Jetline Systems l Performance

FSX Performance Guide
Provided By Jetline Systems

Nvidia GeForce GTX 275 (1.79GB)

Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 (1GB)

Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 (896MB)

Intel Core 2 Q9550 Quad (2.83GHz)

Intel Core 2 Q9550 Quad (3.20GHz) oc

Intel Core i7 950 Quad (3.06GHz)

Intel Core i7 Extreme 975 (3.33GHz)

Processor (CPU) Performance

Corsair XMS DDR2 Dual-Channel 1066Mhz

Corsair XMS DDR3 Tri-Channel 1333Mhz

Corsair Dominator DDR3 Tri-Channel 1600Mhz

3GB Corsair Memory Performance

6GB Corsair Memory Performance

Memory Clock Speed Impact on 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 X3870 (512MB)

Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 (2GB)

Nvidia Geforce vs. ATI Radeon (Flight Simulator X SP2)

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.

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

ATI Radeon HD X4870 (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
When it comes to system memory, clock speed (MHz) makes
the greatest impact in sim performance. The faster the better.

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

Example
Good: 12GB Triple Channel DDR3 @ 1333MHz
Better: 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 @ 1600MHz

FSX performance can also be improved by selecting a low
latency (CL#) RAM. Jetline recommends Corsair Dominator
DDR3 Triple Channel (CL7) @ 1600 MHz.

Choosing your GPU (graphics card)
Jetline only trusts high performance Nvidia graphics in our
performance sim systems. Currently ATI cards are
dominating the gaming pc market but fall short in FSX.

FSX Performance
Only up to 25% of your frame rate is spawned from your
graphics engine. We recommend the GeForce GTX 285
graphics card for best performance now and keeping your rig
ready for the future.

SLI Impact on FSX
(multiple graphics card configurations)
Our testing has proved that SLI 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 has tested to be a significant
performance inhibitor to FSX. This is due to its integrated dual
GPU design. DIY builders should stay away from this card!
Jetline is not offering this model due to low FSX test results.

Choosing Your Hard Drive Config
Jetline is integrating the new 32MB Cache drives into our
systems. These drives are proving better performance than
there sister drives (16MB Cache). However, for the die hard pilot,
we recommend the VelociRaptor 10,000 RPM Hard Drives for
optimal system performance!

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

Example 1:
Primary Drive (C): 1TB SATA, 7200 RPM, 32MB (OS)
Performance Drive (D): 300GB VelociRaptor, 10,000 RPM (FSX)

Example 2:
Primary Drive (C): 150GB VelociRaptor, 10,000 RPM (OS)
Performance Drive (D): 300GB VelociRaptor, 10,000 RPM (FSX)

Warning
RAID 0 Performance in FSX
Many gaming PC companies are offering RAID 0 performance
configurations. This is a good configuration for 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 Configuration Impact for FSX SP2

Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 (2GB)

Intel Core i7 Extreme 975 (3.86GHz) oc

Intel Core i7 920 Quad (2.66GHz)

System Memory (RAM) Performance

Flight Simulator X SP2 / Ultra High Settings

AMD vs. Intel (FSX Performance)

Intel Core i7 Extreme 975 (3.33GHz)

AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3.40GHz)

Graphics (GPU) Performance

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33 FPS

29 FPS

Nvidia GeForce GTS 260 (896MB)

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70.4 GB/s

111.9 GB/s

127.0 GB/s

156.6 GB/s

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AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3.40GHz)

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CL9 Memory Performance

CL7 Memory Performance

CAS Latency Impact on FSX SP2

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Hard Disk (HDD) Performance

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Single HDD, 7200 RPM, 16MB Cache

Single HDD, 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache

Single HDD, VelociRaptor 10,000 RPM

Dual HDD, 7200 RPM, 32MB, No RAID

RAID 0, VelociRaptor 10.000 RPM x2

Dual HDD, 7200 RPM & 10,000 RPM, No RAID

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Dual HDD, 10,000 RPM & 10,000 RPM, No RAID

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RAID 0 vs. Independent Dual HDD Performance, FSX

Dual HDD, 10,000 RPM, No RAID

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Dual HDD, 7200 RPM, 32MB, No RAID

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Intel Core i7 950 Quad (3.59GHz) oc

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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)