im thinking of returning my 8500 for a qaud 6600 from newegg , never opened it up, did some research and im deciding on a better set up.this will be my first time using FSX.1. should i return it and get the q6600 or stay with the 8500.2. if i get the Q6600 which motherboard and what kind of ram.3. im looking to set up system to use only FSX, and i will be using XP pro 32 bit.4. also im new to this sli vidio card, which one should i get for maximum performance.5. on this set up i will be adding software, radar contact, weather , atc, wideview etc.im wanting the main computer to be powerful.as i said i just got the intel e8500 is it worth sending back or should i keep it and work with it.6. if you folks say i should stay wuth the 8500. what motherboard and vid card.i have vista on my laptop and it is possible for me to transfer vista on my new machine and load xp pro , on my laptop.i have both operating systems .im just wanting to set up my machine with the best that i can get so i can get back to some seriuos simming, i have been fs9 for awhile and im wanting to start using fsx now that they have cpu,s out there now that can handle it.i got the 8500 thinking that was the best way to go, but now with the sp1 and sp2 for fsx , i have been told to go quad.thanks.......Robert

You probably know the arguements. The 85 will go to 4Ghz and give you 10% better frames than the Q66 at 3.6. But the Q will get you better scenery loading and a future proof that will get you through Nehalem. You will be all set to run FS11 with better multicore capabilities. With the default airplanes, FPS are not an issue even at 3.6. Going from 30 to 33 FPS is irrelevant, however the PMDG stuff can use all it can get. Really, either is fine with FS, but I always give the edge to the Q. I really don't want to re-buy the whole rig just to get what I could have bought then. (Nehalem will need a new mobo and ram). The 8800GT is all FS can use. More won't help. Less will hurt. SLI/crossfire had no affect on FS. An Asus with a P35 chipset is the deal with ddr2 ram is fine. More mobo/ram won't help. Here's a starter list.http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWi...tNumber=7159746

Hello D17S,your reply was very clear , could you please give me advice about upgrading from E6850 to E8600. I ask it before on other topic but didn't receive reply.My PC: CPU:E6850 MB: GA-P35-DS3R 2GB RAM and VGA:XFX 8800GTThanks and Regards

The 86 has a 10X multiplier. If you overclock to a 400Mhz front side buss the CPU will run at 10 x 400 = 4.0GHz. You will need that CPU cooler to get there. Start Vcore at 1.3 volts. The 6850 has a 9X multipler and will go to 3.6 with a 400Mhz FSB. In other words, in Any case you're looking at a 10% FPS increase with the CPU replacement. You'll need the cooler any way. You might try O/Cing the 68 to 3.6 and see if that will satisfy the need for speed. Set Vcrore to 1.45 with that one.

>The 86 has a 10X multiplier. If you overclock to a 400Mhz>front side buss the CPU will run at 10 x 400 = 4.0GHz. You>will need that CPU cooler to get there. Start Vcore at 1.3>volts. >Far to high to start the Vcore at 1.3 for a E8600 45nm chip ;-)http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/awf1/sign.jpg

Yea, ~ 1.36v is tops for the 45nms. ~1.20v+ would be a better place to start. As long as the O/Cer knows if it's unstable there, a bit more Vcore might settle things down.