Current system is a AMD Athlon 3000XP, 3 gigs of ram and a G7600 AGP card on N7N2 delta board. Has done me well for 6 or more years. Im mainly a FS9 user, but do like to use FSX. Im a helicopter pilot and as such i typically keep all AI off, i never use high end add on airport scenery. I like to fly around 1500 feet at 150 knots from my hospital sceneries so i do not need the same demands as lot of people who post on here. I'd like to start planning a new system, budget is about $900-$950. Looks like a build around a E8500 is my best bet. No plans to go I7 at all, put it this way, the way i play FSX it runs pretty well on my system so that shows you just how little i toss at my computer when i run it. I also do not plan on OC at all, i think just getting a nice solid modern setup with quality pieces will do me well. Also need to factor in Window Vista 64 bit, XP 64 or Windows 7 64 bit whatever you think is best. Thanks. I'm planning on putting my SATA HD in the new machine, i have a IDE DVD RW drive that probably needs replacing. My case is nice, but only has a 3.5 inch case fan in the back of it I've removed the side plexi insert and replaced it with a piece of window screen to also help with ventilation. If possible a 3.5 floppy drive will go in the machine. Thanks in advance, doesnt take to much to keep me happy, seeing 20frames is very acceptable to me and have used to that since FS98.

Current system is a AMD Athlon 3000XP, 3 gigs of ram and a G7600 AGP card on N7N2 delta board. Has done me well for 6 or more years. Im mainly a FS9 user, but do like to use FSX. Im a helicopter pilot and as such i typically keep all AI off, i never use high end add on airport scenery. I like to fly around 1500 feet at 150 knots from my hospital sceneries so i do . Thanks in advance, doesnt take to much to keep me happy, seeing 20frames is very acceptable to me and have used to that since FS98.-------

--------------------------Brentd- interesting to find someone else still enjoying an AMD XP series computer. In my case it's an even lesser XP2200 !I use it with triple monitors/ triple views, and like you, don't worry about the latest/greatest scenery. Generally scenery settings are in the mid to high ranges.Thought you might enjoy this screenie. I think the FPS was 14.5 when I clicked it- with the smoothing effect of the triple views, that's equivalent to about 29 FPS with a single monitor.Works so well, no plans here to replace it. The XPs are remarkable machines.Alex ReidFS9 default Bell Jet Ranger @ Victoria- CYYJ (AMD 1.8 XP2200, 2GB Ram, 2 GeForce FX 5200 GPUs)

My case is nice, but only has a 3.5 inch case fan in the back of it I've removed the side plexi insert and replaced it with a piece of window screen to also help with ventilation.

You should have no trouble putting together a very nice system based on the E8500 for what you are willing to spend. I would be careful about replacing a side panel with window screen as you may short-circuit the ventilation route. Openings in the side panel should be limited to air intake at the bottom. New cases also include a funnel to intake air at the processor heat sink. Adding fans to the case is easy and inexpensive.

Yup, stick that side panel back on and uprate the fans themselves. Contrary to what a lot of people imagine, the case has to be sealed in that fashion to enable the air movement to act correctly with a proper directional flow of fresh cooler air over the heat sinks, enabling the heated air to be carried away out of the vent holes. Taking the side off will not only stop that from happening, but will also mean there are more routes for dust to get in and clog up the heat sinks etc, so it can easily make matters worse very quickly, despite that not seeming very logical on the face of it.Al

Nice shot Alex, yes these computers still do wonders. At school i see students walk in with their $2000 laptops and i help them install FS9 or FSX and its just sad to see the performance. To all the fan talk, yes totally makes sense about what you are saying. The only thing was that there was no other air anywhere entering the system. Completely sealed system except for that one small exhaust fan, my plan was to put a big fan on the front of the case where all the extra drive bays were to suck air in, and then let the little one suck it out. I must admit i did have a serious dust problem. Ok so now it seems there are so many options to put together a E8500 system. My routine has been seaching and seeing who has built what, also going to Newegg and seeing what other people bought when buying an E8500. Basically i need good suggestions for a motherboard, memory, video card, heat sink/fan, power supply. I have made lists of setups none of which are in front of me now. Ill go see what i can put together and post it back here.

Ok so i put this together.E8500--$180Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P---$135GSkill 4GB ram, DDR2-1066---$55.00EVGA- Geforce GTX260-896MB---$185Pioneer DVD burner----$43.00Artic Silver----$18.00I do need suggestions for the heatsink/fan and power supply. To many to choose from, and from a website i really dont need alot of watts, maybe 450, so i'll go for a 650 or so. Also i want 64 bit operating system, but which one. Xp, Vista, or 7.Let me know if i need anything else. I'm will to go for a new case if it come with a quality power supply otherwise i'll just stick with mine. Thanks.

Ok so i put this together.E8500--$180Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P---$135GSkill 4GB ram, DDR2-1066---$55.00EVGA- Geforce GTX260-896MB---$185Pioneer DVD burner----$43.00Artic Silver----$18.00I do need suggestions for the heatsink/fan and power supply. To many to choose from, and from a website i really dont need alot of watts, maybe 450, so i'll go for a 650 or so. Also i want 64 bit operating system, but which one. Xp, Vista, or 7.Let me know if i need anything else. I'm will to go for a new case if it come with a quality power supply otherwise i'll just stick with mine. Thanks.

Very nice for someone who just wants a modest system. Don't forget that your power supply is big contributor to case ventilation, so get one with a nice big ball-bearing fan. The bigger the fan, the quieter to move the same amount of air. Contrary to what some say, I prefer the latest operating system. There are quite a few things I like about Vista over XP.

E8500--$180Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P---$135GSkill 4GB ram, DDR2-1066---$55.00EVGA- Geforce GTX260-896MB---$185Samsung DVD burner----$25.00Artic Silver----$18.00Artic cooling freezer 7 pro---$32.00Antec Sonata Elite case and Antec TP-650 PS-$165Windows Vista 64 bit for builders---$100.00Total $895.00 Thats what im starting off with now, mainly looking for people to make sure all these pieces play well with each other. Making sure the video card fits the case, cooling fan clearances, all that odd ball stuff you dont think of till you build it. Yes Art its a nice system, but a few years old top of the line system. It scares me to see just a single processer out there costing $200 more than what im putting an entire system together for. Granted, those guys can turn every slider to the right and fly with massive addons and need that last bit of power. Im actually paying for this in spare change, literally. Been saving quarters, nickles and dimes for years and this is a little present to myself. I built the last system just out of high school for right under a grand and has lasted this long, only updated the video card and added memory over the years.

E8500--$180Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P---$135GSkill 4GB ram, DDR2-1066---$55.00EVGA- Geforce GTX260-896MB---$185Samsung DVD burner----$25.00Artic Silver----$18.00Artic cooling freezer 7 pro---$32.00Antec Sonata Elite case and Antec TP-650 PS-$165Windows Vista 64 bit for builders---$100.00...costing $200 more than what im putting an entire system together for. Granted, those guys can turn every slider to the right and fly with massive addons and need that last bit of power.

Looks nice a decent mid system, even the guys with the 975's clocked 4.0+ cant run payware and maxed sliders yet hahahGood luck with it

Artic Silver----$18.00Artic cooling freezer 7 pro---$32.00Yes Art its a nice system, but a few years old top of the line system.

I meant to mention in the earlier post that the stock heatsink, fan and thermal compound that comes with the processor is quite adequate if you are not overclocking.This system is not state of the art, but still very well suited for FSX. I'd even rate it better than mid-level. I have never bought the latest top of the line components because they are outrageously priced until something else comes along to be top of the line.

I was thinking that very thing later on today Art. But the words cheap, noisy, and a pain to install seem to follow the stock intel fan and heatsinks. But i havent seen or install one so if you say stock will do me fine then i'll trust you on it. Yes i've been following Mike's 975 post and its amazing the amount of power....money... its takes to run the best of the best to the max. I probably wont even tax my system to even half what some of the big iron guys do. Im normally out in the bush or small urban areas just tooling around. I've never so much as been to any of the big airport or cities, i dont bother with the AI at all or traffic. So I'm just going to sit and brew over this setup for the week, see what this post develops as far as better combos or pricing. If everything seems to play well with each other hopefully I'll make a trip to the bank with the change and get some good laughs. Thanks guys.

the words cheap, noisy, and a pain to install seem to follow the stock intel fan and heatsinks.

I can't speak specifically about the Intel heatsinks, but I find the AMD ones to be very adequate. I did have a problem with heat pipes conflicting with the plastic lock down frame requiring some whittling to get the heatsink to fit, but the high performance heatsinks are more likely to have this problem than the standard ones.

Looks nice a decent mid system, even the guys with the 975's clocked 4.0+ cant run payware and maxed sliders yet hahahGood luck with it

It's great to see posters who write about hardware that they don't own. LOLMaybe the joke is on you. I can run my sliders on extremely dense and maintain 25fps anywhere. Not only that but every other program and video game runs great. I can talk because I own an i7 975.It's also laughable when you hear other compare the i7 920 at 4ghs and the i7 965/975 at 4ghs. The i7 920 is not an 965 or 975. There's a reason why you have to pay more for the extreme versions.

Actually, I believe the joke is on the people who spend $1000+ on a processor.-Alex

Actually, I believe the joke is on the people who spend $1000+ on a processor.-Alex

Why would it make you laugh? It should make you cry because you can't afford it. LOLAll joking aside, I'm very happy with my investment. So far those here who have made the jump, are at least content with their decision.