I don't know if this is the appropriate place to ask this, but I figured I would give it a try..I want to build (or buy) a better computer to run FSX. I currently have a laptop with an AMD Turion 46 Dual Core with like like 1.5 G of ram... I get like 7-9 FPS.... I want a better computer but can't afford these 1k systems... Does anyone have any advice on something I can get for less than $500 U.S ? That might be a pipe dream but I figured I would ask... Thank you in advance!!

$500 won't build a great PC, but it will build one which can do better than 7-9 FPS for sure. In that price range I'd be looking at AMD's Athlon II x4 6xx series CPUs for $100 or so. For a motherboard, anything from Gigabyte or Asus with an AM2+ socket and DDR3 memory slots will do, I'd say you'll want an AMD chipset for sure though, stay away from motherboards with Nvidia chipsets. Should be able to pick up the board for less than $100. 4GB of DDR3 can be had for less than $100 as well, again just go with a name brand and look for DDR3 1600 with a CL of 8 or lower if you plan on overclocking. That leaves $200-$250 for case, power supply, drives, and graphics card. Not a lot to work with there, but you can get a decent graphics card like a 9800 GT/GTX for about $100 if you look around. The rest will be hard. You may need to save up to expand your budget a bit to get quality components that will last, otherwise you'll be limited to off-brand parts that may not get the job done to begin with. Whatever you do for a case, do NOT buy a cheap no-name power supply. You will be replacing it sooner rather than later, if you do.

In another forum, one of the guys suggested the following. I have looked up some of these parts and everything seems like it is pretty good... What do you guys think?COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer CaseSAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD MotherboardXFX PVT98GYDLH GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video CardLITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL8D-2GBHAMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HDZ720WFK3DGItotal comes out to like $580, and doesn't include windows.. This rig would run FSX at medium high settings respectively.

I want more FPS

I want a new girlfriend.

Looks decent, but that PSU isn't great. I recently swapped out the same PSU (minus the modularity) for a more capable unit with more power and better (less) ripple (i.e. voltage regulation).

Just FYI my old 9800GT card burned out my Antec 500W power supply in an hour.

so what should I look at changing? The 9800GT or the PSU?Suggestions? Thank you!

Just FYI my old 9800GT card burned out my Antec 500W power supply in an hour.

500w p/s should be enough as long as the rail amps are enough for the video card.http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/256175-3...earthwatts-500w

Over at TechSpot, they recently provided updated buying guides and you might want to take a look at their recommendations too: http://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/. One thing to remember is that FSX is more CPU dependent than GPU so I would place emphasis on the capability of the CPU. But that could take you out of your price range. You might look on places like E-Bay for 2-3 year old systems like mine. For instance any Dell XPS system 2-3 years old would run FSX much faster than your laptop. For instance, I just checked and they have a Dell XPS 710 w/monitor which is almost as powerful as mine going right now for $599 - http://cgi.ebay.com/NICE-DELL-XPS-710-DESK...=item414c9f78e7. Just an suggestion...Best regards,Jim

Over at TechSpot, they recently provided updated buying guides and you might want to take a look at their recommendations too: http://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/. One thing to remember is that FSX is more CPU dependent than GPU so I would place emphasis on the capability of the CPU. But that could take you out of your price range. You might look on places like E-Bay for 2-3 year old systems like mine. For instance any Dell XPS system 2-3 years old would run FSX much faster than your laptop. For instance, I just checked and they have a Dell XPS 710 w/monitor which is almost as powerful as mine going right now for $599 - http://cgi.ebay.com/NICE-DELL-XPS-710-DESK...=item414c9f78e7. Just an suggestion...Best regards,Jim

Jim, as nice as your system is, the one you've linked is *much* slower than yours. The CPU is half the speed and the GPU is anemic.

Jim, as nice as your system is, the one you've linked is *much* slower than yours. The CPU is half the speed and the GPU is anemic.

I totally agree but the OP is looking for more FPS than what he gets on his Laptop and I'm saying that a Dell XPS system 2-3 years old can easily get more than 7-9 FPS as long as it's an XPS. I just noted a couple of possibilities and it might be better than trying to build a system for around $500. There may be even better deals. There are several people trying to make a living building some good systems and taking just a $50 profit for their efforts. It's getting very competitive as a result. This might be a good avenue for those who cannot get the high powered systems like yours and mine. And those guys and gals over at TechSpot provide some excellent guidance too. I just want to emphasize these are suggestions. Others have already provided the OP with some excellent suggestions. I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth.Best regards,Jim

What do you guys think of this case?Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail Its on sale this week with free shipping... How does it compare to the COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case that I was planning on purchasing?Thank you for your help!

Those are both cheap cases, with about the same size, features, and quality. CM makes better stuff than Rosewill though, so I'd lean in that direction.

Does anyone have any advice on something I can get for less than $500 U.S ? That might be a pipe dream but I figured I would ask...

If you are replacing a laptop, you will be needing a complete desktop system:AMD PhenomI X2 550 Black Edition 3.1GHz processor, NVidia GeForce 9800GT-512MB video card, AMD 770 chipset AM3 socket motherboard, 3GB DDR3 1066 SDRAM, 500GB HD, DVD R/W drive, case, 2.1 speaker system, keyboard, mouse, 22"WS LCD monitor, and Windows OS.That's $780 including shipping. I don't think a complete desktop setup to run FSX is possible for $500.

If you are replacing a laptop, you will be needing a complete desktop system:AMD PhenomI X2 550 Black Edition 3.1GHz processor, NVidia GeForce 9800GT-512MB video card, AMD 770 chipset AM3 socket motherboard, 3GB DDR3 1066 SDRAM, 500GB HD, DVD R/W drive, case, 2.1 speaker system, keyboard, mouse, 22"WS LCD monitor, and Windows OS.That's $780 including shipping. I don't think a complete desktop setup to run FSX is possible for $500.

I already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speaker system. So far, with the price shopping I am doing, I am pretty close to $550.00 total... And with specials and sales, I might be able to tweak it down even further...