I'm planning to build a new rig in early February (once Vista is available). My goal is E6600, 2 gigs RAM, and... I'm not sure what to do about the video card. I would prefer DX10, which right now means some form of Nvidia 8800. Then I read a few days ago that the 8800 is still handling some things in software that the full DX10 standard is supposed to handle in hardware. So I'm in a bit of a quandary. Do I buy the 8800 and congratulate myself on being ready for DX10 when it's available for FSX, or do I buy something cheap to hold me over until FSX is DX10-capable, by which time there will be more, and more evolved, options for DX10? The cheap something I'm considering is Nvidia 7600GS 512Mb.

I would either go with a 8800, if you have the money and want to keep your card for more than a year with the option of DX10 -or- I would just get a 7600GT in the meantime -or- a X1900 as a compromise between the two. It's not an easy decision right now. The 8800 is an excellent performer under DX9, but sports a hefty pricetag.

If I were you I would break the bank to get the best MoBo/processor/memory combo right now because FSX is processor hungry and buy an economy graphics card. It is worth letting the dust settle with DX10 IMHO.