Im trying to piece together as much valuable information as possible in order to make the most informed decision about processor selection in system upgrades and/or replacements. From all that I can gather, the Core 2 Duo out benchmarks the Pentium D by considerable levels. However, none of the comparisons that I have read compare the two processors within the realm of FSX post SP1. Even people that have the Quad Core processors are noting negligible gains over Core 2 Duo, save for faster initial loading times. The consensus within the FSX forums seems to suggest CLOCKSPEED, CLOCKSPEED, CLOCKSPEED, with an emphasis on some multicore capability. If that is case, wouldn

Not really much to compare...http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel...aspx?i=2795&p=9The Pentium D sucks more power and can not compare in any aspect to the C2D especially when you factor in O/C capabilities of the C2D.-PPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E6600 @3.2 gigsAsus P5N32SLI-Plus2 gigs Corsair XMS PC6400 4 4 4 12 @810Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

Ryan,There is no debate I am afraid..Core 2 Duo is better.get the best core 2 Duo that you can get. If you can get the Quad, get it.The quad may not give you extra FPS over the dual core.. but it could help with the blurries issues.another thing with the Core 2s is..you could over clock it and improve the processor speed. if not today...later on when you get to know more about it.Manny

>Ryan,>>There is no debate I am afraid..Core 2 Duo is better.>>get the best core 2 Duo that you can get. If you can get the>Quad, get it.>>The quad may not give you extra FPS over the dual core.. but>it could help with the blurries issues.>>another thing with the Core 2s is..you could over clock it and>improve the processor speed. if not today...later on when you>get to know more about it.>>MannyThanks for the advice guys.Manny, I will take the quad core under advisement. I assumed that the "blurries" that users were experiencing was partly related to Video Card memory. But perhaps there is more to the issue than I assumed. Leaning towards an "interim" system with the following specs:Asus P5N-E SLI MoboE6700 Core 2 Duo2 X 1024MB 800MHz PC6400 Kingston HyperX 2 X 320GB SATA-II 7200RPM w/8MB Buffer -- RAID 0Geforce 8800GTS: 640MB600W Power Supply WinXP HME Any other suggestions, fire away plz. Anyone with a similar rig plz let me know how the sim is running with LDS767, ASX/G, UT X with generous slider positions at the Big airports.RyanEdit: I havent overclocked since my PIII days. Back then the rule was never more than 20%. Whats a nice conservative expectation for the E6XXX that doesnt involve supplemental cooling?

>I will take the quad core under advisement. Price cuts are coming up July 22 - Q6600 will be around US$266 (down from US$500+)>Leaning towards an "interim" system with the following specs:>>Asus P5N-E SLI Mobo>E6700 Core 2 Duo>2 X 1024MB 800MHz PC6400 Kingston HyperX >2 X 320GB SATA-II 7200RPM w/8MB Buffer -- RAID 0>Geforce 8800GTS: 640MB>600W Power Supply >WinXP HME Looks good!>>Edit: I havent overclocked since my PIII days. Back then the>rule was never more than 20%. Whats a nice conservative>expectation for the E6XXX that doesnt involve supplemental>cooling?3.2GHz at stock voltage, even with stock cooling, should be a given.Gary

Ryan I OC my C2D 6700 20%. 3.2Ghz. No extra cooling, and the CPU temp comes from 47C to 52C when I am running FSX with WinVista Ultimate. I also get 20% on my memory and run the 667 cheap memory at 800. My MB is a P5N E SLI

I just built a similar rig:Asus P5KE6600 2.4 ghz (stock)EVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB ("superclocked")2 gb Patriot Extreme PC6400Single 320 gb drive550W (or 500, can't remember) PSU.With slider's largely to the right (exceptions in traffic, cloud draw distance, autogen and water is only 2.x hi), my default is very playable with lowest rates in the high teens. However LDS VC is still a bit of a disaster around dense scenery areas like JFK or LAX, with frames dropping sub 10 on approach. Cruise is easily 20-40 fps even with LDS.Hope that helps!

>I just built a similar rig:>Asus P5K>E6600 2.4 ghz (stock)>EVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB ("superclocked")>2 gb Patriot Extreme PC6400>Single 320 gb drive>550W (or 500, can't remember) PSU.>>With slider's largely to the right (exceptions in traffic,>cloud draw distance, autogen and water is only 2.x hi), my>default is very playable with lowest rates in the high teens.>However LDS VC is still a bit of a disaster around dense>scenery areas like JFK or LAX, with frames dropping sub 10 on>approach. Cruise is easily 20-40 fps even with LDS.>>Hope that helps!Thanks Smitty. Those are some decent frame rates. Are you experiencing blurry textures with that 8800GTX 640MB card? I run a Pentium D 3.0 GHtz / 6800 256MB / 2 Gig / 2 X 250GB Raid 0 / SB Live system currently. It hovers around 10FPS with the Maddog 2006 / UT X / ASX/AGX (light cloud cover) / 2D. I would like to gain a bit more fluidity with crisper texures. I still havent hit the "buy" button yet, as im still undecided about the quad/dual core option for texture loading. Ryan