Thanks Bruce for the words of encouragement! I really like foraging around these threads even though I don't know exactly what you all do. I just don't understand why some people can go online and turn into a writing monster when they'd never dream of doing that in person. I see it in other forums through many different hobbies so simming isn't the only one.I'm glad that the CES thread was helpful. Personally, I dream of getting an upgrade to one of Alienware's top of the line. It runs with quad gpu's and dual Athlons at under $6K. Realistically, I'll probably settle for a 1/3 of even that (and it will run FSX)! :-hah

While you are dreaming, check out Falcon Northwest (http://falcon-nw.com).I never knew about them until one day some computer parts are mistakenly delivered to my office by UPS. I take the boxes next door and discover that my corporate neighbor has been making high end gaming systems for over 10 years. Talk about being surprised! Of course they won't give me a discount just because I work next to them. :-lol They make serious systems for serious gamers.Interestingly, Falcon Northwest's president (Kelt Reeves) was mentioned in JoJoDawg's link (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28865) posted earlier in this thread.

John: I too hope you don't give up on posting. I've lurked a lot in theseand many fs forums and one thing that I see is that you need a thickskin to brush people off that all they really want is attention. I hope you did not take my comment as a bad remark against you oranyone on this thread. I was just pointing out a mistake so thatpeople that read the thread understand there are only 2 graphic cardsin the Renegade.Noel: It will be interesting to see if Gigabyte actually mass producesthose cards.Alex: It's one thing to come in a thread and make a mistake withfacts, but it's another to come in and belittle someone while makingcomplete mistake.

I'll hang around. Thanks for your great advice (each and every one of you). I did check out Falcon NW. They're cases can be custom painted also. Pretty impressive. Priced very similar to Alienware. Now, I need to know, Intel or AMD? That's a joke, son. :-hah Can any of you direct me towards a group of threads for the "newbie"? I'd like to do some repaints of my new Cessna 182T/G1000 and want to learn how to do it. Also, how to change the stock model's physics more realistic. Maybe FSX will model the new paint scheme of Cessna's? Here's a pic of my plane. I've owned a Grumman Tiger, Diamond DA40/G1000 and now this. Lots more headroom and payload, same speed. I love to use FS9 to practice approaches into new airports and get used to radio frequencies, etc. I can't believe it's not FAA approved.

You can give the AVSIM forum for painting here.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=200And here:This is a great place to look over various tutorial for painting.Helped me dabble in the painting world.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...esg_id=86&page=And for the Model physics here.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=122

<>FWIW., all the sims I've to at Boeing have been locked at 60FPS. Which ones run at 30FPS?

Only one thing to say. AMD

Remember, FSX is still almost a year away, maybe more. By that time CPUs will be faster and the 7800 GPU's will be outdated (even if there are four of them). Two nextgen DX10 NVidia or ATI GPU's will be faster than four of the current generation. Also FSX is said to make use of some DX10 hardware features for more realistic shader effects. The CPU is reasonably fast but won't be cutting edge at the launch of FSX.My point: By the time FSX comes out, you'll be able to build a system like that for a fraction of the cost.