 
Good luck! Maybe boot camp your iMac? or run a virtual machine?

FYI most of the newer iMac's Late 2013 model are made In the USA!
 
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Floppies_only said:
Actually, I was a Macintosh guy although after learning about the machine gun towers at their factory in China, I never got my iMac back out of the box after it had to go to get fixed. I need to, though.
Sean
Click to expand...

Apple's factories need those machine gun towers to guard against industrial sabotage. Here is the proof : http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/attack
 
Chromedome45 said:
Good luck! Maybe boot camp your iMac? or run a virtual machine?

FYI most of the newer iMac's Late 2013 model are made In the USA!
Click to expand...
Made or assembled? You know like Harley Davidsons (affectionately called Harley Furgassons over here)
 
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Chromedome45 said:
Good luck! Maybe boot camp your iMac? or run a virtual machine?

FYI most of the newer iMac's Late 2013 model are made In the USA!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was just looking into it. I seem to have gotten wrapped around the axle because Microsoft.com says that Windows 8.1 is only for Windows 7 users. I actually don't know what OS I have on my mid-2011 iMac right now, but I had 10.7.3 when it went to get fixed. I'm thinking I can't install XP and register it because of that last step where you call Microsoft and register the copy of Windows. They don't offer that anymore, I think. I see some NOS copies of Windows 7 on the place, so I'm thinking, set up the iMac, install boot camp, install Windows 7, then do what it takes to upgrade to Windows 8.1, which I've read will run Flight Simulator. Then get one of those dual system A/V packages. One nice thing about being able to run FS 2004 with the machine connected to the internet is that you can have real-world weather, and it will print out the weather brief for you.

Last night I flew the Cessna 172 from Quito, Equator (elevation: 9300') up to 12,000' to get over the mountains, and then to a military airport next to the Pacific Ocean. It was a fun flight. When I started, the tempurature was 26 degrees, and I had set it to be 100 degrees (Farhenheight) at sea level.

Thanks,
Sean
 
Problem is Windows XP is no longer supported by MS$. Do you have a legitimate copy of Win 7? Or at least a valid key? If you have a valid key can always download win 7 from the internet if you lost the disk or whatever. like here: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows7/f/download-windows-7.htm If not than need to go out a buy a copy!

can also install Win 8.0/8.1 directly but same rules apply. Just need a Non-upgrade version. Remember that boot camp does not take upgrades but the full version. So the Win 7 to win 8.1 upgrade may or may not work. Just have never tried it.
 
Windows 7 will run Flight Simulator & you don't want to upgrade to any version of Windows 8 on a PC!! If you are not happy with Windows 7, wait until Microsoft release the new Windows 10 in April/May 2015. You could also download the beta version of Windows 10, but it apparently stops working in April 2015.
Reviews of the W10 beta are very encouraging - suggesting that it is going to be one of Microsoft's "good" versions.
 
Chromedome. I am running Tech Preview 10 right now, and the only thing i found was that it doesn't support wifi properly just yet. BUT i think that was just because of a hardware failure in my HP DV9008NR, a known failure for that series, the usb works great, it's the graphics support that is killer with it... But let's not thread hijack. Would something like a dual socket 370 fit the bill with XP SP3 modded to XPePOS?
 
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