Hi all i just recived FSX as a gift and would like to know if I will be able to get decent frame rates (18+) with this setup: intel dual core 6600; ati x1550 512mb ram (i think); 2 Gig ram ....I have no addons for FSX at the moment as i want to wait to see how it will play with just a bare bones installation..also does SP1 make much differnce?

The core 2 Duo and 2 Gigs are the critical parts there, and they should work great (better than my Athlon X2). SP1 did wonders for me (doubled fps in some cases), but it sounds like mileage varied.

Yes SP1 makes a difference. You should install SP1.The proper install order is1) FSX2) run FSX at least once3) SP1You should get 20+ fps in most situations in FSX with the hardware you mention. Now, if you load 100+ AI around New York City, you will drop below 20, you have to expect that kind of thing when you put that much on the sim with current hardware.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

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the video card in that system really lacking for FSX?

>Someone correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the video card in>that system really lacking for FSX?I don't know too much about ATI/AMD cards except that people seem to report better results in FSX with nVidia cards at the present time.As was advised, the OP might want to consider the nVidia offerings.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

>>Someone correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the video card>in>>that system really lacking for FSX?>>I don't know too much about ATI/AMD cards except that people>seem to report better results in FSX with nVidia cards at the>present time.>>As was advised, the OP might want to consider the nVidia>offerings.>>Rhett>>AMD 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 PraetorianThe 1550 was last generation's lower-midrange offering. The 1300's were the real weaksauce, with the 1500 and then 1550 being sort of the baseline models. The 1600 was the mid-range gamer card with the 1900 and 1950s heading up the pack. The 8000 series nVidia cards destroy most everything from last gen ATI, and the 8800's, if you are willing to front the price, are still topping the current top dog on the other side, the ATI Radeon 2900XT.