I am currently using fs9 on a computer with a core 2 duo processor (2.8GHz - E7400). My frame rates are good except when I fly into heavy clouds. They can go from 60 right down to 10.My question is: Will I see an improvement if I upgrade to a Core i5-2500K processor (obviously a new mobo and ram as well) ? AS I understand, FS9 doesn't use all the benefits of a multi-coreprocessor. In another forum it was suggested that what I need is a better graphics card for the clouds (I have a nVidia 430GT) as FS9 was not designed for multi-core processors.What do the experts recommend ?I simply want to keep my good frame rates in the heavy clouds ( I am using AS for weather - set already to the lowest res and quality).Trevor

An i5-2500k is a massive improvement over any LGA 775 system, so much so that you may decide to ditch FS9 for FSX. You will still want to upgrade the GPU, however.

Agreed. Even a 2500K @ stock will blow your E7400 out of the water. Pair it with a GTX 560ti and you're good to go.

While a CPU upgrade would be nice, it will NOT solve your problem. You need to get rid of that anemic GPU and put a real graphics card in there. Anything from Nvidia at GTX 550 level or higher will do fine for FS9.

I think you can clock your CPU and spend less money for new VGA (nvidia ofcourse). I had the same problem with clouds and the new GPU solved the problem.