Hello Phil,As you guys are close to releasing SP1, can you please tell me exactly what kind of computer I should buy to REALLY run this sim?What processor? How much RAM? What video card?Should I wait for DX10?I anticipate adding complicated payware heavies, airports,weather and scenery down the road.If I am going to buy a new system, I want to be assured of FLUID performance.Thank you

"exactly what kind of computer I should buy to REALLY run thissim?"That depends on what you mean by really. If you mean max sliders it probaly wont happen. Whats your current specs?

Thats an easy one, get the fastest 8800 series video card and Core 2 Duo you can afford. Fast memory for overclocking is also ideal as FSX loves memory bandwidth. If you wait until this summer Intel has a major price cut comming. You might be able to get a E6600 for as little as $200, and those can go over 3.0Ghz quite easily.Its all in your budget, though the choice is clear, 8800/C2D.

Tiger Direct has already whacked their prices on E6700 to $339.99. But maybe someone can explain why they have two prices for what appears to be the same thing, $339.99 and $559.99.See: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Ca...ategory_cpu.aspAnd they do show the $339.99 version as one of their top sellers.Bob (Las Cruces, NM)

It's disgusting how much cheaper it is to buy a good spec machine in the US compared to the UK, it literally is about 50% cheaper in the US. My machine cost the equivalent of $2000, just over 2ghz, dual core, 1024RAM. I bet the same machine is well under $1000 if bought in the US.

On you next New York vacation, why don't you bring back a machine with you also. :D Especial the lb is much higher than the dollar now.

Quad cores (Q6600) will be about E6600 prices this Fall.Intel getting ready for Bacrelona/K8L/K10.Hopefully the embargo on Barcelona will expire on May 14th, I know the R600 does.Those Tiger processors- the Retail is cheaper than OEM by a huge chunk

Thanks Guys,I appreciate the advice, but Im still a little confused,should I opt for quad core over dual core? Will FSX use quad core?What about DX10? Should I wait for a video card that supports that?Thanks

>But maybe someone can explain why they have two>prices for what appears to be the same thing, $339.99 and>$559.99.As TCable mentioned, it's Retail v.s. OEM version. That basically means coming with a stock Intel HSF (heatsink & cooling fan) v.s. no heatsink. Many folks prefer the latter since you can install your choice of a better & quieter HSF from another source, e.g. a Scythe Ninja or similar tower design. But I expect the difference in price will close up once the price cuts work through the system, $220 is larger than normal.

Its not news that FSX SP1 will use whatever cores you have, up to the 32-core scheduling limit imposed by Win32.And its not news that the G8800 and its variants ( 8600, 8500 ) are DX10 cards. Or that the G8800 has been available since last Nov. Or that ATI is about to release the R600 DX10 cards this month.A little googling goes a long way.

>Thanks Guys,>>I appreciate the advice, but Im still a little confused,>should I opt for quad core over dual core? Will FSX use quad>core?>What about DX10? Should I wait for a video card that supports>that?>>ThanksWell if you can afford a quad core might as well get one, FSX will use it. If you don't have mad cash to burn go for one of the "best bang for your buck" chips, like the e6600, which maximizes performance per dollar. As to the video cards, if you want a more affordable DX10 card, you can go for an 8600/8500 as Phil mentioned, but with those you may not be able to run super high resolutions and AA levels. However an 8800 will easily runs FSX at 1600x1200 16xAA/16xAF leaving the bottleneck on the CPU. You have yet to offer your price point, and like I said its all in your budget, but if you want a recommendation that is fast yet affordable, get an 8800GTS, an E6600, a mobo with 680i chipset, and read the official Nvidia Core 2 Duo 680i overclocking guide below. http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/45121/nforce...verclocking.pdf

Man..Everything is expensive in the UK. roughly its like $1 = 1lb sterling price for everything.What costs here $20, it costs 20pounds sterling in the UK. even though the exchange rate is almost $2 to a pound.Manny

Thank you all very much. Most appreciated :)