Thanks for the reply Jaap. I will certainly address the cooling problem. In fact, I am probably going to get a company (Mesh, in the UK - good reputation) to build this for me: I am OK putting together lower end of the market components, but when trying to fit the heatsink onto an FX55, my hands tends to tremble!! Having priced components, I would save almost nothing by building it myself, and I get the advantage of a three-year overall guarantee.I am, as I say, getting an SLI ready machine, partly because the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe M/B that Mesh uses gets rave reviews, even for non-SLI setups, partly in case FS10 (or later, but by the time of FS11, if not FS10, the PC will seem very antiquated I dare say!) gets a worthwhile SLI profile and partly because I may want to run other games which will benefit greatly from SLI. This means a 525W PSU to cope, which will consume more power than I need for now, but at least I won't need to change the PSU if and when the time comes to add another graphics card.As for displays, I currently use a 17" LG flat panel monitor. I had originally thought of adding a 19" TFT to this (I have always found FS9 to run as well on a TFT as a CRT - though the new flatter CRTs may be worth considering - I don't have too much desk space). I'm now inclining towatrds another 17" and running FS across the two screens (one on spot view, which is my 'default' for admiring the scenery!) and the other on cockpit/ FS Nav details etc. Does that seem feasible?If you do dig up anything else, yes I can read German (if it's not TOO technical), but not Dutch.. Thanks again.Martin

I second that one. Wait until FS2006 is released (even a press release will give you an idea) because if history proves true, any system bought today most probably won't run FS2006 adequately (with add-ons, weather...). This is not a good time to upgrade.RH

There is never a good time to upgrade though - if a an AMD 64FX55 won't run FS10, then shame on MS for issuing a product that nobody will be able to run!Martin :-)

I am sure it will run it but probably no better than your 2800XP runs FS2004. If you can live with that kind of performance, then go for it. That sort of thing has been the case with hardware and FS since I can remember, and that goes back to FS5.1.RH

'Since FS9/FS2004 is so dependent on CPU performance I looked around for a 2 CPU solution. There are motherboards that support 2 CPUs. The trouble is FS9 apparently is not threaded. If FS10/FS2006 is optimally threaded you cold see twice the performance with 2 CPUS and so it will be a much better option to assemble a system with 2 CPUs than worry about SLI or anything else.It kind of makes sence to wait a bit more to upgrade when you think about that. By the way when is FS10 sheduled for release?'

The solution implied, Robbie, is that we'd have to upgrade to a new PC every time a new version of MSFS is issued. If I win the lottery I might just do that, but to be honest, unless FS10 includes something absolutely 'must have' (and I'm not saying that it won't - if it were 64-bit I'd go for it for example!), I am not sure that changing from FS9 would be worth my while by this stage: like so many others, I have such a 'tweaked' setup with so many wonderful add-ons, that if I were going to have to start again (as I did pretty much when switching from FS2002) I don't think I'd bother. And to be honest, when running on what is currently a top-end PC, FS9 is already more than real enough to satisfy my 'Wanderlust'!Having read technical articles about 2 CPU setups, the increase in performance across the board is never anywhere near double I'm afraid, often less than 20%. Never seen FS tested with 2 CPUs though.I think that I have to draw a line about what are realistic expectations in FS (not saying everyone else necessarily should): if I invest in a CPU like the FX55 and I still cannot get 100% of the various bells and whistles to work (pretty much all from add-ons I should stress - FS2004 out of the box, at reasonably high display settings, runs like the wind even on my current PC), then I can justifiably feel, I think, that the fault is with the unrealistic expectations of the add-on, not with my PC or with FS9 (or 10!!), and ditch it.Cheers,MartinP.S. Word is that FS10 will be some time yet, because of the 9.1 patch ....

I'm looking to upgrade to roughly the same system. I was told by two companines (ABS and Falcon northwest) that if you want to run 2 vid cars (SLI) you need to purchase them at the same time, rather than buy one now, and one later. I guess they need to be made in the same batch or something like that (similar to memory). just FYI. not sure if this is the gospel, but this is what I heard.bmg

It's complete rubbish - you can even set up SLI with completely different graphics cards, one from ATI for instance, and one from NVidia (not that that would be recommended):http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/2...ormance-32.htmlThey are either ignorant or just trying to get you to spend as much money with them as possible. Either way, I'd avoid both of them. (I assume you are in the US - I'm in the UK so don't know the comanies you mention). You'd eventually need to get an SLI connector for two NVidia cards (the cards go into two AGP or PCI-E slots, but also need to be linked across the top with a special connector). That comes with the SLI M/B, so make sure that it is included in your purchase, even if you only buy one card at this stage.Doubt SLI will benefit FS for the foreseeable future though ..Martin

P.S. Realised the above could be a bit misleading - the two different cards wouldn't work as SLI of course, it would be either/or: you do need two similar cards to get the SLI benefits. Not from the same 'batch' or whatever - just exactly the same type of card (e.g. I don't think you could mix a 6800 GT and a 6800 Ultra - or possibly not even a Gigabyte 6800GT, say, with an MSI 6800 GT.Beware of MSI by the way - they've selling off 6800NUs as if they are GTs:http://www.techpowerup.com/?2051M.

well, I just bit the bullet...AMD athlon 64 4000+ASUS A8V moboantec 550 power suply1 GB corsair PC3200nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256mb2X 74GB raptor SATA HDs (RAID 0)total price ($2200 + change)I'll let you know how it goes...

I assume you mean you bit the SLI bullet and went for TWO 6800 Ultras and the A8V-SLI in the above spec (??). If so, yes, please let me know how it goes. (You can set the SLI to compatibility mode I gather, which cancels out the SLI effect, inorder to compare frame rates and performance with SLI). If not, then you've gone for more or less what I am getting, except I've ordered an AMD 64 FX55 CPU and a 6800GT card, not the Ultra.I suspect if you have ordered an SLI setup you may even get a slight decrease in performance with SLI in FS - though with many other games and programmes (assuming you have them!) you'll certainly notice a difference. I'm only buying my new PC for FS9, so not much point in getting two pretty expensive cards at this stage.You can also write your own SLI profile for Flight Simulator - instructions for this on the NVidia website, but I don't think that it would help at all, due to the way FS is written I am told.Look forward to your results anyway.....Cheers,M.

The MSI issue was a couple of months ago and impacted a few hundred cards in Europe and Singapore as is all cleared up now. BTW, my MSI 6800GT (verified to be a GT using rivatuner ;)) overclocks easily to Ultra speed with the fan running at 2800RPM (ie. silent) and core temp rarely over 70C :-hah Gary

Glad the MSI issue is resolved. I've always been too much of a coward to overclock I'm afraid!!M.Apparently this was really said by some wacky cabin attendent: "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite." :-)

Apparently this was really said by some wacky cabin attendent: "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite." Wacky? Wacky, you say? It is classic Southwest Airlines. They have developed an entire safety briefing With one-liners like these. It is often "performed" on late-night departures from Las Vegas, especially if the departure is delayed. At least that's when I've heard it. R-

I thought it was very funny, so much so, I've made it my profile quote for a while. Living in the UK, I don't get to fly SWA very much. BA tend to be a bit more poe-faced (= British??)!!M. :-)