Hello all,I have a new pc, which i thought would be ready for fs2004..it is running ok on default planes, but the addons are demanding more then I have. I have a AMD XP 2000+ 1.69 mghz processor 512MB ram 160gig seagate hardrive Nvidia Geforce FX 5900XT video cardthings like dreamfleet 727 and the PMDG 737 run descent, but i want it smooth..ive been trying some tweaks and im not tweaking yet, but i need some help in what to upgrade next. ive been told your pc is as fast as its slowest component..i see the hardrive light working a whole lot with fs2004 and maybee i need to get a hardrive with a faster bus speed?ive also been told that getting a sound card for some reason would take off a load from my CPU processing..if this is true, what kinda sound card should i get? does it really matter how much quality it is as long as im not using the on board sound card? i know i need to upgrade everything in whole, but im looking for the most vital upgrade to get me some stutter free flying on high details. thanks for your help and any other tips are welcome..thanks again.what have you all started out with system wise..and what did you upgrade to?Stephen

Hi,For you:1. CPU2. System memory, especially if you are using XP.3. Honestly don't know much about that particular video card.4. Your HD is fine. Defrag often. The activity is due to your system memory being used up.5. The sound card will remove a bit of a load, but you may not notice a performance difference. Things may sound better, however.6. Make sure all drivers are up to date, including your motherboard drivers.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

It's the CPU. Socket A is dead, end of the line, pass