Hi all,If I changed my cpu to a amd 3.2Ghz from a 2.6Ghz, would I notice much difference.My setup is,Amd 2.6Ghzgforce 5600 ultra1 gig ramGigabyte Triton ga-7vt600.Appreciate any advice.Martyn

Hmmm ... what is your performance like now? Where do the problems lie?Maybe investing in a better graphics board or a faster HDD would be the better choice.-Daniel

DanielHardly access's hard disk, graphics smooth, frame rates ok.Problems lie in clouds and complicated airport scenery other thanthat it's ok. Just wondering if I would be able to max out my cloudsslider and scenery density.Martyn

What type of CPU is this? You can't go according to GHz with AMD, is it the new Athlon 64 or Athlon XP 3000+? We can take it from there...

Athlon XP 3200+

While you will notice a little more performance, to deal with the clouds you should invest in a high end radeon card. From all I have read and from mine and a friends machine, the new radeons cut thru the weather and make it flyable. I am running an Athlon 3200, with 1 gig high perf GEil 3500DDR and an ASUS A7N8X DL MOBO, but still using my old G4 4600 and this is the weak part of the setup. With no extreme weather, every slider maxed, 4x AA, 4xAF, locked at 30 fps it usually stays there, very smooth, no stutters, but add real weather and it takes it down to the teens. I tested a 9800 pro 128 mb card and it make a big dif in real world weather, so I'll be getting a new 9800 pro XT 256 very soon.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VAwww.calvirair.comCougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviationwww.cgrmtnhelos.com

I doubt you'll see a difference changing to that CPU. I would wait until you get some more money(if you're on a budget) and upgrade your Mobo/CPU/RAM together.

Athlon XP 3200+ doesn't run at 3.2Ghz unfortunately - nowhere near. Stick with what you have.Rich.

3200+ is 2.2ghz

Martyn,So small you would hardly notice. Don't bother. Wait until you can double your processing power but as an absolute minimum only upgrade if you can increase it by 50%.You need to change that graphics card. The 5600 has come in for a lot of criticism. The FX5700 is considerably better for very little extra.Cheers,

Fuuny how everyone says this will not be a difference. CPU is one of the most important limiting factors for flight sim performance. That being said, one must understand that flight simulator 2004 is tough to run on any machine with everything on high. 1] First choice for me would always be the fastest CPU I could get. FS and your other games (if you play ones like Battlefield 1942, America's Army) will thank you for it. You can even go for a AMD 2800 + Barton core with the right DDR memory and clock it with EASE to 3200 speeds (make sure you have good cooling) and save some cash ;).2] A new motherboard, 8 times AGP (Of course if one has a Newer Graphics card to open up that transfer rate). Nvidia chipset, DDR ram, simply go for what your board can support. DDR PC 2700-PC3200 will make you loading and stuttering go away (512 and more like 1 gig) and this over pure FPS is what is important in FS at least. Dual channel will knock your socks off.3] A top Gforce Ulta or a smarter and cheaper choice- ATI 9800 Pro etc. 4] A ATA 133 Hard drive (If your MB supports it of course and have it defraged and hopefully running Windows XP PRO. So while a new CPU in and of itself might not show very much gain, a complete upgraded system WILL. Recap, best you can do, a new MB, CPU and RAM will make you very happy simmer.. [h4]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smithhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/betaimg.jpg

Thanks to you all for the advice.You've given me a lot to think about.Thanks againMartyn

Everything is fine but your graphics card. Due to the way Geforces use AA, they stutter horribly in clouds. Get a Radeon, say a 9600XT and you'll be set to go!

Thats exactly what i did on my new pcI could not decide if I wanted to spend over 1000$ to get an athlon FX processorin the end i just bought a barton 2500+ and over clocked it to 3200+I have alot more room to oc if i wantedi got the barton for 130$CAD so really it was a great dealas for videocard nothing but the best 9800xt

>so I'll be getting a new 9800 pro XT 256 very soon.Go for it, Michael. I did, from an NVidia 5600FX, and can fly in almost any weather I like now with fps hardly dropping below 70.DavidIntel P4 3.2 Ghz processor hyperthreadingIntel D865GBF 800 FSB motherboard1 Mb Kingston PC3200/DDR 400 RAMATI Radeon 9800XT video cardSound Blaster Audugy 2 sound card200 Gb Maxtor hard disk17" LG Electronics LCD screenWIndows XP Pro