Hey everyone,I'm new to the fourms here but have been a simmer for 7 years. I just have a quick question about computers. I have been using an old computer for my simming years (fs9) and now have the funds to buy a new computer for FSX and what have you. Just wondering what the best cpu's, video boards, etc that would run FSX with all the great addons and say hypothetically it doesn't matter how much it costs (without getting totally insane tho lol).Thanks guys, much appreciatedJames

Wrong forum.Use here: http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showforum=326But if you would be ready to wash out about $5000, then I guess a watercooled extreme quad i7 (the fastest you can afford, and also overclock it) and gtx285 would be the best choice right now. Fastest RAM you can afford, since it plays a great role in overclocking, 6GB. 2 Velociraptor disks in RAID on the dedicated 3ware PCIe card. A decent mainboard, for example Asus...

I spent a little less than $1800 in April '08 for the stuff in my sig and I can run FSX almost at full tilt minus using lense flare and bloom, but with most everything else turned up and get really good performance without sutters, blurries, etc.If I was going to either buy or upgrade my system now I would probably get an E8600 and OC it to 4.0 ghz like Word Not Allowed has or one of the new i7's. Still you could build or have built something really good for under $2000 imho.What ever you do, I would avoid buying any prebuilt systems like Dell, HP, Gateway and the likes. When I had my rig built in '08 Dell wanted about $4500 for an XPS system that was similar to mine and still not as good as mine that I got for $1800. Plus the fact that when you buy a computer from a manufacturer like Dell and the others, you are very limited in the future if you want to upgrade the components. Many prebuilts use a lot of proprietary equipement that you cant buy aftermarket upgrades that will work with it. You maybe able to upgrade the RAM and video card down the line but that will be about it. The old Dell I had used a propiertary power supply that I couldn't upgrade and hence I couldn't upgrade my video card because it need a bigger voltage power supply. Not to mention you will most likely not be able to OC a prebuiilt because you can't tweek the BIOS to do so.What ever you decide to do when you get a new system, make sure to take the time to set up the operating system, drivers, and sim properly to maximize your results. There are options like a pay service FS-GS.com, NickN's set up guide, etc to get you started in the right direction. I used the FS-GS service myself and my results with FSX are great. I don't bother with FS9 anymore, but with the system I have it would probably cut through FS9 like a hot knife thru butter.