Hello everyone,I just landed a nice job which enables me to purchase new hardware sooner than I thought. Some months earlier I had to buy a new machine as my old one broke down. My current setup is:AMD Athlon II X2 250Nvidia GTS 4504GB 1333MHz DDR-3 RAMIt works very well for both FS9 and (surprisingly) FSX). I would still like to upgrade my system as follows,Intel Core i7 2600K (3,4GHz) and another 4GB of RAM, as I heard FSX (and FS9) are more dependent on the CPU and RAM as on the GPU. Would you recommend this change, and would I get a noticeably better performance? Or should I rather go for a complete overhaul which would include a new GPU as well (GTX 590 most likely then)?Many thanks!

Well you'll need a new motherboard for the LGA 1155 socket i5/i7 cpu's (2500K and 2600K, respectively)The GTS450 is also not a strong card for either sims IMHO. Your best bet is to get a new mobo, like this:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131753You can keep your ram but it is a bit slow. You'd benefit from spending 100 bucks on 8GB's of ddr 1600:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226201And video card, GTX570 or 560ti, or 580 (do not get the 590, it's basically two cards in SLI format)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130621

Thanks for your answer and the suggestions,I want to get a new GPU later on (can't really afford it right now), would a new CPU (with a fitting motherboard, of course) and new RAM still make a difference with my GTS 450?

Thanks for your answer and the suggestions,I want to get a new GPU later on (can't really afford it right now), would a new CPU (with a fitting motherboard, of course) and new RAM still make a difference with my GTS 450?

Absolutely in your case.