Greetings to All!Its been a long time coming but I am a happy FSX

I'm curious as to know how much you spent on that system. Also, what kind of FPS you looking at in what kinds of situations (ie, heavy at big airports or singles over the desert...). Screenshots would be sweet :) I'll be in the market next year for a desktop and if this guy got you a good price, I'd be happy to buy from him :)

Sounds like a great setup, but you have got to get the Trackir 4 up and running and get yourself a yoke and pedals. You won't regret it.Randall

Hello PastorPilot. Glad to hear you got your system up and running. I hope to join you with a new system that I want to build later this year. Still waiting like I was the last time I talked to you. I hope to start build it by the end of the year at the latest.

Randall,Thanks! Its not the "top of the line" but I am very thankful. My problem is that I have too many hours with the real yoke and the real pedals. I saw some pedals somewhere that had some "beef" to them but they were SO expensive. And I was at FRY's electronics and handled a CH Products yoke... and the feel was so "distant" for me from the real McCoy. I really would like some good pedals. I began flying with a stick and have logged hundreds of hours flying stick airplanes... so I'm good with a joystick. Even some of the newest designed advanced light airplanes (with glass panels) come with a stick and not a yoke. Yep! TrackIr is next week!Take care,Steve

Hello Redvan...Well, after I added the $250 liquid cooling system, and about $200 for the waterblocks, and 2 Gigs of extra memory, and a $100 or so for the extra operating system (dual boot), I think it was around $2500.Here's a link to one of John's ads on eBay:http://cgi.ebay.com/Core-2-Duo-Gaming-Comp...1QQcmdZViewItemI think you will see, that he uses nothing but top of the line components. For example the NVidia EVGA 680i mb is more expensive than the ones many of the big name builders use, but it is soooo EASY to overclock... plus it allows you to upgrade to SLI (two video cards) if you wish, some day. Also will accept a QuadCore chip.There may be somewhere you can do as well or even better, but this guy's customer service promise, warranty, integrity... well you know the routine. He was such a pleasure to work with. If you ever get the urge... contact him. He will take lots of time to talk with your and answer your questions even before you are ready to buy.Steve

Hi Hocking!Yes, it is WONDERFUL to finally be using FSX!!! Nice to hear from you again. Golly, by the end of the year, things will be very cheap from when I bought my CPU... (late May). With the new generation of Intel/AMD chips, the current batch (which work great... Core 2 Duo/Quad, will be a whole lot less! Best Wishes! I hope to hear of your good result!Steve

Steve,Great to hear that you are enjoying your new system. I too will be building one with just about the same specs in a few weeks. I think I will be using the NVidia 7950GX2 in SLI mode.I have a PFC rudder pedal that I am selling for $400.00 plus shipping.They are 7 months old, however I am replacing them with a Flight Link rudder pedal system which is actuated by hydraulics and has better travel, which is also better suited for what I use them for.The waranty in non-transferable unfortunately. These pedals were replaced by PFC due to a factory default on the previous pedals that I owned for over two years. So that is how I was able to acquire a brand new set of Pedals back in December 2006You can email me if you are interested srichie (@) gmail.comRegardsSimeon

Why 7950GX2 instead of 8800 GTX? I've read in several places with people who have had both setups that the 8800 is much faster.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

If yoke and pedals aren't your thing, I highly recommend checking out an XBox 360 controller. I find rudder control to be much easier than using a twist stick. A friend of mine suggested it, and I had read tdragger's and other's comments about it, but I was really sceptical at first. But then I tried it and it's what I use just about all the time now. I use a laptop a lot, and it's very portable, and I even use it with my desktop rather than yoke and pedals since it keeps my desk clear.This is how I like to set up my buttons:http://www.flyingscool.com/images/UsingAnX...ontroller01.jpgY- Increase throttleB- Decrease throttleA - BrakesX - Switch Views (S key)1 - rudder left2 - rudder right3 - Elevator trim down4 - Elevator trim up5 - Aircraft control (ailerons, elevators)Press 5 - Flaps all the way up6 - Dynamic viewingPress 6 - Increment Flaps Down7 - View Pan left, right, up, down, up-left,8 - Transmit Voice (push to talk) (For multi-player play)9 - Gear up/downMakes it more natural for the way I fly. A friend of mine prefers to use button 9 for autopilot master on/off.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

$2500 ?!? That's only $500 more than I paid for my laptop in my siggy... dang... lot cheaper than i thought! I'll have to contact him for sure... thanks!

>This is how I like to set up my buttons:>Makes it more natural for the way I fly. Isn't it hard to control the plane with your thumb only? I often have to hold the stick just a little backwards or something like that, and that's seems pretty hard to do with such a button. Also, how does it work with the rudder: one press = full rudder and letting go = centre rudder? Or can you apply a little rudder and does it stick there...?The thing is I do not have rudderpedals nor the money for them (or better said, I think they cost way too much for 'just' two pedals: I really wonder why you can't but them for 35 bucks!). Controlling rudder on the keyboard doesn't work for me. All in all this means I always fly with no wind at all, otherwise I just get into trouble. But using a gamepad.... well, it almost seems inappropriate! :( But maybe it's something you just have to get used to.

Nice ad.

yeah... rudder controls really suck if you dont have rudder pedals. Unless I'm doing something wrong... I have my rudder control set up on the T5 and T2 buttons of my Cougar HOTAS throttle, and center control surfaces as T3 (see throttle diagram here: http://cougar.frugalsworld.com/hatsandbuttons.php)I have to push the buttons multiple times to get different rudder degrees of movement... It's a hassle. Wish I could set it as an axis, so I could just hold it down and have it increase at a set rate...

>Wish I could>set it as an axis, so I could just hold it down and have it>increase at a set rate...Can't you do that from within FSX? I mean, not set them as an axis, but mimick one? If you assign those buttons to the rudder, there should appear a Repeat-slider in the right column, enabling you to change the way the button works: slider to the left means the press isn't repeated so pressing and holding results in a sinlge click, while setting the slider full right will repeat 'clicks' as long as you hold the button (if I remember well: it may be the other way around). But maybe those sliders don't show up with rudder or maybe you use other software to set the Cougar HOTAS up...?