hey,I figured out why my fsx kept crashing after a while, and i'm almost 100 % sure it's the cpu. Now i want to upgrade from an e6550 @ 2.33Ghz to maybe somewhere around 3 Ghz (so also my just flight 757 can run smooth). My motherboard can handle for duo core up to e8xxx and for quad core up to e9xxx. if you need more info, here is the website for the motherboard specifications: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...product=3667359. and one more question: is quad core better than duo core? or the other way around?thanks!

FSX does take advantage of more cores/threads so you probably should be looking at a Q9 series chip, as long as its in your budget.I recommend the Q9550. I have one (see sig) and its a great chip. Just $169 @ Micro Center too. If you have a Micro Center nearby, there's really no better place to buy CPUs. Especially since Newegg's CPU prices are so much higher.

sorry, forgot to mention, yeah my budget is somewhere between 100-250 dollars ;)

and are there other good ones between the 100 and 250 dollar price range besides intel? just wondering ;)

and are there other good ones between the 100 and 250 dollar price range besides intel? just wondering ;)

Sure, there are other good chips available in that price range besides Intel, but you can't put a non-Intel CPU into an Intel motherboard, so you'd have to buy a new motherboard if you go with a non-Intel chip.

ow right (asus is intel, right xd)