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FS2000 processor benchmark results: FPS for every 100 MHz with different CPU clocks
Every 100 MHz of your CPU can pump about 3.5 frames more. Remember - the numbers regard the particular FS2000 setup (as described at http://www.avsim.com/fsbench). It would be about 35 FPS with future 1000 MHz CPU if nothing else will change. But what about the CPU type? FPS for every 100 MHz for different CPU types:
Only one looser: K6-2 (probably due to the weak FP unit). That's why it is excluded above. This recapitulation doesn't regard some other important factors like the motherboard chipset, memory type, graphic port type, sound board and others, however it seems that at the moment the best way to make your flights smoother is to use fast (clock and FP unit) CPU. Thanks to Marcin Slawicz |
FS2000 hurts your system a lot. It is important to get at least a 400Mhz processor and a fast graphical board The frame rate and visual quality of FS2000 depends of a lot of parts of your PC: The mainboard, amount of memory, the processor, harddisk type and video board. But processor and video board are very important as fs2000 as a graphical program asks a lot of calculations in the processors.
If your hard disk is continously reading you are more than likely having to hit the hard driver swap file. The swap file is on your disc, and when memory is being used at capacity, the OS starts writing the oldest used memory contents to disc, to make room for new stuff it needs. Even with office applications such as Excel, Word, 16 MD is no enough memory to run Win95 adequately.So: buy more memory. 64Mb should be sufficient but you can best buy 128Mb or even 256Mb if you can afford this.
We have seen fast dropping prices of high end systems. If you are looking for a new machine take a look at the PIII 500+Mhz systems.
Pentium III
Since March 1999 we have Katmai, the latest processor made by Intel. Katmai started at 450 and 500 Mhz speed and 550 and even 733 Mhz is available now. Don't expect wonders of this processor. Of course the faster clock speed of the processor will give faster framerates but that's the difference between 70fps and 100+ fps? fs2000 framecounter can't even handle 100+ frames....You have to decide if this is worth the difference in price of PII450 and PIII450/500/550/600.....
The main change of the PIII processor is the support of about 70 new instructions for functions as 3D and voice but those advantages will only be supported by new software and new mainboards. Intel announced a I820 chipset for a Autumn 1999 release. But it has been delayed due to memory allocation problems using the new type of memory. New boards based on this chipset showed up since January 2000.
AMD
AMD is "the other" processor producer. The AMD K6 series was not so good. But since the release of the K7 series (Athlon) AMD is really beating Intel by price and quality. A Athlon 700 Mhz is even performing better then the Pentium 733 in many applications and games.
Advise
My advise is to buy a system with a I820 based Mainboard with a PIII (or the similar AMD Athlon) including 128Mb 100Mhz Sdram . And put a Riva TNT2 based video board in it like the Viper 770 32Mb......or, if you have some money to spend, the ASUS V6800 DDR.....
