Globe Cargo

"I imagine this has been asked, but couldn't find it, so anyhow, I am thinking of getting the new PMDG 747-400, seems everyone is happy with it. My concerns are of course frame rates, and all together performance on my machine. I am running a 3.0 Ghz machine with hyper threading technology, 512 mb ddr sdram memory, 200gb ultra dma hard drive with a 48x CD-ROM drive. I have a NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 8X graphics card with 128 MB DDR Video Memory. All that just to give all the info on my machine for someone out there who might have a comment on what I am facing if I do get the 744 and try to use it. Any and all comments are appreciated before I venture out and spend the $$ for this. Thanks in advance!"

"Nice box! Very similar to mine actually! The only suggestion to improve performance would be to upgrade to 1Gb memory but if MSFS is running smoothly for you now, you definitely will not have any problems with the PMDG 744F!!"

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"thansson" wrote:Nice box! Very similar to mine actually! The only suggestion to improve performance would be to upgrade to 1Gb memory but if MSFS is running smoothly for you now, you definitely will not have any problems with the PMDG 744F!!

Thank you Tomas, I don't really have many issues right now at all, the only thing I notice is some choppy sound and frame rates when I have alot of visible clouds. I'm not using any weather add ons, just MS Real world weather updates. All in all I have learned to live with it, and also noticed that if I close my GPS and Radar Contact windows, the choppiness seems to go away. I am anxious to learn the 744F it seems like a nice program. At first I was just real skeptical as I was really enjoying (and still do very much) RFP. RFP has been my first realistic flight sim add on that I have ever had."

You have twice the machine I have and i run smoothly with 744F and a lot of payware scenery

"As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with a PMDG product. There are extremely few developers I trust enough to shell out the money for a bunch of 1's and 0's, RFP, PMDG, and LDS are consistant winners in my book and they are on my "safe list". Justin"

"Just bought the 744 beastie last night, not very impressed at all, well, unless you like photo realistic panels, lots of clicky switches, very good vc panels, nice looking flight model, and engine sounds that are out of this world for a sim, actually, yeah, i do like it ,got the frieghter version also, fired it up last night at lax, took it around the block for a spin, all by hand flying, landing a little ruff at lax, but hey it was all without the manuel, so lots of mistakes. Looking forward to using it, but not for the flyin yet, stillgot lots of reading do do... It is very nice i would recomend it, you may need , as suggested to upgrade the memory, but try it and see.... ed mosier 1287"

"Bryan, I can assure you that you are not gonna have any problems with the PMDG 744 running on your system. I bought it soon after the -F came out and believe me, my system is puny compared to yours. I'm only running a 1.6 Ghz machine with a 128MB video card with 3/4 of a gig of memory. I run with the settings at medium and run ASv6 without any problems. Mind you, it slows down around busy airports and dense scenery but for the most part PMDG writes some pretty tight code and I don't have any problems. I absolutely love it. It's a great piece of software. You're not gonna get any closer to a simulated 744 cockpit without spending hundreds of dollars and going to England. Highly, highly recommend it. Even if it is around $80 for the 744 and 744F. Mark"

"Well, it sounds like a hands down deal then! I will go for it and use my time wisely to read up and learn the ship before I do too much flying. I appreciate the feedback from everyone! Thanks again!"

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"yoni63" wrote:Well, it sounds like a hands down deal then! I will go for it and use my time wisely to read up and learn the ship before I do too much flying. I appreciate the feedback from everyone! Thanks again!

For your reference, the Chief Pilots will begin work very soon on a systems training course for each fleet. The courses will be designed to help pilots learn and understand our aircraft! Justin"

"Most importantly Bryan, after you get the bird, it is an absolute must to go through each and every TRC (Type Rating Course) that the lead developer, Robert Randazzo, has developed. Reading the manual is one thing but going through these TRC's is fantastic. He takes you through a full start-up and runs you through several different training exercises explaining every move in great detail. He tells you the 'why' about just about everything. Yes, you can learn a lot from the manuals but after a while can be a bit dry. These type rating courses are entertaining, very informative and interesting. When you're done you will have a much better appreciation for exactly how much went into making this sim and how close it truly models the real thing. Also, after you've completed all these TRC's you'll feel like your flying the 744 like it really should be flown. It makes you a much better pilot. At least it did me . These TRC's can be found on the PMDG website. There are a total of four at the moment with the fourth being over 40 pages in length. Enjoy . Mark"

"Mark, Bryan, there is a report over there of several more type coarses comming out, also there is a nice tutorial by , i think a german fellow, flys the 744 from germany to seattle, very well done, it is on the pmdg formu also, lots of info on the plane I have been kind of bummed out lately that there may be no version 3 of the rfp 742 which is unfortunate, but I understand.... It is too bad that most people that purchase these planes go for the glass panels now, instead of the steam gauges. I really enjoy the rfp742 but feel it is time to relearn the modern panels as I am not sure how the rfp will work in fsx.... I will have to keep a seat next to the computer now for my dog and teach him to growl if i try to touch any swithces after vnav and rnav... ed mosier 1287"

"All that info is really encouraging, I will definitely take advantage of the type rating courses. I just bought it online and will buy the F model add on once I get the main one installed. I just hope my fiance' doesn't find out! I'm hiding my bank statement for a month or so!!!"

Just tell her she an buy some new shoes... Worked with my wife

":lol: I'll have to try that one! She's a flight attendant for American Airlines, so I figure I can also tell her its so I can further educate myself to the world of commercial flying in an effort to better understand her job! "

"Well, got it installed, and am going through the learning process now. Its not a bad sim at all, nice sound, etc etc.. Flight planning is a bit different, it will take some getting used to. I think I will enjoy it! Still like my RFP too though! Going to check out the type ratings downloads next!"