My one year old ACER Q6600 FS 'puter decided to drink the Kool-Aid, and has developed some internal illness deep within the operating system. FS9 and FSX will both will crash whenever any a/c using complex gauges (most likely GDI/GDI+) are loaded...So, today I bit the bullet and made a trip to Best Buy and picked up a very nice box for ~$1200...I just about fell out of my chair when I saw 102 fps in FSX will all sliders to the right!!! It takes less than 15 seconds to launch FSX and be ready to fly... Wow!FS9 is a real screamer, even loaded down with tons of a/i and custom scenery...Since we no longer have to chase after any new FS releases, this will probably be the last 'puter I'll have to buy any time soon. ;D

◦Intel

Sweet! What brand/model did you get from Best Buy?I'm also in the market for a new box, but not right away. I just upgraded to Windows 7 and am getting like-new performance from my 3 year old XPS.Dolph

Other than the GTS 240, looks like a sweet rig. The GTS should go good for FSX, however if you ever decide to do anything such as ArmA 2 or anything truly gpu heavy (most often in the FPS category), you are going to want to look in to a new card.

Other than the GTS 240, looks like a sweet rig. The GTS should go good for FSX, however if you ever decide to do anything such as ArmA 2 or anything truly gpu heavy (most often in the FPS category), you are going to want to look in to a new card.

Peter, that shall never be an issue for me, since I have zero interest in any game playing whatever... :( This new machine has only a single purpose, which is to allow me to continue developing and testing FS9 and FSX entertainment projects. :( Beside which, I rarely have time for "just enjoying a flight..." :(

Sweet! What brand/model did you get from Best Buy?I'm also in the market for a new box, but not right away. I just upgraded to Windows 7 and am getting like-new performance from my 3 year old XPS.Dolph

Dolph, here is the product listing and specifications:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Studio+...d=1218120178969

:( . Really wish I could run out to Best Buy and pick up a new box myself...still chugging along with an hp Pentium Dual-Core here :(

Wow,I'm impressed,I didn't know BB sold beefy rigs like that,Congrats on your new pc!!

Wow,I'm impressed,I didn't know BB sold beefy rigs like that,Congrats on your new pc!!

This is the first "Big Box" box I've ever bought that wasn't pre-loaded with a bunch of crapware...The only thing pre-loaded was Norton, which I quickly uninstalled before doing anything else. :(

Very interesting read Bill. Guess I'll be taking a look at FSX sooner that I thought... $1200 is a nice price for stellar performance in FSX.

Very interesting read Bill. Guess I'll be taking a look at FSX sooner that I thought... $1200 is a nice price for stellar performance in FSX.

Congrats!My similar older computer also died a similar death a month ago and I bought something very similar from Costo for $1000 and can report the same! Too many similarities! :-lol

Making me wonder what I am doing wrong with my rig. :( It was all built in May 2008, and I just went to Win7 65-bit Pro. Specs all below, but, I added ONE add-on aircraft and Activesky and I cannot get passed mid-sliders without the FPS dropping to 10-15 or worse. :(Anyone got some advice?

Congrats!My similar older computer also died a similar death a month ago and I bought something very similar from Costo for $1000 and can report the same! Too many similarities! :-lol

Making me wonder what I am doing wrong with my rig. :( It was all built in May 2008, and I just went to Win7 65-bit Pro. Specs all below, but, I added ONE add-on aircraft and Activesky and I cannot get passed mid-sliders without the FPS dropping to 10-15 or worse. :(Anyone got some advice?

My suspicion is you need to do some tweaking of the configs.

Peter thanks, my suspicion too. :) Would starting with JUST Nhancer be a good start, or does NicKN or someone else have a Win7 tweak guide yet?

My suspicion is you need to do some tweaking of the configs.

This is the first "Big Box" box I've ever bought that wasn't pre-loaded with a bunch of crapware...The only thing pre-loaded was Norton, which I quickly uninstalled before doing anything else. :(

Congratulations on your new system Bill. Sounds like you are going to have fun! A Dell without preloaded ' junk ', well times are certainly changing. I am shocked that you uninstalled Norton though. I have Norton. It is installed on its own dedicated computer and runs very nicely by itself, all alone. :( ( I use ESET NOD32 ( I like it )).Happy Holidays!MelP.S. Norton was good when he used to be installed on the Honeymooners. :(

Congratulations on your new system Bill. Sounds like you are going to have fun! A Dell without preloaded ' junk ', well times are certainly changing. I am shocked that you uninstalled Norton though. I have Norton. It is installed on its own dedicated computer and runs very nicely by itself, all alone. :( ( I use ESET NOD32 ( I like it )).

Since I have two very secure hardware firewalls 'twixt my LAN and the Internet, there's really no need for Norton. I do have AVG installed to scan/filter all email to prevent crap from sneaking in that way though... :(

Congratulations on your new system Bill. Sounds like you are going to have fun! A Dell without preloaded ' junk ', well times are certainly changing. I am shocked that you uninstalled Norton though. I have Norton. It is installed on its own dedicated computer and runs very nicely by itself, all alone. :( ( I use ESET NOD32 ( I like it )).

Norton, while well-designed, is simply a resource hogger. I've been forced to uninstall it on every computer it's been (preloaded) on--constant HD activity.AVG--if you need anything--is the way to go IMO.