Hello Everyone,I am new to this forum, but not to computer hardware. I want to build a solid computer for AU$2500, with no monitor/perphirals required. I run many addons, and want the best possible machine for that price. I will want to overclock, but will need help achieving this as I am not accustomed with this process. I will also need help "tweaking" FSX, as I have heard that it must be done to get optimum results.Thanks everyone for your kind help.

Can nobody help me??

Get a case with good/great airflow. There are many, many options.Start with an X58 mobo, such as the Asus P6X58D or similar.Get a Intel i7 cpu. The extreme are prolly out of your budget but shop for the best one you can afford with your build. Stick with the i7 9xx series and plan to overclock with a good aftermarket heatsink.Get good ram. The mushkin enhanced redline at 1600 MHz and cas 6 is good. Make sure its triple channel and above 1600 MHz with low cas latency.Get a good vid card. FSX likes Nvidia vs ATI cards. The new GTX470 or GTX480 will suit your build.Need two hard drives. One for the OS and one for FSX. A velociraptor or SSD for FSX.Get a quality powersupply. 700-850 watt should fill the need.Use Windows 7, the newest Nvidia drivers don't play nice with XP.I don't know where you plan on purchasing your parts so I tried not to be too specific. If you post a website where your going to buy from, that would help.

All good advice there...Be sure to get a quality power supply, such as this one (this is pricey but extreme high quality):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087I'd probably go with an i7 930 or 950, depending on your budget. Either will overclock to 4GHz+ with a solid motherboard... speaking of that... Here's a good X58 mobo by Gigabyte:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128456You don't have to spend a fortune to get a quality mobo.Ram-wise... anything low latency but 1600mhz at minimum... Mushkin makes a nice kit:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226121The ram heatsinks aren't too huge either so when you get an awesome cooler (H50/70, DH14, Prolimatech Megahalems) you won't have to worry about the ram touching the cpu heatsink ;)If you can afford it get a 120GB SSD for fsx and a 7200rpm drive for the rest of your software... example:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231378I'd prefer the intel X25M but they are realllly pricey...Video card the GTX460 is a great card at value prices... it's a good tradeoff from a GTX480 their flagship card.Win 7 x64, a good case and monitor, and you're all set.

Hi guys,thanks for you responses. I have come up with the following:i7 950Asus P6X58D-ECoolermaster HAF XCoolermaster Silent Pro 800W GoldMushkin Redline 6GB 1600MHz 6-8-6-24Zotac GTX480Corsair Force Series F120GB SSD2TB WD Cav. Black 64mbNoctua NH-D14. What sort of performance will I get from these specs once OCd?Can anyone help me OC as I have never done it before?

Hi guys,thanks for you responses. I have come up with the following:i7 950Asus P6X58D-ECoolermaster HAF XCoolermaster Silent Pro 800W GoldMushkin Redline 6GB 1600MHz 6-8-6-24Zotac GTX480Corsair Force Series F120GB SSD2TB WD Cav. Black 64mbNoctua NH-D14. What sort of performance will I get from these specs once OCd?Can anyone help me OC as I have never done it before?

Very similar to what I have. You should be able to OC that i7 950 to 4.2GHz pretty easy, you picked a good HSF, that D14 will handle the 4.2GHz OC.Are you going to use the SSD for your OS and the 2TB for FSX and everything else? If you are I would create a minimum of a 600GB partition on the 2TB and use that for FSX and put everything else on the remaining 1.4TB. You want FSX on the first partition, this way there is less seek time to get to the data, makes it a little faster and FSX smoother.A great site for OC questions and help is www.overclock.net

I am hoping to put FSX and OS on the SSD, with addons like REX, GEX etc on a partition on the HD. OS takes up 32GB correct?What I really want is step-by-step instructions to OC to 4.2GHz. I don't want to try and search for different ways to do this. I want someone to tell me 1...2...3...

That looks a very strong system, with many of the components the same as mine. Looking closer, I think everything is the same minus the CPU. Sorry I can't help with OCing. Different processor, different settings.

I am hoping to put FSX and OS on the SSD, with addons like REX, GEX etc on a partition on the HD. OS takes up 32GB correct?What I really want is step-by-step instructions to OC to 4.2GHz. I don't want to try and search for different ways to do this. I want someone to tell me 1...2...3...

Before you OC I would really suggest that you at least read these two guides and read them each at least twice. It will give you an idea of what you are doing and why you are doing it.http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/22106-core-i7-overclocking-guide-beginners.htmlhttp://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?board_id=1&model=P6T+Deluxe&id=20081220191040237&page=1&SLanguage=en-usNo one can give you the exact settings, systems with the exact same hardware may require different voltages to be stable. Different motherboards have different settings. Different motherboard company's call the same setting different names. Once you get your parts and build your system run it at stock settings for at least a month so you know that everything is stable before you begin to overclock. Once you have your system built I will be glad to help.

Those look really good guides. Mind if I give these links to others?

Those look really good guides. Mind if I give these links to others?

Link away!There are others out there, I have read at least three more beside the two I posted links to, but those two seem the best and most of the stuff from guide to guide is just repetitive anyway.

Cheers. See my new thread on CPU benchmarking within FSX.