Hello all,My story is a familiar one. When I first bought FSX nearly 4 years ago my system was, whilst one of the best going around, sadly inadequate. Then two years ago I built my dream system. A Q6600 2.4 gig quad core CPU in a Striker Extreme mobo with 4 gig of RAM and topped it off with an 8800 GTX. Loaded up FSX and the tears nearly started flowing. I had given ASUS and Nvidia 2 whole years to catch up but you all know the rest. Now another two years have passed. I am now thinking (with some trepidation) of going again. This time an i7 950 CPU, 6 gig of ram (3 x 2) and a 285GTX. Is this $1700 Australian going to give me any significant improvement or will I be reaching for the Kleenex again? Please keep in mind that I know very little about overclocking and will probably just be using it as is. After following some forum instructions I mildly overclocked my current system but don't even know how to find out what it is running at! That's where I'm at with the techo thing.I would greatly appreciate anyone telling me what approximate performance increase I could expect with the upgrade.Regards,Stephen.P.S. I have tried both XP and Vista but only 32 bit versions. :(

Not sure about what speed improvements you'd get from overclocking your proposed system, but if it helps with your current one, you can download CPU-Z and it will tell you what your current one is doing. Find it here: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.phpAl

My understanding is that, unless you're willing to overclock the i7's and match it with the correct memory (and other components), you will not see any great performance increase over the core 2 quads.

My understanding is that, unless you're willing to overclock the i7's and match it with the correct memory (and other components), you will not see any great performance increase over the core 2 quads.

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I will have to learn to overclock. Will overclocking the i7's do more for my FPS than overclocking my current Q6600.Stephen.

If you were to delve into the world of overclocking you could probably get that Q6600 to 3.0 - 3.4GHz with some work - that would be a significant improvement over stock speedHowever with a little work and a good cooler you would be able to get an i7 950 to 4.0GHz easy - and 4GHz is starting to become of the sweetspot for FSX, as long as the RAM and video card are paired nicely and you have a solid power supply and mobo.

If you were to delve into the world of overclocking you could probably get that Q6600 to 3.0 - 3.4GHz with some work - that would be a significant improvement over stock speedHowever with a little work and a good cooler you would be able to get an i7 950 to 4.0GHz easy - and 4GHz is starting to become of the sweetspot for FSX, as long as the RAM and video card are paired nicely and you have a solid power supply and mobo.

Thanks. that's the sort of info I need. I am thinking of a GTX 285 since FSX won't see the second card of the GTX 295. Any thoughts on this or the Mobo, cooler and RAM I should be looking at.Stephen.

Asus P6T Deluxe v2http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131365Mushkin DDR 1600 http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/memory_detail.asp?id=745or if thats too pricey the OCZ stuff at newegghttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820227381Yes, stick with the GTX285, eVGA, etc makes good onesPower supply, me, I like modular such as:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139010But if you dont want to spend the extra cash for modular go with something like thishttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817703009oops almost forgot the cooler, the Thermalright 1366 wherever you can find ithttp://www.crazypc.com/products/PX50983.htmlEDIT** one thing I forgot about that Mushkin stuff, the model number ending in 2 has larger heatsinks if you have the space, and I would recommend those:http://www.antarespro.com/2138587-item-MUS...315d308d313d308Thanks to Jordanal for this info

Asus P6T Deluxe v2http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131365Mushkin DDR 1600 http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/memory_detail.asp?id=745or if thats too pricey the OCZ stuff at newegghttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820227381Yes, stick with the GTX285, eVGA, etc makes good onesPower supply, me, I like modular such as:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139010But if you dont want to spend the extra cash for modular go with something like thishttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817703009oops almost forgot the cooler, the Thermalright 1366 wherever you can find itThanks for such an informative replyStephen.http://www.crazypc.com/products/PX50983.htmlEDIT** one thing I forgot about that Mushkin stuff, the model number ending in 2 has larger heatsinks if you have the space, and I would recommend those:http://www.antarespro.com/2138587-item-MUS...315d308d313d308Thanks to Jordanal for this info