As title really, chaps & chappettes.I am not a novice PC user by any stretch, I used to keep up to date with everything to do with hardware every month, but just haven't bothered for the last few years due to a career change. I am looking for a new graphics card to power flight simulator. My system is ok at the moment, and I can run FSX with most sliders maxed out, the problem comes with payware add-on scenery. I want to see an improvement in my system for when I am flying in these areas. My current system is as follows:Windows Vista 64bitAMD Phenom 9850 Quad Core 2.5ghz4GB RamASUS M2N68-AM Motherboard with PCI-Express GFX slot.I want to spend between £200-£300 maximum, I was looking at the Gigabyte Super Overclock GTX 580 1.5GB but it is well out of my price range at over £350. Have you guys got any recommendations within my price range and one that fits the setup please?Very much appreciated.RgdsDean

If the GTX580 is above your budget (it's way above mine too) I would recon the GTX 560ti SC and ATI HD 6970 give the most bang for the buck.my 2 cents

As title really, chaps & chappettes.I am not a novice PC user by any stretch, I used to keep up to date with everything to do with hardware every month, but just haven't bothered for the last few years due to a career change. I am looking for a new graphics card to power flight simulator. My system is ok at the moment, and I can run FSX with most sliders maxed out, the problem comes with payware add-on scenery. I want to see an improvement in my system for when I am flying in these areas. My current system is as follows:Windows Vista 64bitAMD Phenom 9850 Quad Core 2.5ghz4GB RamASUS M2N68-AM Motherboard with PCI-Express GFX slot.I want to spend between £200-£300 maximum, I was looking at the Gigabyte Super Overclock GTX 580 1.5GB but it is well out of my price range at over £350. Have you guys got any recommendations within my price range and one that fits the setup please?Very much appreciated.RgdsDean

HelloGTX 570 works well for me

You could get an 1155 mobo and 2500k for £300. That would give you a considerably higher performance increase than a new graphics card would.

Hi Guys Thanks for your replies, very helpful. Callum, I am running a standard Nvidia 9600GT at the moment, so just upgrading the MoBoard will see a significant performance upgrade? Have you got a link to the 1155 MoBoard? I am a novice when it comes to the motherboards unfortunately. Thanks in advanceDean

You will need both a new motherboard, RAM and a new CPU if you want to go down that road. Your graphics card is really quite weak for FSX, but an i5 CPU should see you with more significant performance improvement than a new card would, especially if you are able to overclock. Even with an 1155 system there will still be times that you're GPU limited due to the 9600, so in an ideal world you'd upgrade that as well. If it were my 300 quid to spend on that system, I'd go for an i5. There are tonnes of motherboards to choose from, but only one processor in the price bracket, so I'd go for something like this - Mobo - http://www.scan.co.u...s-sata-raid-atxCPU - http://www.scan.co.u...b-cache-95w-oem (spend the extra few quid and buy the retain version if you want 3 years warranty rather than 1)RAM - http://www.scan.co.u...s-9-9-9-27-165v TOTAL= £297.98 If you decide to go for a graphics card, then I'd suggest the 560ti as it represents the best (I hate this term) "bang for buck" at the moment.http://www.scan.co.u...dvi-i-mini-hdmi If you want to spend a bit more for a little better performance then the 570 is a great card as well, and within budget.http://www.scan.co.u...94mhz-480-cores I'd advice against a 580 unless you're really on an unlimited budget. Although it is the best performing card for FSX, the performance doesn't scale linearly to the price, so you're spending a lot more for only a little extra grunt.

How about this for some £380? I5 2500K............£160MSI P67A-C43........£ 824GB 1600 CL9........£ 29GTX 460 1GB.........£110