Use Your PC
Training simulator products are real-time 3D applications, so you need to have a PC that can deliver lots of computing and graphics “horsepower”. And that’s why training simulator companies typically “bundle” specialized computers with the products they sell but if something breaks down, you’ll need to send everything back to them.
Well at Simlog, we’ve learned to design our Personal Simulators for the high-powered “gaming” computers sold by leading OEMs (Dell, HP, etc.) to let you purchase your own computer (in your own language and currency), and have it serviced locally as required. And as these off-the-shelf computers continue to improve, we add more sophistication to our Personal Simulators, to provide even more operator training help to our customers.
In the following table, we present Simlog’s PC Requirements to obtain good-to-superior performance.
|
Component |
Desktop PC | Laptop PC |
|
Operating System |
Windows 10 Pro, or Windows 11 Pro |
Windows 10 Pro, or Windows 11 Pro |
|
CPU |
Intel Core i7 @ 3.0GHz or better |
Intel Core i7 @ 3.0GHz or better |
|
RAM (main memory) |
16GB of RAM |
16GB of RAM |
|
Graphics Card |
a high-performance graphics card such as:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Series: 3070 or higher with at least 8GB GDDR5 (video RAM) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4000 Series: 4070 or higher with at least 8GB GDDR5 (video RAM) (NVIDIA Quadro and AMD/ATI cards are not supported) |
a high-performance graphics card such as: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Series: 3080 or higher with at least 8GB GDDR5 (video RAM) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4000 Series: 4080 or higher with at least 8GB GDDR5 (video RAM) (NVIDIA Quadro and AMD/ATI cards are not supported) |
|
Hard Drive |
at least 8GB of available free disk space |
at least 8GB of available free disk space |
|
Display |
Simlog recommendations | |
|
Input/Output |
Enough USB 2.0 type “A” ports for your simulator controls, mouse, and keyboard, and 1 audio output (see note about sounds) |
Enough USB 2.0 type “A” ports for your simulator controls, mouse, and keyboard, and 1 audio output (see note about sounds) |
|
Video Output Requirements |
1 to 3 Display Setup (Landscape or Portrait) Must have minimum 3 video outputs (HDMI and/or DisplayPort connections) on Graphics Card |
1 Display Setup (Landscape or Portrait)
Must have minimum 1 video output (HDMI and/or miniDisplayPort connection) |
|
2 Display Setup (Landscape or Portrait) Must have minimum 2 video outputs (HDMI and miniDisplayPort connections) |
||
|
4 Display Setup (Landscape or Portrait) Must have minimum 4 video outputs (HDMI and/or DisplayPort connections) on Graphics Card |
3 Display Setup (Landscape Mode Only)
Must have minimum 1 video output (HDMI and/or miniDisplayPort connection) and have purchased a Matrox TripleHead2Go DP Edition |
|
|
4 Display Setup (Landscape Mode Only) Must have minimum 2 video outputs (HDMI and miniDisplayPort connections) and have purchased a Matrox TripleHead2Go DP Edition |
About displays
Today, many Simlog customers are using large displays (typically sold as “flat screen” TVs) and so Simlog has prepared some display recommendations.
About PC support for multiple displays
Simlog’s multi-display configurations need multiple video output signals from your PC. In the case of three displays placed in front of your simulator controls, they need to form a single Windows “desktop”, and that can be done in two ways:
- For desktop PCs, use a graphics card that provides 3 (or more) video outputs to drive the 3 displays.
- For laptop PCs, the graphics card typically provides just 1 video output, so connect that to an external multi-display adaptor to drive the 3 displays (Simlog recommends the Matrox TripleHead2Go DP Edition.) If your laptop PC has a 2nd video output, you can use that to drive a “rear” display.
Note that depending on the choice you make, you may also need video port adapters (HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, etc.) to connect the video outputs of your computer to the video inputs of your displays.
About sounds
To properly hear the sounds generated by your Personal Simulator, Simlog recommends a high fidelity sound card for your PC, either integrated with the PC motherboard, or on a separate sound card.
Quality speakers will enhance the training experience and here Simlog recommends a “2.1” stereo sound system composed of small left and right speakers, along with a larger sub-woofer to better hear lower frequencies (such as engine sounds). For simulator labs, you may instead consider having headphones at each station to minimize audio distraction among simulator users.
About networking your computers
In the case of simulator labs, if you have licensed your simulation software to work with Simlog’s Simulation Manager, Simlog recommends that you co-locate and connect all your PCs using a dedicated network. If instead you try to use your existing school-wide or company-wide network, you may encounter security or permissions problems, depending on the configuration of that network. Practically, those networks are typically designed to be very careful about sharing files among PCs, but this is exactly what Simlog software requires. Therefore, if you prepare a dedicated network for just your (Personal Simulator) PCs, file sharing can be allowed without compromising the security of your other network.
About electricity
Simlog recommends the use of a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to protect your PC from power failures and brownouts, especially if either of these situations is common in your area. UPS rating should be chosen to be at least 15% larger than the power rating on the PC’s power supply. For example, if your PC’s power supply is 850W, then you should select a power supply of about 1000W or more. For a laptop computer, a smaller UPS between 300W and 500W should be sufficient. Please note that the rating of a UPS in VA is not the same as in W (Watts), as the typical power factor for PCs is about 0.6.
Please make sure that the UPS model you choose comes with cables and software to allow Windows to shut down safely and automatically within a safe time period if the power goes out or the voltage drops, just in case there is no one around when the power failure occurs.