Hi Guys,I have a Asus A7V600-X Motherboard (Socket A for AMD Cpu's) it usesthe Via kt600 Northbridge and Via Vt8237 Southbridge. I have not OC'dit and 400 FSB. 1Gb of PC3200 ram branded ram.My Video Card is the 6800LE Which I believe would be the bottom endof a mid-range card.CPU is an Athlon XP3200+ (2.2Ghz)I have ordered FXS Deluxe but at the present time I am unable to upgradethe whole system. FS2004 runs just about okay locked at 20fps. I canrun the FSX Demo at around the midpoint with an average fps of 15.Given I have not too much money to spend what do you think a goodupgrade path would be? eventually I do want to go to Vista and a newsystem, but it will be a long hard save.Regards to all

Okay lets try this another way.What is the major bottleneck for running fs9.1 with the system above the cpu or the video card.Thanks

Hi Catmar, how much GPU-RAM, for which screen resolution? More info would be helpful. Rgds Jaap

Hi Jaap,I almost gave up on this thread being answered, thanks.Well the card has only 128Mb of Ram, the screen res is 1152x864 at 60Hzthe card is a 32bit card. I have 1Gb of System Ram.I hope that helps, if you want more no problem.Which is my bottleneck the CPU or the Video Card in this instance?Thanks Jaap

No worries, Catmar. Tough question, as so often... :-) Maybe that's why nobody could comment? For FSX, my humble assessment is, that your FlyTendo has its bottlenecks nicely spread. Personally, I would primarily make sure I had a box with 2GBs of RAM to avoid excessive paging. OTOH, investing in DDR1 is investing in a dead-end street... IMHO, leave as is (maybe get a good/fast HD if you don't have one already?) and give FSX a go when you get it. Make your own judgement. IMHO-2, the two key factors with FS are the resoltuton(s) and how one uses the sim. It makes a huge difference whether you take a jet to AI-loaded NY or a small plane to 'the end of the world'. Without any mentions in these directions it hard to advise. Hope this adds to thoughts and kind regards Jaap

Great Jaap thanks for a well thought out answer to my question.I'll take your comments on board and look for another stick of1Gb DDR Ram to match the one I have.Regarding virtual flying habits, I actually do both, big iron whenI have time, but only short hops 400 to 600nm. If I have limited timeI just hop in a puddle jumper and look at the sites.Thanks again for your opinion and kind regards to you and your family.

Hi Catmar, thanks for the kind words. :-) RAM is obviously an option, but please don't forget DDR1 is a dead-end street. ;-) I'ld suggest to resist the 'immediate upgrade urge' and wait and see what happens. I'm sure we're going to see A LOT of texture conversion! :-) Maybe FSX's RAM hunger then decreases and 2GB goes from a 'must-have' status to 'nice-to-have' only? :-) As you probably know, partial upgrades often don't do too much because other weak links remain. Another suggestion: Once you've got 'it' and you had a good look, come back and tell us what you'ld like to achieve - with as many technical/the-way-you-use-it details as possible. ;-) The better the question, the better the potential replies. There are lots of knowledgeable people here. :-) Cheers again and kind regards Jaap

Thanks Jaap I appreciate your expertise in this area and I will do asyou suggest.Kindest regards