What do I buy..?

[gypsymoth]

I've just read a list of components suggested by cheesegrater for a budget computer for just under

[zeberdee]

If you are looking to build a rig to fly FSX my advice would be to wait until Direct X 10 and Vista are about. Then build, other wise you could possibly be looking at upgrading in three or four months time. I hope this helps.

[ctjoyce]

Lets start with the basics shall we?

Dual core is a must. Currently the Intel Core 2 series of processers are the top dog. My suggestion would be a E6700. They are $500 currently yes... however Intel is dropping the price on all the current Core 2 chips to make way for some of their newer chips.

Moving to the motherboard, a Dual card setup is the way to go. Currentlt the nForce 680i is the best chipset on the market. ASUS makes a plethera of boards for this chip, all of which are worth looking into.

Then you have your RAM. 2GB is the absolute base. 4GB preferable. DDR2-800 is where you should start. OCZ Titanium is what I am putting into my next rig, but Corsair and Crucial also make great sticks.

On to the GPU. Here DX10 is the way to go. Currently the only cards to do the job are the 8800 series from nVidia. Personally I am waiting for R600 to come out from ATi, and G81 from nVidia. The 8800s are good, but the next gen are going to be better, as they will have the tech completely worked out.

You're going to need a place to store everything, and I suggest the Western Digital 150GB Raptor @ 10,000RPM. Personally I'm throwing two + two 500GBs into my new rig to store everything. In this case SATA is the only way to go. SATA3 is preferable.

Finally you're going to need power. I personally use the Hiper Type R, and in my oppinion it is the best supply on the market, but trying to support a SLi 8800GTX rig on that PSU just isn't going to happen.  I might suggest a Earnmax or PC Power&Cooling 700+ Watt PSU with a good stable 12V rail. 2x 13V rails would be preferable.

Depending on all the specs of your rig, that should bring you to around 1500 EUR. But again wait for April. Vista will be out by then, along with all the DX10 hardware, and the processer price drops.

Cheers
Cameron

[gypsymoth]

Thanks zeberdee & Cameron, you're a brick.    :)