RAM vs VRAM vs CPU - What has biggest effect on FPS?

Question

Hi,

I'm a fence sitter waiting to take the plunge into X-plane soon.. I currently run FSX on high settings.. here are my specs:

Intel i7, 4 GHz (boost upto 4.4), 8GB DDR3 RAM, NVidia GTX 660 Ti 2GB DDR5.

With these specs, will I be able to run X-plane 10.45 smoothly? I'll be using payware aircraft, payware airports, etc. Would like to run at medium to high settings (not ultra high)...

Which is the most critical factor for FPS - CPU speed, VRAM or RAM?

In what situation, does RAM become the bottle neck?

In what situations, does VRAM become the bottle neck?

I have read the system requirements page on X plane website, but still had these unanswered questions.. basically, I need to know if I have to add another 8GB RAM (will it help?) or if I need to add more VRAM?

thanks!

Vinod.

Answer 1

In your case the answer is easy: The bottleneck will be your old gfx-card

You will be able to run X-Plane smoothly, but you might have to back down from the best (sharpest) texture resolution. Some add-ons eat VRAM for breakfast, and you want to have in excess of 3GB to be on the safe side.

Also be aware that one of the nices feature - the dynamic lighting - requires HDR-rendering, and this is heavy on the gfx-card, again. I would recommend something from the GTX 8XXX class.

Here is the most important tip: DOWNLOAD THE DEMO. It will tell you everything you need to know regarding the above questions.

Jan