Hello simulator enthusiastsI am setting up my office to run simulator X and have an opportunity to include the flight simulator in the design of my custom design office furniture (cabinets and desk along a nine foot wall)I fly a turbo Cessna 182 with the G1000 glass cockpit. I plan on using the simulator to help maintain IFR proficiency, practice for new ratings and for fun.I

Welcome to AVSIMI will let others with more experience running Core2's and ATI chime in, but my initial thought, looking at your system specs, is that you will in my estimation need considerably more computer to run FSX the way you want.If it were me I would use a dedicated desktop PC (no laptop/notebook) with at least a Core2 E6600 processor, at least 2 gb of system memory, and an nVidia 8800-series video card.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

Eric,Rhett is absolutely correct..your laptop is no match for FSX especially as you want to run Multi-Monitors. FS2004 is not really an option either because you want to use the G1000 GPS.I could propose a system but it may be well over your budget. Tell us you budget and between us we'll come up with a spec. If you don't want to self-build then your 'safest' bet is probably a DELL XPS with 2 monitors.How much are you willing to spend (and which country are you located)?RegardsJim

Thanks for the responsesI live in St. George Utah in the United States.The specs listed in the originating post above are for my Dell desktop.I can spend up to $5,000 (computer and monitors) to get the system you recommend if my current computer is not capable. I would prefer a fairly standard internet order type build computer since am no technical expert and technician.Regarding monitors it seems I should have a fairly big monitor to display and PFD and MFD of the Garmin 1000 (actual size are about 10-12 inches wide each. And as far as scenery I need advice such as one large monitor above the instrument panel monitor (location like a real plane) or monitors on each side and above? Keep in mind this is also my desk and I will use the monitors for other computer applications as well. I appreciate your advice on the size and number and location of monitors and also the computer spec if necessary.Looking forward to a great set up and to no real fuel costs. Thanks Eric

Eric,A DELL XPS710 with 2 x 8800GTX graphics cards. Use the Customize function and play with the components to bring you in budget. Personally I'd go for XP (rather than Vista) and 2GB of 800MHz RAM1x24" Widescreen for the outside view and 2x19" standard monitors for your instruments. You should be able to get all this for $4000. $5000 will get you a faster processor and more Hard-Drive spaceI'd then build it with the 2 standard monitors side by side and the Widescreen above it. I'd connect the 2 standard monitors to the first graphics card and configure them in Horizontal Span mode, the 2nd card would then drive the Widescreen.I'd then create a custom IFR panel that spanned the 2560x1024 pixels of the combined monitors to exactly match your 182 (with flight instruments on the Left and Avionics on the Right???), using the Widescreen for the outside view.RegardsJim

Sure, yeah, go for the Dell, but I wouldn't get 2x 8800GTX's for FSX....that's pure overkill...I'd get two 8800GTS 640mb for now, and save the 500 dollars or whatever it is for 2 GTX's....Definitely go XP Pro, with 2GB of RAMIf you can, go with 2 x 150GB raptors and RAID0 themAnd then get a huge HDD for backup

>Sure, yeah, go for the Dell, but I wouldn't get 2x 8800GTX's>for FSX....that's pure overkill...>>I'd get two 8800GTS 640mb for now, and save the 500 dollars or>whatever it is for 2 GTX's....>>Definitely go XP Pro, with 2GB of RAM>>If you can, go with 2 x 150GB raptors and RAID0 them>>And then get a huge HDD for backup>Unfortunately that's not how DELL operate on their Customize and Buy..they have a limited choice on their production run and 8800GTS is not an option. You could phone and ask them to do a 'special' build but they'd charge you extra..and any saving made up on the GTS would be lost on the 'special' build price.By all means phone DELL and ask... but in my experience it's more hassle than its worth. I had to send a PC back 3 times because they kept putting the wrong 'non-standard' bits in. Altough I specified a certain Graphics card and it was agreed by the sales team the Production team kept putting what they had in stock instead.RegardsJim

oh, sorry, I didn't know....it's been a while since I bought a Dell hehe