FSX And The GPU

[737lover]

Hello FlightSim! Yes I'm very new to all of this. But from the time I loaded FSX onto my computer, I was hooked! Now before you judge the title... yes I know there have been thousands of topics on this but, please listen to what I have to say. I purchased a MacBook Pro last fall, before school started, it's my baby! I purchased the 13-inch model for portability, and processor speed. Before I go any further here are the specs:

13-inch (Early 2011) MacBook Pro
2nd Generation Intel CORE i7 dual core (four virtual cores) processor 2.7GHz-3.4GHz max turbo dependant upon active cores (i7-2620M)
Intel HD 3000 Graphics Processor (on CPU chip)
500GB HDD @5400 RPM (partitioned in half for Mac OS X, and windows)

I have Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit installed in a 250GB BootCamp partition. Now to my question. I love using the PMDG 737 NGX, right now I have the high-res textures installed in the VC, and I'm getting 11-12 fps at Fly Tampa's Tampa Rebooted add-on scenery. Outside the VC in spot view I get 25-30fps. I have learned that I can install an external GPU via a Thunderbolt port (Lightpeak). If I were to install a Nvidia GTX 570, and overclock it, plus add 4GB-8GB more RAM, and possibly an SSD, would I see significant improvement in fps? I would not be running REX, or anything else, just the NGX, and add-on airports. I realize my current GPU is not the best, but my processor does fairly well, and with everything but the CPU replaceable, I'm stuck with it, and no way to overclock it. I would even be willing to opt for the 580, or 590 if it would guarantee me more fps. This is getting long... wow. I'm just looking to increase my fps to 20+ in the NGX's VC. The only thing I cannot change is my CPU, or its speed. Please help, all post are greatly appreciated, thank you!

I also wish to use an external monitor. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[loki]

You need to make sure you read up on the limitations of external Thunderbolt GPUs. Thunderbolt is basically an external PCIe x4 connection, which is only a quarter the bandwidth of an internal PCIe x16 slot. Buying a mid to high end GPU and overclocking it may not get you as far as you think. Some external GPU enclosures also only provide 75W of power, so any GPU that needs more power won't work. It could still be better than the Intel HD 3000 integrated video card.

Be aware that MacBooks only have 2 RAM slots, so increasing RAM involves replacing what is currently installed. Thankfully RAM is cheap these days, so installing 8GB of RAM is pretty easy on the wallet.

An SSD will help with loading times, but won't do much for frame rates.