This is getting to be a royal hassle anymore. I used to enjoy building new machines, but after so many years of doing it, I am tired. It's mind-numbing looking at all this new hardware that's constantly changing. The thought of putting it together and worst of all, putting XP and FS back on with all my settings and add-ons is stressful as all get out. So much work!Here's what I've got so far, albeit too expensive for sure, but I have the money.ASUS P5K64 WS LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131200Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115028CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145182EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130082Still looking for a case, but I like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811144183Now I need a PSU (high watt), couple HDD (probably Seagate SATA 3GB/s 160GB at the most; I don't like large HDDs at all).I think that's it. I already have a good sound card, DVD/CD burner/player, and peripherals.So how's it look so far, besides pricey?

You can shave $400 off straight away for neglible FSX performance hit by going with DDR2 instead of DDR3. I don't care whether DDR3 is the way of the future or not, that is just TOO MUCH of a premium to pay.Gary

I assume you haven't purchased yet.Yes DDR2 over DDR3. And I might add, I would look at the 640mb video memory 8800GTS card. You'll be saving so much money by ditching DDR3 that it won't be an issue.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Darn, yes I pasted the wrong link and text for the video. I'm getting the 640MB one.Now regarding the DDR3, I can't use the MB I'm looking at with DDR2 though, right?? That puts me back where I started. Why is the DDR3 a waste? Money isn't an issue right now for me if that's the only thing.So this MB then? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131185 ASUS P5K WS LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - And some DDR2 RAM?

Might this Abit be better? I'm seeing some negatives about new ASUS boards not working.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813127030ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

>Why is the DDR3 a waste? Money isn't an issue right now for me if>that's the only thing.Because it costs $400 more for maybe 0.5% better FSX performance. It's as much as waste as paying $600-700 for an 8800 GTX Ultra over the $350 8800 GTS 640 for what FSX would benefit from it. If that $400 is really burning a hole in your pocket, then consider a water cooling setup that may help you get another 300-400MHz overclock that what you could achieve on air, and THAT would make FSX tick along noticably better.Gary

Well, then I guess I'll just need to look into those other devices I mentioned. It still seems like DDR2 800 is expensive as well though. I think I was seeing 200 USD. Maybe I'm looking at another overkill product? I just want to be sure all this stuff works, so getting the good stuff is important. I've yet to really have a device not work out of the box. Bad memory once and maybe a faulty PSU, but that's it. Seeing a few negatives on the ASUS has me worried already, so I'm looking at Abit. I've had Abit, ASUS, and Gigabyte which all worked fine, but you know how these companies are - One day they rule, the next they suck.ETA: Okay, I was looking at some memory. What's the deal with having some around 100 dollars give or take and some well over 200 when they look the same!? I was looking at one XMS set of 2GB $279.00 USD and a bunch more other brands for 80 USD or maybe 100. I see no real spec info that looks like it's worth so much more??I was always budget conscious in the past and never really looked, but now I'm seeing so much price variation and it makes no sense.

It's a February article, but I've been a big Patriot fan since. This is still the best DDR2-800 roundup I've seen. (Also notice 2, 1 gig sticks were $200+ just 8 months ago. We can get em for 1/4 of that these days . . . but this will not last. Get 'em while they're hot!) http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/02/21/ove...kits/index.htmlIf you provide your system with more than 2 gigs-O-ram, it will use it. Therefore, I suggest you consider a 4 gig setup. I've run FSX with both 2 gigs and 4 gigs installed. At 2 gigs, FSX was always hungry for more, because when I gave it 4 gigs, it used more. With 4 gigs installed, I very often had a > 2 gig load just generally computin' too. Vista (and FS) loves lotsa ram.However, don't use all 4 ram slots unless you have to. What's up with that? . . . Any set of sticks will run at their rated speed. That's not the issue. However, if you need to bump your FSB beyond 400mhz (DDR2-800's rated speed) you will have a significantly GREATER chance of O/C'ing success if you do NOT have all 4 ram slots populated.The best ram setup for having greater than 2 gigs installed is to install 2, 2 gig sticks, like my fav here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220227Do your arithmetic. If you are not going above a 400 MHZ FSB, mix and match DDR2-800 sizes all you want to economize to Vista's 3 gig limit. It'll be fine. But if your FSB requirement will force you to O/C your ram (run at greater than 800mhz) AND you want greater than 2 gigs on board, you might consider going with my suggestion. 4 gigs. Via 2, 2gig sticks. That's why I like Patriot in Any size. It'll give me some headroom by allowing a healthy ram O/C (if I need it). If you notice, the Patriot DDR2-800 ram will handle up to a 500mhz FSB. Good stuff, fair price . . . especially the 2 gig kits. Man, this stuff is cheap!. Life is good. And about DDR3? I agree. Forget about it. It's just stupid expensive for a big ZERO in performance. Just forget it.

Unless you need or want the bling then you might want to have a lookat this case:http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/LianLi/PC-65B/3I have one and am very happy with it.You might also want to look at the P35 MOBO reviews out there.The Gigabyte P35 DS3R has received many good reviews. It appearsfrom the reviews I have read that the ASUS boards run quite hot.The DDR3 isn't worth the money at present. Most of the MOBO mfg.offer boards that support both for future upgrades.Craig

If money is not an issue, then by all means go with the DDR3.However having just built a system with DDR3, I could have saved alot of money by going with a DDR2 board and getting roughly the same performance.I will also chime in and say that overclocking 4GB of DDR3 RAM takes alot of time and patience. Be prepared to do alot of testing, voltages changes and timing changes. I spent one solid week getting my 4GB to where it is currently at. Running either 2GB kit alone I could easily get up to 2000Mhz. As previously stated, most kits come in matched pairs and are rated to run as a pair. When you populate all 4 slots all bets are off as to what speed your going to get out of the memory.The gentlemen that have previously replied, have given you excellent advice as to building a new system. I would definitely give a second thought to going with DDR2.

Yes, I'm going DDR2 800 if the performance isn't that great.My task now is to pick a good motherboard. Looking at Abit since they seem to be doing good again, but I've had Gigabyte and Asus. I'm seeing some negatives on Asus lately though for some reason. Asus not working and getting too hot. I know I want a P35 chipset.I'm also just thinking 2GB RAM for the start. I'm only runing XP and mainly FS9. I will be trying FSX, but I need my payware planes.

If I might ask, why are you wanting to go with a P35 motherboard? Thanks.

>It's a February article, but I've been a big Patriot fan>since. This is still the best DDR2-800 roundup I've seen.>(Also notice 2, 1 gig sticks were $200+ just 8 months ago. We>can get em for 1/4 of that these days . . . but this will not>last. Get 'em while they're hot!) >aha, we have a Patriot memory fan!I hear Patriot mem is the only stick maker in the USA.As you can see I am not running Pat mem on my present fs rig but that maaay...change...when I rebuild here.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

When I do the upgrade thing, I am going with 4gb in 2 2gb sticks.I think if you do 4gb now, you will thank yourself later, if you are interested in going to DX10 with this build. If not then 2gb for an DX9/XP platform is adequate.As far as price difference goes, I have found that there is a REASON for all of it. For the good overclockable stuff, you have to pay. Now, that's not to say there aren't great deals on quality ram...there are. But in general, the good stuff is 20%+ higher price per gig.Get ram that is known to be a good overclocker, and you'll be set.For us FS users, I would not get the el cheapo ram. It's not worth the hassle you will get with CTDs, freeze ups and other miscellaneous bad things like stutters and blurries.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Well, it fits my needs just fine. I'm not putting 2 video cards in this build, so it's a waste to have the support for two. I know I don't want an nVidia chipset.