I was on NewEgg window shopping and I put together a list of upgrades and was wondering if the $315.00 US is worth putting into my rig since I plan on building a Conroe system when DX10 and Vista are stable sometime in 07.I will be getting FSX Deluxe as well.My current specs are on the Signature Line.I would appreciate all input.....ThanksAndyUpgrades :CPU Thermal Paste / Grease1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEMModel #:ARCTIC SILVER 5Desktop Memory This will give me 2Gig 2 CORSAIR XMS 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model CMX512-3200C2 - RetailModel #:CMX512-3200C2Fans, Heatsinks (Case, CPU, Chipset)1 ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink - RetailModel #:CNPS7700-CUHeadphone & Headset Accessories Keep wife out of my hair !!!!1 SENNHEISER PC 150 2 x 3.5mm Connector Circumaural Headset - RetailModel #:PC 150 Processors1 Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 3.0GHz Socket 478 Processor Model RK80546PG0801M - OEMModel #:RK80546PG0801M

Your sig indicates you already have a 3GHz P4 CPU, so I am curious as to why there is a 3.0E Prescott on your shopping list? You will get neglible performance gain over what you already have. Maybe you should save yourself $90 and put your proposed Zalman cooler to work by overclocking the CPU you currently have.Gary

Hope you don't mind me tagging on to this post as I am in a similar mindset of doing a minimum upgrade until the DX10 cards are available. My current rig is satisfactory for FS2004, and will run the demo OK, but don't think I will be able to stand it for 6 months or so running FSX. My current system:Intel 845 DDR Motherboard (Billings)Intel P4 2.0 GHZ1 MB DDR Memory300w Delta PSEVGA 6800 GT (256Mb)Is it worth a couple of hundred bucks to upgrade the CPU, if so which ones are compatible with this MB?Is 300w PS adequate?Upgrade the memory to 2 GB?I will be replacing the HD dedicated to FS. 7200rpm or 10000 rpm?Thanks for any advice

I was under the impression that the 3.0E Pescott is indeed an upgrade over my current Northwood 3.0.Does the "E" indicate Extreme ?The L1 is a bit higher but the L2 goes from my current 512K to the Prescott 1M when added with the 2 Gig xms. I was wondering will it tie me over until 07 when I do a major.I was hoping to get FSX up and running with this minor upgrade.BTW I am currently OCed to 3.3ghz.ThanksAndy

>Hope you don't mind me tagging on to this post as I am in a>similar mindset of doing a minimum upgrade until the DX10>cards are available. I dont mind at all we can all learn from eachother ....

I'm not sure what the E stands for, but it certainly isn't Extreme. Seriously, you'll notice neglible difference compared to your current CPU, even with the extra L2 cache. Maybe it will overclock some more, but maybe it won't. My recommendation is to save your money on this one.Gary