Hello friends,I am new to the avsim forums and I look forward to participating very much. Anyway, I am no computer guru but I do have some idea of what i'm doing. I've decided that i'm going to take the plunge and buy a high end flight sim dedicated computer, it not be connected to the internet. I had it confirgurd with the help of a computer tech but I would vey much value all your opinions. I am also wondering if the sound card is good enogh to avoid ATC stutters? Will it run cool enough? Please suggest any changes to the system, the specs are below:Processor: AMD Athlon 64 4000+/1MB CacheCPU Heatsink/Fan: AMD Retail Heatsink and FanMotherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe w/DualDDR400, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, 2 x PCI-E x16 SLIMemory: Micron Original 512MB PC3200 DDR400 x 4 for a total of 2GigsPower Supply: 380WHard Drive: Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM Serial ATAOptical Drive: LG 52x CDROMVideo Card: eVGA e-Geforce 6800 Ultra 256MB DDR3 PCI-E w/dual DVI, TV-OutSound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value, OEMOS: XP HomeAgain thank you for your help as your expertise is desperately needed!Mark

One suggestion Mark, and I'll leave the rest to the real gurus :-)That power supply seems a little weak to me, I would go for a 400 -450 Watt one.

Hi Mark, looks like you're cooking a nice system! Welcome to this forum and here are some thoughts: - If you're aiming at 2GBs of RAM in total, it's probably better to get 2 modules only and not 4. The reason: Most available AMD64 CPUs will not like or be able to address so many -so called- RAM banks and in the best case default to lower FSB frequencies. - The Geforce Ultra is the hottest running card on the market and it's hard to says anything more about this subject without knowing the resolution or the kind of addons you want to use. - As for HDs, this also depends a bit on what kind of addons you use (i.e. fotosceneries). Perhaps check the running 'Improvement with Raptor HD?' thread for the pros and cons? - The power supply will need at least 18-20A on the 12V lead and the system shouldn't be running too close to the nominal power. Vulcan's suggestion is therefore probably more than valid (specially when using an Ultra). - Perhaps choose a DVD for optical purposes? Finally, you didn't mention the case, here I'ld recommend to get a really nice one which offers provisions for a couple of fans (i.e. in the HD cage). Just like a good car, the case and power supply are the chassis for a good FlyTendo which then provides a well balanced performance. Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regards Jaap

The PSU is deff too weak, needs to be at least 450, and running at least 25A on the +12V rail. That is AMD's reccomendation. The Geforces 6800 is a good card, but check out the ATI Radeon X800 XT, gives about the same performance for less. Also I do not believe 2Gbs is necessary, might want to splurg somewhere else, like get the 74gb Raptor. I am building a new system here are the specsEPoX EP-9NPA+UltraAMD 64 3500+ATI X800 XT PCIE1GB Corsair XMS Dual Channel RAM74GB Raptor HD500W Roswell PSUI am waiting on my heatsinks and will be putting it all together on friday, hopefully with FS up by sunday. I will give you some prelim benchmarks if you want. My system is pretty close to yours except your Processor is a bit fasterCheers

Thank you very much for your help so far, I will upgrade the ram to 2 x kingston 1GB. The case that was selected is theAntec Performance II SX1040B II w/SmartPower 400w, this can be changed as it seems everyone here suggests a more powerful power supply. Will there be a significant difference between a 400W and a 450W? What will suffer from the use of a less powerful power supply? Again thank you very much for your help and support as this is all very new to me!Mark

even 450 is just makin min, I would play the safe side with 500. The CPU is prett power intensive most modern ones are. The Video Card is deff a big power sucker, needs its own power for its fans to work properly. The Raptor needs a bit more power than typical to spin those platters at 10,000 RPM. Also depends on your periphals (mind my spelling, its early and my brain is dead) those take power. Also havin a higher PSU will come in handy if you ever upgrade again, because rest asure those parts will need lots of power. Hope I helped

Hi Mark, the name of the case looks good. Anything Antec, Thermaltake etc is excellent. Perhaps just make sure you think well about airflows and how you'll keep the components as cool as possible. Apart from what I already mentioned about the amount of RAM modules, memory in general can be a treacherous detail with 64-ers. Since memory is controlled by the CPU and this being done by the mainboard chipset is history, your sticks have to be CPU compatible. So, perhaps make sure you study the compatibility listings of i.e. Asus very carefully. My simplified recommendation here: Get moudules with Samsung chips and stick to modules with standard CL3 timings. Or, don't specify the memory yourself and leave this up to people you're buying it from. In case it doesn't work, it's maybe their responsibility. As for PSUs, you'll hardly need a 500W IMHO. I used a 360W for quite a long time with my AMD64. Nevertheless, it's probably better to use one which isn't running so close to the nominal power like I was doing. Hence, a 420 to 450W is probably better. 18-20A on the 12V PSU lead is a minimum practicle requirement (AMD's 'old one' is 24A). Most 350W or greater PSUs do more than 20A nowadays. Approx. 2 years ago, when the AMD64 first surfaced this wasn't the case and ever since the PSU OEMs adopted their products to the higher 12V demands. The closer you are to the PSU's nominal power, the hotter it will run. OTOH, running a too big one will also cause more heat than necessary inside the case. Personally, I'ld not get the Ultra but the GT if going down the Geforce road. The reason; they run cooler and AFAIK, the only difference are their memory frequencies. What's most important IMHO, every bit of excess heat (aka transformed energy) which can be should be avoided. Last but not least, this energy is coming from somewhere --> the PSU. Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regards Jaap