>The 8800 series from nVidia are old technology. Consider the>new 9800GT with twin GPUs or maybe the 3870X2. FSX will eat>all the video memory you can throw at it. 1Gb cards are the>future.I think you better do a little research. The new 9800 GTX is nothing more than a die shrink on the 8800 GTX. The older 8800 GTX and Ultras also have a wider bus and carry more memory. There is no real difference in performance between a 9800 GTX and an 8800 GTX. The 8800 Ultra or any of the factory overclocked 8800 GTX

Mitch,That seems like a lot of money for those two Dell systems. Like you I had been running a Dell system for the past 5 year and had really good performance, but I was stuck in the end because of the proprietary power supply and mobo. So, this time around I went out on the edge and had a system built. Below is what I got.Intel E8400Asus Maximus Formula2 gig's Corsair PC8500 at 1066mhzEVGA 8800 GTS 512MBAntec Nine Hundred CaseSamsung DVD/CD DriveWD 500mb HDWD 320mb HDPC Power and Cooling 750 watt power supplyWin XPNod32 AntivirusUsing the same monitor and keyboard from last system that I had previously upgraded from my Dell system.I got this all with it built for around $1600 to $1700. This was all purchased from a Microcenter here in Dallas, TX. They have good prices and things they were higher on, they price matched newegg and a few other sites.Now the good part is that in the future system upgrades will be easy. I can easly change the mobo, chip, etc, without have to worry about buying all the other stuff I don't need.Now your probably going to ask how is your FSX performance? Well, to this point I have installed FSX, SP1, SP2, the new DX9 update, Ultimate Terrrain USA, Ultimate Traffic, GEX Enhanced, FEX, FS Genesis North America and World mesh, Scenery Tech North America, Europe and Asis landclass, and the RealAir SF260. AND I haven't even flow it once, not even went past the setting page. Your probably thinking what the heck, you haven't even flown it once to test it? No, because I have an appointment this Sat to do a system config with FS-GS. So, I am going to spend another $120 and get this thing right in the course of a six hour session. Given what they have told me my system will be golden and FSX will be a joy to fly and I won't need to read about all the tweaks and spend hours on hours like I did on my old system tweaking FS9.I will report back and let you know how it goes. So, my point I guess, is that you maybe able to get a lot more system for the money by having one built instead of buying from Dell. I wouldn't buy one from them just because of the three year warranty. I had to use there customer service once and was so disappointed when I got passed to a call center somewhere in the middle east and could barely understand the lady I was talking to, that I ended up just paying to get it fixed, rather than deal with the phone customer service. Hope this helps. Good luck with what ever you decide.Regards,Seam

Seam, thanks for the post! Yes...please let me know how it all went, when you finally turned the prop over.1...Blurry, or NON BLURRY ground textures.2...No 'snapping in' of ground textures as my P4 does at present.3...No jerk in banks, whilst looking down, etc.The above would be greatly appreciated.You sure have a powerful system there, and I have noted that it didn't break the bank for you to get it! :) Good go!Waiting to read...Mitch

I'd take this, but modify some components:PROCESSOR Intel

Mitch,Read my post in the FSX forum titled "New Computer + FSX + FS-GS = Perfection"You have asked me the following 3 questions:1...Blurry, or NON BLURRY ground textures.2...No 'snapping in' of ground textures as my P4 does at present.3...No jerk in banks, whilst looking down, etcMy response is never, never, and never.My FSX is so clear, smooth and studder free that it's almost funny. I am even running weather at it highest settings with cloud draw set all the way to the right which is like 100 miles if I remember correctly and I hum along with storms, clouds, rain, rain on the runway with no drop in frames or blurries. Dude, you would absolutly dirty your britches (can't say the usual term) with the way my sim looks and performs. I saw that in a new post you are now thinking about waiting until FSX11 comes out before you get a new computer. Just have one built with the same stuff I got and it will only cost you around $1400 and then have Michael at FS-GS do your install and setup and you will be happy as a lark. I was thinkg about skiping FSX as well and waiting on a new computer, but look, we will never be caught up with new equipment. As fast as we buy it something better come out. Seize the moment and get an E8400 and the other stuff I got and I guarantee you will be happy. Hope this helps. BTW, this is with SP1 and SP2 but not DX10 and on Win XP home. I remember SP2 gave you a load of problems.Sean

>Mitch,>>Read my post in the FSX forum titled "New Computer + FSX +>FS-GS = Perfection">>You have asked me the following 3 questions:>>1...Blurry, or NON BLURRY ground textures.>2...No 'snapping in' of ground textures as my P4 does at>present.>3...No jerk in banks, whilst looking down, etc>>My response is never, never, and never.>>My FSX is so clear, smooth and studder free that it's almost>funny. I am even running weather at it highest settings with>cloud draw set all the way to the right which is like 100>miles if I remember correctly and I hum along with storms,>clouds, rain, rain on the runway with no drop in frames or>blurries. Dude, you would absolutly dirty your britches (can't>say the usual term) with the way my sim looks and performs. I>saw that in a new post you are now thinking about waiting>until FSX11 comes out before you get a new computer. Just have>one built with the same stuff I got and it will only cost you>around $1400 and then have Michael at FS-GS do your install>and setup and you will be happy as a lark. I was thinkg about>skiping FSX as well and waiting on a new computer, but look,>we will never be caught up with new equipment. As fast as we>buy it something better come out. Seize the moment and get an>E8400 and the other stuff I got and I guarantee you will be>happy. Hope this helps. BTW, this is with SP1 and SP2 but not>DX10 and on Win XP home. I remember SP2 gave you a load of>problems.>>Sean---------------------------------Hello Sean!Great post, and a hearty; thank you! I'll CERTAINLY take your advice under consideration. Still reading, cross-referencing---with the hope that I'll get the FSX killer onto the desktop!!! :)Thanks again...Mitch

My advice:MB: X38 with DDR2 capability (Asus Maximus Formula recommended)CPU: quad 45 nm (Q9550 recommended). Don't splurge away on an extreme edition...RAM: DDR2-PC8500 (1066MHz) 4GB recommendedHDD: 1. WD Raptor 10,000rpm for OS+FSX (e.g. 74 / 150GB)2. 7,200rpm of your choice for storage (e.g. Samsung SpinPoint T166 500GB)GPU: 8800GT/GTSExplanation:1. I would strongly recommend a quad for overall performance and faster texture loading, as well as the ability to run other apps at the same time (e.g. Active Sky, Jeppesen Sim Charts etc). With my Q6600 FSX utilizes all 4 quads all the time. I would not, however, advice on the unlocked (extreme) edition quads, unless you are an overclocking affectionado as it simply is not worth it. Get one of the newest 45nm quads, like the Q9550 - they should be out now - or get a Q6600 (65nm) or similar if they are still in stock. 2. Think fast DDR2 (or better: DDR3 if you can afford it). It's worth going for 4GB especially if on Vista, as it's a considerable memory hog in combination with FSX. I have 2GB (DDR3) and find the system using a whopping 94% of total ram in demanding situations e.g. on final approach to KLAX with 100% traffic lol... I have my scenery settings mostly maxed out though. 3. HDD - you should consider a FAST drive for OS and FSX - I highly recommend a WD Raptor 10,000rpm. I have 4x36GB of these in a RAID0 configuration and get close to 170MB/s (62MB/s using just one)4. As for the GPU you don't need a high-end super-clocked one for FSX. I recommend the G92 range and the 8800GT seems to bring the best bang/buck ratio. For a high resolution monitor you might consider >512MB video mem, like with the 8800GTX/Ultra (768MB) or the ATI 3870X2 (1GB). 5. Finally - consider building the system yourself as your options will be limitless compared to going for a specific vendor like Dell. Also it's great fun and a good learning experience. Warning: you might find yourself addicted after your first system build and in desperate need for more lol