Suggested System Specs

[cur1]

Hi all

I am thinking of building a new p.c. for FS9 and maybe FSX.

Could you suggest a good system spec. to start with.

I plan to spend around £1500 and i'm not that fussed if it is AMD or Intel.

Your comments would be of much help as you are all the reviewers of your systems performance with the kit you have.

Many Thanks.

[Adrian Wainer]

You will have to check the prices yourself but here are some hardware suggestions

Intel Conroe Core Duo

550 Watt plus PSU

PCI Express 7600GT or above, Graphics card

[ NB ATI also make some great Graphics Cards but I am more familar with Nvidia Kit ]

2 x 1 Gigabyte DDR2 Memory sticks

1 DVD read / write drive

1 DVD read only drive

2 x 500 Megabyte Samsung Spinpoint hard disc drives

1 Floppy disc drive

1 rounded cable for optical drives

1 rounded caple for floppy disc drive

1 Motherboard 975 socket with Conroe Core 2 Duo support

1 http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=08009

Best and Warm Regards
Adrian Wainer

[727stretch]

I agree with what Adrian has to say, with the following comments:

-Within the Intel Conroe lineup, the E6600 is the best performance/price tradeoff IMO. I'll be upgrading to the E6600 soon.

-As for graphics cards, go with a 512MB version if you are running at a high resolution. I have a Sapphire Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB PCIe using Omega drivers & ATI Tray Tools. It's a great card. I'd also recommend the Nvidia 7950 line (and the various Nvidia parnters like BFG etc.)

-As for memory, go with the fastest speed the mobo will support (800MHz+). You'll notice a difference in benchmarks & in real life. Go wtih a reputable brand like mushkin or Corsair. I saw a 20%+ gain in benchmark results when upgrading from 533MHz to 800MHz RAM.

-For hard drives, I love my WD Raptor and it runs FS9 great. If a 10K RPM drive is out of your price range, the WD Caviar line is a good value - they run cool and are relatively quick & very quiet.

Have fun,
Dave