|
Name |
MS Flight Simulator (v10) |
X-Plane (v9.0) |
FlightGear (v1.9.0) |
Price level
(approximate) |
$20 - $40 |
$40 |
Free (Open Source) |
|
Flight
Model |
Out of the box:
Fair
Some heli add on models: Accurate |
Accurate |
Accurate |
|
Graphics |
High quality aircraft, buildings, scenery and animated objects. |
High quality surface, animated objects and sun light. Comes with 60GB of global scenery. |
Emphasis more on functional graphics than on accurate ones. |
|
Features |
FSX Standard:
Weather, ATM, multiplayer, missions, tutorials, and failure simulation.
Comes out of the box with many airplane models, and two helicopter models: Bell 206 and Robinson R22.
FSX DeLuxe: Standard + SDK (Software Development Kit) + More aircraft models
(however, no extra helicopters), high-detail cities, airports and more missions.
FSX Acceleration: Expansion pack with additional features, performance improvements (multi core support), SDK
(Software Development Kit), and more models,
including one helicopter: AW101.
FSX Gold: DeLuxe + Acceleration. |
Weather, ATM, failure simulation. Multiplayer is not incorporated but is available
as an add-on. Comes out of the box with a broad range of airplanes and 4 helicopters: Robinson R22, S-61, Bell 47 and Bell 206.
Expansions again available as add-ons. |
Weather, multiplayer, and failure simulation.
Comes out of the box with many airplane models, and one helicopter
model: the Eurocopter Bo 105. |
|
Hardware requirements (for realistic simulations) |
CPU: 2 GHz or more.
RAM: 1 GB or more.
Harddrive space: 15 GB
Harddrive speed: at least 7,200 RPM
Video RAM: 512 MB or more. Support for DirectX 9.0c or higher
|
CPU: 2 GHz or more.
RAM: 1 GB or more.
Hard drive space: 70 GB.
Hard drive speed: at least 7,200 RPM
Video RAM: 512 MB or more. Support for OpenGL.
|
CPU: 2 GHz or more.
RAM : 1 GB or more.
Hard drive space: 2 GB.
Hard drive speed: at least 7,200 RPM
Video RAM: 512 MB or more. Support for OpenGL.
|
|
Add ons |
Many add-ons available for helicopters, missions and scenery, both on a commercial
basis and as free ware. |
Many add-ons available for helicopters and scenery, both on a commercial basis and
as freeware. |
Many models and scenery available, including a broad range of helicopters (freeware). |
|
Target audience |
People with no technical computer background. Broad range of users, from gamers
to real pilots. |
People with no technical computer background. Product is targeted towards those
who are serious about real and accurate flight simulation, and less interested in
gaming.
X-Plane is also regularly found in commercial / professional simulator devices. |
Some technical computer background may be needed to get the system up and running. |
|
Platforms |
Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista |
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Macintosh, Linux |
Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris (sparc/x86), sgi, FreeBSD |
|
Miscellaneous |
Used in certified simulator devices*).
|
Used in certified simulator devices*). |
Lacks out of the box support for two USB input devices under Windows (e.g. joystick
and pedals).
|
|
Multiscreen support |
Yes |
By using multiple computers in a network. |
Yes |
|
Useful links |
www.FSInsider.com |
www.x-plane.com |
www.flightgear.org |
|
Shopping |
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