What would you recommend I upgrade? I'm not REAL happy with the perofromance of FS9 especially with the PMDG 737. I am torn however. I'm wondering if it is even worth it to upgrade now, or if I should wait for FS2006 to do any upgrading. What do you guys think? Anyway, here are my current specs...Athlon XP 3000+ 333FSB1024 GB DDR RAM (1 is 3200RPM, 1 is 2700 RPM)40 GB Western Digital 7200 RPM HDSoundblaster Audigy X GamerGeForce 4 Ti4400 w/ 128 MB DDR RAMI've been feeling very uneasy lately because my CPU is running hotter than it should be...56C-that's with very few programs running. So, I'm kinda leaning that way, but I've only had it about a year. Anyway, what should I change, if anything?Thanks,Tim

Hi Tim,the only obvious thing is your graphics card - they have advanced two generations since the Ti4400 came out. Your CPU is still very good (the Athlons usually run quite a bit hotter than other CPUs, so you may want to look into getting a new cooling fan). So, I would upgrade the video card now, and wait with a CPU upgrade until FS2006 comes out next year - you'll get a much more noticeable improvement that way (there'll probably be an XP4500+ or such like).Cheers,Gosta.http://www.hifisim.com/images/as2betateam.jpg

I have a computer similar to yours and just upgraded from a Nvidia 4200 to an ATI 9800 Pro. I saw almost no increase in framerates but am able to pump up options such as AA and AF with no performance hit. What that boils down to is better looking outside scenery. From my experience, don't expect an increase in framerates by simply adding a new video card. That is, if you are experiencing 10 frames per second for a particular scenario, don't expect that number to increase with a card such as the ATI 9800 Pro. However, you won't lose frames by adding AA and AF and increasing many of the sliders (including clouds!) like you do presently with your if you add such to your 4400. I have a more detailed post on this forum telling of my current situation. At this point I am debating taking the 9800 back and putting back my 4200 because it is tough to justify the cost. However, I probably will keep it due to the long hours I work. I would not make a major upgrade until the Athlon 64 socket 939s and the 939 3500+ become more easily available. The Athlon 64 is an excellent processor for FS2004. FS2004 apparently really utilizes the Athlon 64 memory controller for awsome performance. In addition, the 939 is a brand new board and the 3500+ is currently the smallest chip you can pop into it. We are probably looking at another couple of years of 939 CPU upgrades, so a future processer upgrade to use for FS2006 is not out of the question. Therefore, you might just be able to pop in a new CPU for good FS2006 performance rather than have to invest in a entirely new system like most people have had to do from FS2002 to 2004. Those are my thought processes anyway.Best of luck!Robb