Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: miraj on October 10, 2006, 02:26:06 PM
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As you can see I am new to the forum and the game.
I used to play AirWarrior 1,2,3 back in the old 56k modem days.
Now , I have the house and cars paid for and want to build an ultimate system , just for AcesHigh.
I want to spend around 3-5 thousand with a nice big moniter. Being handy with wood , I want to also build a basic cockpit. Joystick on the right ,throttle on the left,built in rudder pedals, keyboard with remote custom keypad.
My question for you guys , where should I buy the system from?
I have seen some REALLY nice stuff at dell.com , and also at best-buy.
Please any advice on a system would be very helpfull , and where should I get it from??
Thanks
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If you want the best performance, you would be far better off building the computer yourself. OEM computers are loaded with bloat, in the form of 45 to 65 background processes.
Some of them have watch dog software to prevent you from disabling any of the processes. Some of them do not come with an OS CD.
For the money you are looking to spend, you could really build a heck of a system.
It really is not difficult to build one, as long as you use quality parts, take your time, ask questions when you do not know, and take your time. Did I mention you really need to take your time?
Lot of folks here build ther own. Many are more than happy to give you advice and help.
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I can only echo what skuzzy says.
I had never built a computer before, though I had been inside the guts often enough with upgrades, etc, that I felt pretty comfortable. Skuzzy recently built a system, and posted his specs in this forum...I used that as a starting point, took a step down from some of his specs, and went for it.
So this was the first system I've ever built, and it was pretty much easy to do. The guys here were very helpful with tips ahead of time, and with references to other threads and web sites. It wa ssmooth as can be...
....and this system was about 2/3 the cost of a less powerful one from dell. (Incidentally, I found it is VERY hard to do apples-to-apples comparisons with self built computers and manufactured ones because most manufacturers cut lots of corners in the places you may not know where to look, like memory latency or motherboard quality.)
I had hesitated before this since I wanted the security blanket of tech supoprt to back me up; but after some bad experiences I realized that tech support was a waste of time, and almost always worthless unless you can penetrate the defenses sheilding the 3rd level guys. They were the ones who solved the problems in 30 seconds; but it took 40 hours of phone time to reach them. And, since guys with 10th level knowledge cruise these boards....who needs tech?
Anyway -- If you have any comfort with plugging in cables and memory modules, you owe it to yourself to consider a build.
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There is another way if like me you dont really feel like building your own, there are companies that build them for you like you want it and are upgradeable. I bought one this year from cyberpower. I just done a little reading up on what I wanted, and placed my order, 2 wks later its at my door.
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miraj, welcome! I began with AW3. I'm all thumbs and actually built a system that works. If you're not one of those who relish putting things together, you can buy your hardware to spec and pay a reasonable fee to someone to build it.
hap
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Thanks so much for the advice!!
My 'computer guy' is building me a system from the ground up.It should be ready this week.
Today I picked up a 26 inch LCD Flat HDTV with PC inputs.
Also got a 5.1 Logitech sound system.
---Please advise me on a PREMIUM joystick and throttle , and pedals.----
I saw a Siateck ,but it looked kind of flimsy.
I want a good one. What are you guys useing.
As with the joystick , I prefer the pedals to have good tension , it just feels better to me that way.
So my question is , what brands do you all prefer for joystick and pedals??
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CH products.
also get TRACK IR
http://www.naturalpoint.com
Balsy
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Here's another vote for CH Products joysticks and pedals. I've been using them since the old Air Warrior days (howdy, fellow ex-Air Warrior!).
Also, I strongly recommend a headset with a good mic. It's cheap, but I like the Koss CS-100.
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Used Thrustmaster, siatek, logicrap........
CH is the best so far. CH stick = F16 fighterstick, CH throt = CH Pro Throttle, And the CH rudder peds are pretty good but you can have some minor problems with those.
Go USB, analog is hard to find and not supported by Win XP.
Get the latest software for CH too.
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Originally posted by Balsy
CH products.
also get TRACK IR
http://www.naturalpoint.com
Balsy
Well , I got the Thrustmaster HOTAC setup tonight. It feels nice and heavy
I just saw a demo of the Track IR , very nice indeed.
Can you still use the hat switch for rear view . or do you have to turn your head behind you ?
Do alot of you guys use the Track IR???
Thanks again for the input ,please keep it coming , you people are helping me build my ultimate system and I appreciate that.
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If you want an ultimate system, plan ahead. Hopefully the parts you're getting now allow for adequate upgrades later on (2 years down the line). That is, hopefully it's got the latest socket types and FSB speeds for the chip you've got, hopefully it's got PCI Express, and hopefully it accepts DDR2. Then again, this isn't so important because if it IS the top of the line, it'll "coast" a long way before sliding down the tech curve :aok
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Originally posted by miraj
Well , I got the Thrustmaster HOTAC setup tonight. It feels nice and heavy
I just saw a demo of the Track IR , very nice indeed.
Can you still use the hat switch for rear view . or do you have to turn your head behind you ?
Do alot of you guys use the Track IR???
Thanks again for the input ,please keep it coming , you people are helping me build my ultimate system and I appreciate that.
YOu can use the hats if you want to override the Track IR. But the angles of the TRack IR to views are not 1 to 1. In other words I turn my head about 30 degrees to see all the way behind me.
Just think of all the ways you can utilize the hat switches (trim etc) if they are not being utilized by the views etc..
balsy
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Here are the specs of the box being built.
Intel Core 2 Duo 64bit 2.04mhz dual processors
2048mb ram
Video 512mb 7950 Nvdia PCI Express 16
and a 'big' power supply.
Does this sound like a good system?
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honestly i would wait on AMDs 4x4 but thats just me .. also giving you the possiblity of QUAD SLI
From the looks of it Nvidia's partnership with AMD has grown four more legs in the support of the 4x4x4. As AMD asked Nvidia to create a chipset for its Quadfather launch.
News has hit the web that Nvidia has created the new platform for AMD for the 4x4 launch. The 4x4 plays host to 2 Opteron socket "F"'s on the same Motherboard which will than be upgradeable to AMD official Quad Core CPU which will be released next year. The system will not require registered ECC memory as rumored over the last few months, but will ask for regular DDR2 memory such as Corsair, OCZ, & Geil all provide currently.
The system will not only support quad-core Barcelona CPUs, but will support four graphics cards at the same time. Since the 680a chipset is created from a north bridge and south bridge chipset, there were enough PCIe lanes available to use four PEG (PCI Express Graphics) slots. Two slots come as x16 and two come as x8.
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Ok , I dont understand a word you just said.
Do you think I will be fast enough , with this system?
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oh you should be plenty fast i dont see a problem there, just saying i think you should hold off and wait til you have the new Intel/AMD platforms out before building a system.. they are due out in 2 weeks from what i understand. for what your paying now you can get twice the power and expanablitly of what your planning on building now.
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Never buy new technology the instant it's out handy. You know that, with new designs, it brings new problems, new bugs, etc. Always wait for the reviews, ESPECIALLY on motherboards with 2 CPU sockets. Twice as much that can go wrong.
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okay how long ago did the Conroe chip come out? 2-3 months at most? there could still be major bugs out there. so your point is very mute. and how many people on here said the same thing about the conroe when it was about to be released.
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Originally posted by wrag
Used Thrustmaster, siatek, logicrap........
CH is the best so far. CH stick = F16 fighterstick, CH throt = CH Pro Throttle, And the CH rudder peds are pretty good but you can have some minor problems with those.
Go USB, analog is hard to find and not supported by Win XP.
Get the latest software for CH too.
I am on my 3rd X45, I miss my Logitech Wingman. It was 3 years old when I sent it to Acid****(AcidCAF). It is still working.
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Yes, how long ago was Conroe released? Long enough that everybody, everywhere, has reviewed it, and everybody, everywhere, says "it's good"!
Give the "2x2" the same consideration. Let folks review it before you dote over it :)
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i heard X45's had lots of issues that the X52 did improve apon. one being duriablity.
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Thank you so much for the help.
Another question.
I just purchased a 5.1 surround system for this computer. Which headset is best to use , without blocking the sound effects?
I prefer something lightwieght and simple and dont want it to interfere with the IR Tracker system, again , I do not want it to muffle the surround sound.
Please advise.
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krusty that wasnt the what happen when the conroe came out, the threads i remember reading where wait for the conroe it will be your best bet. that was not even 90 days ago. and i am simply saying the same thing about 4x4.
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Any comments on a good set of headphones that will not interfere with my surround sound?
Thanks
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A little update , I returned the Samsung 26 incher for a 40 inch Sony Bravia flat LCD.
Much better.
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Originally posted by handy169
i heard X45's had lots of issues that the X52 did improve apon. one being duriablity.
I've banged my X45 around for (2 years?) now and never a problem. Love it!
Didn't like the 52 due to the twisty stick
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Speaking of monitors....
I use my 55" HDTV off of a nVidia 7950GT with good results... BUT...
I never realized that you were limited to the 60hz refresh rate of the TV, and thus a frame rate of 60. Duh... still not bad though.
Can't wait for DirectX to support 16:9 field of view. (Thanks Skuzzy for explaining that one to me :aok )