I currently own a Dual Core E8500 overclocked to 3.8GHz but was wondering if a reasonably priced $170 Q9550 available through a well known US reseller is worth it. My main complaint with FSX is occasional stuttering and slow loading/blurry texture load even with a fast 1 TB hard-drive and a Geforce 260GTX video-card with current drivers on a Windows 7RC system.Btw...would not consider a I7 processor since I don't start from scratch again and my components are approx. 6 months old.Darryl

I have a Q6600, overclocked to 3.0 (which is a VERY light overclock), with UTX, GEX, REX PMDG 747. and I'm very happy with my setup. I've never run a dual core, and yours seems to be overclocked quite a bit. i'm not sure you'd see much in the way of frame rate increases, but maybe an overall more smooth experience.

I currently own a Dual Core E8500 overclocked to 3.8GHz but was wondering if a reasonably priced $170 Q9550 available through a well known US reseller is worth it. My main complaint with FSX is occasional stuttering and slow loading/blurry texture load even with a fast 1 TB hard-drive and a Geforce 260GTX video-card with current drivers on a Windows 7RC system.Btw...would not consider a I7 processor since I don't start from scratch again and my components are approx. 6 months old.Darryl

Hi Darryl,As you can see from my signature, I have the specs that you more or less are wondering about. My quad is butter smooth in the overclock, even with all the sliders to the right in even the wonderful FTX world or Holger,s Tongass Fjords and Vancouver X. Combined with FPS Limiter and Nicks settings for enhancer, I really could not ask for more. The key is a high stable overclock with top drawer cooling with the OCZ Vendetta 2 in a well vented case. I set my fps at 30 in limiter while it perversely runs the sim at 35, rarely dipping under the 30 itself. I fly complex aircraft, use REX real world weather, 100% ai traffic including WOAI, Just Flight and AU traffic from ORBX. Planes everywhere. top notch scenery and the best addons of aircraft and airports. Thousands of dollars worth, finally being seen and experienced in their glory.Those are just facts, let me tell you a story instead. I had a houseful of friends and neighbors over tonight in order to show them my new L39 from Lotis Simulations. I used Sitka Alaska, and the backdrop of Tongass fjords with the mountains, blue gorgeous water and reflected cruise super-ships. I turned on the smoke and did loop to loops over the city and and water with the sun sparkling on the ocean, the micro cracks on the windshield, completely immersed one and all. They were absolutely thrilled because it was hot fast and slick action, 100% convincingly real. I had to take turns letting them fly and no one wanted to go home for most of the evening.That brings up a real point. With the advances in scenery like the Orbx and Holger masterpieces and the advent of the super planes from Michael at Lotis, and with this fantastic level of equipment performance, we, ladies and gentlemen, have a brand new marketplace. The teenagers and their parents were almost drooling with excitement. The machine ran like I once dreamed it could. It is amazing how smooth the experience has now become. Do it Darryl, buy the chip and the cooler I specified to go with it. Don't do one with out the other. I used to have a tricked up dual core, but I never would think of going back. Going to a useable quad was well worth it in every respect, yesserie!Stephen

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Hve an AMD 945 at 3.4 stabe on air, havnt tried pushing it faster will wait for new 965 to be sorted out its being puhed to 4 on air