Newbie Q: Which software is necessary

Hi guys.
My first post on MyCockpit - even though I have been following the forum for months now.

I have been reading a lot from this goldmine of ideas and followed the advise in Killebees posting: First you do research, then do some research and - well I guessed the third already! :D:D

My plan is (like so many others) a B738 cockpit. And first I started with the MIP, but is now focusing on the Pedestal. Perhaps because it is a small isolated project that can give me lots of experience for the other parts of the cockpit. Things are moving ahead slowly.
[Introduction end]

However building the psychical sim is one thing, wiring it up a second.
But my question is a whole third, and more basic: Which software to use? (And how many computers?)
I have been trawling through the forum - without getting any further. I am a bit confused at this point, so bare with me if my questions below seems a bit unstructured...:oops:


1)
As a minimum I need a monitor for nav-display, one for engine-display and the of course an outside view. I total of minimum three monitors.
I plan to buy the PMDG NGX (But are open for other).
Can I use PMDG and get the nav-display end engine-display showed on separate screens? (e.g. via panel.cfg tweaks)

2)
I order to facilitate this set-up I need to keep everything on one computer, right?
But will it take too many resources to get a decent framerate (I know it comes down to hardware, but just from an overall point of view) to put all eggs in one basket?

3)
In case I need a second computer to display cockpit-screens; is it then correct that I not will be able to use PMDG to display my beloved NAV + ENG display; but will need third party software like PM or ProSim?

4)
If 3) is yes, how will PM or ProSim then interact with PMDG (like the EFIS or FMC)? Is there still use for PMDG or do I need to base the whole sim on their system (Hence the need for PMDG becomes obsolete...).

It is all very confusing for me at this time. I guess this is a basic question, but I have not yet found a good explanation on how to set this up in a beginner-phase.

Hope you are willing to point me in the right direction.

All the best

Peter

Hi again guys.

I was really hoping for an answer. ;)

I know this question is kinda 101 in sim-setup that I guess most of you have been trough. But I am really confuse about the simulation-software set-up.

I hope some one are willing to help. :-) Perhaps just some yes/no answers or a link to where I can read up and get the basics right.

Best regards

Peter

To answer some of your question:

In each and every cockpit, there is one and only one '737 simulator engine'. This is the component that is in charge of doing all the simulation. All other parts (external display computers, external CDU's, etc) will have to play along with the simulator. This '737 simulator engine' can be either inside your FS installation (PMDG, iFly) or be an external program (PM, ProSim, Sim-Avionics).

I'm not a fan of hosting the 737 simulator engine inside FS, for the reasons that it makes you dependent on FSX and you place the load of the simulation inside FS, which already needs it badly to generate nice scenery and AI traffic.

If you chose PMDG, a drawback will be that there is no external access to the data on the PFD and ND, so there will be no external programs capable of displaying this data for you. You'll have to export them from your FSX system, increasing load further. IFly is a bit better here, since they do provide their own software to display the PFD/ND from an external computer, but it comes with a price tag.

Hosting your 737 simulator engine outside of FSX will give you a more open architecture. Suites that do this always offer you external networked programs to distribute displays/CDU's.

It's always my preference to keep FSX as light as possible and don't fill it up with 3d cockpits and simulated systems, which can be hosted outside of it. This way, FSX remains stable and fast and can render more scenery.

hello Peter......
in answer to your original questions.....
1. yes, but it will really hit performance.
2. yes and yes
3.yes
4. your prefered avionics suite will be a standalone system, it uses none of the logic,displays or controls of your FSX aircraft. it will be controlling the aircraft using it's own programming.
metamarty is bang on the money. think ahead when planning your project. it's awesome when you get something working, but in six months you will want more. from experience, look at the PMDG or iFly and hook it up with Prosim. there is so much you can do with that combination. not just the displays, but most hardware worth it's corn is natively supported, so the world's your oyster captain......
hope that helps you get some direction....
regards from wales

ian

Hi Metamarty and Ian.

(I know the reply is a bit late, but:) Thanks a million for the replies. It is highly appreciated!

I feared the "all eggs in one basket" solution would just create such a pressure on the computer, that it becomes useless.
Iy sounds as if I need to get a secondary computer and get the 'Simulator engine' running on that computer. I'll dig deeper in to that later on. But it sure does come with a price tag! But then again so does a 3-display CFX-card or a tripplehead2go.
Right now my savings is used on panel-parts, building a MIP and pedestal. So this might come at a later time.

The idea of hosting the aircraft-systems outside FS is all new to me. So I will start reading up on how this works. But from your posting Ian I guess that I safely can buy PMDG or iFly to get me started (as long as all grapich-sliders are set to the left).

Again thanks a lot!
Safe landings.