Jessica Bannister-Pearce describes her new custom-built PC
May turned out to be a very exciting month for two reasons. First up, and after waiting for years for the arrival of a 64-bit version of FSX, two came along at once. Dovetail’s Flight Sim World and Lockheed Martin’s Prepar3D v4 join X-Plane and DCS in the wonderful world of 64-bit simming. Exciting stuff indeed!
Secondly, and much more personally, May marked the arrival of summer in Vienna and the death of my flight sim PC. After four years of faithful service, my home-built system has finally begun to fail. I built the machine to deal with the rigours of flight simming in the harsh Welsh climate. In Vienna though, the summer temperatures are regularly over 30ºC and our apartment holds the heat. Even as I write this, it’s a cool 18ºc outside but 26º indoors with the windows open. These high temperatures have led to five uncommanded shutdowns in two weeks. I’m afraid its time to say goodbye. It’s not just the heat that brings the end near for my old PC. The truth of the matter is, I’m running at the limit. But will upgrading really help provide a better experience?
What changes with 64-bit?
Running FSX or Prepar3D v3 is like trying to pour a lit…
