Help Selecting New PC...

[CRJ Driver]

I'm shopping for a new PC that will do the following:

-Run FS2004 smoothly on a high setting with all scenery enabled
-Run Squawkbox and connect to VATSIM at the same time
-Run a 320/340PSS addons at the same time
-Will not need major upgrading in the near future

I'm considering a modified Dell Dimension 8300 that has:

o P4 3Ghz 800MHzFSb
o 512MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM 400MHz
.......1GB upgrade for $130 extra, it is worth it/ do I need it?
o 48x CD-RW
o 17" E172 FPb Monitor (Dell has a special that throws in a free LCD)
o 128MB ATI 9800Pro
.......I've heard bad things about the GeForce FX-5200 that comes
with it, so I'm going for the 9800Pro
o SoundBlaster Live 5.1 Sound Card

All this for $1388. Is that a descent price? Includes 2 year in home warranty.

Thanks in advance for your tips and sugestions.

[javelin]

Yes- get the extra RAM.
The main thing is not to load your computer up with a lot of programs running in the background. Your system will come with a lot of junk that you do not need- get rid of it if you know how!
If you really want a system that will run the sim. fast do not load any programs at all on it - just the sim.- or stuff that you really need.
Also, the more added on scenery and other files that you put into the sim. will slow it down. If you do add on other files always make a backup of the files that they replace in case something goes wrong.
Also, read the MB system information to make sure all of the settings in the BIOS are adjust for max. preformance.
Good luck!
Cliff

P4 3.2b w/ 800 FSB
ASUS P4C800 Deluxe MB
OCZ PC4000 RT Gold kit DDRAM 512x2
ATI Radeon 9800 XT

[MadMaster]

My, suggestions...

1. After you get it reinstall the OS right away and do an advanced install without all the junk that you don't need.

2. If you can afford it get the extra ram because your eventually going to want to get it. You could probably get the same ram for about $100 but it is kind of a pain to install. You will eventually want the extra ram even though you really don't need it.

3. Definitely go with the 9800Pro

The price is pretty good, you really can't build a system for much cheaper. Dell is usually pretty good too.

[CRJ Driver]

Thanks Paul and Cliff for the advice. I'm gonna go with this setup and the 1GB of RAM.

That's a good idea to reinstall the whole thing in the beginning. Before I just took out all the items I don't need, one by one. But I like your idea better where you just install what you need.

I'm not sure I know how to deal with the BIOS. I'll come back for some help with that once I get to that.

Take care.

Maciek

[MadMaster]

The BIOS is simple. On startup just hit del or whatever button you push to get into the BIOS (Usually it is either one of the f1-f12, not f10, keys or del). After you get in, you change the settings you need to change and hit whatever button you need to to save and exit. That changes depending on the software on the BIOS.

[CRJ Driver]

OK, thanks.

[Wichita]

http://www.sys.com/

Config a system with a Athlon64 3400--it'll run about 1600.00+ but it'll run circles around that Dell,and last you much longer performance wise. Sys has always had a good reputation for fast systems and quality. Give the site a look.

David