is this PC suitable for XP11?

Question

Hi

I am planning on buying the Aspire XC-885. Here are the specs. On paper, it should run XP 11. Do you agree? Any comments?

1) ndivia GeForce GT720 2 gb

2) 8 GB RAM ddr4

3) i5-8400 processor

4) 1 tb HDD/128GB SSD

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi - I would recommend that you try the free demo first! That is available here. www.x-plane.com/try-it Thanks!

Answer 2

Hi Mat,

I am not with Laminar Research; just a flight simmer from down under.

My first thought was offering the same comment made by from Thomson who is from Laminar Research but you have not made the purchase as yet. 

Is the unit you are planning to purchase a gaming machine or a general every day home use unit?  Have a look at the following link found at https://www.x-plane.com/kb/x-plane-11-system-requirements/  Read the item thoroughly.  Serious flight simmers purpose build a system equal to or of higher specifications than the the recommended requirements. 

What is not mentioned in the link is good cooling is required for the CPU and the other components in the case(?), otherwise the system will crash.  X-Plane is resource hungry on the CPU  and the GPU and generates heat.  You also need a good power supply.

Personally I don't think your system will give you the performance satisfaction you would like.

Good luck.

Glenn   

Comments

Thanks. I checked out the requirements and on paper at least, it's all there (bar the GPU GHz which is a bit lower. I can put in some more Ram , but not sure about a cooler). I'll have to keep looking.

What hardware do you have?

Thanks

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Thanks Glenn

Have added a question above. Don't know if you can see that and address it.

Cheers

Answer 3

The answer is no, unfortunately.

I know you can’t actually try the demo, since you have not yet purchased the Aspire.

X-Plane 11 has very high demand on GPU resources.  The GT 720 is undoubtedly underpowered, the CPU is also on the slow side.   The following system requirements is from Laminar Research:

  CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 GHz or faster

  Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more

  Video Card: GeForce GTX 1070 or better.

Based on my own experience, the above specs should get you near to high-range rendering settings; less on more complex aircraft.  I would not recommend anything less, in order to enjoy the full capability of XP11.

Comments

Thanks. I thought i5-8400 is better than  i5-6600k?

Is there a sort of 'multipurpose' PC out there that you could recommend?

I'm not a serial gamer, but don't mind the occasional flight.

Cheers

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You’re right about the processors.  I was thrown off by the lower clock speed of the 8400.  But it is a slightly better CPU than the 6600k, overall.

I still believe the GT 720 is not up to the task.  At a minimum, I recommend a GTX 1060 6GB.  Make sure the computer case and power supply can accommodate a full-length dual-slot graphic card, and additional memory slot.

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Hi

Thanks. I've added a question above. Not sure whether you can see that and address it.

Thanks

Answer 4

Hi all

So maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. Have been spending alot of time looking for the right kit.

I've got a budget of around 800€. I probably won't ever max out the XP11 settings, so can anyone recommend a computer or set of CPU/graphic card/mother board that would fit within that budget?

Many thanks

Comments

May I suggest the following…

   CPU: i5-9600K

   RAM: 16GB

   Video: RTX 2060 or GTX 1070

800€ should cover the above plus a motherboard.  These hardware combo should get X-Plane 11 to render near the high end, but short of maxing the settings out.

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Hi Disc, 

Thanks for this:

Unfortunately, the RTX 20601 goes for bout 300 EUR, and the GTX  as well. I've had a look, and supposedly the AMD Radeon RX 580 is hailed as one of the best graphic cards and is going for aound 200€, Else, what do you thinkof the GTX 1060 (6GB)? I could try to squeeze that in the budget. 

As for mother board, would something like Gigabyte Z370 Aorus wifi or X470 Aorus do, in your opinion? I need a multipurpose computer (to work as well), so wifi is essential. 

Thanks

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I do not have any experience with AMD gaming cards.  The X-Plane community has apparently developed a stronger preference for Nvidia.

Sharing my own X-Plane “journey”: I first bought XP11 not long after its release, and encountered single-digit FPS on my PC at the time.  I then built a system with i7-7700K, GTX 1060 (6GB), 32GB RAM, MSI B250M Gaming Pro MB.  That allowed me to run XP11 at medium-high rendering.

If you’re considering the newer i5-9600K, which has already caught up with the older i7’s performance, you may discover the 1060 GPU to be the bottleneck (That’s why I have recently upgraded to a RTX 2070).  However, if you’re content with running XP11 at medium-high settings, and that your aim is to build a multipurpose computer, I believe your list will make a nice combo. 

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I'm also facing the same dilemma. I currently have an AMD Athlon X4 750k CPU overclocked to 4.7Ghz together with an amd radeon rx 470 msi gaming x 8GB and 16GB RAM. Based on what I've seen on the Internet my GPU is decent enough for x plane 11 but my CPU is complete trash. I'm looking for a game pc between €800-€900 with an i5 CPU 8th or 9th gen, but I have no clue whether or not the i5 combined with my GPU will get X plane 11 to perform without stuttering.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated

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MBlijden87,

Based on my own experience, stuttering is often due to CPU limitation, when running with dense scenery.  I sometimes need to dial the “Number of World Objects” down a notch when flying over highly detailed areas to void stuttering.  Reducing the Visibility range may also help.  That likely is also true for your current hardware, where the CPU is the weaker link.

Knowing that X-Plane today is largely a single-core operation, I’d aim for a high GHz current generation i5.  The RX 470 is also on the low side—by today’s standard.  If there’s money left from the budget, I may consider upgrading to something like a RTX 2060.

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Disc,

Thank you so much for your response. I've also tried bringing down the rendering options to low/medium but at best I'm getting about 15 fps. The gtx 2060 is a bit out of my budget unfortunately.

Now I've found a game pc with an i5 9400f 2.9Ghz turbo 4.1Ghz, together with the gtx 1660 6gb and 16 gb ram for '€899. Would this pc get the job done?

Your response is much appreciated

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MBlijden87,

The i5 9400F with a GTX 1660 is not bad, I think it offers a good CPU/GPU balance.  I expect X-Plane 11 should be able to run in the high 20 FPS with medium-high rendering settings, for flying a complex aircraft over relatively dense scenery. 

BTW, frame rate in the teens is unacceptable.  The controls may still “feel” okay, but the sim is literally be crawling in “slow motion”.

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The low fps is indeed a pain.

If I were to purchase this pc and upgrade it to the gtx 1070, will the i5 9400f bottleneck the gpu?

Thanks in advance

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My best guess is the GTX 1070 would be a slightly better matchup for the 9400F CPU (compared to the 1660).  However, whether it makes sense to buy a 1070 in today’s market is questionable.

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Which gpu would you consider to be the best upgrade together with the 9400f? I'm thinking the rtx 2070?

Your assistance is much appreciated

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MBlijden87,

The short answer to your question is the RTX 2060.

In reality, I think there is no one simple answer to what’s the best CPU/GPU matchup.  There are many dependencies: Rendering settings, scenery density, aircraft complexity, weather, display resolution etc.  Generally speaking, graphic rendering/effects, clouds and resolution draw on GPU power.  While aircraft and world objects demand CPU GHz.

I use a 2070.  If you’re interested in how different settings and scenarios could affect FPS, feel free to PM me before making your decision.