I opened my wallet or I am using the 6 mos no interest from NewEgg and Mwave and I am building the following rig .... Hope this helps with FSX.Not sure about using the Vista Beta 2 but I Might partition the drive and use both Xp and Vista1 Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000SWA Silver All aluminum made Modern Dream Tower Chassis Computer Case - Retail Item #: N82E16811133133 $105.99 1 Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 - OEM Item #: N82E16800996016 $49.99 1 CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail Item #: N82E16820145590 $299.00 1 ORION Pro Series Red 18" 180 and 90-Degree-Angled, SATA (SERIAL ATA 150) Cable, 2-Head Model 700-201-05 - Retail Item #: N82E16812104557 $3.49 1 Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM Item #: N82E16832116056 $87.99 1 ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail Item #: N82E16835118223 $49.99 1 Intel BOXD975XBXLKR Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813121016 $259.99 1 Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail Item #: N82E16817103931 $89.99 1 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail Item #: N82E16819115003 $319.99 1 SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM Item #: N82E16821103203 $5.99 1 Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Item #: N82E16822144415 $54.99 1 LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SHD-16P1S - Retail Item #: N82E16827106027 $18.69 1 ASUS CD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model CRW-5232A4 BK - Retail Item #: N82E16827135092 $20.99 2 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM Item #: N82E16835100007 $11.38 1 Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM Item #: N82E16822136012 $229.99 And a gfx from Mwave Evga GeForce 7900 GT KO for 269 US Andy

If you are ever going to think about overclcocking, ditch the Intel motherboard and get an ASUS, DFI, Gigabyte 975X model instead.

Looks nice Andy!With all this Core 2 Duo system buying going on lately, I wonder if AMD is selling any CPUs other than to upgraders who want a quick switch from single to dual core.Gary

Why are you paying for a BETA version of Vista when it is free from Microsoft? Also, a Soundblaster X-Fi will make a NOTICABLE difference over the onboard sound since I notice you didn't list a sound card.

Save the money and wait for a dx10 card

>Why are you paying for a BETA version of Vista when it is>free from Microsoft? Also, a Soundblaster X-Fi will make a>NOTICABLE difference over the onboard sound since I notice you>didn't list a sound card.Sorry did not mention the fact that the Vista is a freebie with the XP purchase they knock off the 49 at the final tally.I currently have a audigy 2 ZS brd on this rig that I was going to use in place of the onboard. Andy

>Save the money and wait for a dx10 cardWhy? I think people are expecting a little too much from the coming of DX10.

> Why? I think people are expecting a little too much from the coming of DX10.I think you are very correct. I was taking a wait and see approach before I upgraded my hardware. Then I attended the AVSIM conference and talked to the ACES developers. In fairness, I will not try to quote what was said. However, I felt very comfortable going ahead with a new system purchase based on XP/DX9 technology.