Hi there,I used to run FSX no worries on my old 32-bit XP machine. I'm going to be upgrading my computer and along with it I'm moving to Win 7 64 bit. I also still want to play FSX.Can you install and play FSX in Windows 7 64 bit without any issues? Otherwise I was going to use an old hard drive to load up XP and just use that for playing FSX.I've heard that it is better to play FSX in Windows 7 64 bit as you get the benefits of things like DX11 and greater than 4GB RAM. Are there any tips and tricks I should be aware of?Any help would be greatly appreciated...Cheers,bozdee

Hi,I am currently running FSX (with Service Pack 2) on Windows 7 64-bit (system specs below) and my experience with it has been good so far. However, allow me to provide some clarification on some of your statements.

I've heard that it is better to play FSX in Windows 7 64 bit as you get the benefits of things like DX11 and greater than 4GB RAM.

This is partially true. Here's the truth, yes Windows 7 64-bit can address more than 4 GB of RAM (up to 16GB in Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit) compared to Windows 7 32-bit, thus improving OS performance. The same is true for native 64-bit applications such as IE9 (64-bit edition) and the new Adobe Flash Player 11, just to mention a few.As for FSX...well that's another story. FSX is a 32-bit application therefore, it will only address a maximum of 3GB of RAM (if I am not mistaken, but 32-bit apps can only address no more than 4GB of RAM). Therefore, although Windows 7 64-bit will make the most out of RAM, FSX on the other hand will use the max amount of RAM that a 32-bit application can (normally about 4GB and nothing more).One final clarification, FSX does not support DX11 as it was originally (and still remains) a DX9 game. However, the game does provide a DX10 Preview Mode, but in my personal experience is less than stellar because some airport textures flicker (usually at the taxiways that connect to the runway), not to mention that most add-on programs will only work under DX9 mode as they were never optimized to work under DX10 mode.

Are there any tips and tricks I should be aware of?

I would suggest you to follow AVSIM's link to a FSX installation guide. You'll discover that installing the FSX Service Packs back to back will cause some performance issues.Here's the Avsim's forum post link:http://forum.avsim.net/topic/333332-fsx-tips-and-tricks-by-tom-rogers/page__pid__1965722#entry1965722Otherwise, I say jump into Windows 7 64-bit with FSX I am sure you will not regret it.Hope this post helps you on your final decision.