Here is my 1st 3D Mark 03 Score http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=564023 The never ending tweaking Begins ;) This is the 1st computer I have built.

Not bad but you have a lot of leeway to work w. Start tweakin' that bad boy... This is mine..:) http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=316977

Is part of this tweeking turning down graphic settings? Thus defeating the sole purpose of having the best performing machine in order to obtain a useless number that has no bearing on how a flight sim runs? :-lol This is not an attack on anyone, However I find these benchmarking utilitys only good for trend monitoring.

B, Actually if a person uses a benchmarking tool the way they were intended to be used than no. Turning everything down is not the purpose of them. Your link seems to have become corrupted or bad as your compare is no longer available. I use benchmarks to compare hardware changes, driver changes and their effect on system performance. I also will use them to see what the absolute limit is as far as overclocking etc goes. Are they all about getting the best performance in FS?. If you use them the right way than yes without a doubt. They allow you to see which changes give the best performance depending on your particular setup.Bobby