Hi there,my current PC finally went up in smoke and I'm too old to be tweaking and upgrading anymore. I'd like to get a new PC that's capable of running FS9 with all the add-ons one can have (PMDG products, FSD sceneries, AI traffic, ASA etc.).I used to buy high end (and big bucks) systems but never overclocked and my budget has changed too. My time flying is now somewhat limited and I'd like a good system out of the box without the hassle of tweaking (other than normal FS tweaking of course ;-)I've found a HP Pavilion at bestbuy.com and wondered if this machine will run FS9 fine. Here's the link:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+...p;skuId=9695866I'd really appreciate if anyone could help me here as my recession crippled budget doesn't allow for more and I'm simply not capable of building myself.Thanks in advance,Peter

Hi there,my current PC finally went up in smoke and I'm too old to be tweaking and upgrading anymore. I'd like to get a new PC that's capable of running FS9 with all the add-ons one can have (PMDG products, FSD sceneries, AI traffic, ASA etc.).I used to buy high end (and big bucks) systems but never overclocked and my budget has changed too. My time flying is now somewhat limited and I'd like a good system out of the box without the hassle of tweaking (other than normal FS tweaking of course ;-)I've found a HP Pavilion at bestbuy.com and wondered if this machine will run FS9 fine. Here's the link:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+...p;skuId=9695866I'd really appreciate if anyone could help me here as my recession crippled budget doesn't allow for more and I'm simply not capable of building myself.Thanks in advance,Peter

No problems whatsoever running FS9. Strange BB just indicated the system has an Intel Core i7 CPU and not indicating whether it's the i7 920 or not. I believe that is the 920 as the speed is 2.66 GHz. In any case, you'll have no problems with it. Best regards,Jim

It's a decent machine but for the same price @ Best Buy you could get an Asus Essentio desktop that uses higher quality components and would allow you to overclock, should you choose to do so.

Thanks Jim. Yes it is a 920 @ 2.66. As long as FS9 will run at 30 fps with all my lovely add-ons I'll be happy. I may try FSX on it, just because of PMDG's Jetstream but I have not high expectations for FSX.Cheers,Pete

It's a decent machine but for the same price @ Best Buy you could get an Asus Essentio desktop that uses higher quality components and would allow you to overclock, should you choose to do so.

Thanks for the tip. I checked BB's website and found only one refurbished Essentio that is the same as the HP. Here's the link:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Factory...p;cp=1&lp=5The reviews are strange though, seem's there is a common theme with the assembly quality. Are there any other Essentio's I missed?Cheers,Pete

That's the one. I wasn't aware they'd stopped selling new Essentio 5290s. $800 for that level of hardware is an insanely good deal, refurbished or not. As for the "reviews", I assume you're referring to the customer comments. Customer comments on retailer websites aren't worth much. I generally disregard them when shopping.

That's the one. I wasn't aware they'd stopped selling new Essentio 5290s. $800 for that level of hardware is an insanely good deal, refurbished or not. As for the "reviews", I assume you're referring to the customer comments. Customer comments on retailer websites aren't worth much. I generally disregard them when shopping.

The price is simply fantastic. I'll have to check if there's enough room in there to put my current HD, possibly my sound blaster too. If so, this might be it, can't beat this config at this price. The only thing I found weird was many of those comments mentioning a "loose" video card and a loose screw......Too many to be coincidence maybe. But that much fixing I'm willing to do for that price.Cheers,Pete

The system definitely has room for another HD and expansion card. A loose graphics card takes all of 30 seconds to fix. I wouldn't be too concerned with reports of such a problem.

Peter - that Pavilion system at BestBuy appears to be one sweet machine (just pulled up the page)! Oh, man, you'll have noooo problems running whatever you like.I am simply amazed at the amount of computing power you can now get for around US$1,200 - stunning. It used to be that the "Computer You Really Wanted" always seemed to cost $3,500 (someone at PC Mag wrote a long article about this once, years back)...it was true in 1993, 1997, 2001, 2004...but now, probably the past year to year-and-a-half, the CYRW appears to have been cut in half to <$1,500.It's a golden era for PC computer power! :( Cheers!