Hi all - ive been a fs user since v4 and used this forum but this is the first time ive become a reg user and my first post so hello!Now that Nvidia 8 series cards a dirt cheap its time for me to upgrade my rig so FSX runs better... Im currently running on a 1GB, Athlon 64 3200+ using 32 bit Vista ultimate, with an onboard GEForce 6150LE.The plan is to upgrade to;1. a PCI-X Geforce 8500GT 800MHz 512MB card for DX10. I expect this to allow me to move the sliders at least somewhere off minimum, and keep around 15-20 FPS (which is fine for my purposes).2. Put in an extra 1GB of DDR2 400 - I expect this to speed the whole machine up - but particularly in respect of FSX - loading times.3. Install 64 bit Vista - I have no idea whether this will help - is there an x64 build of FSX or is the whole thing 32 bit and hence its a waste of time? I have checked drivers and all my hardware is supported.Any advice / observations on the above would be most gratefully received - the new graphics card is already on its way so I cant change it (besides im too tight fisted to pay more!)thankstt

hi, what CPU were you thinking of getting and are you in the USA? If you are check out his site: www.jetlinesystems.com cause you can get PCs for less than $2000 that can run FSX almost maxed.Jourdog

Hi there!Consider going for the 8800 range of nvidia cards as they should also be cheap now that their new 9 series is out. At least you should go for a 512MB card, but this depends on the monitor size you are using. 19" and up consider 512MB. Vista 64... no point in getting this unless you have more than 3GB memory as this would be the only advantage of a 64bit OS. Speaking of that, you might consider 4GB mem and Vista 64 if you can afford it, as FSX + Vista is a considerable memory hog!CPU... get a quad. FSX utilizes all 4 cores nicely. It's nice to have the extra cores for loading scenery and traffic, amonst others. Memory - consider the fastest DDR2 that you can afford. -1066 or 1200MHz. DDR2 is dirt cheap at the moment now that DDR3 is out. Oh, and good luck with your new system - any more q's just ask (I'm new to the forum too, but not to computers / flight simming lol!)

>Hi all - ive been a fs user since v4 and used this forum but>this is the first time ive become a reg user and my first post>so hello!Hi TT, welcome to AVSIM!>Now that Nvidia 8 series cards a dirt cheap its time for me to>upgrade my rig so FSX runs better... >>Im currently running on a 1GB, Athlon 64 3200+ using 32 bit>Vista ultimate, with an onboard GEForce 6150LE.>>The plan is to upgrade to;>>1. a PCI-X Geforce 8500GT 800MHz 512MB card for DX10. I>expect this to allow me to move the sliders at least somewhere>off minimum, and keep around 15-20 FPS (which is fine for my>purposes).The 8500 is not a very good gamers card. You'll see considerably better performance with the 8800 series. The 8800GT and 8800GTS (G92 512MB)are excellent performers. There are some using the ATI 3870 X2 with good performance as well.>2. Put in an extra 1GB of DDR2 400 - I expect this to speed>the whole machine up - but particularly in respect of FSX ->loading times.The extra gig will help vista but, you won't see huge performance gains in FS. It might help with texture loads and clarity a bit but won't do much with FPS. Faster RAM may help a bit too, i.e. DDR2 800. CPU clock speed has the greatest impact on frame rate. >3. Install 64 bit Vista - I have no idea whether this will>help - is there an x64 build of FSX or is the whole thing 32>bit and hence its a waste of time? I have checked drivers and>all my hardware is supported.>Supported yes, working right, not always. Also, there are a few FS add-ons that will not work under 64 bit Vista. FSX is a 32 bit application. >Any advice / observations on the above would be most>gratefully received - the new graphics card is already on its>way so I cant change it (besides im too tight fisted to pay>more!)Well, you can always exchange it. There's a reason the 8500 is cheap.>thanks>>ttRegards,Jeff