Hi guys,I want to create a system just for FS2004, this is what I have found so far.Intel

First, I would go with AMD64 and if you have a purse for something like P4 Extreme Edition then you would surely afford Athlon FX-53 - currently the fastest gaming processor on the market. Michael J.http://www.reality-xp.com/community/nr/rsc/rxp-higher.jpg

Hi Guys,What about this?Motherboard: Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 Audio/GB-LAN/USB/IEEProcessor: AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (939)Memory: DDR (400) 3200 - 2 GB DDR (400) PC-3200ATI X800XT Platinum EditionMike

Sounds very good. To top it off you may want to get a very fast Western Digital Raptor HD but I don't think you can get them larger than 74 GB (check it). But Raptor is really the super fast HD. It is 10,000 rpm but very quiet.Don't know about the Gigabyte mobo. If you want to overclock (and FX-53 is apparently quite good for that) you may want to consider Abit AV8 - the best board for tweaking. Also Asus A8V Deluxe is excellent, packed with goods. For some reason these 2 boards are the top 2 recommendations for AMD 939 socket but Gigabyte may be equally good - just don't know.2 GB of memory - WOW - you may be going overboard here but if you have $$$ ;-)Michael J.

Yeah, Michael's suggestion in favour of an Abit mainboard is excellent. Be it socket 754 or 939. I'm using a 754-3200 Clawhammer (1-MB cache) on an Asus A8V-SE deluxe and am considering a swap to an Abit too (A8V). However, no hurries, no worries, thus letting the bios and drivers mature one more step. Another thought is, to perhaps get the vendor to specify the RAM for you? You say CL3 or CL2 and he/she names the brand. RAM compatibilty is somewhat of an issue with the 64-platform... If they specify it, you might obtain something like a 'guarantee?' AFAIK, 2GB of RAM is the max 'stickable' amount. BTW, Mike, you could definitely apply for a position as 'serious Longhorn beta-tester' with such a data-annihilator! Hehe In general terms, it's a good idea to stay away from anything Intel Prescott for now. And specially those above 3200MHz!! The potential heat problems being the main reason. For FS, a strong P4 Northwood (512/800) is a great CPU minus the Prescott probs. The master of all FS data-crunching truely and currently is the AMD64. Also the display adapter is very adjustable, i.e. to your software requirements and the displays adapted. From what I've read, a X800-pro/XT will only be really helpful @ 1600x. At 1280x, a 9800pro is great and an i.e. X800pro is fantastic but almost overkill. Since I want to run 64-bit Linux one day i.e., I'll probably choose a Nvidia dispaly adapter when replacing my 9800pro. Etc. Good luck and mocho fun with your new system, you'll love it! Kind regards Jaap

<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>Probably not for the faint of heart...:) I'm running a "SL7E8" 2.4 ghz version. They run pretty hot, but it can be dealt with. But it's not a good chip to put in a small office box with a dinky fan...The temps under load could go pretty high. The internal power down is usually about 70c. At that point, the chip will start to idle back, and cool itself off. So at least, in theory, you really can't burn one up. But you do want to keep cooler than that cutoff point if you don't want the chip to throttle back. That can cause stuttering , etc..I'm using the stock fan and sink, along with a very strong side case fan. "110v". I run from the mid 40's at idle to the mid 50's. With the sim running, I seem to do about 52-53-55c on average with all the fans going. Not too awful bad...I wonder about the heat sink paste intel provided. I'm wondering if it wouldn't help to use some arctic silver, or whatever...The intel "paste" was a square pad of seemingly thick grey stuff. I guess it compresses with heat, but seems to me a real thin coat of good quality paste might be better. Also, my fan runs about 2600 rpm average. Hardly ever seems to vary much..That could be a good sign though, if it's going by the cpu temp.. I'd like to use a 4400-4800 rpm fan...I'm keen on overkill...I might even consider water cooling before too long.. I'm sure I'll need it in the future..Anyway, I don't think the prescott is too bad for someone who can deal with some cooling issues, but for someone who doesn't care to deal with that, or run a small tight office box, it could be a problem...IE: I run no side covers and have fresh air gushing into it by the big fan. That in itself makes a huge difference. I wonder how people are going to keep prescotts alive in closed up, poorly vented cases...I see no problems at stock speed, with the stock fan and sink. But I'm sure the temps will rise when I start clocking it up. And clock up it does...Seems raring to go in that dept, but I need better ram. I only have lower end ddr-333, and I need some good ddr400..But even with the ram I have, I've had it up to 3.15 ghz, and the cpu didn't miss a beat. But I got some occasional ram glitches, unless I declocked the ram to 3-4-4-8, and that slowed it down. So I clocked it back to stock for now. And it didn't run a whole heck of a lot hotter at that point than stock...Maybe 5 degrees??I actually didn't intend to get the prescott, but I couldn't refuse the price on that 2.4. "$78" Half what I was gonna spend on a p4 2.4c...I also got a retail box with 3 yrs...So if it fries, I'll get another... I could go to the p4c if I decided to. My MB will support 800 bus. But the chip is doing the job for now. Overall, I find no real problems with the prescott, but having good cooling is a given if you run one. Even the stock fan and sink are pretty good as far as past stock intel fans go...It's probably as good or better than the dual fan sink I ran on my old overclocked celeron. As long as the case temp at the cpu doesn't go over 38c, it will handle it. Sayeth intel anyway...The sink/fan I have on the 2.4 looks the same as the 3.2 up versions..My favorite 2.4 chip is still the 2.4c though...I like the 800 mhz bus, and they clock up well. I actually believe the prescott version will clock up higher, but can I keep it cool without spending loads of $$$...That's the question...BTW... I sorta think the heat doesn't hurt them as much as many think. They seem to handle it ok. Even at 70c...Not that I want to run one that warm...I think over voltage is a much easier route to killing the chip. Like the northwoods, the prescotts will die suddenly if the voltage is run too high, for too long. My MB doesn't even allow you to vary voltage on the prescotts. Thats how paranoid they are about it...The MB maker didn't want to get blamed for a bunch of dead prescotts evidentally...:( Can't say I really blame them..MK

>Hi Guys,>>What about this?>>Motherboard: Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 Audio/GB-LAN/USB/IEE>Processor: AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (939)>Memory: DDR (400) 3200 - 2 GB DDR (400) PC-3200>ATI X800XT Platinum Edition>>MikeYes very nice system and gigabyte is really good too. :)