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

Nothing wrong with your CPU power, it'll run FS fine, might need some additional fans if it is running hot. Firstly, your RAM doesn't run in RPM, so if you have 3200 DDR and 2700 DDR on the same board, that is a problem, you need another stick of 3200 DRR to replace the 2700 one. You'll find the system might actually run better after that.Second, your vid card is your bottleneck, get one of the newer gen cards, nothing less than a 9800pro or a FX5900 (around $175 - $200 USD) that should hold you till FS2006.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/PBTMCa.jpgCalVirAir International VACalVirAir International

I would try matching your 3200 stick of RAM first with another as already recommended first.Granted, your video card may not be the top of the line, but I doubt that upgrading it is going to give you an earth shaking increase in performance. Quite some time ago I went from a 4600 to an ATI 9800 Radeon Pro. I would do it again, but still debate somewhat if the difference is really worth the money. If money is tight, I would think about this one a bit. If cost is not an issue, I probably would go for whatever is the king of the hill at the moment for a video card.I really don't think your temperature is out of bounds for an AMD CPU. With my Intel, I run that hot with FS9 loaded up and no problems, and count the fans in my system below. It is well within the specs, and it runs considerably cooler than an AMD. I would suggest you check their website for specs.You did not say what your present performance is, or what you expect, so it is a bit hard to estimate what you are getting, or what your goal is.With my system under most conditions I run very close to my max setting of 30FPS constantly. Under severe conditions like Simflyers KJFK, a complex third party aircraft, multiple windows, and everything maxed out she drops into the low to middle teens at the gate, or in some cases even lower but is still reasonably smooth. Lowering complexity slightly doubles the framerate or more. Off the runway framerates increase drastically unless there is severe weather. Over Alaska, I have dropped into single digits at times for a brief time regardless of the aircraft due to extremely dense fsmeteo weather. At the other extreme with clear weather over open water, you would think I was telling a whopper, but I believe you can do that with just about any system.Good luck, and I hope you come up with a system that meets your expectations.RTHP4C800 Deluxe MotherboardPentium 4, 3.2G CPU1G PC3200/400 MemoryWinXP ProDirectX9.0cATI Radeon 9800Pro 128MBSecondary Graphics Diamond Stealth III S540 PCI 21

My rig is very close to yours RTH, only AMD (basics) and when I went from my old G4 4600 to the 9800 pro, it made a huge difference in heavy weather which was the main reason I got it since I fly in Alaska and the PNW quite a bit. Performance was about the same (locked at 30), but textures loaded faster and it was a little smoother. Liked the IQ of the Nvidia better. Depends on the rig I guess, but I got it for $175 and it was a good investment till the next gen cards come out and are affordable.He's right tho, heavy weather will bring any system to it's knees. Try the Ram first and see.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/PBTMCa.jpgCalVirAir International VACalVirAir International

Ok, well I was planning on getting a new video card as a graduation present from one of my parents that is long past due. I head to flight school in the fall, taking this computer, so I want to have good performance for my practicing :) I'll go ahead and buy asnother stick of 3200 DDR on my own, and look into a new video card. $150-200 is right around where I'm looking to pay for one as you mentioned...Thanks guys,TIm

"I'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?"If temps have risen lately - with all other factors staying the same - is it possible that the time has come to go in with the canned air etc and have a good cleanup. Remove dust from the CPU heatsink and so on. It the PC has been running for a year by now it will have accumulated a fair amount of dust in the heatsink(s)- can make a big difference.If you've already done this then my apologies.Dave