I've been browsing the forums and looking around for some info, but I still have some specific questions regarding fs2004 and a new PC. I've read a lot of technical info out there, but what I am more interested in is a guess on how much of an improvement I will see in fs2004. Anyway, here is what I have now:Dell XPS (original) from 20033.0 ghz Intel HT1.5 GB RAMATI 800 xl 256 mb video card AGPNow, overall I get decent performance, but lately some newer addons are really pushing my system to the limit. Also, the system is going on 3 years old, so it is getting time to replace it. One of my big blocks is that my PC lacks a PCI-e slot, so I'm kind of stuck with upgrading the video card. Now, I am leaning towards Dell again rather than build my own. I know I can save some moeny, but I honestly have no idea on what parts to get. I know video cards, memory, and processors, but everything else is a bit of a mystery. Important things like cases and cooling is something I'd rather leave up to someone who knows what they are doing. (even if Dell isn't optimal, they will do better than me). Plus, in almost 3 years, I have never had one hardware issue with the Dell. Having a warranty behind it (and usually never needing it) is a great feeling. I've always bought Dell, and many of my old Dells are still in use among family members. Still, when looking at Dell's prices now, I am still not totally against the idea of building my own. However, it does look a little daunting. Anyway, forget how I get the PC, but here is about what I am looking at. What I want to know is how much better will this PC run fs2004? I am looking at:Intel 3.6 ghz (660 chip)2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 533 mhzSome sort of Nvidia 6800 card (can always upgrade that easily down the line when prices drop)tons of hard disc space...etcSo my questions:1) Another option for an Intel chip would be a dual core, (3.0 or 3.2). From what I have read, these chips don't seem to have much advantage right now, and fs2004 doesn't take advantage of it at all. Is this a good assumption? Would the 3.6 chip be a big bump up from the 3.0? Is the dual core something I should buy now for the future? 2) From Dell, this system will run me around $2200. Ouch. What other alternatives are there to Dell? Maybe someone reliable who would build a system (maybe with AMD)? Sorry this is getting long. I'm asking a lot of open ended questions, and as you can tell, I'm not real sure what to get. As an aside, I'm not crazy about upgrading for FSX right away. I am seriously considering staying with fs2004 for awhile after FSX is released.

As for cooling they don

Thanks for providing that, but unfortunatly I have no clue what you are even talking about...I don't want to overclock anything. I don't have air conditioning, so cooling is a big deal. I have no interest in SLI right now. Maybe down the road. Anyway, what AMD chip should I get that would be a significant upgrade from my 3.0 ghz? I have had very, very, very bad luck ordering hardware online. Half the stuff I get never works. The last video card I bought had a fan that was never connected to the chip.

>>I don't have air conditioning, so cooling is a big deal. >Hm Well if that is the case, then I cannot recommend Intel, unless you are going to water cool it.>I have no interest in SLI right now. Maybe down the road. >I personally have zero interest in SLI at this point in time. Why spend $600 on two 7800GT cards for 10% more performance?? Some would argue that you get more than 10%, but heck, it depends on your application to some extent, and basically, it's not much bang for the buck. It was the same with running two Voodoo cards back in the day. Maybe EVENTUALLY, a dual vid card setup will give 30-40-50% better results, but right now, nope. If I were you I wouldn't build for SLI, unless you play games other than FS.>Anyway, what AMD chip should I get that would be a significant>upgrade from my 3.0 ghz? >Keep in mind I am AMD-oriented here:Depends what you mean by "significant"...Honestly? To be blown away, probably an AMD FX55 or better. And you're talking $600+ for just the CPU alone for that. And the FX55 is single-core. If I was going to spend $600-$700 on a cpu, I would rather spend it on a dual-core at this point (my opinion only, of course. :) ) I mean, you could buy a San Diego 3700+ ($215) or 4000+ ($320) cpu, and you would see *some* improvement, but really imo, nothing that would blow you out of your chair. You must remember that you had 3 ghz 3 years ago, and let me tell you that was a pretty hot cpu 3 years ago man. As a result, you'd have to spend a lot of $$$ today to get "significantly" better in my opinion. Now, if you do 2 things at once, then you would notice a significant improvement just by going with the low-end AMD dual-core cpu (called the 3800+, and it runs $320 or so). If I had what you have, I would think twice about upgrading right now. The only thing I might do would be upgrade the video card if you can even do that with your Dell--some can't. You can get a nice 256meg AGP card for :) I expect some good advances in dual-core in the next 2 yrs. The next step is 65nm-process dual-core. (sorry for the tech jargon, hehe).>I have had very, very, very bad luck ordering hardware online.> Half the stuff I get never works. The last video card I>bought had a fan that was never connected to the chip. If you buy from reputable vendors, usually that's not a problem. I understand your experience. I have been building systems since 1992 and I can tell you that I always did tons of research into where and who I bought from, and 95% of the time I came out ok. Let me tell you, before the internet it was way different--we used to get Computer Shopper and try to get a feel for hardware vendors that way. Or, we visited local dealers that we thought we could trust, but often couldn't. haha. Today, it's much much better! You have the whole net community to help with your vendor decision, as well as what to buy!If you need any help, you can get it here, or places like this.FYI, I am in the process of upgrading right now. But I didn't have a 3.0 ghz Pentium4 like you. Nothing nearly so fast. So in short, for you to get mind-blowing improvement, you'd have to realy spend some dosh. $$$. You could spend a smaller amount, and it would help you, especially on those latest FS add-ons you mentioned, but in my opin it would not be the "significant" upgrade you speak of. When I upgrade, I like to get blown out of my chair.

Thanks for the advice. I already upgraded my graphics card from a 9800 to an ATL 800 xl. Not top of the line, but it comes close to some of the bigger 850s at a lot less. Would I really benefit from a better video card? I really didn't think it would be that worth it. I'm stuck with AGP, so all I could do is get one of the ATI 850s or the Nvidia 6800s. In order to get something much better than what I have now, I can only find cards for $300+ I've looked at benchmarks, and with fs2004 nothing looked much more significant. Basically I am looking for a major upgrade. I'm looking to keep the whole thing under $2000. If I can't do that, then I will probably just keep what I have now and wait for prices to drop. The one thing that bothers me is that prices on PCs are not dropping hardly at all.

It

I would look around in your area for a system builder. Then you can spec out what you want, but let them put it together and do a burn-in. I don't like the big names, mainly because I think they can get OEM parts that don't necessarily comply with all specs, making upgrades difficult. With all known, retail-quality parts, you know you can upgrade when you want/need to. I've been running AMD since K6-2 days. Had good luck on Asus and MSI boards. If you're not looking for O/C and exotic cooling, look for the features on the board. It seems like today the SLi boards also have high end features (like better onboard sound, SATA II, etc). AFAIK, there is no penalty running a single graphics on an SLI or Crossfire board. Price on PC: 1Gb memories are becoming reasonable, and high end graphics like 6800GS are also moving down. One thing I agree is that LCD displays seem to have plateaued. Other than CPU, the rest of the parts are all going to cost about the same, though speed/capacity may improve.scott s..

>Thanks for the advice. >>I already upgraded my graphics card from a 9800 to an ATL 800>xl. Not top of the line, but it comes close to some of the>bigger 850s at a lot less. Would I really benefit from a>better video card? I really didn't think it would be that>worth it. >I did not know that. You said you were running a 9800 earlier in the thread I think. Well, since you now have an ATI X800 or whatever-it's-called then I think you are better off. If you went to an 850 or 6800, I agree with you, it would not be all that big of an improvement. I wouldn't do that, it wouldn't be worth it like you say.>>Basically I am looking for a major upgrade. I'm looking to>keep the whole thing under $2000. If I can't do that, then I>will probably just keep what I have now and wait for prices to>drop. >This is my personal preference, but I only upgrade when I can get "blown out of my chair" by new hardware as I said earlier. As a result, I generally only upgrade about every 3-4 years, and when I do, it's a MAJOR upgrade.This time, though, I am not breaking the bank. I have spend less than $1400 total (I am re-using the monitor). I am going from a P4 1.8 ghz to an AMD 3700+. 512 RDRAM to 2 gigs DDR. 40 gigs storage to 250 gigs storage. 64 meg GeForce3 to a 7800GT with 256 megs vram. You get the idea. To me, that's a major upgrade.But you, you have a P4 3.0 ghz. Heck that is fast, I would take that over my 1.8 ghz any day. And your new video card, well, that blows away a 64 meg Geforce3 (which is a laughable vidcard today, really).>The one thing that bothers me is that prices on PCs are not>dropping hardly at all. Well Dell, for example, is going to always have a $2000 price point PC, the only difference being gradually over time it will get more advanced hardware in it.Just remember, today's dual-core, especially the Intel ones, run quite hot. Soon, as in a few months, Intel will introduce the Presler-core cpu's, which will supposedly run a lot cooler. So, you might want to consider one of those.