Finally upgrading from FSX.

[GaryRR]

P3D v5.2 with Orbx Global and LC regions and UTX for terrain and vector along with ASN looks like an entirely different sim from old FSX. No, you can't find your specific house unless you make it in Sketch-up and add it buy it is a very convincing world to fly very convincing aircraft simulations over. Less random bugs than MSFS, and what now, MS/Asobo dumbing down the graphics? We will see what happens.
I believe once most people have post pandemic returned to full living and the casual/gamer crowd gets bored with flight simming the earlier sims will become more viable for third party developement.
I have seen preview clips. It looks like within months Xplane is going to take a major leap as well. We will see.

[jsbrewster1]

I'm using JF's Piper Warrior, you have the option to go with an old GPS 100, I use the 530 for the radios, but just set direct to the destination so not using the GPS, using navaids to fly and having a lovely time in MSFS. and I don't need any addons except the aircraft.

[bullfox]

For about $30.00 you can get an external DVD drive that plugs into a USB port. Thats what I used to install Win 10 and several other programs when I built my new computer.

[Styggron]

I'm staying with my FSX SE Boxed. All my A2A are there. I don't have constant updates here and there, I can stay offline and fly my fantastic A2A craft. Not budging for anything. FSX stays, I'm not going for FSXI. (This is what I call it as it comes after FSX).

[bullfox]

For about $20.00 you can get a USB DVD player. Its how I loaded win 10 and several other programs since my new computer doesn't have an internal DVD drive

[GaryRR]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger. Bought a XFX RX 6800 from Newegg. I think they got in two and I got one. Paid an embarrassing amount of money for it even though it was price reduced. It arrived today. What a monster.. I dragooned my son into coming up from the SF Bay Area over Labor Day to help me install it. I went with the 6800 rather than a 6700XT because with the prices of these things the 6700XT did not provide enough of a boost over my 5700XT. The 6800XT provides slightly better performance than the 6800 but uses even more power and costs even more. My computer room already heats up when I am flying so I wanted to keep the power usage down. I think the 6800 will give me about a 15% performance boost over the 5700XT.

In P3D5.2 my system works pretty good with everything nearly maxed out except when I go into bigger cites and the frame rates drop into the low 20's and it is noticeably less smooth. Hence the burning desire to blow a wad on a faster video card.

I have for now lost my desire to try MSFS. I have gotten interested in learning how to do repaints and airports in P3D. So that's where I am headed.

I recently started using ADE for P3D 4.5 to redo some decent GA airports here in Central PA that have had little or no attention. KSEG Selinsgrove PA. was one of my premier projects. There had been two redo of that one. One using FS9 style coding and one, not as realistic fully FSX. My version has correct layout, physically similar but not identical buildings, and even detailed commercial areas east of the field. I has to use both MAIW Library objects and Art Poole's Airport Buildings Library to get what I needed. I may figure out how to do the Susquehanna Valley Mall a kilometer northeast of the field yet. Maybe.