My first post! I'm thinking about getting back into FS and am looking at a computer that I'd use for work and music stuff and also now for FSX. Here are the specs:CPUIntel Core i7 920 Quad-Core Socket LGA1366 2.66Ghz 4.8GT/s FSB 8MB L3 CacheOver ClockingOverclocked to: i7 Quad core 3.8GHz*CPU FanThermaltake ISGC-400 (LGA1366/775/AM2+/AM2)[/url]MotherboardMSI X58 PRO-E SKT1366 INT X58MemoryKingston 6GB (3X2G) DDR3-1333Hard DriveWestern Digital 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA IIOptical DriveLG 22X DVD RW + Dual LayerVideoATI HD5750 PCI-E 1G DDR5 HD/DP/2DVIAudio8 Channel High Definition AudioNetwork CardGigabit LAN controllersPorts6 USB 2.0 Ports 1 SerialNeon LightSunbeam Double CCFL FAN Grill Blue Neon LightCaseCooler Master RC-310-BWN1-GP Elite 310 Mid-Tower CasePower Supply550 Watt Power SupplyWill this run FX9 comfortably or should I ugrade something? Should I use Windows 7, and if so, the Pro version?Thanks for any advice.Bill

My first post! I'm thinking about getting back into FS and am looking at a computer that I'd use for work and music stuff and also now for FSX. Here are the specs:CPUIntel Core i7 920 Quad-Core Socket LGA1366 2.66Ghz 4.8GT/s FSB 8MB L3 CacheOver ClockingOverclocked to: i7 Quad core 3.8GHz*CPU FanThermaltake ISGC-400 (LGA1366/775/AM2+/AM2)[/url]MotherboardMSI X58 PRO-E SKT1366 INT X58MemoryKingston 6GB (3X2G) DDR3-1333Hard DriveWestern Digital 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA IIOptical DriveLG 22X DVD RW + Dual LayerVideoATI HD5750 PCI-E 1G DDR5 HD/DP/2DVIAudio8 Channel High Definition AudioNetwork CardGigabit LAN controllersPorts6 USB 2.0 Ports 1 SerialNeon LightSunbeam Double CCFL FAN Grill Blue Neon LightCaseCooler Master RC-310-BWN1-GP Elite 310 Mid-Tower CasePower Supply550 Watt Power SupplyWill this run FX9 comfortably or should I ugrade something? Should I use Windows 7, and if so, the Pro version?Thanks for any advice.Bill

Hi Seems fine to me. A couple of questions though, the fist is your power supply you should get say a good name brand power supply( 750 to 850 watt) to be safe as the 5850 while it only draws 27 watts at idle can draw 185 watts under full load. 2nd your case should have the room for the 5850 but you should check just to be sure the 5850 while not as long as the 5870 (almost 11" long) and the 5970 (the dual gpu version) at almost 13" long will not fit in all cases I know that the 5850 is not as long but you should still check before you buy. Next think about getting an extra hard drive as well in fact if you have the money get a SSD (Solid State Drive) for your windows install and Flight Sim only the next best thing would be a 150 gig Raptor drive for your Windows\Flight Sim install. Dan Martin Flight Ontario

Thanks Dan. I didn't even realize solid state harddisks had advanced as much as they have. That should really speed things up.Bill

Here are the actual lengths of ATi Radeon HD 5850, 5870, and 5970 cards, since they were mis-quoted above:5850: 9.5"5870: 10.5"5970: 12.16"Most cases will have no problems with the 5850, and the 5870 can be a tight fit in mid-tower to full tower cases if the hard drive bays are not angled towards the case side panel, with the 5970 of course requiring a full or even extended tower.