G3X vs G500

[MooneyNoob]

I don't know about you folks, but I think that there is a conspiracy to ensure that there is no head-to-head comparison available on the internet between these two uniTS.  I already have a GTN 750, JPI engine monitor, Century 41 autopilot and am thinking of moving to just about full glass for primary instruments and full time traffic, terrain, and weather awareness but looking for the most economical way to do that.  Any informed opinions wood be super welcome.

[Ragsf15e]

6 minutes ago, MooneyNoob said:

I don't know about you folks, but I think that there is a conspiracy to ensure that there is no head-to-head comparison available on the internet between these two uniTS.  I already have a GTN 750, JPI engine monitor, Century 41 autopilot and am thinking of moving to just about full glass for primary instruments and full time traffic, terrain, and weather awareness but looking for the most economical way to do that.  Any informed opinions wood be super welcome.

Does the  G3x work with your autopilot?

[ArtVandelay]

If you want to upgrade your AP to GFC 500, then G3X is the way to go, if not…G500.
I think Stec are the only APs that work with G5/G3X, but aren’t fully capable like GFC 500.

[MooneyNoob]

9 minutes ago, Ragsf15e said:

Does the  G3x work with your autopilot?

Yes, with the disclaimer that "¹G3X Touch will not support display of flight director (FD), autopilot modes or annunciations for non-Garmin autopilots. Consult your Authorized Garmin Dealer for more details."

[toto]

Interoperability is the biggest difference. We've had a few longish threads on the topic here, and other aviation boards have similar. 

Elsewhere on the interwebs, Aviation Consumer has a nice review of the G3X Touch, and includes some discussion of the Txi advantages/disadvantages. Fwiw..

https://www.aviationconsumer.com/aircraftreviews/garmin-g3x-touchwide-reaching-stc/

 

[toto]

4 minutes ago, JohnZ said:

Beyond that, G500 has a higher resolution screen. 

Iirc the screen resolution is identical. They're both 1280x768. 

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/29441-g3x-touch-certified/?do=findComment&comment=494091

[StevenL757]

This has been posted here before, so am re-adding below.  It is not my work...just passing it on.

Things present on the G500TXi that are NOT on the G3X Touch

• Twin engine support
• Pilot/Copilot PFD installations
• HSI map
• More modern hardware and a nicer screen.  Display technology is rapidly evolving, and the G3X Touch is already 5 years old.
• Additional third-party I/O.  They showed only the GAD29B as an option here, not the GAD43e, so the interfacing options of the G3X Touch are similar to the G5 rather than similar to the TXi.
• Database Concierge
• Remote audio panel support
• Non-Garmin attitude-based autopilot support
• 3rd-party Nav radio support on the on-screen HSI
• Airborne weather radar support (not datalink, but actual radar like the BendixKing RDR-2000 and Garmin GWX series)
• Support for the GDL69A, GDL88, and GSR56 datalinks
• Many more display configurations - Only four are certified on the G3X Touch, while something like 28 are certified on the TXi.
• Realtime EIS data streaming through FS510 to an iPad

Things present on the G3X Touch but not the G500TXi

• Direct support of the GFC500.  In a G3X + G5 + GFC500 installation, losing the G5 will not take down the autopilot.  In a TXi + G5 + GFC500 install, losing the G5 takes down the autopilot
• More numeric values displayed on the EIS

[toto]

4 minutes ago, StevenL757 said:

Realtime EIS data streaming through FS510 to an iPad

EIS data can be streamed to an iPad with a G3X touch display.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/aviation/teamx-adds-new-features-to-g3x-touch-and-g5-for-certified-aircraft/

[toto]

9 minutes ago, StevenL757 said:

Remote audio panel support

Also, remote audio support is available with the G3X Touch 

“GMA 245R adds a remote audio panel option that is controlled from a G3X Touch display.”

(ref same article above)

[toto]

15 minutes ago, StevenL757 said:

Pilot/Copilot PFD installations

Also, you can do dual PFD displays with the G3X (or even up to three 10.6”). I’m wondering if the list above is old?

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/682215

[toto]

1 minute ago, JohnZ said:

Do you know if this engine data streaming from the PFD to Garmin Pilot require a Garmin Pilot subscription, or is this feature available in the free version of the app?

To my knowledge, there is no free version of Garmin Pilot. You’ll have to pay.

This is an ongoing pain point for me, since you don’t even get the full IFR version of GP with a database bundle - you still have to pay $75 on top of your many many AMUs and a $700 annual subscription. 

[toto]

4 minutes ago, JohnZ said:

Additionally, it would be even better if it would integrate with ForeFlight, but perhaps this is just wishful thinking.

Yeah, ForeFlight can do flight plans via Connext, but the Garmin proprietary stuff (EIS, db concierge) needs GP. 

[ArtVandelay]

To my knowledge, there is no free version of Garmin Pilot. You’ll have to pay.
This is an ongoing pain point for me, since you don’t even get the full IFR version of GP with a database bundle - you still have to pay $75 on top of your many many AMUs and a $700 annual subscription. 

You do get a “free” upgrade to the full version with the appropriate bundle. So bundle +$75 gives you everything.

[StevenL757]

45 minutes ago, toto said:

EIS data can be streamed to an iPad with a G3X touch display.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/aviation/teamx-adds-new-features-to-g3x-touch-and-g5-for-certified-aircraft/

 

40 minutes ago, toto said:

Also, remote audio support is available with the G3X Touch 

“GMA 245R adds a remote audio panel option that is controlled from a G3X Touch display.”

(ref same article above)

 

34 minutes ago, toto said:

Also, you can do dual PFD displays with the G3X (or even up to three 10.6”). I’m wondering if the list above is old?

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/682215

Garmin may have added more functionality to the G3X then...

[toto]

50 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

You do get a “free” upgrade to the full version with the appropriate bundle. So bundle +$75 gives you everything.

Yep, for your IFR data bundle, they give you the VFR copy of GP

[Niko182]

The reason theres no real comparison is because most people buy one or the other and stick with which ever one they have. Everyone who has a G3X, absolutely loves their PFD. Everyone who has a G500 TXI absolutely loves their display. Most of the people who rave about the displays they have only truely used 1 of the 2 displays listed above. Most people who own a G3X havent used a 500TXI for their day to day flying and the same applies vice versa. I have a G3X. I absolutely love it. If I did it again, I'd pick the G3X. At this point i'm very comfrtable with the G3X.@StevenL757 and @donkaye are 2 people here who have the G500TXI. They both rave about it and seemed to have really like it. If they did it again, id figure both of them would do the TXI. At this point they are very comfortabke with the TXI. In the end the G3X and the TXI do practically the same thing. Where the TXI shines is in interfacing with older king and century autopilots. The purpose of creating the certified G3X was to make a more affordable TXI, however with that cheaper price tag comes the inability to really play well with other brands, no twins, and no pressurization. Which ever you get, you'll be stoked with.

[mikefox]

My greatest heartache is folks talking about "it's already 5 years old"!  I hate to think that the panel we invested in is out of date already - we have a G500 PFD/MFD (not the Txi), a G5, and a GNS430W GPS/Nav/Comm.  

For the first 20 years of my flying career nothing ever went out of date - it just needed occasional repair.  Now my fervent hope is that Garmin continues to support our "old" equipment for 20 years!

Sorry for the rant!

[201Mooniac]

3 hours ago, Niko182 said:

The reason theres no real comparison is because most people buy one or the other and stick with which ever one they have. Everyone who has a G3X, absolutely loves their PFD. Everyone who has a G500 TXI absolutely loves their display. Most of the people who rave about the displays they have only truely used 1 of the 2 displays listed above. Most people who own a G3X havent used a 500TXI for their day to day flying and the same applies vice versa. I have a G3X. I absolutely love it. If I did it again, I'd pick the G3X. At this point i'm very comfrtable with the G3X.@StevenL757 and @donkaye are 2 people here who have the G500TXI. They both rave about it and seemed to have really like it. If they did it again, id figure both of them would do the TXI. At this point they are very comfortabke with the TXI. In the end the G3X and the TXI do practically the same thing. Where the TXI shines is in interfacing with older king and century autopilots. The purpose of creating the certified G3X was to make a more affordable TXI, however with that cheaper price tag comes the inability to really play well with other brands, no twins, and no pressurization. Which ever you get, you'll be stoked with.

I'm one of those who has the G500 TXi and absolutely love it.  I've flown with both and seen the screens side by side and prefer the TXi for display quality and connectivity but if I didn't have the TXi I would be thrilled with the G3X as well.

[kortopates]

i hear you Mike, but it’s really not just up to Garmin or any manufacturer anymore but the component manufacturers of the chips, screens etc eventually stop producing them in favor of more capable components making it impossible to maintain them after some date likely less than 20 years since their design.


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[kortopates]

I have the G500 system and have flown right seat in many G3X touch systems and frankly the G3X is too limited in its integration capabilities to support my panel. it’s a far simpler system, but when it’s meets your needs it does it quite well and does have some nice features with the built-in bluetooth and GFC-500 support but when it comes down to it i wouldn’t want to fly any glass panel without a backup, so that would mean at least a G5 if not more anyway.


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[Mooney in Oz]

1 hour ago, mikefox said:

Now my fervent hope is that Garmin continues to support our "old" equipment for 20 years!

I'm certain Garmin will support the G500/600 for at least 20 years, based on the support that is still exists for the GNS units since their release 23 years ago.  

There are many of these units out in the wild and as Paul suggested, provided component manufacturers ensure parts availability, the units will be around for a long time yet.

[toto]

7 hours ago, Mooney in Oz said:

I'm certain Garmin will support the G500/600 for at least 20 years, based on the support that is still exists for the GNS units since their release 23 years ago.  

There are many of these units out in the wild and as Paul suggested, provided component manufacturers ensure parts availability, the units will be around for a long time yet.

Support is ending for the original GNS navigators, but the WAAS units still have some life left. 

I'm starting to worry a bit about the original GTN series, since they're now ten years old and there's no upgrade path to the Xi. But I suspect that there's another decade of factory support (especially since these were being sold new a year ago). 

[PT20J]

For me, the choice was secondary to a decision about the autopilot. I had a KAP 150 without altitude preselect and, of course, no flight director. It also had needed repair twice in three years. THe G3X was designed for the GFC 500, so it made sense go that route. Were I keeping a legacy autopilot, I’d have chosen the G500. There’s not a difference that matters in my operations one way or the other.

Skip

[Mooney in Oz]

4 hours ago, toto said:

I'm starting to worry a bit about the original GTN series, since they're now ten years old

Why is it that as I get older, time flies quicker that when I was much younger? 10 years! Only seems like a few years 

 

4 hours ago, toto said:

there's no upgrade path to the Xi

I thought Garmin offered a rather expensive upgrade path, or was that only a one time offer when the Xi was released? 

[toto]

4 hours ago, Mooney in Oz said:

8 hours ago, toto said:

 

I thought Garmin offered a rather expensive upgrade path, or was that only a one time offer when the Xi was released? 

I’m not aware that they ever offered a GTN upgrade option. As far as I know, the only way to upgrade is to buy an Xi and sell a GTN - which some avionics shops will do for a fixed price (I’ve heard 5k USD quoted for the 750).