I have a GeForce FX 5200 PCI 128MB (i only have PCI slots, no AGP )1 Ghz P3256MB ramwin2kproI only get about 30-40 FPS in air and 10-20 around buildings?How can i get better performance (hardware wise)Getting XP?more ram?faster processor?

i also had very low 3dmarks

You don't mention your MSFS settings.... If you have water reflections on, turn them off. Then, turn off shadows, and lower autogen and AI. Your performance isn't that far off mine, and my specs are very similar. To improve things, you'd probably need to swap out the MB, CPU and RAM and invest in an AGP card. With my exposure to FS2004, I originally was going to invest in a P4 3.0 Gig cpu.... Now, having seen how scalable it is to slower systems, my plan is to run a P4 2.6--can be found fairly cheap these days. I'd still be getting a cpu with a clock speed 3 times faster than my current rig...

remember, i dont have an AGP slot, so i would have to get a new mobo or computer. What will help hardware wise the most though?

I believe I said:"To improve things, you'd probably need to swap out the MB, CPU and RAM and invest in an AGP card."You have no choice on the MB/CPU side. To be positioned for any of the newer technology out there, you have to have them replaced if your current setup doesn't support AGP. So the MB/CPU replacement is where I'd begin. If you buy a new system, stay away from mfrs with proprietary junk, like Dell or HP. Given you have a 1GHZ system, it should have supported AGP--but it sounds like the mfr cut corners. Whatever you do, whether you build a system or buy it, make sure that the video can be upgraded. I usually suggest people purchase systems where the video is not onboard, but via an add-on card.

i didnt know what you ment by MB.whats a good place to purchase a new system from besides dell and hp?alien ware is to spendy

I'm not the best one to answer--I build my own systems. You should consider a post in the hardware forum. Basically, you want to ask about non-proprietary systems (i.e. if the sound fails, you can swap it out, etc....)-John

how hard and expensive is it to build a system

If you have to ask the question, probably too hard. I would think it easy, but by profession I service networks and workstations--so I've been swapping out MB's, replacing WICS, installing switches, routers and hubs for years. I tend to break down the process into rather simple steps. My current system took me longer to unbox than to build. I went from a bunch of components on the floor to a finished system in about 20 minutes. I don't owe that to skill alone--there's a standard out there called "ATX" which really makes it easy to set up a system...to me it seems as easy as making a house out of Lincoln Logs.Cost? I'd say a careful upgrader who doesn't try for top of the line components--about $500-600. Depends on how much you can salvage from your old system My next upgrade will only require a new MB, RAM and CPU. I'll probably squeeze it in the $350-400 range. Since I have an ATX case, I can reuse the case.... I don't even have to remove the drives--the old MB will come right out (and go right in to my wife's PC).Once again, I suggest you place a post in the H/W forum. My advice alone isn't enough to make a good, informed decision. I know there's some PC's you can buy that conform to the ATX standard, that can be had fairly cheap. But I haven't stayed abreast of those so much. In the H/W forum, those simmers have....