PSU wattage requirements are overstated because they have to account for all the crappy PSUs out there with inflated wattage ratings. I can guarantee you that PSU is capable of powering that graphics card. I've run an overclocked GTX 285 and a 4GHz quad core on a Corsair VX 550, only 30W higher than your PSU.

At corsair website there is simple webbased PSU requirement calculator. When entering both quad core and GTX 285 OC the result diaplayed was that you need a 650W corair PSU. The result for my option is that 450 W is not sufficient but 550 W needed on my current system with a overclocked GTX260. Also replacing my X2 with a Phenom II quad seems to be a good upgrade for FSX. But your statement about power requirements sound very likely and reasonable

If so I would expect noticable better performence with GTS 250 which cost only slightly less than a 9800GT

I'm not sure you'll notice any better performance.. but it should do the job just fine andprovide another 50W heat for those cold winter mornings :(

Question is GTX260 or GTS 250? Will I notice any difference in FSX? I'm quite sure it can mean a difference in other games and I doubt it will make a difference in FS9?My research indicate my PSU will be able to handle a GTX260.

I just replaced my 8800GTX with a GTS250 and it made a pretty big difference. I can now run 40% airline traffic. Could only run 10% max with the 8800GTX. Price of a 250 is around $125 to $150. Didn't want to spend any more than that because the new cards should be hitting the shelves in a couple of weeks. Im running a resolution of 3800X1050 with a second monitor for instrument panel.Steve

My old 8800Gt videocard just failed and I would like to hear suggestions for a cost effective new videocard to buy. I also wan't opinions on why my videocard failed. I have noticed that it runs unusually hot compared to for example the CPU. When it failed the screen wen't black and when starting the computer from cold it made a loud noice and no display at all. The failure occured during gaming. Could that be a videocard that gets unusually hot or should I think about the case which btw got two 80 mm chassifansMy systemAMD X2 6000 3.1 GHz4 Gb PC6400 RAM(failed 8800Gt 512M DDR3 PCIe now running mobo embedded graphics which render games unplayable)Corsair modular HX520 520W PSU

according to older threads it depends on the size of your monitor, anything over a 22" is a big hit pixel-wise. If so you'll need a 285 GTX, otherwise a 275 GTX is a great card

according to older threads it depends on the size of your monitor, anything over a 22" is a big hit pixel-wise. If so you'll need a 285 GTX, otherwise a 275 GTX is a great card

I got a 24" monitor at 1920*1200 and I have now bought a Asus GTS250 1G. The 260GTX didn't fit my chassi which made the price decesive in the decision. But also i was warned that my PSU could be at the limit of what was needed.