Hi...I am planning to get a new machine and would like some good advice before i press the order button.Here goes..I am ordering my machine from www.ibuypower.com and here are the specs...1.Raidmax X-1 ATX Mid-Tower Case w/420W Power Supply2.AMD

Vivek,Given your budget, what you have here is fine. If I were to nitpick, your machine is a bit "unbalanced" i.e. high-end CPU coupled with a relatively low-end video card. And 512MB RAM is not ideal, 1GB would be better. Having said that, I understand that budget may be a concern and FS9 is very CPU-dependent so you may get reasonable performance despite the video card.Also, you may want to note that your motherboard will be out-of-date very quickly because when you do upgrade your video card, you would likely go to PCI-Express and that would require a new motherboard as well.Edwin

Hello EdwinThank for your great comments. About the machine , I plan to get another 512 stick later on or from somewhere else. I just want to handle FS9 with most of the adddons like PMDG 747, LDS 767 and those other scenery and textures and also be able to handle FS10 reasonably.What kind of a MoBo do you recommend or any other sites where i can find parts cheaper.Thank you

Vivek,There isn't much else you can do given your budget. I think it's another situation of either just take the plunge now (and get what you mentioned before) or save up more and get a better package. A few other notes:1. If you are to stick with your AGP motherboard, an nForce3 motherboard is already a good choice. If you could afford to buy a new video card, then get an nForce4 SLI motherboard and a PCI-Express video card to go along with it.2. With one stick 512MB RAM, you would be working on single-channel rather than dual. I'm not sure about the performance difference between single and dual channel but I imagine it would not be insubstantial. I have no suggestion here - just wanted to point out that when you do get that second stick, you should get a very substantial performance improvement - partly because of sheer quantity of RAM and partly because you would be moving from single to dual channel.Simply put, you're already getting more or less the best package given your budget. Anything better would require a higher budget.Good luck.Edwin

Hi Vivek, I agree with Edwin's 'nitpicking'/mention about the system being a bit unbalanced and would also advise to get 2x512MB right from scratch (perhaps sacrifice the 80GB HD?). IMHO, always try to buy pairs of RAM modules. I would also recommend to go down the s939 road (for upgradeability). Case you want to continue to use your 5200 GPU, I second getting a s939 mainbaord with nForce3 chipset. Later on and once you make up your mind which PCI-e GPU you want, all you need to do is include a new mainboard in the calculation too. I guess you're aware you'll have to stick to relatively low resolutions (ie 1024x max) for the moment being. Out of curiousity, what are you upgrading from? Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regards Jaap

Hello Jaap...Firstly Thank you for great advice.Secondly I am upgrading from a AMD Athlon XP 1700 ( bought in 2002) and i have 1.25GB of Ram. I do HAVE 2(20 and 250 GB) HDD and the sound card that I want to keep and the graphics card if possible.I took a screen shot of the device manager for you to see...http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/vic...202002/SS34.jpgI spoke with the sales rep and he says in order for my 2 HDD and the 2 CD drives to work with the new machine I need to get a [s-ATA] Western Digital 80 GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Hard Drive is the one which happens to be the cheapest one..sorry I forgot to put the S-ATA in front on #5 in my first post. This is the kind of machine i trying to replicate..it belongs to Mr Edward Cox...AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 1024Mb PC3200 DDR, 300Gb HD,128Mb DDR Nvidia 6600GT PCI Express.>>Later on and once you make up your mind which PCI-e GPU you want, all you need to do is include a new mainboard in the calculation too<

Hi Vivek, thanks for the update. That will be a nice upgrade. What I meant with 'PCI-e and getting a new mainboard too' is you could continue to use your current AGP GPU with a nForce3, switch to a PCI-e GPU later on (which requires a new mainboard) and nevertheless continue to use all your other components. Ofcourse you could also stick to the AGP nForce3 and upgrade to a stronger AGP card later on. I don't believe either interface is better or worse right now, but PCI-e is the future and newer mainboards (i.e. a nForece4) offer S-ATA-2 interfaces which nForce3s don't. As for HDs, why don't you leave the 20GB HD in your old computer and only use the 200GB in the new one? Is there data on it you cannot afford to loose? Where is you OS currently located? IMHO, taking the 20GB onto your new computer doesn't make much sense as it probably is pretty slow compared to modern drives. As a general rule of thumb, the bigger the drive, the faster they are. As of 120GB this 'speed curve' starts to flatten and within this 'rule' even a 80GB drive is often relatively slow compared to the larger ones. Therefore, if you really want to get a new HD, I'ld recommend to get one with 120GB or more. Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regards Jaap

In context to the setup I want for the budget of $750..What do you guys recommend..Something that will pay for in the future..I would really like to hear what you guys think the best option for that budget would be...:-beerchug Thank you

Vivek,Here's an idea to get you started:DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D motherboard - $129.50AMD Athlon64 3500+ Socket 939 CPU - $267CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) Dual Channel Kit - $81Gigabyte GeForce 6600GT PCI Express video card - $160Case & power supply (e.g. Antec Sonata II + SmartPower 2.0 450W) - $109Total: $746.50(Prices taken from Newegg)Given that you already have a 250GB hard drive, I didn't think you would need an additional one. If you already have a good case, you may want to save by not getting the case and spending it on a better power supply (Antec is a great brand but the TruePower series is better than the SmartPower series).Personally, I find that picking the CPU *last* is best. AMD/Intel offers so many different speeds (and therefore, price points) that you can adjust the CPU choice based on how much you spend on the rest of the system.Hope this helps and best of luck.Edwin

Hello...Thank you Edwin for that very useful input.I did a little hunting around here is what I found...From www.cyberpowersystem.comCASE : HOT NEW! Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display (Silver Case w/Silver Face)CPU : (939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 3200+ CPU w/ HyperTransport TechnologyMOTHERBOARD : (Sckt939)MSI K8N NEO4-F nForce4 Chipset SATA Raid PCI-E w/GbLAN, USB2.0, &7.1AudioMEMORY : 512 MB PC3200 400MHz DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value RAM)HARD DRIVE : 40GB 7200 RPM ATA 100 HARD DRIVEHard Drive 2 : NONEVIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 6200 Graphics with TurboCache supporting 256MB 16X PCI Express VIDEO CARDVIDEO CARD 2 : NONEOptical Drive : NONEOptical Drive 2 : NONEMONITOR & LCD : NONESOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIOPrice: $591.00 +$65 shippingWhat do you guys think of this..:) :-wave :-beerchug .... I am so glad that i came here to ask before buying the new PC...

Hi Vivek,I don't know too much about the GeForce 6200 but it still sounds like you have a rather unbalanced system. Your CPU is still quite a bit more advanced than your video card. I'd stay away from anything less than a 9800 Pro (if going ATI) or a 6600GT (if going NVIDIA) at this point. And both Jaap and I have stressed the importance of 1GB RAM vs. 512MB.Having said that, there's nothing wrong with your system per se.Can I ask what you didn't like about the components I suggested?Edwin

Hi Vivek, I second Edwin's 'suggestion' to perhaps compare the pricing with other local or online shops? Spending almost 10% of the budget on shipping costs seems a bit much. As Edwin also mentioned, 512MB is not a good idea. I'ld say, the 2x512MB is the only thing you should really 'give' your new setup and all the other details could be set to fit your budget. 512MB will NOT result in a satisfactory simming experience. As for the display adapter (GPU), make this item fit the resolution you require. I.e., you'll not need a X850XT for 1024x. This is my advise for various resolutions: - 1024x: 128-bit, 128MB card with at least 4 pixel pipelines - 1280x: 256-bit, 256MB card with at least 8 pixel pipelines FYI, here's an overview of GPUs specs: http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?locat...1=88&var2=1(at the bottom of this page you'll find a link to the 'other camp') Since your budget is a bit tight for an entirely new, high-end FlyTendo, a nForce3 mainboard with your current GPU could give you a bit of headroom to invest into other components. As you'll see in the a.m. link, your current Geforce 5200 (and the 6200) will be a bottle-neck. However and AIM, this will not hurt too much if you are modest with your resolution requirements. People who shift away from CRTs and buy 17/19" 1280x TFTs, often forget that they also need to look at their display adapter (as the word display adapter suggests)... Get the catch? Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regards Jaap Edit, seen the budget, I think your original concept was the best one: The 3700 San Diego is awesome. I'ld only suggest to leave out the 80GB HD and instead get 2x512MB plus the case/PSU Edwin suggested. Again, just stick to low resolutions until you can upgrade your GPU too...

>Hi Vivek,>>I don't know too much about the GeForce 6200 but it still>sounds like you have a rather unbalanced system. Your CPU is>still quite a bit more advanced than your video card. I'd>stay away from anything less than a 9800 Pro (if going ATI) or>a 6600GT (if going NVIDIA) at this point. And both Jaap and I>have stressed the importance of 1GB RAM vs. 512MB.>>Having said that, there's nothing wrong with your system per>se.>>Can I ask what you didn't like about the components I>suggested?>>EdwinEdwin...The components you suggested are really excellent..the problem is that I am not too confident about building it my self and about the ram ,i will buy another stick from of 512 from another site than where i might fing it a bit cheaper. This is also due to the fact that my budget just got lowered coz i have to go to college in Aug..hence that machine in my previous post...Edwin I did not mean any offence at all..I just wanna be sure before i buy anything and also not spend too much.Thank you

Vivek,No not at all. I know you didn't mean any offence - it's just that you offered a different config when I posted suggestions so I thought there was something in particular you wanted that I had missed.You really want to try to get a pair of RAM together. This ensures that your machine will run dual-channel without a problem. If I were you, I'd sacrifice the CPU some more to fit with your budget. Despite all the talk about FS9 scaling more with CPU than with video card, in most other gaming situations, the video card is the limiting factor so as I said before, I wouldn't get anything lower than a 9800 Pro or a 6600GT. And you want an nForce4 setup with PCI Express in order to future-proof your system a bit. That leaves just the CPU.Just my two cents worth. I think I've said all that I have to say on this topic now. :(Edwin

>Just my two cents worth. I think I've said all that I have to>say on this topic now. :(>EdwinAnd I appreciate every bit of it...Thank you very much