Like many others here, I'm about to build a new system (actually someone locally will put it together with me watching). Here's what I've come up with to run FS9, and for the first time, FSX. I'll be using an existing 19" 1280 x 1024 flat screen monitor and Creative 5:1 speakers.Intel Core i7 920 Quad-Core ProcessorASUS P6T Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard Mushkin 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Model 998691EVGA 01G-P3-1180-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP VideoWD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDDPlextor Black 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD/CD Writer LightScribe SupportSony Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0BCogage True Spirit CPU Cooler by Thermalright 1366 CoolerCorsair CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 Modular Power SupplyWindows Vista Home Premium 64-bit w/ Windows 7 upgrade couponDo you think I need a 2nd HDD just for FS9 and FSX files? And you'll notice I haven't specified a case. I'm at a total loss - think I'd like a full-tower for the room and for the future as well. Thoughts? Thanks everyone for the help!!!

Get a 2nd HDD for sure! It is a much better idea to have FSX and FS9 on a seperate HDD.Case wise check out what Lian-Li have to offer. The Coolermaster Cosmos is a pretty good choice aswell.Given your screen size the GTX285 is total overkill. A GTX260 Core216 or GTX275 would be much more suitable.

Thanks for the help. How about this Superclocked GTX 275 or is this card more than sufficient GTX 275? For the dedicated hdd (FS9 & FSX) will this be large enough and will the speed increase be noticable VelociRaptor? Finally, I'm looking at the new Corsair case 800D - expensive but I think it'll last me for a long, long time. Thoughts?