Looking for recommendations on the best OFF-THE-SHELF computer (under $2,000 withOUT monitor) available to run FS-X. (I'm not a big gamer or a video editor; FS-X will be the most demanding program that I run on it.)I'll wait til Vista launches, so the purchase is about 3 weeks away.(What I HAVE learned, browsing these forums the past few days, is that there are a lot of people out there more willing to build their own FS-X machines than I am. );)

Check my signature....it works great! About $3000.00. I think it's worth it.

...manufactured by what company?

I think what the person was saying was - "look for a computer with these components". As Carl Sagan used to say, there are "billions and billions" of choices out there, and the "best" price/value is going to depend on where you live and what time it is. Here in the states (and perhaps in Europe, I don't know), Dell is a good mainstream choice. But you can do "better" with some searching.I've been preparing to build a computer myself, and the best price/component combination changes daily, and that's with the quite arbitrary choices I have made.$2000 is a decent price point sans monitor. I just picked up a Toshiba P105 laptop at CompUSA for $2049 a few weeks ago for somebody who had to have a laptop immediately, and it performed decently with FSX. I only had a couple of days to install and get it out, so I didn't optimize FSX too much, but it ran in the high teens to low 20's consistently with mid to high sliders with a T7200, 2 GB mem, 7900 GS 256 MB. My only issue with it was the 1440 x 900 graphics aren't much better than 1024 x 768 and resulted in a blurrier view than I am used to with my Dell laptops. I think a minimum vertical graphics size of 1024 should be the minimum you should look for in graphics support/monitor. But that's a personal choice and what I've become used to (I usually run at 1920 x 1200). Desktops come in much cheaper than laptops.The desktop I'm building right now has E6600, 975X MB, 640 MB nVidia 8800 GTS, 2GB 800 MHz mem, 150 GB 10000 rpm disk, 650W Power supply, 20" LCD 1680x1050 monitor for between $1950 and $2100 at NewEgg. I know you don't want to build, but it's a point of comparison. I think a similar Dell at their website price with 512 MB nVidia 7950 (they don't support the 8800 as far as I can tell) goes for $2800 with monitor, including 3 yr onsite support. I'll let you know how fast it is in a couple of weeks.I'd suggest you start by going to www.newegg.com and check out their choices for complete systems, and then compare that to Dell. But if there was a "best" off-the-shelf system out there, they'd be out of stock. There are too many choices, and they are all similar. And I think the information you learn as you research will be worthwhile in keeping your system fast and healthy.BTW, from everything I've read, a single 8800 GTS is faster/better performing than a 7950 SLI setup, is supposedly DX10 compatible, and a lot cheaper to boot.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

There are suppliers of High Performance Rigs...Such as CyberPower, Velocity(VelocityMicro..maybe??), Puget, IbuyPower and I'm sure Tons of others...I think you would do yourself some justice by reserching those type's of outfits... I have no Expierence with using any of those companies...I Build my own stuff...But "If" I didn't...I tend to stear more towards a vendor like that rather than a mainstream Dell, Gateway, HP or the like...Most often...The vendors geared towards Custom Built High Performance PC's are wayyy more resonable in price(Alienware Excluded)...Alienware is proude of their stuff..And it show's..he heWhoever you choose...I 100% agree with using newegg to spec out the components to compare price...I also agree..If you do that...You will probably see many of the Mainstream Vendors are Wayyy out of line...Hi-Performance computers are a niche market...I've spec'ed out a few computers @ Alienware...Typically I've been $1000 to 1500 off newegg prices...I spec'ed the Rig in my sig...I forget exactly...But it was $1500 or more "out of line" at the time...Good Luck with your decisions!!Have Fun...

Here you go.http://www.overdrivepc.com:8080/opcNew/wiz...g&buildID=65255I have customized a PC for you. Core 2 Duo E6600 Custom Overclocked to 3.4Ghz. For $2450.Overclock already done for you. Build ID : 65255System Warranty and Coverage : [Platinum 1 Year] Parts, Labor and ShippingCase and Color : [Cooler Master] Stacker 830 Mid/Full Tower (Black)SureCool System and Fan Colors (Ultra-Quiet) : Blue (LED's)Processor Cooling : Factory Copper Cooler (Air)Power Supply : [Enermax] 620 Watt Power SupplyVideo Adapter(s) : (1) [NVIDIA] GeForce 7600 GT 256MBDisk Array 1 | Hard Disk Drive(s) : [seagate] 160GB SATA 7,200 RPM 8MB CacheProcessor(s) : [intel] Core 2 Duo E6600 4MB HyperClocked (3400MHz+)Motherboard : [Gigabyte] GA-965P-DS3 (775)System Memory : 2GB DDR/DDR2Operating System : [Microsoft] Windows XP ProfessionalHot-Swap and Removable Hard Disk Drive Trays 1 : (1 Drive) Removable SATA Hard Drive CageCD/DVD 1 : [sony] 18X Dual Layer DVD Burner 48X CD BurnerShipping Options : [FedEx] 3-Day Service (Computer Only)Floppy Disk Drive Cable Color : Rounded Cable (Steel)CD/DVD Cable Color : Rounded Cable (Steel)System Price : $2,455.00If you were to do it yourself.. you could do this for around $1600-$1700.

Thx. Appreciate it.

Mind you, I picked a low end Video card. Video card is a personal decision....Click on their customize button and change things around. Getting a 8800GTS + an additional Hard Disk takes your $2950 + $29 for a sound card.MAnny