Jetline Systems l Performance

FSX Performance Guide
Provided By Jetline Systems

This guide is a research tool developed to provide flight sim enthusiasts and DIY pc builders a
quick and easy resource to determine the best performance components for your flight sim rig.

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Jetline recommends upgrading your system in the
following priority to maximize Flight Simulator performance.

1. Processor (CPU)
2. System Memory (RAM)
3. Graphics Card (GPU)
4. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

Nvidia GeForce GT 240 (1GB)

Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 (1.2GB)

Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 (896MB)

Intel Core i7 960 Quad (3.20GHz)

Intel Core i7 Extreme 980x (3.33GHz)

Processor (CPU) Performance

Corsair DDR3 Tri-Channel 1066Mhz CL9

Mushkin Blackline DDR3 Tri-Channel 1600Mhz CL7

Mushkin Redline DDR3 Tri-Channel 1600Mhz CL6

6GB DDR3 Tri-Channel Memory

12GB DDR3 Tri-Channel Memory

Memory Spec Performance with FSX SP2

Total System Performance

Single GPU Graphics Solution

Multi GPU Graphics Solution

Multi GPU (SLI) vs. Single GPU Performance (Flight Simulator X SP2)

Memory Bandwidth (GB/s)

ATI Radeon HD 5870 (1GB)

Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 (1.2GB)

Effective Performance (Flight Simulator X SP2) 1920 x 1200, AA, AF

Choose and customize a Flight Sim PC thats right for you.

ATI Radeon HD 5850 (1GB)

Choosing Your Processor
The processor is the most important component you will
choose in a high performance flight sim pc. Make this
component priority one when planning your system specs.

FSX Performance
Up to 75% of your frame rate is produced from the CPU. Quad
core processors will improve frame rates with increased auto
gen scenery, traffic, and weather generation.

Intel Core i7 technology has proven to be the biggest impact
upgrade for FSX performance. The Core i7 975 Extreme
Edition CPU has tested very well with multiple FSX add-ons by
almost dismissing any frame rate impact while running
intense add-on scenery and aircraft simultaneously.

Choosing Your System Memory
Consider both memory clock speed and CAS latency timings
when selecting a performance memory configuration.

FSX Performance
It is more important to have faster memory clock speed over
memory quantity.

Good: 12GB Triple Channel DDR3 @ 1333MHz (CL9)
Better: 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 @ 1600MHz (CL6)

FSX performance can also be improved by selecting a low
latency (CL#) RAM. Jetline recommends Mushkin Enhanced
Redline DDR3 Tri-Channel (CL6) @ 1600 MHz.

Choosing Your Hard Drive Config
Jetline is integrating the new 32MB Cache drives into our
systems. These drives are proving better performance than their
sister drives (16MB Cache). However, for optimal system
performance, we recommend a VelociRaptor 10,000 RPM Hard
Drive or High Speed Solid State (SSD) Drive !

FSX Performance
A single 7200 RPM or 10,000 RPM drive will do fine for most
users. However, to maximize your flight sim performance,
Jetline recommends dual hard drives (single drive for your OS,
and a dedicated drive for your flight sim).

Example 1:
Primary Drive (C): 1TB SATA, 7200 RPM, 64MB (OS)
Performance Drive (F): 300GB VelociRaptor, 10,000 RPM (FSX)

Example 2:
Primary Drive (C): 150GB VelociRaptor, 10,000 RPM (OS)
Performance Drive (F): 256GB Mushkin Solid State (FSX)

Warning
RAID 0 Performance in FSX
Many gaming PC companies are offering RAID 0 performance
configurations. This is a good configuration for PC GAMES, but
not Flight Simulator programs. Onboard RAID 0 (pairing hdd's)
can significantly reduce FSX performance.

For the most optimum FSX HDD performance, Jetline
recommends either of the two examples shown above.

HDD Performance FSX SP2

ATI Radeon HD 5870 (1GB)

Intel Core i7 Extreme 980x (4.00GHz) oc

Intel Core i7 930 Quad (3.33GHz) oc

System Memory (RAM) Performance

Flight Simulator X SP2 / Ultra High Settings

AMD vs. Intel (FSX Performance)

Intel Core i7 Extreme 980x (3.33GHz)

AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3.40GHz)

Graphics (GPU) Performance

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33 FPS

25 FPS

Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 (896MB)

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133.9 GB/s

111.9 GB/s

128.0 GB/s

153.6 GB/s

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AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3.40GHz)

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CL9 Memory Performance

CAS Latency Impact on FSX SP2

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Hard Disk (HDD) Performance

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WD Black Edition 7200 RPM, 64MB Cache

Western Digital VelociRaptor 10,000 RPM

Mushkin Enhanced Solid State (SSD)

FSX Performance On Shared HDD Drive

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FSX Performance Dual HDD RAID 0 Config

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RAID 0 vs. Independent HDD Performance, FSX SP2

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FSX Performance On Dedicated HDD Drive

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Intel Core i7 960 Quad (3.73GHz) oc

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FSX Performance
Only up to 25% of your frame rate is spawned from your
graphics engine. We recommend the Nvidia GTX 480
graphics card for best performance now and keeping your rig
ready for the future.

Multi-GPU Impact on FSX
(Multi-GPU and multiple graphics card configurations)
Our testing has proved that SLI and Crossfire graphics will
only improve performance when run on extremely high display
resolutions. Although many games benefit from SLI, FSX
typically will not. A single GPU (single card) solution is
recommended.

Warning
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 and ATI Radeon 5970 has
tested to be a significant performance inhibitor to FSX. This is
due to their integrated dual GPU design. Jetline is not offering
these models due to low FSX test results.

Intel Core i5 661 Dual Core (3.33GHz)

Intel Core i5 661 Dual Core (4.00GHz) oc

CL6 Memory Performance

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Example:

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ATI Radeon HD 5850 (1GB)

Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 (1.5GB)

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177.4 GB/s

54.4 GB/s

29 FPS

32 FPS

33 FPS

35 FPS

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Relative Disk Drive Performance

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Hitachi 7200 RPM, 16MB Cache

WD Black Edition 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache

Western Digital VelociRaptor 10,000 RPM

Mushkin Enhanced Solid State (SSD)

13 ms

12 ms

7 ms

.10 ms

29 FPS

30 FPS

32 FPS

34 FPS

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37 FPS

Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 (1.5GB)

WD Black Edition 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache