why is everyone so obsessed with the z68 - as far as i could find out its just a p68 board with an onboard graphics chip - who needs that ;)

You have the option of upgrading the HDD to a hybrid SSD HDD with the HDD. And mainly because it is just more up to date. I wouldn't buy an old motherboard.

Okay, so with all your great support I think I know: CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K @3.3 GHzMotherboard: ASRock P67 EXTREME4RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB All together $440. Do you think this will work fine with FSX and all add-ons in the signature?

I don't see you mention this anywhere, but I assume you want to overclock? In that case you will need an aftermarket CPU cooler. If you don't want to overclock you may be able to save some money by getting the i5-2500 instead (without the "K"). Overclocking these CPUs is highly recommended, though - and dead easy. Eventually you will also want to upgrade your video card to something with at least 1GB memory.

another cooler is something you won't regret ;) I took the scythe ninja 3 and am really happy with it. I haven't OC'ed the CPU yet but at the moment mit 2500k runs with 30°C Idle and ~40° running FSX. So nothing to worry. What hit me very hard with this cooler is the mounting system. It is somewhat different from the Pushpins to mount it as this cooler is screwed to the Mainboard. And even harder was it when i figured out that my case is not wide enough for the cooler to slide the mainboard sledge into the case. The cooler is huge and even though my sidepanel stays open now its kinda quiet :) I guess i have time this weekend to OC this bad boy to its limits ;)

another cooler is something you won't regret ;)I took the scythe ninja 3 and am really happy with it. I haven't OC'ed the CPU yet but at the moment mit 2500k runs with 30°C Idle and ~40° running FSX. So nothing to worry.What hit me very hard with this cooler is the mounting system. It is somewhat different from the Pushpins to mount it as this cooler is screwed to the Mainboard. And even harder was it when i figured out that my case is not wide enough for the cooler to slide the mainboard sledge into the case. The cooler is huge and even though my sidepanel stays open now its kinda quiet :) I guess i have time this weekend to OC this bad boy to its limits ;)

Already have a descent cooler which also fits on the i5.

I wouldn't get the ASrock P67. If I were to get a P67 I would either get it from ASUS or Gigabyte. Can I ask why 8Gb of RAM.

EDIT: Getting the ASRock P67 PRO3 instead, the EXTREME doesn't fit my PSU.

I wouldn't get the ASrock P67. If I were to get a P67 I would either get it from ASUS or Gigabyte..

Yeah, if you can get me a link to an ASUS motherboard under $150 it's possible, but why excactly?

Can I ask why 8Gb of RAM.

Photoshop, it runs a lot better with high RAM. And why not? Future games/simulators probably run a lot better with it as well.

I wouldn't get the ASrock P67. If I were to get a P67 I would either get it from ASUS or Gigabyte. Can I ask why 8Gb of RAM.

Why? Can you substantiate that? The Asrock motherboards offer a lot of features, good warranties, and good parts for a great price. For me it would be between Asus vs. Asrock, and if I could do it over, I would have gotten a cheap Asrock over my current board. Even the Pro3 is a great board. I've had the chance to play with the Pro3 on my friends Flight Sim rig at his flight school.

Edited August 12, 201114 yr by ZachLW

BTW: Will it be worth buying a new GPU? I'm currently running on an nVidia 9600GT 512MB.

Just an advice: consider buying a top quality graphic card. Wich processor to buy really doesn't matter so much as long as you have an excelent graphic card ;)

This is completely false. The CPU has roughly an equal amount to do with FPS performance, namely hyperthreading or not, GHZ speed, and the amount of MB Cache on the processor has a tramendous affect of FPS performance. It doesnt matter if you have the best video card in the world, if the processor doesnt have enough MB Cache to handle the high data count indstruction set, your FPS will always be low and limited. So does the motherboard, the motherboard is a huge bottleneck. So does the speed DDR3 and quality and amount of RAM. Pretty much every component in your computer, even the sound card, affects either FPS and/or graphic quality. The bottom line is this - All computer components work synergisticlly together to form high FPS and quality video.

This is completely false. The CPU has roughly an equal amount to do with FPS performance, namely hyperthreading or not, GHZ speed, and the amount of MB Cache on the processor has a tramendous affect of FPS performance. It doesnt matter if you have the best video card in the world, if the processor doesnt have enough MB Cache to handle the high data count indstruction set, your FPS will always be low and limited. So does the motherboard, the motherboard is a huge bottleneck. So does the speed DDR3 and quality and amount of RAM. Pretty much every component in your computer, even the sound card, affects either FPS and/or graphic quality. The bottom line is this - All computer components work synergisticlly together to form high FPS and quality video.

We covered this! But this balanced system idea isn't so important as some leave you to believe in FSX. The 2600k/2500k can more than handle FSX fine with an old GTX260. And the motherboard being a huge bottleneck? Since when? Motherboards within the same architecture/chipset are going to show similar (nearly identical) performance.

BTW: Will it be worth buying a new GPU? I'm currently running on an nVidia 9600GT 512MB.

Absolutely. The 9600GT is a weak card by todays standards (it was decent back when it was new!). You could possibly use a GTX 460/470/480 if you can find one for a good deal, but I would recommend a GTX 560/570/580.

Why? Can you substantiate that? The Asrock motherboards offer a lot of features, good warranties, and good parts for a great price. For me it would be between Asus vs. Asrock, and if I could do it over, I would have gotten a cheap Asrock over my current board. Even the Pro3 is a great board. I've had the chance to play with the Pro3 on my friends Flight Sim rig at his flight school.

They are just not the quality of other brands. I am sure a lot will agree.

They are just not the quality of other brands. I am sure a lot will agree.

Not being sarcastic, truly! But how so? Because they have a few less power phases? As stated before, the AsRock boards have great features at a good cost. Less expensive does not always mean less quality. If you had been saying this about a Biostar board, I'd be inclined to agree. Then again, I've owned and/or used all of the brands except the EVGA boards when they were still an option. Again, AsRock motherboards are a viable option with great features. Asus is the leader right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131770 There is a Gigabyte board for $119 but I think even though this is slightly over budget, its better.

Not being sarcastic, truly! But how so? Because they have a few less power phases? As stated before, the AsRock boards have great features at a good cost. Less expensive does not always mean less quality. If you had been saying this about a Biostar board, I'd be inclined to agree. Then again, I've owned and/or used all of the brands except the EVGA boards when they were still an option. Again, AsRock motherboards are a viable option with great features. Asus is the leader right now.

I you are on a strict budget then yes but I just don't really like them. Personal choice from lots of discussion that has gone around on the web.You can get really good deals on the GTX 4xx series but yes they are outdated and you are better off going with a 5xx series card.