Hi, first ever post so go easy on me ;-)I'm just about to buy a Mac Pro Intel G5. Getting a PC is not an option for me so let's not even go there (there's various reasons for this). Also let's skip the whole PC vs MAC debate this time around :-)Being a massive flight sim fan I look forward to FSX on the windows XP partition (BootCamp). Here's my choices regarding hardware:- CPU: Either TWO 3.0GHz DUAL-CORE INTEL XEON "Woodcrest" (=Quad core performance) ...Or TWO 3.0GHz QUAD-CORE INTEL XEON "Clovertown" (=8-core) Not sure how much the 8-core would benefit FSX (if at all).- RAM: Either 4GB or 8GB (667MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory)- Graphics: Either ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB or NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512MB Stereo 3D (Much more expensive). And yes I know, PC's have got much better choice with graphics cards...Any input regarding how this would affect FSX performance would be highly appreciated. Also unsure if Vista would be a benefit - Vista on a mac is currently only supported as 32bit unless I'm mistaken...

I don't know much about Macs and whether BootCamp imposes any significant overhead running Windows XP, but the specs you list should easily run FSX at farily high settings. In fact, the first option you list each of CPU, RAM and graphics would do the trick. Having said that, no one here (that I have read) have reported FSX results using an oct core setup, so if you want to be the first ... ;-) Seriously though, while FSX seems to use as many cores as you throw at it, there is much debate over what it actually nets you other than nice utilisation graphs on windows task manager....4GB is plenty. In fact only just over 3G will be used by a 32 bit Windows OS anyway, so 8GB will be wasted until you go 64 bit.Finally, nVidia seems to be the king re FSX performance ATM, see http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_200...2=707&chart=293, but not if is going to be hideously more expensive for you.Oh, and welcome to our obsession forums :-)Gary

you won't see anything over 2 GB because of the way the motherboard in seen by the drivers in the vista partition. Use all that money to something else, 4 GB is plenty memory

...found my avsim password, so can finally say thanks for the advice!That said, online poker has gone so well last week I decided to go for top end choices all the way! At least the 3d and compositing programs i use will benefit from it, maybe another FSX SP will be released one day that unleashes a bit more of my hardware...Oh, and I also decided to get:- CH Yoke, Throttle quadrant, rudder pedals- Thrustmaster HOTAS cougar F16 replica (I'm a massive fighter-fan)- Track IR 4 Pro & TrackClip Pro- Buttkicker Gamer - 100w transducer- Audio FX Pro 5.1 Force Feedback Headset- VoiceBuddy Software- E-D wireless 3D Glasses (unsure if these will work properly, but what the h***)Now, before I jump into mesh, landclass, textures, scenery, aircrafts, weather, ATC and son on I should really read some manuals and learn how to fly! lolCan't wait.Aleks ;-)

Wow, nice kit you have purchased there! I'm sure you'll have a great time with FSX :-)Gary