My first experience with MSFS was version 3.0 on a 386. Along the way I bought each new version of the FS and upgraded my computer as needed or when I could afford it. That's been a long time as I'm sure many of you will remember. I ran FS Century of Flight on a pretty decent Dell but when it crashed for the second time I decided to go to a first gen. intel chip iMac and so gave up the "delight of flight vs the fight for staying ahead in the FPS battle" Now I'm ready to upgrade to a Quad core i5 iMac with the ATI Radeon 5750 1 Gb. I plan to partition the HD, load Windows 7 using Bootcamp and install FSX.I have read many posts here and elsewhere that say this combo works wonderfully and/or that it barely works at all. This will be no small chunk of change but I really miss flying the virtually friendly skies of MSFS and wonder if anyone would give me some feedback, advice about what I'm getting into. I'm not looking to load in a lot of add ons...mostly some aircraft and maybe some scenery. I just want to fly again, with smooth performance and I really want it to be FSX.Comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Tccps: I have read some about X Plane and have decided against it for now, and then their is "Flight"?? Am I just starting over again?....jeez!!

Need to go for an i7 processor

in order to get the best performance you must -* a intel i-type processor overclocked to over 4GHz* a MOBO that supports overclocking.* an excellent CPU cooler* a computer case with good cooling fans and vents* most good GPUs will do FSX fine as the CPU is the limiting factor for the gamebecause of the above a MAC doesn't make the best computer to play FS.--

in order to get the best performance you must -* a intel i-type processor overclocked to over 4GHz* a MOBO that supports overclocking.* an excellent CPU cooler* a computer case with good cooling fans and vents* most good GPUs will do FSX fine as the CPU is the limiting factor for the gamebecause of the above a MAC doesn't make the best computer to play FS.--

+1The cpu is definitely the most critical factor. After overclocking my cpu to 4ghz the change in fsx performance is incredibleTom

A overclocked top-of-the-line processer is nice for FSX, but not a requirement. I'm using a Q9650 @ 3GHz and it runs FSX quite well, with a large variety of scenery and aircraft addons.I recently updated my old 512MB 8800GT GPU to an overclocked 1GB 460GTX to be able to run a new computer game. Contrary to my expectations, I got a decent performance boost in FSX too, so the GPU is not completely irrelevant. In fact, nVidia Inspector often shows GPU loads in the 90-100% range when flying in areas with demanding scenery.

Need to go for an i7 processor

I agree and that is what I'm going to order. Scoob, I understand that the iMac is not the best platform but that's what I'm going to use. I have read posts here and there about people having success with the Apple. Another question: Should I get the 32 or 64 bit version of W7. Will it help that much?Thanks again.T

I agree and that is what I'm going to order. Scoob, I understand that the iMac is not the best platform but that's what I'm going to use. I have read posts here and there about people having success with the Apple. Another question: Should I get the 32 or 64 bit version of W7. Will it help that much?Thanks again.T

I got the 64-bit version of W7, and while it doesn't boost the frame rates of FSX, the ability to access much larger amounts of RAM gives the sim more headroom to run. I've found that everything runs more smoothly on my rig now that I'm fully 64-bit (and w/8GB of RAM). And 64-bit programs absolutely blaze in comparison to their 32-bit brethren. I picked up a 64-bit version of Photoshop, and it eats huge files for lunch! For my money, you're definitely better served with a 64-bit OS.

I agree with Bill, W7 64 the way to go. If you do get a an i7, don't get a dual channel flavour.For some of the best advice you can get is ******* tweaks http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.htmlAnd here: SETTING UP FSX and HOW TO TUNE IT - SimForums.com Discussion http://www.simforums...topic29041.htmlI am an ardent follower of NickN, some really good advice to get you restarted.

Thanks Spot and NZ...I think the 64 sounds good. NZ the i7 iMac is a Quad core, with 4G ram. I don't figure to run a lot of other stuff on W7 that would not be 64 bit ready. I will have to find a new joystick that is up to date.