Here's Dell'shttp://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/con...c=DXCWZU1&s=dhsConfigure with the 3.2Ghz CPU, 4 gigs of ram, 500G HD, Vista 64 bit/Ultimate and the 8800GTX. It's $3k.And here's a do-it-yourself:http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishli...tNumber=7162186The eggBox is a significantly stronger machine for less than 1/2 the price. It has that same quadcore CPU, but it will go to 3.6Ghz. It also has 4 gigs of ram and Vista 64/ultimate. The Vcard will run with any 8800GTX. Editors choice. This is basically the box that I run. Save $1.5K. Sounds like a ski trip to me. Lots of fun stuff to think about.

OK Sam, I've had time to sleep on it. I decided to keep the vcard ( 8800gt ) and upgrade as soon as I can. I hope it's not too much to ask but I too, am behind the power curve when it come to "what CPU goes with what motherboard" etc. Can you "wishlist" me a quad core system with 4 gb RAM that will work with this card? As cheap as possible. If I find that I can't afford it, I will revert back to the dual core system you posted earlier. This will be a "hard sell" to the wife but I may be able to do it. Your help is much appreciated.TurnipSystem Specs:Motherboard = P5-GL-MXP4 3.0SB Live 24MSI NVidia GeForce NX8800GT 512All BIOS Up To Date2 Gb Geil PC3200 Dual Channel RAMClean Install of VISTA HOME BASICWD 250 GB SATA 7200

I want a 9x multi in a quad core.I want 500 x 9.I want it to cost :) (wanting and being able to get are two different things, huh?)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

You got that right Rhett. hehe Man, my wifes gonna cut my ***** off.TurnipSystem Specs:Motherboard = P5-GL-MXP4 3.0SB Live 24MSI NVidia GeForce NX8800GT 512All BIOS Up To Date2 Gb Geil PC3200 Dual Channel RAMClean Install of VISTA HOME BASICWD 250 GB SATA 7200

Ok, I myself am debating between the 8800GT (Particularly EVGA's nicely overclocked AKIMBO if/when it comes out of B/O) and the 8800GTS.Check out these specs that I'm thinking of (unless otherwise noted) thus far:MOB: GigaByte GA-EP35-DS3R (Psbl ABit IP35?)CPU: Intel E8400 (Psbl Q6600 as discussed in this thread)RAM: 8 GB Mushkin DDR2-800GPU: NVIDIA 8800GT(S?) 512 MB (Factory OCed?)APU: Creative Labs X-Fi XtremeGamer (Already Have)HDD: WD Raptor 74GB 10k RPM (Main) / WD Caviar 250GB 7.2k RPM (Store)ODD: 2x Samsung SH-S203B DVD+/-R BurnersMON: Viewsonic VX2255wmb 22" Widescreen 5ms Response (Already Have)KEB: Saitek PZ30AUR Red Backlit USB KBMOU: Logitech MX518JOY: ??? (Have old, trusty Sidewinder 2, upgrade to flt controls?)OPS: Windows Vista x64 (Unsure of version Prem/Biz/Ult?)Thoughts? Particularly on the GPU front?~Nate

Here's the quad to use, Recycle all your other components from your current rig. Everything will just snap together A-OK. Just sub this Q6600 for the E4500: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115017This is the cheapest way to a quad. Remember though, this will provide virtually NO FPS performance over the dual core E4500. FSX is still a Single Core game and 50 cores won't help increase FPS. You need raw clock speed from a single core (one core) for that. For another $75 (for good aftermarket air cooling), 3.6Ghz with the quad or 3.0 with the E4500 will become available via a stable, 24/7 O/C. I want a 9x multi in a quad core.I want 500 x 9. (=4.5Ghz, right?)I want it to cost < $500 for the cpu.4.5 Ghz will cost considerably over $1000. That's the way Intel has it set up right now. Dairy, Raptors are obsolete. Get a .11 seagate. I'm seeing GTS/512s for $225 these days. It's hard not to go that way at that price. Other than that, Looks good.

Sam;First, Thank you for taking time from your busy day to respond.I will keep going into the two links you suggested and keep expanding my limited knowledge base. It is great to hear you also ski. I live on the East Coast of the USA. My favorite place is Telluride. Although it has changed over the years it seems the difficult location still adds to the enjoyment. Being on the East Coast I get out west usually once a year, thus by the time I pick up on the new lesson it time to go (I.E. 6 to 9 days on the snow).If you do not mind me asking, if you do I understand. If using the 2 webb sites you linked to me and you wanted to build a sysyem for FSX, 64 bit and DX 10 ready, and at least under 4 grand USD., what would you recommend. As I say this keep in mind the 2 sites and the systems they offer are not the only way. However as mentioned in the last message it allows me to play around with the "build your system and see what is compatible and not.Once agian I thank for your time. Thank you.Mark.OS:MS Windows XP Professional, Ver 2002 Service Pack 2 Hardware:Intel Pentium® 4 CPU 2.802.84 GHz, 2.00 GB of RAM GeForce 7800GS 256 MB w/ DDR3 running a 21/19.6 Sony Flat Screen Tubed Monitorand a,GeForce FX 5200 128MB 17/16 NEC/Mitsubishi Tubed MonitorGeForce FX 5200 128MB NEC/Mitsubishi 18 Flat Panel.

Ok,First, I'm a little confused.By your own words, FS wants raw clock speed, and multi-core is all but useless, correct?Q6600:$255 (NewEgg as of 3/8/08)4 x 2.4 GHz1066 FSBE8400:$240 (NewEgg as of 3/8/08)2 x 3.0 GHz1333 FSBIf the # of cores is irrelevant, obviously the E8400 has the edge clock-wise, and is already running at the 1333 FSB.I'm ok with aftermarket cooling and all that jazz, and I do my homework. Are you saying that I can OC a Q6600 to 3.6 GHz on air? This is a 1600 MHz FSB right? Obviously the MoBo can handle it... the GA-EP35-DS3R and states 1600(O.C.) on the specs itself. ABit's IP35 doesn't state so, but I almost have to assume 1600 MHz is safe.Hey, I'm all about the coolness factor of a quad core. That would be pretty sweet, especially if it can go that high stable and consistent for the long haul.How's that going to affect memory? If I'm plopping in DDR2-800 (PC-6400), will it be stable at 1600 MHz FSB?Also, and to stick to the thread (sort of), what about the video card? I understand that the PCIe 2.0 thing isn't a big deal. I will be on PCIe 16x or 2.0 either way.Do I go with a factory OCed 8800GT or a stock 8800GTS 512MB? I guess there are a couple of mildly OCed 8800GTSs as well. Leaning toward GTS now that pricepoint is coming down, but not sure how well the G92s overclock themselves. Think I can bump a stock 650 MHz to 720 or 750 MHz, more?I appreciate the insight.~Nate

OK d17s, here is what I just purchased. As I had to save $$$, I tried to do as best as I could.Here is the new system:NewEgg.comVISTA Home Basic $99580 WATT Sunbeam Power $20Crucial Ballistix 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM $109ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard $114Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6550 $169MSI nVidia NX8800GT 512 PCI-E 2.0 $179SB LIVE 24 ( from Current System )250 GB WD SATA HD $69120 GB WD IDE HD ( Prior System )From what I understand, you can overclock the CPU to 3.0 with no problems. Plus, within a few months, I will SLI another 8800GT when the price comes down further.I hope I get good frame rates in FSX now. If I don't, I'll SCREAM.Thanks for all the help and I'll post here when I get everything installed. TurnipVISTA Home Basic 580 WATT Sunbeam PowerCrucial Ballistix 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM $109ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6550MSI nVidia NX8800GT 512 PCI-E 2.0SB LIVE 24250 GB WD SATA HD 120 GB WD IDE HD

MarkMammoth's coming up too. Eastern Sierras and virtually unknown (so far). Great spot.here are the 3 top tier gaming companieshttp://www.voodoopc.com/http://www.falcon-nw.com/http://www.alienware.com/ But their major claim to fame is bragging rights. Multiple Vcards don't help FS. Outrageous cooling will get additional CPU speed, but that kind of rig is for computer hobbiest, not a flight simmer. check out the Gateway FX540xthttp://www.gateway.com/systems/series/529598059.phpIt has dual Vcards (which you don't need), but the quad CPU is clocked to 3.6GHXZ, and that you Do need. That is the fastest store-bought clock I could find anywhere. If you could back out one of those Vcards, that might be a $3000 Editor's Choice. Terabite HD, warranty, a tech support department, hummm. Not bad. ( . . . but this is really painful 'cause $1500 will do the same job for a homebuilt!) Dairy, It's more a matter of premise. I'm not a FS fundamentalist. I want something that will run my games Very well, but also something that will last for 3 years (until the next 10X comes along). That's why I argue for a quad, even though it will underpreform an O/C E8500 in FPS . . . but by how much and in what way? Look at FSX scenery tab. With a quad at 3.6Ghz, and a $200 8800GT, everything on the Left side is fully to-the-right ('cept water). Everything on the Right fully is OFF and Traffic is fully OFF (everything). I get 30-80 FPS with all default airplanes. The E8500 might get 40 to 100, but once those frame rates are achieved, it just doesn't matter anymore. So far this has nothing to do with CPUs. Either CPU will work fine. The left side of the scenery tab is all about Vcard once adequate CPU resources are available . . . with one important exception. FSX patches (SP1 and 2) have enabled multiple cores to assist in scenery Loading duties. A quad will load scenery Faster. . . noticeably faster. Now, how is that absolute core speed advantage useful? Start bringing in the Right Side of the scenery tab and Traffic (that poor single "Core 0" is about to get a workout). This is where the E8500 will start to outpreform a lower clocked - anything - . But how much? With an additional 200mhz of (singe core) clock, you can expect to get ONE more notch of AG and an additional 5% traffic. So, the fundamentalist accurately argues "I win." But argue that I win. I'm giving up an irrelevant performance boost to have a very competitive quad sitting in my socket. With this pre-spent $15, I will be immediately provided a "Free" 4X performance boost once the software guys Finally figure out how to use multiple cores. That's starting to happen now, but will be in full swing during my rig's lifespan. I can spend an additional $15 now, or have to pony up $300+ for an interim upgrade during my rig's lifespan. I argue that it's Actually quite a bit cheaper. The downside? I'll just have to do without that extra notch of AI. Makes sense to me, anyway. Either will go to 3.6Ghz on good air. Get a Thermalright 120 Ultra. They have a later-and-greater, I see. I'm sure that'd be fine too. Mobo wise, the P35 chipset was designed for a 400mhz FSB. For instance, I have an Asus P5K-e. I dropped in my quad under that Thermalright cooler, set the FSB to 400 and Vcore up to 1.4 volts. No tweaking, no nothin'. Boot and run. The whole purpose of DDR2-800 is to run at two times our projected FSB. If the FSB is at 400, the ram will run at 800. DDR2-800 means the ram is speed rated to 800mhz. It's a perfect match. There's no need to buy fancy 800mhz ram. It'll still run at 800mhz. 16x is the number of "Lanes." Both PCIe v1 and PCIe v2 use this same "Lane-type" buss structure. The standards are PCIe and PCIe 2.0. Mobo makers generally have lots of PCIe lanes available. Generally, they allocate 16 lanes to the primary Vcard slot and 4 lanes to a secondary Vcard slot. Then maybe 1 lane each to a couple of additional PCIe slots (these are the little short slots). PCIe 2.0's technical specification is to provide twice the speed capacity of PCIe on those lanes. Notice I said capacity, There is nothing in our consumer universe that can use that capacity. It's a massive overkill. It won't hurt to have it, but it won't help anything go faster. Remember, the Lane is the racetrack. The Vcard is the car. If the car can only go 200mph, giving it an 800mph capable track won't help it go a Bit faster.I'd go with a stock GTS and O/C it. The GTs and the GTSs are all the exact same chip, except the GTS bench-checked a little better. It'll go faster (with a little help from Rivatuner). The GT will go to ~700mhz. The GTS will go to ~800mhz.Turnip,Good job. That'll work just fine. You might need aftermarket cooling, but see how it goes. Stop over at 2.8Ghz and do some serious Prime 95 runs. Save the $$ on the second Vcard. FS can't use it / doesn't need it. You're really going to enjoy that system.

Yeah like some have said, wait a little while on CPU and Video Card.Nvida has recently bought out the 9600 GT, 512mbOthers may be able to answer this, but am I right in saying that the 9600 has duel SLI? SO kind of like Duel cpu's?Or are they still working on thatAs for the Intel Q9450, yes worth waiting for, but I read a little while back on a gaming site, that a quad core duo cpu is in the works from Intel for maybe this year.With so much happening on the hardware side of things, I think one has to take a deep breath and let the software catch up.Afterall MS has not got DX10 100% yet for FSX, as otherwise why after SP2, would it have turn on or off a DX10 preview.To me that means they are still working on DX10, I know there is a DX101 to come this year, but not sure what that means and cannot get much info out of Aces or MS about it.Phil

>Here's the quad to use, Recycle all your other components>from your current rig. Everything will just snap together>A-OK. >>Just sub this Q6600 for the E4500: >>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115017>Is newegg selling G0/SLACR Q6600's? Anyone know?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

My Dell XPS 710 has a PCI x 2.0, I don't even use it, as I'm uisng the PCIx16 slots.What Video card goes into the 2.0?Also does anyone know if the rumours about Intel bringing out a Quad core Duel is true? Meaning 8 cores?Also I have my quad core 6700 o/c by MB to 3.19, can it be over clocked anymore? Power system is 750kw.ThanksPhil

Yes, you are using your PCIe-2. When any PCIe card is plugged into any PCIe slot on a board using the PCIe 2.0 standard, the PCIe 2.0 standard is in use, because . . . 16x only referrers to some number of "Lanes." Both PCIe v1 and PCIe v2 use this same "Lane-type" buss structure. The standards are PCIe and PCIe 2.0. Mobo makers generally have lots of PCIe lanes available. Generally, they allocate 16 lanes to the primary Vcard slot and 4 lanes to a secondary Vcard slot. Then maybe 1 lane each to a couple of additional PCIe slots (these are the little short slots). Either of these standards can use 1, or 4, or 8 or 16 (or 32, I guess!) lanes of PCIe bandwidth.PCIe 2.0's technical specification is to provide twice the speed capacity (over PCIe v1) on those Lanes. Notice I said capacity, There is nothing in our consumer universe that can use that capacity. It's a massive overkill. It won't hurt to have it, but it won't help anything go faster. Remember, the Lane is the racetrack. The Vcard is the car. If the car can only go 200mph, giving it an 800mph capable track won't help it go a Bit faster.I'm hearing Nehalem will have 6 or 8 cores. Another year or so.Will a 6700 go some more? I'll bet it will. Grab that little O/Cin' crank and give it a spin. Let us know.

bump! :)(Is newegg selling G0 stepped Q6600's?)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