Hi everyone. I have been out of the Flightsim loop for about 12 months, with an unrepairable 8 year old computer behind me. Thinking that waiting for developments on the CPU front would be a good thing, I have been watching and hoping myself to death over the last year and still remain unconvinced that Intels Core i7 would eat FSX for lunch. I have deceided that I am going to stick with FS9 with XP as an O/S. After a fair amount of research this is what I have come up with. ANTEC Nine Hundred Gamers Case - Black Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (2 x 3.3 GHZ) 1333FSB - 6 MB Overclocked to 4Ghz. ASUS P5Q PREMIUM 1600FSB (Intel P45) Corsair XMS2 4GB PC2-8500 1066 MHZ (2 x 2 GB) - Lifetime Warranty (DDR2) NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ - 512 MB - 2X DVI/VGA (XFX) OCZ 700W Game XStream - Low Noise Built & Tested CP 750 GB SATA-II HDD UDMA 300 7200 32MB 500 GB SATA-II HDD UDMA 300 7200 16MB Samsung (SH-D162D) 16x DVD-ROM Black (IDE) Creative X-FI Xtreme Music 7.1 (PCI) Motherboard Integrated Ethernet Lan (Broadband Ready) 4 X USB 2.0 Ports Internal Card Reader 50-in-1 Cooler Master V8 - Ultimate Silent Cooler Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 64-BIT (Genuine CD & COA Included) Standard Operating System Backup I know these sort of topics come up quite frequently in the forums. But I would really appreciate a quick opinion from all the experts out there. My only other question would be...is a 64bit or 32bit XP operating system be better for FS9 Many thanks Tristan.

Looks like you're ready to go But....That system will take on FSX pretty well.Your system stats aren't much further than mine, and my new system was built specifically for FSX.I decided to go FSX from a tip from Michael @ FS-GS. (Whole other can of worms)So staying with FS9, you're good to go with a little overkill.CheersFSX System:LIAN-LI PC-B25B C. Silent Black Aluminum Blue Ring Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.33GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail OCZ (OCZ2RPR11502GK) DDR2 PC2-9200 1150MHz Reaper HPC Edition 2GB (2x1024MB) Gigabyte EP45-DS4P ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E SATA2 RAID CrossFireX Motherboard Western Digital 750GB 3.5IN. SATA II 32MBSound Blaster

Hi,Good system, even for FSX!With 4GB RAM you'll want a 64 bit OS.

Thanks so much for your very helpful and quick replies. The truth is, my old system ( I am too embarrassed to mentioned the specs here ) trundled along in FS9, never achieving anymore than 4-5 frames per second (unless I was flying over the Antarctic tundra). Flying from the UK and being a bit of an AI freak, Heathrow was completely unusable. I just didn't enjoy the experience as I should. I know FSX, is the way forward but I am going to stick it out with FS9 and enjoy thoroughly the Sim, complete with the numerous add-ons that I accumulated AND all the settings at max, super smooth performance, without bracing myself for a slide show at the larger airports. Even with FS11 possibly coming out in 2010/11 perhaps it may take at least three years beyond that before a system will run FS11 smoothly, which will be a good time for a new machine anyway. I don't know, I am no expert, but I will never never sit around again waiting for a new this or that to come out ( hype can be incredibly demoralizing). Thanks again for your help. I will go for a 64 bit O/System, although someone once said that 32bit was more stable??!! Tristan.

Hi Tristan,That system will run FS9 with every addon you can think of and still have loads in reserve.You don't need a 64-bit OS for FS9 and you certainly should avoid XP 64-bit. It's horrendous. Save your money and stay with XP 32-bit. 3Mb RAM is also sufficient.Many of us have dabbled with FSX and have returned to FS9. My own personal gripe about FSX is most of Europe resembling a desert for the winter half of the year! Does Microsoft not use Google Earth and notice western Europe is green all the year round?My humble E8400 gives me frame rates no lower than 30 at Aerosoft Heathrow with 100% Ultimate Traffic. In FSX I got around 10!My final tip is don't overclock. FS9 doesn't need it.

Thanks Ray ( and everyone else who has commented/helped). Thats just the sort of info I need to fine tune and tweak the list I posted orginally. I have one more question. I was going to use a company via Ebay, who are now listed as an 'unregistared user'. I have been on Ebay long enough to realise there is something 'afoot' there. Can anyone recommend a Reputable company that I can trust. I have had mixed reports about Novatech and Planet Computer. This is a real mine field for me and I am sure others in the past. Thanks Again Tristan.

Hi Tristan,I've dealt with www.dabs.com for years and can recommend them.