I learned the hard way Mark, bought a advertised top of the line sim computer few years back, did research, replaced everything except the case.. everything was junk... I do the same thing, if someone wants a rig for fsx, I'll build it for them.. Use nothing but the best parts.. I haven't even moved to the i7, i have no problems running anything with my current setup.. stable overclock is key.. I have fsx where i want it, and am not even excited about Microsoft Flight.. cheers mate