Hi, I cant afford to upgrade my machine fully ...but will I notice any improvment from my current setup (on my sig) to these:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145098http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813157115http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819116052I would just transfer my video card, power supply, Sound blaster hard and HD to the new board.I would get it for under $200I wont be able to fully upgrade my machine for another 2 years.Whacha think?Thanks,Bill

Hello BillI have the ASrock 4Core-Dual VSTA, it has been a great boardI have a E6600 CPU and have just last week swapped 2GB of PC3200 for 2 GB of DDR2 6400, noticed an improvement in smoothness.So this week i swapped the X850XT AGP for a X1950 PCI-e from EBAY , Smoother still now.If i were you i would keep your old memory and add the savings to the CPU http://www.freewebs.com/reading1871/30.jpg

Question though, will that CPU be better than my AMD 3400 single core 64bit chip even though I dont use the 64bit anyways?Thanks,Bill

It ought to be a little better. If nothing else, it is dual-core, which since FSX SP1, helps us a little bit in FSX. Also helps a little if you run add-ons with your sim.That cpu you selected is an Allendale. It would be ok. But since you want the computer to last *2* years, you may want to save save for a full blown Conroe cpu:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115030I know it breaks your budget, but an E6550 at $169 (shop around, you may be able to find it cheaper elsewhere) would REALLY deliver some performance for you. You can overclock an E6550 with the ASRock board. I'd be tempted to GIVE BLOOD and ROB LITTLE KIDS PIGGY BANKS to get up to the Conroe class cpu.The Allendale would be "all right" but I think you'd be much much happier over the next two years with the E6550.BTW, I have always liked ASRock motherboards for budget builds...Regarding the "balance" of the system: the video card you mention is more powerful than the cpu you mention. For FS, I would rather weight my build towards CPU rather than GPU...just something to keep in mind.If you're not building solely for FS then that's another matter. Choices...Choices...Decisions...Decisions....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

Hi, thanks for the reply...my system right know is not doing very well, i just really want something that will run like what it used be, with out stutters. I went ahead and purchased the Allendale.I hope my sim will at least run FS9 smooth.Thanks,Bill

Plus will a FS9 benefit with a dual core?Bill

>Plus will a FS9 benefit with a dual core?>>BillNo not much. But if you run add-ons like ActiveSky you should be able to set AS to use the second core, and that could conceivably help with weather updates, etc.That Allendale cpu will be great for FS9. If you get stutters, it won't be from the cpu.You can also run FSX with it, and it should be pretty good in that, too. The 2GB ram will be nice with FSX. So will the 512 megs of vidram. Your video card is pretty nice.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

"BTW, I have always liked ASRock motherboards for budget builds..."Yes, great value for the money and well built as well.Mike