Soon I will buy en new PC in order to run FSX along with FS9.If I read through the forums it eems that I will need to spend at least 2000 euro to make it work.I cannot overclock ( due to lack of experience )despite what people may say to the contrary that it is easy.I have a lot of pay-ware & free add-on sceneries of ( major) airports, aircraft, ground textures etc. etc..which will be installed for FSX.I just want to enjoy my FSX to run smoothly without CTD's, white aircraft, long up-load times and to comprimise on objects which come with most (airport) sceneries.Are there specifications which will meet my request without costing too much money on equipment which may not be required.By the way I live in the Netherlands.Hoping someone has suggestions.Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure about prices for hardware in Europe but 2,000 euros seems pretty high. I spent about 1,200 on my box (about 900 euros) and another $500 on new monitors.Whether you want to overclock or not, you do need to be in the 3.8 GHz+ range. Of course, things like AI aircraft and high graphics settings require horsepower. If you are willing to dial down those settings, you could do it with less.I know you have read this before but I wouldn't shy away from overclocking. The fist system I ever overclocked is my current one and it was a snap. Everyone is overclocking the I7's and there is a ton of information here on how to do it. It was much easier than I anticipated.

I'm not sure about prices for hardware in Europe but 2,000 euros seems pretty high. I spent about 1,200 on my box (about 900 euros) and another $500 on new monitors.Whether you want to overclock or not, you do need to be in the 3.8 GHz+ range. Of course, things like AI aircraft and high graphics settings require horsepower. If you are willing to dial down those settings, you could do it with less.I know you have read this before but I wouldn't shy away from overclocking. The first system I ever overclocked is my current one and it was a snap. Everyone is overclocking the I7's and there is a ton of information here on how to do it. It was much easier than I anticipated.

Exactly the same here, Jeff. Per my spec below - I run 4.2 all the time - on air without any BSOD's, black screens or anything else. We have enough mods on this forum to make FSX work properly now. I suppose there are combinations of hardware that don't work terribly well, but mine seem to work ok. I couldn't find an nVidia 480 gpu when I had committed to the upgrade, but the ATI is just fine under all that I've thrown at it. BUT - you DO NEED to overclock. This was my first attempt, too: I went to http://forums.pureoverclock.com/showthread.php?t=5736 and followed everything that was posted, bought and i7 950, downloaded the loads generators and heat monitors and went to it. It did take about two weeks, but it's quite stable now - probably a year since I last touched it.As Jeff said - 2000 euros is w-a-a-a-y too much. Below is a quick quote from a local supplier in Toronto, Canadian dollars. Average system, with a 23" monitor.Asus LED Backlight LCD ML238H 23 inch Wide HDMI 1920x1080 2ms 10000000:1 White and Black Retail $235.00 Thermaltake TRX-850M Cable Management 80+ 850W Power Supply W0319RU $149.99 OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666 Platinum Low-Voltage Triple Channel $209.99 Intel Core i7 Quad I7-960 3.2G 8MB LGA1366 Retail Box $589.00 ASUS MB RAMPAGE III GENE CORE I7 X58 LGA1366 DDR3 PCIE2 SATA3 USB3 mATX RETAIL $239.00 ASUS ENGTX480/1536MD5, GEFORCE GTX480,PCI-E 2.0,1536MB-GDDR5 384 BIT, DUAL DVI-I, HDMI $529.00 Subtotal: $1,951.98 1,951.98 CAD = 1,442.51 EURI forgot an air cooloer, but just browsing the same store - there are dozens out there, averaging $50.

I too have an i7 950 can you share your recommended settings?

You can easily save $250 on that setup by buying an 930 instead of a 960. The chips themselves are identical and will reach the same levels when you overclock, unless youre going for extreme clocking on nitro. And even then the 930 might reach the same levels as the 960

You can easily save $250 on that setup by buying an 930 instead of a 960. The chips themselves are identical and will reach the same levels when you overclock, unless youre going for extreme clocking on nitro. And even then the 930 might reach the same levels as the 960

Dead right. The 920 (if you can find one) is even cheaper, and many will hit 4.2 on air. Those were just grabbed from what I know is a bit better than "adequate". One can always find deals, too.For 41X3 - I'm using a plain P6T mobo, so my setting might not work for you...... but:-AI Tweaker:AI Overclock Tuner------------ManualCP Ratio ---------------------21.0Intel SpeedStep --------------DisabledBCLK Freq --------------------200PCIE Freq --------------------100DRAM Freq --------------------AutoUCLK Freq --------------------AutoDRAM Timing-------------------ALL AutoCPU Voltage ------------------1.3750CPU PLL V --------------------1.86QPI/DRAM Core V --------------1.36875IOH V ------------------------1.10IOH PCIE V -------------------1.5ICH V ------------------------1.2ICH PCI V --------------------1.5DRAM BUS V -------------------1.6 next 5 DRAM ----------------AutoLoadLine Cal -----------------DisabledCPU DIFF Amplitude -----------800mVCPU Clock Skew ---------------Delay 100pSCPU Spread Spectrum ----------DisabledIOH Clock Skew ---------------Delay 100pSPCIE Spread Spectrum ---------DisabledAdvanced:-C1E Support ------------------DisabledIntel Virtualization ---------DisabledCPU TM Func ------------------DisabledIntel HD Tech ----------------DisabledA20M -------------------------DisabledIntel C-State Tech -----------DisabledThat's it. The FSX.cfg incorporates many of Nick's tweaks, along with Bojote's tweaks - the AIAutomationCore.dll, HIGHMEMFIX=1, Shaders mod, BufferPools=0, ATI cards need the vsync=1 tweak, there's more, plus I use an "fsx.bat" dos batch file to launch specific cfg files, first by deleting the existing cfg, and then copying a "touched up" config file, say for Normal, Maddog, Vietnam, helicopter, Original and Test, and then launching TIR & FSX. This way one gets a fresh fsx.cfg for every flight. Those are what I have at this moment, and can edit and change them as the need presents itself.Hope this helps.