When I fly I usually have the following open:FSX (with FSPassengers and FSWidgets EFB)ActiveSky EvolutionFirefoxFSBuildTOPCATRadarContactNavigraph nDAC (when flying outside the US)What I've found is that my i7 with HT enabled on Win7 64bit is that all 8 cores are utilized. FSX does not use any of the virtual cores, but other programs do. This is without any core utility running (e.g., Xtreme FSX). Win7 seems to do a reasonable job of utilizing all cores on its own.

That is a consideration worth mentioning. I only run FSC & REX weather (maybe IE opened to a chart) when I fly so it hasn't hurt me.

None of those apps are so CPU intensive, even combined, to make an impact. HT is useless

None of those apps are so CPU intensive, even combined, to make an impact. HT is useless

so the only diff is the 2500k is NONE HT and the 2600K is? That's it?

so the only diff is the 2500k is NONE HT and the 2600K is? That's it?

Basically yes. There is a 100Mhz difference in the base clock speed, which is nothing when you'll be OCing anyway. There is also a 2MB difference in the L3 Cache.

L3 cache = also more important for content creation stuff, not so much gaming. If you're building a gaming machine, I think the 2500K is the better value. I made this mistake with the 860 vs. the i5 750 myself - I've ended up with HT totally off to be able to get higher OCs - could have gotten the same for less with the 750.

all of this is interesting!!!

I'd like to ask a question though. I had a dual core before, from Intel, older one. I assume it was the E6750 @ 2,66GHZ. However, i decided to build myself a low budget PC, so i ordered the components like 6 months ago and it took me a month until i got it all finished.I'm still flying in FS9, but i experienced a nice performance boost. I'm using the AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3,40 GHZ (Quad Core). 4GB of DDR3 RAM @ 1333MHZ with dual channel. And the EVGA GTX460. I'm just wondering about the fsx.cfg file.What do i have to put in to make sure i get as much performance as only possible for FSX? I am planning my transition to FSX as soon as the NGX comes out.[JOBSCHEDULER]AffinityMask=15That's my current setting, but i also heared i should use 14 instead of 15. Is that correct? I'd appreciate an explanation.Sincerely,iK

Your setup should run FSX very nicely as it is. I would start running FSX now (in parallel to FS9, not instead of it) so that you have it running the way you want it before the NGX comes out. That way, you will be able to enjoy the NGX for what it is instead of having to get used to the new FS at the same time. Don't worry too much about your config as you can submit your fsx.cfg file to ******* (the FSX genius not the religious leader) for checking and tweaking. Look fo the user 'bojote' and check his signature.