Hey GuysAfter taking a long break from flight simulation (about 3 years) I have decided to buy my self a new pc and enjoy my old favourite game.My price range is around $1000 (including new flat screen)Go ahead, build my system, what should I put in it for best FS performance?Thank you!ted320.

ok, here is what I have so far...CPUAMD ATHLON 64BIT 4000 (San Diago) 1MB L2 Cache (939 pin)Memory2048 MB DDR400 PC3200Hard Drive80 GB HARD DISK @ 7200rpm 8mb cacheGraphics Card 1256MB GEFORCE 7800 GTX PCI ExpressWould love to know your thoughts on this system. Is 2000 MB ram over kill? Also do you think it is better to have say 2 x 128 MB graphics cards?RegardsTed320

My .02..."AMD ATHLON 64BIT 4000 (San Diago) 1MB L2 Cache (939 pin)"Great Choice...A Really Awesome Processor...Best Bang for your Buck *Single Core* Processor avalible in my opinion...Lots of folks are "Speculating" FSX may be better suited for the Dual Core Processors...I personally have not formed that opinion yet...I guess we shall see..What MotherBoard are you looking at??"Hard Drive80 GB HARD DISK @ 7200rpm 8mb cache"Be sure you go with at least a SATA150 HDD...No IDE HDD...Better yet a SATAII(300gbs 16mb cache)...An Example:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16822144701"Is 2000 MB ram over kill?"I won't downright say "Overkill"...If your budget is in jepordy...Cut down to 1gb of RAM first...1gb of RAM will Do The Job..."Also do you think it is better to have say 2 x 128 MB graphics cards?"Nope...Stick with your single 256mb 7800GTX PCI-e...Later...After Windows Vista and FSX is released...You may re-think an SLI set-up then...For now FS9 doesn't really benifit from SLI...The single 7800GTX will Smoke any of the currently avaliable 128mb cardsx2...I think you may bust your budget...Just My Opinion'sGood Luck and Have Fun!!

Ted320....like the specs, but you said under $1000 including LCD Monitor! :-hah The starting system you have shown will cost well over $1000 without the monitor...just the 7800GTX is around $450+ :-hmmm Suggest this videocard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814150124and thisHard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16822144701

Hey GuysI've quickly broken the bank on this project, but the additional investment will be worth the incredible performance of this machine.Three more questions, please forgive my ignorance...1. The hard drive you recommended Chuck, SATA150 HDD. Does that refer to the capacity or the cache?2. Would you recommend advance cooling for this setup? Would a 120mm fan be enough or would additional cpu cooling be required?3. Can anyone loan me 500 bucks?! Only kidding.RegardsStephenTed320

edit.. 4th question. Sorry.Is there a big difference between the GT and GTX model of the Geforce 7800?StephenTed320

1. The hard drive you recommended Chuck, SATA150 HDD. Does that refer to the capacity or the cache?SATA150 is the interface...You should take a look at the drive I and the fellow who posted below me put the link to...It is a really nice Western Digital Drive...The price is really nice also...2. Would you recommend advance cooling for this setup? Would a 120mm fan be enough or would additional cpu cooling be required?When you purchase the 4000+ in the "Retail Box"...You get a factory supplied CPU Cooler(ie: Heatsink and Fan)...If you purchase the 4000+ "OEM" version..You will have to supply your own CPU Cooler...I havn't seen allot of OEM processors offered lately...They are usually a few dollars cheeper...I always buy OEM as I always use an aftermarket CPU Cooler...Just a personal thing...The factory supplied CPU Cooler(ie: Heatsink and Fan) are said to work well...Your case should have good ventilation...The more airflow the better...120mm case fans are quieter and move more air than the faster spinning 80mmcase fans...Most Good Quality cases these days are designed with airflow in mind...2-3 fans seem to be the norm...3. Can anyone loan me 500 bucks?! Only kiddingLOL...Me Too!!edit.. 4th question. Sorry.Is there a big difference between the GT and GTX model of the Geforce 7800?The GT and GTX use the same GPU(G70)...The main difference is some of the pipes have been turned off and the clock speeds have been slowed on the GT version...It is basically a slower version of the 7800GTX...I don't own a GT...I can not offer any first hand expierence...But from what I have read...A nice 7800GT(ie: BFG7800GT OC) would probably perform very similar to a 7800GTX in Flightsim...Flightsim is more CPU intensive than Video intensive...

Hey ChuckThanks for your reply & all your advice.I have finalised my specs. My final concern is the power supply, will 400 watts be sufficient for this spec? I tried using an online calculator but it didn't have all the components I am using listed.MOBO - NVIDIA Nforce4 Ultra chipset & 939 socketProcessor - AMD

I personally would bump up the power supply a *Good Quality 480w +*...You didn't mention the perticular mb you are looking at...If per chance your looking at ASUS A8N series...They are picky about powersupplies...I don't know how ASUS did it..but they built in a "cruddy power supply detector" into the A8N sereis of boards...he he..Kidding...But they are picky...A good thing anyhow...You are better off not skimping on the power supply with any RIG...My next card will probably be an ATI Card also...Not that I'm unhappy with the nVidia's buy any means!! I just would like to give them a shot again...I would like to hear how it works out for you!!As far as the negative reviews on the nVidia drivers:I think they are Great!! Just my expierence..I have both a 7800GTX OC and a 6800Ultra OC(Single Card's)...Both run FS Fantastic!! All I do is fly FS...So I can't speak for any other application..Good Luck with your Build!!

Not sure about the flat screen in that budget but check out this site:http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/Default.aspI purchased a system from them in Dec. and so far I'm very happy with it.I would definitley go with AMD.Craig