Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support |
Best PC specs for the money? |
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DVA6823
Captain, B737-800
Joined on December 28 2008
Everett 500 Club
Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
MI USA
1,093 legs, 1,721.6 hours
24 legs,
38.0 hours online 1,014 legs,
1,592.0 hours ACARS 1 legs,
2.1 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 19 2010 07:30 ET by Michael Winks
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Perhaps a common question, but I am interested in expert advice on a new PC specs as of October 2010 - budget close to $1,000. Some research states that FSX runs better on older hardware??? (yet I also want to run the latest software programs fast). And the graphics card is most important to get the best FPS.
For $1,065 before shipping, I have the following from iBuypower - Paladin F725
http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Gamer_Paladin_F725/c/2407721
- Intell Core i7950 (4x 3.06GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
- Memory 6 GB (2 GBX3) DDR3-1333 Corsair
- NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 - 1 GB [$91 to upgrade to GTX 460 - 1 GB]
- 1 TB Hard Drive 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0gb/s Single Drive (no SSD)
- 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
- Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
- Zalman Z7 Gaming Case (see photo) 700 watt power supply, ASUS P6T SE otherboard
- liquid CPU Cooling System (Standard 120mm Fan and Heatsink)
- Windows 7, 2.1 channel stereo with subwoofer
Any issue noted with this specific hardware?
Is upgrading to the GTX 460 card worth the additional $90? What could I drop such as the processor to i5 to keep in budget?
Is iBuypower reputable, and are there issues purchasing here vs. Dell, HP, etc?
Most important is to run FSX at highest stettings as possible, secondly I would like the higher processor to keep up with the latest software.
Thank you for the feedback before I pull the trigger.
Michael WinksCaptain, B737-800
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DVA7168
Captain, B747-400
OLP
Joined on April 06 2009
Everett 250 Club
50 State Club
Triple Century Club
Online Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"CPL/IFR "A GOOD PILOT IS ALWAYS LEARNING"" Northeastern United States
348 legs, 1,580.7 hours
107 legs,
366.5 hours online 237 legs,
995.8 hours ACARS 12 legs,
29.5 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 19 2010 08:23 ET by Salvatore Catanzaro
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Michael ,its a nice pc,but my opinion u don't need to spend all this money.,i have just Dell vostro 200 and with some upgrade i can do everything
i need to do.Michael this is just my opinion,but like I sayd its a nice pc.
Salvatore CatanzaroCaptain, B747-400
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DVA364
Captain, B767-300
Joined on October 23 2001
Century Club
DVA Twenty-Year Anniversary
Everett Century Club
"COWBOY UP!" Carrollton, GA
190 legs, 366.9 hours
5 legs,
6.5 hours online 150 legs,
249.2 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
October 19 2010 09:56 ET by Ralph Templeman
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I bought an asus desktop two yearsago and it's a 2duo quad core. 8 gigs of ram and 750 gig hard drive...I love my computer and it only cost me 600.00 dollars It isn't the best, but it works for me.
Ralph TemplemanCaptain, B767-300
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DVA4965
Senior Captain, B737-800
Joined on September 07 2007
Online Quintuple Century Club
Million Mile Club
Millennium Club
Everett Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Saratoga Springs, UT USA
1,195 legs, 3,500.8 hours
566 legs,
825.5 hours online 1,174 legs,
3,437.6 hours ACARS 26 legs,
51.6 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 19 2010 12:17 ET by Alan Cluff
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Salvatore and Bill, are you both running FSX?
Alan CluffSenior Captain, B737-800
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DVA8622
First Officer, B777-200
Joined on April 14 2010
Century Club
"We're off, like a heard of turtles." Commack, NY USA
189 legs, 783.0 hours
182 legs,
751.4 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
October 19 2010 16:12 ET by Ethan Olshever
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In my opinion, if there is a 500 or 750GB option, go with it. 1TB is waaaaay more than you'll ever need. I have 500GB on my laptop, and my FSX folder is only 60 or so GB. I heard, also, that i5 is more than enough for FSX, although the i7 is better. If I were you, I'd go for the card update, unless you can find a better one...
Good luck!
Ethan OlsheverFirst Officer, B777-200
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DVA7168
Captain, B747-400
OLP
Joined on April 06 2009
Everett 250 Club
50 State Club
Triple Century Club
Online Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"CPL/IFR "A GOOD PILOT IS ALWAYS LEARNING"" Northeastern United States
348 legs, 1,580.7 hours
107 legs,
366.5 hours online 237 legs,
995.8 hours ACARS 12 legs,
29.5 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 19 2010 16:53 ET by Salvatore Catanzaro
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Yes Alan.I do.
Salvatore CatanzaroCaptain, B747-400
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DVA4965
Senior Captain, B737-800
Joined on September 07 2007
Online Quintuple Century Club
Million Mile Club
Millennium Club
Everett Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Saratoga Springs, UT USA
1,195 legs, 3,500.8 hours
566 legs,
825.5 hours online 1,174 legs,
3,437.6 hours ACARS 26 legs,
51.6 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 19 2010 17:25 ET by Alan Cluff
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Some of you won't like this post but I want to help Michael with his question and set proper expectations. Please know that I am in no way berating anyone for their choice of computers. We all have what we have and can afford and we fly in all kinds of environments.
FSX may not please you if you run it on a machine only capable of 15 frames per second. If you really want to use and love FSX then put as much horse power into the machine as you can afford; CPU is huge (take the i7 over the i5) with video and then RAM. I think the machine you have provided specs for is pretty good. You'll still have to tweak FSX to get best possible (on your machine) performance and as many who have been there can tell you, FPS is not the end all to a good FSX experience. It takes time and effort to tweak your system for smooth performance with FPS being only one of the performance indicators. If you're going to settle for 15 FPS then it is best to stay with FS9 which is still a great platform and then you can save some money but get the best you can afford for FSX.
Are you going to overclock this computer? What monitor setup are you running? Some extreme setups using three monitors can suck some frames and it could be valuable for you to know that if you have such a setup. Windows 7 64 bit correct?
Alan CluffSenior Captain, B737-800
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DVA7168
Captain, B747-400
OLP
Joined on April 06 2009
Everett 250 Club
50 State Club
Triple Century Club
Online Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"CPL/IFR "A GOOD PILOT IS ALWAYS LEARNING"" Northeastern United States
348 legs, 1,580.7 hours
107 legs,
366.5 hours online 237 legs,
995.8 hours ACARS 12 legs,
29.5 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 19 2010 17:46 ET by Salvatore Catanzaro
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Alan ur 100% right .about a personal choice.I know FSX take a lot horse power,and a good the PC is..u still need tweak FSX. Like i say I have Dell Vostro 200 mini tower...its not the best PC but with some upgrade im able to run FSX with 25-30FPS and i use two Monitor...honestly if i have money to spend right now...i would buy a good machine,but right now im good with this;but like u say its a personal choice. Take care Bro.
Salvatore CatanzaroCaptain, B747-400
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DVA6823
Captain, B737-800
Joined on December 28 2008
Everett 500 Club
Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
MI USA
1,093 legs, 1,721.6 hours
24 legs,
38.0 hours online 1,014 legs,
1,592.0 hours ACARS 1 legs,
2.1 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 20 2010 07:42 ET by Michael Winks
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Great feedback from all... thank you. Alan, I appreciete the claficaition on CPU power, then video then RAM. Regarding overclocking that was one of the questions I forgot to ask. For only $20 the distributer will overclock to 10% and $49 to 20%. Given the i7 950 I was going to hold off thinking I could do that later (although, currently I have no idea how). Any thoughts - should I just have it done for the $20? Monitor is my older Dell TV / monitor with pretty good resolution. The thought was to upgrade the monitor at a later date - I have to admit that the video on the curved monitors would be ideal (I would just need to explain this monitor monstrosity on my desk to my better half).
I totally track the need to tweak, and will experiment more with that. I am not sure if many of you have seen some of Jon5700's FSX video. Perhaps some of this video is enhanced, but I truly envy the graphics quality. My goal would be to get something closer to this...
http://www.youtube.com/user/jon5700?blend=1&ob=4
Michael WinksCaptain, B737-800
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DVA6077
Captain, B757-200
OLP
Joined on June 28 2008
Cabot, AR USA
86 legs, 280.5 hours
10 legs,
16.4 hours online 83 legs,
268.4 hours ACARS 3 legs,
6.8 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 20 2010 08:36 ET by Bobby Allison
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Michael, I think that's a great deal for the hardware involved, and the fact that you don't have to assemble it yourself. I'm a system builder myself, so I'm always building the newest when I have the money, or upgrading. I think the charge for overclocking is a bit overpriced, for nothing more than BIOS changes that take less than 5 minutes; but maybe they put a full 24 hours of stress testing on it to ensure the overclocking is successful.
I would go stock speed first, if I were you, and see how happy you are with it.
And we expect to hear results and see screenshots!
Bobby AllisonCaptain, B757-200
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 20 2010 12:02 ET by Skylar Macminn
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Jon5700's videos are all enhanced, and specific for what he is doing. Also keep in mind that each payware plane behaves differently. While I can get 60FPS in my MD-11, the MD88 I can only get ~30. Every scenery is different as well, and behaves different depending on what settings you are using.
I'd personally upgrade from the GTS450 to the GTX460. The 450 while a decent card is no better than the GTS250 -- it's a "cheap" line, and isn't really worth it. The GTX460 will outperform it any day, and is overall the better buy.
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DVA6823
Captain, B737-800
Joined on December 28 2008
Everett 500 Club
Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
MI USA
1,093 legs, 1,721.6 hours
24 legs,
38.0 hours online 1,014 legs,
1,592.0 hours ACARS 1 legs,
2.1 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 20 2010 20:02 ET by Michael Winks
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After all my Google searching, this is the best FSX hardware feedback yet. Thanks for the opinions on the processor and video card (and talking me into spending another $91 for the GTX460).
Seperately, since I have not yet purchased any payware... next I will be asking the experts the best payware companies for B757 and MD-1 (of course, Skylar's quote pretty much speaks for itself).
Thanks guys.
Michael WinksCaptain, B737-800
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DVA8993
Captain, B747-400
Joined on August 14 2010
Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"KJBR go Red Wolves" Washington, DC
185 legs, 837.1 hours
62 legs,
214.0 hours online 185 legs,
837.1 hours ACARS 202 legs, 858.6 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
October 20 2010 23:17 ET by William Stroud
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If you're going to overclock, there's no need to pay for the 950 over the 930
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 21 2010 00:57 ET by Skylar Macminn
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William Stroud wrote:
If you're going to overclock, there's no need to pay for the 950 over the 930
Pretty much this. Same bandwidth and cache sizes I believe, which means the only real difference is the stock speeds. Save the money and do a basic overclock on the 930 (I have my i7 920 D0 at 4.0Ghz with a Corsair H50, you can easily get the 930 to ~3.8 on air)
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DVA364
Captain, B767-300
Joined on October 23 2001
Century Club
DVA Twenty-Year Anniversary
Everett Century Club
"COWBOY UP!" Carrollton, GA
190 legs, 366.9 hours
5 legs,
6.5 hours online 150 legs,
249.2 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
October 21 2010 11:42 ET by Ralph Templeman
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I have fsx, but I prefer fs9 as all my payware and scenery payware is for fs9 fsx doesn't seem to work well for me. I don't have the delux version. just fsx.
i've been thinking about upgrading but just not sure if I need to, or for that matter what to get. any suggestions would be appreciated.
Ralph TemplemanCaptain, B767-300
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DVA4965
Senior Captain, B737-800
Joined on September 07 2007
Online Quintuple Century Club
Million Mile Club
Millennium Club
Everett Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Saratoga Springs, UT USA
1,195 legs, 3,500.8 hours
566 legs,
825.5 hours online 1,174 legs,
3,437.6 hours ACARS 26 legs,
51.6 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 24 2010 20:24 ET by Alan Cluff
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I have no intention of highjacking this thread but since the geek squad is already active here I'd like to ask you guys what RAM you are using on your high end systems. I need to purcahse new DDR3 RAM and want your valuable opinions.
Alan CluffSenior Captain, B737-800
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AFV348
Captain, B747-400
Joined on April 13 2006
International Tourist
Diplomatic Mission
50 State Club
Online Two Fifty Club
Quinticentenary Club
"fly a heavy or dont fly at all" Northeastern United States
536 legs, 1,889.5 hours
443 legs,
1,401.1 hours online 515 legs,
1,789.3 hours ACARS 20 legs,
68.7 hours event 842 legs, 2,782.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
October 24 2010 20:32 ET by Michael Schlabowske
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Alan Cluff wrote:
I have no intention of highjacking this thread but since the geek squad is already active here I'd like to ask you guys what RAM you are using on your high end systems. I need to purcahse new DDR3 RAM and want your valuable opinions.
gte the best you can afford and the best the motherboard can handle, without knowing your motherboard make/model it would be impossible to tell you
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DVA4965
Senior Captain, B737-800
Joined on September 07 2007
Online Quintuple Century Club
Million Mile Club
Millennium Club
Everett Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Saratoga Springs, UT USA
1,195 legs, 3,500.8 hours
566 legs,
825.5 hours online 1,174 legs,
3,437.6 hours ACARS 26 legs,
51.6 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 26 2010 13:16 ET by Alan Cluff
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Asus P6T Delux
Alan CluffSenior Captain, B737-800
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 26 2010 13:23 ET by Skylar Macminn
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Alan Cluff wrote:
I have no intention of highjacking this thread but since the geek squad is already active here I'd like to ask you guys what RAM you are using on your high end systems. I need to purcahse new DDR3 RAM and want your valuable opinions.
Agreeing with Michael here, we need more info to tell you that.
If you are using the intel i7 or i5, you require triple channel memory -- so a standard setup would be three sticks of 2GB.
I am presently using OCZ 1600MHz Gold plated memory (3x2GB sticks) which are absolutely fantastic.
I also know that Corsair has some very consistent memory that is very good, so I'd also check into the Corsair 1600Mhz memory as well.
Bearing your chipset and your operating system (32/64bit) you would either want three 2GB sticks, or three 1GB sticks. The P6T Deluxe has (i believe) 6 slots for memory, so you have a bit of room to play with.
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DVA4965
Senior Captain, B737-800
Joined on September 07 2007
Online Quintuple Century Club
Million Mile Club
Millennium Club
Everett Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Saratoga Springs, UT USA
1,195 legs, 3,500.8 hours
566 legs,
825.5 hours online 1,174 legs,
3,437.6 hours ACARS 26 legs,
51.6 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 26 2010 16:06 ET by Alan Cluff
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i7 950 CPU running Win 7 64 bit Ultimate
Alan CluffSenior Captain, B737-800
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 26 2010 17:52 ET by Skylar Macminn
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-227-506&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3332167&SID=
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DVA3952
Captain, MD-88
Joined on September 07 2006
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"Airbus, Mcdonnell Douglas" Chicago, IL USA
85 legs, 161.3 hours
51 legs,
106.0 hours online 77 legs,
141.3 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
October 26 2010 20:35 ET by Alex Jevdic
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I also suggest locking your frames at 25, the eye can't really tell a difference between that and 60 too well. By locking it you free up the PC's resources for other aspects of gaming.
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DVA4965
Senior Captain, B737-800
Joined on September 07 2007
Online Quintuple Century Club
Million Mile Club
Millennium Club
Everett Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Saratoga Springs, UT USA
1,195 legs, 3,500.8 hours
566 legs,
825.5 hours online 1,174 legs,
3,437.6 hours ACARS 26 legs,
51.6 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
October 27 2010 00:57 ET by Alan Cluff
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Thanks for the info guys. I'd like to stay with DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) but then I should have mentioned that.
Alan CluffSenior Captain, B737-800
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