I am about to make a purchase (spouses approval pending) but I need Avsim readers helpI can upgrade one of the two.CPU From "E6420 / 2.13GHz"To "Q6600 / 2.40GHz"ORVideo CardFrom "Evga Nvidia 7950 GTO 512MB"To "EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB"Can you fine folks give me your opinion on which of these two upgrades would improve FSX for me?

I think you would get more bang for the buck by upgrading to the Q6600, and overclocking it. With an after market cooler, people have been getting the quads up to 3.6 ghz. With the Q6600, you would not only get more FPS, but you will also get faster loading, and smoother operation. I think you would see a significant difference upgrading from a E6420. I don't think you would see as much of a difference with a video card upgrade.Bill

Definitely the CPU, the 7950 is a great card anyway! What MB and RAM have you got?..you may not notice a great deal of difference if your MB and RAM are throttling the CPU!!RegardsJim

Overclock that E6420 to 3.2GHz and only buy the 8800 GTS if the FSX DX10 patch proves to make good use of DX10, whether it be performance or prettiness.Gary

If you want to run DX10, then the decision is not an easy one.Well, actually, it is an easy one, you'd have to get the 8800GTS. :)The Q6600 overclocked would give faster frame rate and smoother op, faster load times. But the key question for you is, do you want to run FS in DX10 mode?Whether it's worth doing so, I think we are about to discover in the next few days....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

Are you going to run FS9, FSX vanilla, of FSX + SP1 patch ?FS9 : Can use 2 cpu , though really only 1.5 as the scenery thread does not need to much CPUFSX : Can only use 1 CPU + minor book keeping on other processorsFSX + SP1 : Can use up to 32 processors OK, given this is the D or the Q better, well the Q single CPU isfaster anyway, but will give most bangs for the buck for option 3.All systems are CPU intensive, though you can load up your graphicscard with AF and AA - though DX10 when it finally gets proper driverswould benefit from the 8800.Do you want fps or really perfect graphics ?Tom

Hi!Not that I use FSX, the CPU or the N8800 yet, but I read a review of the CPU and the multicore technology allows different cores to do different things, thus in a gaming situation, one could do the graphics, one do the AI etc. The review said it was so powerful, probably no-one would use it to it's full potential yet, but FSX seems up to the challenge of doing it. Review at http://www.techspot.com/review/36-intel-core2-quad-q6600/.I'm looking into buying a system with both components in myself!Matti

OK Its a Done Deal!I purchased the 8800 GTX 640MB Evga.And Some PC5300 RAM (4GB)AND The Verdict!Well I think my old 7950 had probvlems. so far tonight the system runs much better. A little boost in frame rates and a nicer looking video. Also, the old card had cause alot of CTD with a d3d9.dll error. None of those yet. I also OC'ed my E6400 to over 2.4 GHz and that made a real difference.Thanks for all the help. Maybe next Christmas I can get a QuadCore.