Hi,A couple of weeks ago I opened a can of worms that was entirely my fault and I apologize to all for not handling the thread well at all. I am still interested in your knowledge and opinions and ask that you be kind enough to share them.I want to build my final desktop computer. The aim of which is to run FSX (and FS9) but no more than that. Any machine I assemble is 100+ times more than I need to write email or browse the web. I could used my old AMD Athlon XP 3200+ for that and still have horsepower to spare. Well, if you could measure computers in horse power.So much would appreciate what each of you would deem to be a "just right" configuration. Am interested in CPUs, video cards, mother boards and any other component that is relevant such as perhaps a power supply. If you have experience with Intel AND AMD please let me know why or why not one is better for the task, same for nVidia vs ATI and down the line. Again, I play NO games whatsoever. My eye hand coordination is pathetic (want a good laugh, watch me attempt tennis). My era was Pong and Missle Command, maybe Breakout and if I push it, Tetris. I tried the original Nintendo Mario Bros when I was in Japan before it came to the US, never got to level 3. So FSX is my focus and only focus. My point is, I'm by necessity thrifty. If a GTX 260 will give me ultimate FSX experience AND I don't game, then that is the card for me. If I NEED a DX 11 card, fine, if not necessary to run FSX (full out FSX) then I don't need it.I do hope this makes sense. Like Little Red Riding Hood...I want the JUST RIGHT.My current system which is not bad at all and lacking any counsel and advice, could live with it but am at the limit. The picture isn't PERFECTLY smooth. 98%. Pretty good. But if I add in the software I talk about later, all might go to hell in a hand basket.MB: Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE (unlocked) 3.2 GHz OC'd to 3.8GHzVideo: BFG nVidia GTX 260 using BFG factory overclockHDD: 2x WD 1TB and 2xWD 250GB. Windows 7 Pro 64 is what I'm running and it is on a 250GB Using Ultimate Defrag for very careful and as precise as I can make it, file placement. Keeping all the important files to the edge. On the 1TB drives, all the software doesn't use many tracks and have had up to 85+MB/s transfer speed. The Raptors were too expensive when I put this system together.PS: SeaSonic X-750 80 Plus GoldOptical: 1 Sony Optiarc Blu-ray ROM and 1 Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Burner. Monitor: LG-W2353 23" 1920x1080 <5msFS Hardware:TrackIR ver 4.Saitek Yoke, throttles and pedals.Software when flying:FSX with SP1 and SP2Active Sky Evolution w/ SP2Level-D 767 with and without wingletsPMDG 747-400XWoAI aircraft as that puts nearly no strain on the system. I have removed ALL of the FSX default aircraft. Future possible adds: FS Global 2010 X - My eyesight doesn't justify much finer detail than LOD 12. FS Global 2008 X may be good enough but doesn't cover the world. I'm thinking North Pole.GEX and UTX So that's where I am. I lust as much as anyone over the latest and greatest. But important is, and many here have said it, a 6core is going to do not much of anything and perhaps an OC'd Intel to 4.?GHz is better. Ok, if that makes FSX run smooth, cool. Am always interested in competing vendors. the AMD I have is not the top of the X4 line and I could get one that could be OC'd to over 4GHz. Is there magic that FSX like in Intel, or brute cycles of 4GHz+ that makes FSX better?This is absolutely a subjective exercise and that is fine! No matter what you offer, I will learn and make a better system. One issue for me is that Moore's Law is still kicking my butt. Everytime something comes down in price, it is gone before my next payday. That is my issue, not the issue of this thread.So THANK YOU for any input and time you care to share with me. I do appreciate it and this time around, I am not here to challenge anything, just listen. I may have a technical question, say, how to components play together, but not question your assessment. GeorgeHA036

You want to swap CPU and MB for a Sandy Bridge i7-2600K with an ASUS P67 chipset MB and overclock to 4.7+ GHz on air with 8 GBy of 1.6 GHz DDR3 RAM and an nVidia GTX 580 for video. Add an SSD for the OS (Win 7-64 SP1) and FSX for speed.This should cover your needs for email, and provide you with 95% of what FSX needs.Note: I can't afford any of this stuff, but this is a distill of what others have been saying over the last couple months.Cheers,- jahman.

Welcome back George! no need to apologise IMOAnyway, I think I posted basically the same thing in that thread, but here we go again:your AMD system is good, with a nice overclock and a great PSU, That been said, if you are looking to upgrade you'll need to switch to Intel and more precisely to Sandy Bridge.An I5 2500K and a cheap P67 board is all you need.Your Seasonic PSU and CM Sniper are great foundations, your 4GB of 1600 CL9 are perfectly fine, your HDD won't bottleneck your system at all and that GTX260 is ok too.The only thing you get with a stupidly overpriced GTX580 in FSX is image quality (antialiasing) not a single extra FPS, so you can keep that GPU too, and upgrade later on if you want tu run higher AA.The I7 2600K won't perform any better than the I5 2500K since Hyperthreading and the 2 extra MB of L3 cache won't make a difference in FSX, so you save another 100 bucks thereAlso, your V8 cooler works in socket 1155, so you can use that one too if you kept the mounting brackets for LGA1156 (Sandy Bridge's LGA1155 socket uses the same hole spacing)So this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130571&cm_re=p67-_-13-130-571-_-ProductAnd this CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072&Tpk=i5%202500kfor 350$ is all you need.

Great stuff...thanks! I was reading about the 580 ti today. On my reading list tonight is the Sandy Bridge. Noticed G.Skill has this ECO "green" memory. Timings are not too bad and it is spec'd at 1.35V at DDR3-1600 Timing is 7-8-7-24-2N for $67. Just a boring fact. My memory is running fine, well my computer memory :mellow:Thanks dazz, when I have a bad day/week/etc. no need to subject others, so apology was necessary.I added ASE today and the performance seems to be totally smooth. I just don't understand FSX. The down side is I can't get the XGauge to install. Am working with the vendor now. I'm loving the wx though.Just looking at the Intel chip. Does the built in graphics adversely affect performance?Oh, as the the V8, I keep ALL hardware. Think I've got some bits off of my Northgate 386-20 w/floating point processor no less. :biggrin:Alright, could I save a couple more bucks with an I5-2500 ? The only difference I saw between the plain and K models had to do with the internal video. Does that mean anything to me? All other specs appears to be the same.Well, never mind. Looks like the K model is unlocked. A good thing.