Hello everyone,In light of people upgrading their computers, I've decided to post a guide of hardware I recommend using research on how each component does in FS9, FSX, and Windows XP/Vista. Please let me know how it is, I'll be adding more stuff periodically. Multi-GPU technologies such as nVidia SLI and ATi CrossFire could be supported by the motherboard for future plans.Motherboard. You want a motherboard which at least supports PCI Express. AGP is being phased out, and is not as effective and cannot handle speeds as fast as PCIe or PCIe 2.0. PCIe 3.0 is due out in 2009, but no need to worry about that right now. Make sure that the motherboard supports the CPU's FSB and supports 45nm if you're getting one.Processor/CPU. Today's standard is a dual-core processor. Microsoft recommends a 1.0 GHz single-core for FSX... :-lol. Don't even go there. If you have a single core, it needs to be at least 3.4 GHz. Get a multi-core processor. The more cores FSX has to work with, the less stutters and blurries there will be, and also, you can multitask better. Intel reigns supreme in this area. There are the new Penryn QX9650 and QX9770/5 processors from Intel which are 45 nanometer and allow for much better overclocking, less heat output, and less power draw. In March, the 45nm Core 2 Quads are due out, and the 45nm Core 2 Duos, most notably the E8400, are already out. Some powerful AMDs, like the 6400+ X2 and the new Phenoms are also an all right choice. Make sure the CPU has a fast FSB-it will help.RAM. Here is where the OS comes into play: 32-bit vs. 64-bit. 32-bit OS's will recognize at most from 2.9-3.4 GB of RAM even when you have 4 GB of RAM installed. 64-bit Windows Vista will take over 32-128 GB RAM, depending on your version, and 64-bit XP will take up to 16 gigs RAM. So unless you are planning a 64-bit OS, don't get greater than 3 GB of RAM.Today's RAM standard is DDR2. DDR3 is slowly coming in, but there is not that much of a difference. The standard speeds are DDR2-533 and DDR2-667 MHz. Gaming speed would be DDR2-800, and very intense apps and gaming would be DDR2-1066 or DDR2-1200. You can only have RAM as fast as your FSB, 4/3 the FSB at most. So DDR2-1066 won't work on an 800 FSB. FS9+XP will need only 1-2 GB. FSX+XP will need 2 or 3 GB. Vista+FSX means 4 GB is a must, meaning 64-bit Vista would be nice here. Also, unless you're not a RAM overclocker, don't get 2 GB modules. They don't overclock as well as 1 GB modules, and have just a tad more bugs than 1 GB modules.Video Card. Basically, if you have XP, stick with a fast DirectX 9.0c card. nVidia's 7800/7900/7950 are best here, as are ATi's X1900/X1950 series. Also, choose GDDR3 memory. If you have a choice between a card with 256 MB GDDR3 memory and 512 MB DDR2, pick the GDDR3 version. It will easily beat the 512 MB one. If you have Vista, choose a DirectX 10 compatible one. nVidia's new 9600 GT is a cheap but powerful DirectX 10 card and will give you super performance. For about $60 more, the 8800 GT and 8800 GTS 512 cards are more powerful and give better performance. And, with ATi's new $450 Radeon 3870 X2 and now-less-than $200 3870, you get a great price/performance ratio. Don't use SLI or CrossFire unless you crank up Anti-aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering (AA or AF) all the way and use the highest resolutions, like 1920x1200 and 2560x1600. Only then the 2nd card kicks in.Also, look at the bus width and memory bandwidth of a card. For FSX, at least a 256-bit bus will do. the 8800 GTS 320/640 versions have a 320-bit bus and a 64 GB/sec bandwidth, but are beaten by the 8800 GT/GTS 512. 8800 GTX and Ultra have a 384-bit bus width, and 85-109 GB/sec bandwidth, making them some of the best cards on the planet as of now. NVIDIA's rumored GeForce 9800 is due out in the middle of this year, and will be about 65% better than the 8800 Ultra. ATi's cards are great, but have been proven to falter under high resolutions with AA and AF cranked up.Hard Drive. This is your preference. But be sure the drive runs at at least 7200 RPM, 10,000 RPM if you're an intense gamer, and 16,000 RPM if you don't mind spending a lot of money and are a 24/7/365 gamer. The space is your preference. Also, be sure it's the current SATA, not the old EIDE, and be sure it has a decent amount of Buffer/Cache: 16 MB or 32 MB.Power Supply. Be sure to get one which will give all your parts adequate power and will leave you with headroom for overclocking. Some power supply calculators out there aren't always accurate; I put my system in one and it gave me a recommended 380 W power supply, but the 8800 GT alone needs a minimum of 400 W, and on top of it all, it is superclocked. 700 W or so should do it, 650 W at the very lowest.The case, speakers, monitor, and keyboard/mouse are all your choice.Hope this helps!BoeingGuy

Nice, nice guide!Btw, as far as power supply is concerned - make sure it has not only enough power but also enough wires for all devices - my new GPU needs two cords, and my new PSU didn't have enough wires for my 3d internal HDD. =S.V.=Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2x2.2Ghz, 1Gb RAMPNY nVidia Quadro FX 3400 256Mb

Thank you! Also, thanks for the addition! Which reminds me, if anyone wants to make an addition or correct something, please feel free to do so. Apologies in advance if a major piece of info here is wrong.Regards,BoeingGuy

Any new recommended systems to this date?I am thinking of buying a new pc for FSM 9 & X

At least a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, at least 2 GB of DDR2 RAM (667 or more for FSX), FS9 at least a 7800 GT, FSX at least a 7950 or 8800 GS or 9600 GT for FSX---what specs are you considering?

Excellent guide I think this will prove to be very useful. Can I also comment on the power unit. This is an element which is often overlooked when discussing systems, but it is a vital component. I really believe that your requirement is a touch understated. I think for anyone who has a two/four core machine with an 8 or 9 series video card [or two], you should be looking at a dual rail, 1000 watt power source to give you peace of mind and the ability to run your system efficiently. It should also be specified as a high performance unit - some aren't.Bud

Thanks! Sure, go right ahead, and thanks for the addition!

Thanks...i used this guide when I ordered my new rig..It was very helpful to me as the technoligy just zooms onward.....Digital Storm DesktopWindows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts)Case: Digital Storm 850Si Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz (1066MHz FSB) (8MB Cache)(overclocked) 3.1GHzMotherboard: nVidia 780i Core 2 Quad (By: eVGA) (nForce 780i SLI)Memory: 4GB DDR2 Corsair at 1066MHz Dominator (Dual Channel) (Extreme-Performance)Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)Hard Drive 2: 250GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (nVidia GeForce 8800GTS 512MB (By: eVGA) (PCI-Express)Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi FPS Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O Unit)Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 3 WindTunnel (Copper Heatpipe Heatsink & Zalman Case Fans)Thanks again for the great advice.......Mason

No problem, great to know this is helpful!Enjoy gaming on your new rig,

Well,I have some choices: I live in Norway where the prices are very high but there are some offers: buy a built already system like this one that is a good offer:Packard Bell W1607- Intel Core 2 Duo Quad 6600 8Mb L" Cache- Memory: 3GB (3x1024MB) DDR2 667MHz- Harddisk: 320 Gb Sata 7200- DVD-burnerRW +/- Duallayer- NVIDIA GeForce 8600GS, 512 MB dedicatedVGA/DVI grafikk samt tv utganger- 8-i-1 card reader/LAN 10/100/1000 mBit- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium- Firewire /eSata/6x Usb2.0price $1363 USD------------------Fugitsu siemensSCALEOHI Q6600 DATA- Intel Quad-Core 6600 prosessor- Mem: 2 GB (2x1024 MB) DDR2- Harddisk: 1 Terabyte (1000 GB)- Optisk enhet - DVD-brenner RW +/- Dual Layer- NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT- VGA/DVI grafikkutganger- WLAN 54 Mbps- Windows Vista Home Premium- Norman Antivirus, 3

I just don't agree with that at all...1000w IS OVERKILL!!!dual 12v rails, yes, but 600w is plenty, you'll want 15-20A per rail...A 600w strong quality psu like corsair etc will work well for the latest GPU's.....for instance, this corsair psu would easily handle today's latest system, with a 8800GTS 512 card:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139001

harleyman52,Was your system difficult to overclock?do you play with multiple displays?would you consider other quads over the Q6600, price vs possible improvement?

I did not overclock it..This system is being built for me by DigitalStorm..They are overclocking it then stress test it for 72 hrs. So they say....LOL This processor seems to typically OC easily at 3.1....That is where I'll start..Over the phone with them I can get more if I want it but they suggested I start with 3.1....I have never overclocked one myself but it appears not too hard ....I may set up both monitors,but have not so far....I'll prob get my new rig going smoothly then I'll see.....I'm no expert at all...But I hear tell that this is an awsome processor..It was an upgrade in my new puter they recomended to me..As far as cost,I paid a little more for this than the Dual that came stock.....So to answer your question...I don't really know....But I do understand that you can add a tweak to the FSX config and have it use all cores.....Hope this helps.......Mason

Regarding the RAM, it should be installed in matched pairs to preserve dual channel. For 3 GB, install two matched 1GB modules and two matched 512MB modules or install two matched pairs of 1GB modules. I also think a 1000W power supply is overkill as a minimum requirement, but it won't hurt anything if you have plenty of money to spend.ArtNow flying with: Biostar TF560-A2+, Athlon 64X2-6000+, 4GB RAM, Geforce 8800GTS-320MB, 500W PSU, 250GB HD, FSX (SP1-SP2), Vista Home Premium

Hey,This is a good guide, but I'd like to post my comments if I may?I think in some places here the information needs to be expanded upon.The first thing any user needs to know when upgrading to FSX, is that right now with current hardware you will not get maximum performance on this platform, it's simply not going to happen. So before you spend your 1000's on a new PC, remember that point, because if you don't you will be bitterly disappointed with it.FSX is not really a multi-core platform. It can use multicore, I think up to two cores, but the second core is used significantly less than the first. In fact a single core CPU with the GHz behind it will probably not be too far behind (if at all) a Quad core with a similar GHz behind it. Consequently, you will probably see little to no difference between quad and dual core CPUs. I've really done my research here, and that is the general view. What you might also want to remember, is that the extra cores may be able to run your other applications like ActiveSky etc.. FSX is CPU LIMITED.. it's not a graphics card issue, all you have to do is go to a site like Tomshardware and look up the graphics card results for FSX, and you'll see all the top 6 cards, 8800GTX, 8800GT.. etc.. all getting similar frame rates (20-23) with the default aircraft. So basically, spending money on SLI and X-Fire setups is a complete waste of time, the performance limitation is the CPU, and its inability to cope with the number crunching it has to do. Consequently, I really wouldn't waste money on the latest GFX cards for FSX, they are overkill. An 8800GTX which have come down in price significantly now, will be MORE than adequate.RAM is important to, but differences in performance are really not going to be seen between a top spec DDR2 and DDR3 setup. The returns for the money are so low, it's not even worth considering unless you have money to burn.Hard disk drives, again, provide tiny returns in ingame performance in FSX. The load times may be higher, but once up and running the HD is really not a bottleneck for the system. It's your CPU that will be struggling.If you want my opinion, spend money on a decent CPU (one of the new quad cores), and 4GB RAM an overclockable motherboard, and a 8800GTX (cheaper now the 9800 is out). Buy standard hard disk drives, one smaller for the OS and FSX etc, the others large for file storage.. don't bother with the Raptors, or RAID arrays, it's not going to make a difference for home users with FSX really, it's just something to say you've got, that's all.. I would be surprised if that setup is much slower (if at all) than anything else really.IF you have a lot of money to spend, I'd recommend, water cooling systems for your CPU so you can crank up that GHz, THAT.. is the ONLY THING.. that will improve your performance really.. Don't kid yourself into thinking it's a GFX issue, it is not.. Don't be drawn into the fast RAM debate.. it won't help.. The results on Tomshardware catagorically prove it's not a GFX issue.. In fact take a look if you don't believe me, here it is.. take a long hard look.. These cards all had FPS of 21.2 to 23.. on the same setup system (1600x1200)NV 7900GT 256MB 21.2 (LOOK AT THIS ONE!!!!!)NV 7800GTX 512MB 21.3Ok skip a few now..NV 8800GTX 768MB 22.4 (G71)NV 8800GTS 512MB 22.8 (G80)And here it comes.. NV 8800 ULTRA 768MB (G80).... wait for it... 23!Don't think it's a resolution issue either.. they go up by 1 (if you're lucky).. when using 1024x768...What about dual and quad vga? Well... no need to put up those results they're identical... example.. 8800GTS OC SLI = 22.8.... See what I mean? I hope that's convinced you.. that paying for an expensive GFX card is a total waste of time.. and money..Referencehttp://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_sli...2=819&chart=352This is with default aircraft.. with something like LD or PMDG.. watch them get even worse as the CPU smokes trying to do all the work..My main message.. the ONLY WAY.. is to get a mega CPU and overclock it by as much as you possibly can before it melts.. Even the extremes probably aren't worth it though.. get an excellent cooling system.. and overclock a quad core to as close as you can get it to 4Ghz.. those with these systems are the only ones getting the higher FPS.Ok.. said my bit..CheersCraig