Default location for FSX is inside "Program Files" which was fine for windows XP, but since Vista, this has become a 'protected location'. That means the OS expects all files here to be read only and any program trying to modify anything here must be up to no good!

My suggested PC system:i5 2500K and overclock it to around 4.5 GHzGood CPU cooler (Scythe Mugen 3 is cheap and perfect!)8 GB 1600 MHz RAM is fineNVIDIA GTX 560TI 1024 MB. GTX 580 will only perform around 5% better and costs double the price.at least 7200 RPM HDD for FSX (if you have money go for an SSD, this will reduce stutters, although it won't entirely eliminate them)700W is plenty for PSU.This should run FSX with around a mininum of 25 fps and maxed out scenery settings. Most of the time you'll be able to get around 30-40 fps, sometimes even 40-50 on default airport scenery. But also, in the worst cases, FPS may sometimes drop below 25, this even happens on the best systems around here.

The GTX 480 is basically as powerfull as GTX570+- , so you don´t need to upgrade that

i have the GTX 580 Superclocked it is really good and its the same price as the normal on newegg. i just recently built a new computer and intel is much better than AMD from my experience. I went all out and bought the Intel i7 3960x which is amazing and O.C. to 4.3. you must liquid cool your cpu. it is awesome and allows you to overclock. i have heard of sombody overclocking to 5.6 which is amazing.

Now... This is getting interesting. Before I made any decisions, I was looking around for along time, thinking whether or not IBs will be out before I upgrade. By the looks of it it is out!? (Assuming the i5/7 3xxx series are IBs?). From the people that had experiences with IBs, are they actually that much better?I again heard a whole range of opinions before it came out, now that it did came out, I'd like to know how it goes with FSX + PMDG products. Do they produce significantly more heat than SB? I have decided not to go with liquid cool for the time being, maybe later down the track, and I already have a great CPU air cooler (one of the best in fact). And is it really just the reduction of silicon size makes the difference if there is much or any? Liam?Cheers.

Now... This is getting interesting. Before I made any decisions, I was looking around for along time, thinking whether or not IBs will be out before I upgrade. By the looks of it it is out!? (Assuming the i5/7 3xxx series are IBs?). From the people that had experiences with IBs, are they actually that much better?I again heard a whole range of opinions before it came out, now that it did came out, I'd like to know how it goes with FSX + PMDG products. Do they produce significantly more heat than SB? I have decided not to go with liquid cool for the time being, maybe later down the track, and I already have a great CPU air cooler (one of the best in fact). And is it really just the reduction of silicon size makes the difference if there is much or any? Liam?Cheers.

Ivy Bridge has not been released. What you're referring to are the Sandy Bridge-E chips. They have a slight edge on the Sandy Bridge chips, but hardly any. You bring up a good point. Ivy Bridge is rumored to have a release in late March to early April. They're right around the corner, and personally I would wait. They'll bring some sort of improvement at a comparable (or equal) price

Ivy Bridge has not been released. What you're referring to are the Sandy Bridge-E chips. They have a slight edge on the Sandy Bridge chips, but hardly any. You bring up a good point. Ivy Bridge is rumored to have a release in late March to early April. They're right around the corner, and personally I would wait. They'll bring some sort of improvement at a comparable (or equal) price

I'm holding off building a new machine until I see what Ivy Bridge has to offer.Bill Bridges

To the OP - you don't need to upgrade a GTX480, that's still a very good card. It's on par with the GTX570.

So regarding Ivy Bridges, are they expecting an increase in heat build up? Or improved heat dissipation? I am planning to get the PC early April from China, if IB is out by then, I'll get it (given the heat is good, as like I said, I will only go air cooling for now), if not, I'll get the 2500K.

To the OP - you don't need to upgrade a GTX480, that's still a very good card. It's on par with the GTX570.

Ryan, are we referring to the card in general? Or how it runs specifically with FSX?

I think Ryan is talking about GTX480 in FSX, but generally they are approximately the same power. If the ivy-bridge will bring similar results as sandy-bridge, it should be capable of more overclock with approximately the same heat, but this is just a speculation..we will see.

Even say they come out exactly when they are expecting to, I'm thinking possibly it's too early to change over to IB because there may not be enough user stats on it to be sure of a sound investment.Jan, it seems you have pretty much exactly the same system (minus the ram and hdd). I'm hoping with my 2500K I can get similar results as your's as I have the same cooler as you. Though I understand silicon lottery plays a major role.

Hi Brendan, a new chip is not an investment, it is a disposable. You will never sell it for more then you paid and it will become obsolete to the point of having no commercial value in just a couple of years. Next year, you will be able to chose between ivy and sandy bridge chips and possibly AMD will have something to offer. The year after that there will be another range of chips to choose between. In fact, if you never, ever buy a computer, your next one will always be the best possible one that money can buy. But in the mean time, you have to settle for good enough.The best bang per buck (for FSX) that you can get today is the i5-2500k. Tomorrow, that may change and the day after, it may change again, but today, it is still the i5-2500k.

I was actually assisting someone to get a new PC for FSX because I've done lots of reading, he hasn't but chooses to believe me. The result turned out quite good by his standards and he was happy with it. I was speaking to him about the soon to release IB, he said something along the lines of "I don't care, I'm happy with my current setup now, I am satisfied with the performance vs quality balance". When I heard that, it felt like a fresh slap in the face, a good one. I guess you (Paul) are saying the same thing, something which I must also get use to.So this is another fresh slap in the face, also a good one, telling me to wake up, there will not ever be the "best" (time independent wise) out there, even if there was, it won't be for long.What is "enough"? How do you consider "enough"? etc. Are very rational questions. So I should consider what is "enough" for me.Thank you all again for commenting on my thread, it surely filled in many of the little gaps I was looking for, making my literature review more complete.Cheers!

I learnt long ago two lessons that might be of help to you. The first is what is good enough? Good enough is something that does the job you want to do for a price you are willing to pay. The second lesson is how to know which one to buy? Once you find something that is good enough, buy the first one you find that is better in any significant way.

Edited February 10, 201214 yr by Paul_Smith

Well, just a little thought.....Keep the old system you have as it is... use it as a server in a network for all the other Applications you need for FSX (AS2012, Flight Planning etc..) and use the new system to only run FSX alone, without the added load of the other applications.......regards