bushpilotwannabe

Already on my second cup! Anyway, one other thought - if you wanted to go ahead and upgrade your processor, motherboard, RAM, etc., you would be able to pull it off with a Core processor without breaking the bank, especially if you avoided the i7 9XX line. These are the ones that use LGA 1366, and those motherboards cost significantly more than their LGA 1156 counterparts. The main thing you're paying for with those is hyper threading, which FS has little use for.

Erm... whoops. That'll teach me to pay attention before answering. Maybe I shouldn't get on here at work, haha.

The i7 line uses the LGA 1156 and LGA 1366 sockets. As far as I know, there are no motherboards with either of those sockets that run DDR2 memory. If you want to get an i7 (or i5 or i3), you would need new RAM too.From a value standpoint, if money is tight you're probably better off getting a 9650 and overclocking it. What video card do you have? If future-proofing is a concern, you may want to wait until the next generation of Intel processors (Sandy Bridge) comes out. They're going to use new sockets, meaning the aforementioned 1156 and 1366 will become obsolete faster.

D'oh! My mistake. For some reason I was thinking the i3 is an LGA 775, but you're right. That throws everything I said about the processor out the window. Sorry about that!In that case, if you wanted to go the i3/i5/i7 route, you would probably just want to build a new system entirely. I don't think any LGA 1156 or 1366 motherboards support DDR2 memory... and if you're going to replace the CPU, motherboard, video card, and memory, you might as well just get a whole new system and keep the old one around for some other purpose.

I built the system you see in my signature in August and it set me back about 1,150 USD for a new case and everything inside of it (i.e. no new monitor or anything), although I did take advantage of a handful of sales and rebates. This was a bit of a budget build, but I am able to run FSX full on with framerates that rarely dip below the 20s and are usually well above 50, although I only have a few add-ons.The upgrades I suggested would probably be in the neighborhood of 400-500 USD, but may be more complicated since they'd be going on an existing system.

You probably wouldn't see an appreciable improvement just by upgrading to a GTX 480, as the CPU is probably a bit of a bottleneck as well. FS is much more dependent on processor speed than the video card, so I think you'd be disappointed by getting the 480 and nothing else.If you're upgrading on a budget, you might consider getting a GTX 460 and applying the money saved towards a Core i3 processor instead, as that will fit the motherboard you currently have. However, you would want to overclock it like crazy, and since it's a Dell, the BIOS probably won't let you do that. If you can find a different motherboard on the cheap that supports DDR2 memory and Socket 775, you would want to grab that too.If you're not on a tight budget, this is an excuse to build a whole new system!

I've heard of the 4 usable GB problem before but never really dug into it. You may want to check the forums on your motherboard manufacturer's website and see if others have had the same problem.It's a shot in the dark, but I've also heard of instances in which RAM slots act weird because the CPU cooler's mounting bracket was screwed on too tightly. Unless it was a problem before you put the cooler in, try loosening each of the screws about one turn and see if it helps.

FS tends to play nicer with nVidia than ATI. With the right tweaks, ATI can be made to work well, but out of the box nVidia will give you better results than ATI. Right now the best bang for the buck options seem to be the GTX 460 and possibly the GTS 450, although the latter is brand new and I don't really know much about it.I wish I could help with your sound card question, but I have little experience as onboard sound and two speakers is good enough for me, haha.

Ian - If I ever splurge on a case, it's probably going to be on one of those Obsidians. You're not helping me keep my money in my wallet, haha.Bob - Let us know when you do. Looks like it might take a while!

I'm not sure there are any NVidia cards that have three DVI outputs, but most, if not all, 4X0 series cards do have one mini HDMI and two DVI outputs. That means you could stick to one GPU if one of your monitors has an HDMI input; you'd just need a mini HDMI to HDMI cable or adapter.It's a little bit above your $300 budget, but running two 460s in SLI would blow away almost any single card out there, and that includes the 480. If you did that though, you'd want to get a stronger power supply.

Sure, why not. I've got a card reader and fan controller coming in next week, so I'll post pictures once they're put in.Stephen - I think I just drooled on my desk. Very nice!luckyman - Nice case, but let's see the insides!

If it helps, SpiritFlyer has tested the GTX 275, 470, and 480 and logged his results in this thread. It does not address the 460, but I would imagine it's slightly better than the 275 based on this chart from PassMark.To address the issue of size, a quick look at the EVGA and MSI websites shows that the 470 seems to run about an inch longer than the 460.

Not too shabby. Glad I could help!

Triple channel RAM basically just gives you six RAM slots instead of four, with the idea that you'd use them in threes instead of twos. With triple channel RAM, 6GB (3x2GB) is the norm, rather than 4GB (2x2GB). Of course, you can still use a triple-channel motherboard with just two DIMMs, but they're optimized for use with three or six.Don't bother with the 930 at this point, though, unless you can get a good deal on one. Intel has lowered the price of the 950s to the 930's price point. Any 930s you see now are mostly just leftover stock.

Misty, Tongass, and Glacier Bay? You mean to tell me Holger, Bill, and Francois are going to cover ALL of Southeast Alaska in FSX?!There goes a month's worth of beer money. Should have thought twice before getting back into this stuff.