"Shall I upgrade? Shall I keep what I've got? I know what I'll do, I'll get a new system!"So went my mind last Friday. Spent Saturday convincing my wife that it would be a good investment :-) and spent Sunday and this morning checking out sytems,specs and retailers. I've now come to the following choiceAMD Athlon 64 3500+ (939PIN) 200GB Serial ATA (150MB/s) Ultra Fast Hard Drive 1024MB PC3200 DDR (400MHz)Either ATI X700 Pro or Nvidia 6600GTI was just wondering if my choice of graphics card may cause a "bottlekneck" for the rest of the system when using FS9. Would I be better, for example, cutting the size of the hard drive and getting a better card or perhaps getting a slower CPU (3000+?) and saving some money?At the moment I've got an AMD Athlon XP 18000+,512MB RAM and 128MB Radeon 9600 Pro so anything I do should improve FS9 anyway (I hope!!)

Hi Victor, I'ld say, stick with your 18000+ XP!! Hmmm, I wonder what that '+' stands for?!? As if 18000 isn't enough... No, seriously, what kind of resolutions/display are you using now or intending to use? Are you swapping monitors too? Whether it bottlenecks or not, is mainly a matter of resolution you want or need to apply. Here's a comparison chart for display adapter specs for Nvidia: http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?locat...&var1=88&var2=1Please scroll down to the bottom for the same 'in Ati'. Perhaps let the kind of software you use decide which brand to go with? IMHO, Ati's AA is nicer and Nvidia generally seems more compatible (i.e. Linux). Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regards Jaap

Ok thanks for that. I would stick with the 1800 but, you know, gotta keep up with technology! My system is getting on for 3 1/2 years old - ancient! :-lol Currently I run 800 X 600 or 1280 X 768. I'm not currently going to change the monitor but that is probably going to be my next upgrade.PS. Also forgot to add that with MyTraffic, Track IR, ED Glasses, PMDG 737, Aerosoft Manhattan, VFR London, Active Sky etc etc my system is starting to groan a bit!! Victor

Hi Victor, how come two resolutions with such a big difference? 2 monitors? Basicly, try to get as much CPU as you can, any HD above 120GB is fine and very similar performancewise (i.e. Hitachis are pretty good). The best you can do economically, is to tie the display adapter investment to fit the display attached. Therefore, on one hand and if 800x600 is fine for the coming months, even your 9600pro would do a marvellous job. The 9600pro does very well upto 1024x. At 1280x it's better to have a card with more juice, i.e. a X700pro or 9800pro class. You could still use your 9600pro at 1280x, but only with many features inactived (AA, AF, or in FS, etc). Furthermore, when going for a new system, IMHO it's always worthwile to spend a deep thought on the displays you intend to attach during the lifetime of those components and weigh the options. These thoughts therefore result in 2 possible options (amongst many): A - Go with a socket 939 w/ nForce3 (w/AGP). Pros: No new display adapter is required; mainboard is cheaper. Cons: You'll need a new board when you go PCI-e; the nForce3 has no S-ATA-2 interface. B - Go with a socket 939 w nForce4 (w/ PCI-e). The a.m. pros and cons get inverted more or less. All in all it's a bit like a package deal. Case you go for 'A', you'ld only have to include a mainboard in your budget once you decide which display adapter you'll get. Thank goodness the cost of mainboards is fairly reasonanble! Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regards Jaap

Thanks for the information, Jaap.I should have said I use 1024 X 768 not 1280 X 768!!Whether I use that or 800 X 600 really just depends on how I feel at the time.Victor

Victor,I think you missed the joke:"Hi Victor, I'ld say, stick with your 18000+ XP!! Hmmm, I wonder what that '+' stands for?!? As if 18000 isn't enough... "Jaap was playing on your typo that you have a 18000+ instead of the 1800+ you obviously have. ie. why would you want anything faster than 5x the max perf system currently out there?Never mind ...Gary

>Victor,>>I think you missed the joke:>>"Hi Victor, I'ld say, stick with your 18000+ XP!! Hmmm, I>wonder what that '+' stands for?!? As if 18000 isn't enough...>">>Jaap was playing on your typo that you have a 18000+ instead>of the 1800+ you obviously have. ie. why would you want>anything faster than 5x the max perf system currently out>there?>>Never mind ...>>GaryOh yes!!!! I didn't notice that. Very good.:-lol Victor