New help with something odd

[Airliner]

There is nothing you can easily add to your system which will make FSX "useable"

I agree. When I started my upgrades, I made all kinds of mistakes - one of them almost a hugely painful mistake (monetarily!) Wait, is
that even a word? Anyway, I nought a CPU and then found that it exceeded the specs for my motherboard! Doh! But, I was able to sell it
for more than I paid! HELLO!

Unless you know A LOT about what you're doing, it's better to have someone else do the work but, make sure it's someone you trust, not
some bloke out to stuff your machine full of junk and take all your money!

I skimmed through this thread so, excuse me if I repeat anything. First thing is the motherboard - this is the key to the whole system. You
need to know that it will support everything you plan on throwing at it - namely the key gaming components: CPU, Video card, and ram.
Sound cards are secondary. If you want crossfire, that requires two AGP slots but as most video cards are switching to PCIe now, you'll
probably want to go that route. I'm not sure if there are boards with two PCIe slots.

So, you should see what you want for a CPU, video card and ram, then find a board that will support all three. It doesn't sound like your
current system can be upgraded, so you'll be looking at a complete rebuild - unless...

My model was to upgrade in stages. I used Ebay and yes, I know it CAN be dangerous which is why you MUST know what you're doing.
First, I looked at everything I could salvage on my current system - monitors, drives, case, etc. Then, I made a plan - get the highest
processor I could for my board - in my case at the time, it was an AMD Thunderbird 1.3 GHz. Then, I checked the memory - I had 1 512MB
stick of generic ram, PC133. YIKES! That would have to go but, it would not fit a new system. So, what I needed as a base would be a
new motherboard, new CPU and new memory. I bought each of these as I found what I wanted. Then, after taking my old junk out and
dumping it all into the new setup, I sold the previous board with CPU/HS/Fan and memory and made back some of what I had spent on
the new parts. I also got a better power supply. Once I had the base setup, I went on getting better components. I would buy a new cpu,
install and test and then sell the old one. Bought new high performance ram and then sold the lower performance, etc. I know have an
AMD Athlon64 system with 2GB of XMS ram, a 256MB ATI 9800XT video card and FSX is, not cruising but acceptible. And all the
upgrades, after reselling old parts, came out to a few hundred bucks! So, it CAN be done.

Again, make sure you know EXACTLY what you're looking for first. You need to find out all about front side bus speed, memory timings,
video cards, etc. before even THINKING of sinking any cash into anything. Been there - done that. Nothing is worse than spending a few
hundred dollars on THE part that you think will make all the difference and then - it is incompatible with your current hardware! AGH!
Study up! Google can be your friend.