god i hope so..im dying for exterior shots

I have this strong, innate feeling that the external shots are literally going to blow us away. I can already see people staring at their computer screens as if someone had just depositing $12 Trillion into their bank accounts. :( Ken Smith(As an aside, last phase of development is handing the bird to the Beta Testers)

OK, basically what I can afford on a PC is around EUR 1000-1200, but 1200 is the absolute limit, and including a monitor, but I'm not gonna spend more than EUR 150 on a monitor so let's say 1000-1100 is the amount I can spend on the computer itself... Do you think guys I can build something for this money that wil handle FSX well (I am still using FS2004 but wanna move to FSX with my upcoming computer purchase)?

With that budget, absolutly no problem. Have a look at (among many others) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist....&catid=1444 and see just what you can get for your money.

The graphics card is 1 GB and the CPU is Quad Core @ 2.5 - does the difference between 2.5 and 2.83 matter that much?

the difference between 2.5 and 2.83GHz quad core CPU will be bigger then between a 512Mb and a 1Gb graphic cards. FSX is CPU bound, more CPU more performance.

With that budget, absolutly no problem. Have a look at (among many others) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist....&catid=1444 and see just what you can get for your money.the difference between 2.5 and 2.83GHz quad core CPU will be bigger then between a 512Mb and a 1Gb graphic cards. FSX is CPU bound, more CPU more performance.

Thank you for the link!!! Those beasts seem to be extremely powerful, I never thought I might buy one with the budget I have! My only question: what is overclocking? I have a basic idea what it is, but isn't overclocking something bad for the computer? I mean running the CPU faster than normal, will it last for six month then burn to ashes? You know what I mean... I'm not sure I can buy a new one every six months, so I need something that lasts long. Isn't overclocking is something extra strain on the machine? Zsolt Monostori

Thank you for the link!!! Those beasts seem to be extremely powerful, I never thought I might buy one with the budget I have! My only question: what is overclocking? I have a basic idea what it is, but isn't overclocking something bad for the computer? I mean running the CPU faster than normal, will it last for six month then burn to ashes? You know what I mean... I'm not sure I can buy a new one every six months, so I need something that lasts long. Isn't overclocking is something extra strain on the machine? Zsolt Monostori

Careful and smart overclocking shouldn't shorten the life of a computer components. The basic issue is that overclocking pushes components harder and generates more heat. All computer parts are made of large amounts of silicone which can have accelerated breakdown after reaching certain temperatures. How hot you're willing to let them run depends on you, but compents running at maximum 65-70 degrees C when loaded will likely see only very slightly accelerated wear (absolutely <10% of total lifetime, probably even less). The issue in the past has been that some components at stock might run close to these temperatures (I recall one of my old AMD chips that idles at 55 and at load was 70-72 at stock speeds) and left little room for overclocking before getting in to those danger zones (Typically >80C is quite worrisome and >90C is a never pass threshold). Now days though things are much cooler. My i7-920 at stock speeds idled at 35C. I have mine overclocked from 2.67 GHz to 3.6GHz that now idles about 42C and under full load is about 62-63C. Only thing that's keeping me from going higher is I need 1600 MHz RAM instead of the 1333 MHz I have. Moral of the story--if you are going to overclock, spend the $60 USD for a very good aftermarket CPU cooler and you'll be in luck.

Careful and smart overclocking shouldn't shorten the life of a computer components.

But it does invalidate your warranty.

Since we're offtopic, all chips in one series are basically the same internally, that is the i7-920 is the same chip as the i7-965. An 920 can easily run at 965 speeds without any sort of damage whatsoever

Since we're offtopic, all chips in one series are basically the same internally, that is the i7-920 is the same chip as the i7-965. An 920 can easily run at 965 speeds without any sort of damage whatsoever

Absolutely agree. The only possible difference in the i7 series is that the "extreme edition" CPU's ship with there clock multiplier unlocked at 21 (instead of 20 for others). This theoretically is an advantage for overclocking since the use of a higher CPU multiplier means you can use a lower overall system multiplier thus saving your RAM and Northbridge (i7's ship with the CPU multiplier set at the highest level already, so you basically overclock them by overclokcing the system multiplier which overclocks RAM and Northbridge as well).However, the reality is that the i7 "turbo mode" just increases the CPU multiplier from stock 20x to 21x and most motherboards designed for gaming systems have BIOS options to permanently enable "turbo mode" effectively unlocking the 21x multiplier.

I thought the northbridge terminology became obsolete?

I am really looking forward to buying my new machine, an overclocked beast:-) Finally, FSX, I already bought the Deluxe edition! The first things I will install are the Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2, followed by Ultimate Traffic X, REX, Ultimate Terrain EUR and USA, Active Sky.As for sceneries, I only have Aerosoft Budapest and St Maarten for FSX (I already have bought all of them, they are patiently waiting for their times to come). When my PC will be bought, I will purhase PMDG MD-11, and when available, the NGX will be next! I don't think I need anything else. Do you think I will need something else, some other must have that I will definitely have to purchase?Thank you,Zsolt Monostori

I am really looking forward to buying my new machine, an overclocked beast:-) Finally, FSX, I already bought the Deluxe edition! The first things I will install are the Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2, followed by Ultimate Traffic X, REX, Ultimate Terrain EUR and USA, Active Sky.As for sceneries, I only have Aerosoft Budapest and St Maarten for FSX (I already have bought all of them, they are patiently waiting for their times to come). When my PC will be bought, I will purhase PMDG MD-11, and when available, the NGX will be next! I don't think I need anything else. Do you think I will need something else, some other must have that I will definitely have to purchase?Thank you,Zsolt Monostori

Well, depending on your other simulator interests, Acceleration has some benefits...mainly in the way of carrier aviation. If you never see yourself flying off a ship then it's not very useful. However, if you do they it makes things much more integrated.I'd also think about the PMDG JS41. A very different flavor than heavy metal flying, but an excellent and very fun aircraft. I'm also a big fan of the Voice Editions of FS2Crew (old ones aren't bad, but are a bit scripted).

I don't see any need in overclocking. My machine runs FSX perfectly with tons of scenery addons and airports. Really, as good as FS9. Why overclock?

Well, depending on your other simulator interests, Acceleration has some benefits...mainly in the way of carrier aviation. If you never see yourself flying off a ship then it's not very useful. However, if you do they it makes things much more integrated.I'd also think about the PMDG JS41. A very different flavor than heavy metal flying, but an excellent and very fun aircraft. I'm also a big fan of the Voice Editions of FS2Crew (old ones aren't bad, but are a bit scripted).

Thanks for the idea. I'm more into jet aircraft but I might give the JS41 a try. But I am afraid I will be bankrupt after buying my new PC and the Md-11, and not even talking about the NGX... But never say never. I have the Flight1 ATR for FS9 and love it, but if Turboprops then Dash 8-400:-) We'll see.If I buy acceleration, is it true that I will get two more detailed cities (Istanbul and Berlin)? Only the cities will be detailed or even the airports? If so, I will buy the Acceleration as well. But if I have Acceleration, do I need to install Service Pack 2 separately, or not? And Service Pack 1? Sorry for being a bit offtopic though.Zsolt Monostori

I don't see any need in overclocking. My machine runs FSX perfectly with tons of scenery addons and airports. Really, as good as FS9. Why overclock?

Because it is a free performance upgrade? :( I got 1.54Ghz (58% speed increase) more out of my I7 920 by overclocking.

Thanks for the idea. I'm more into jet aircraft but I might give the JS41 a try. But I am afraid I will be bankrupt after buying my new PC and the Md-11, and not even talking about the NGX... But never say never. I have the Flight1 ATR for FS9 and love it, but if Turboprops then Dash 8-400:-) We'll see.If I buy acceleration, is it true that I will get two more detailed cities (Istanbul and Berlin)? Only the cities will be detailed or even the airports? If so, I will buy the Acceleration as well. But if I have Acceleration, do I need to install Service Pack 2 separately, or not? And Service Pack 1? Sorry for being a bit offtopic though.Zsolt Monostori

The "detailed cities" are only the cities. Nothing about the airports. If you do get Acceleration, installing it is equivelant to installing SP1 and SP2 so you should not try to install those seperately.

Because it is a free performance upgrade? :( I got 1.54Ghz (58% speed increase) more out of my I7 920 by overclocking.

And you can buy an i7-920 for $280 that will equal to or outperform a $570 i7-960 (Newegg prices). For those of us on a budget this is a big deal.

I have this strong, innate feeling that the external shots are literally going to blow us away. I can already see people staring at their computer screens as if someone had just depositing $12 Trillion into their bank accounts. :(

Funny stuff there............I felt we had many already staring at their screens with the recent releases of the overhead. I too look forward to an exterior shot - curious to see if the level of detail in the recent 747-8i went into the NGX. Not that I doubt it did, but I'm like that little kid at christmas trying to get a sneak peak every chance i can.By the way I do not want to wait for christmas......HEAR ME????Walter Trester