Cold_Gambler

Will you be able to scavenge the computer you are currently using for parts, or is it going to be given to someone else? If you can scavenge your current rig, I suggest you post all of it's components' specs here... Some parts you certainly have to replace (motherboard) but others you may be able to carry over (case, power supply, RAM, DVD/CD drive, hard drives...). I think Perfesser's comment: For myself, to leave room for upgrades, I used the lower end PC package with the exception of the power supply and motherboard from the next higher package. That was 2 years ago. I could now buy the faster 3.0 chip (at half the price it was then) to replace my 2.66, stick in a bit more RAM and perhaps a better vid card (all simple plug-ins since the basics are already there) and have a considerably upgraded system. Is very good advice- buying a decent, but not bleeding edge ($$$) machine, that can be upgraded over time will give you the option of installing better vid card, CPU etc... A good start would be an intel E8400 (for the games you are into which you can overclock. In my view there is no point in going to four cores for you, IL2, FS9 [and I believe BF2] do not implement multi-cores. Dual core will do you fine, and any mobo for a dual core should be good for a quadcore when the prices of those come down. The intel i7 chip will need a new Mobo- but I don't think you can afford an i7 rig at the moment. I haven't been following the tech for about a year and a half (when I purchased my present rig), so I may be wrong about the details of the above.

Will you be able to scavenge the computer you are currently using for parts, or is it going to be given to someone else? If you can scavenge your current rig, I suggest you post all of it's components' specs here... Some parts you certainly have to replace (motherboard) but others you may be able to carry over (case, power supply, RAM, DVD/CD drive, hard drives...). I think Perfesser's comment: For myself, to leave room for upgrades, I used the lower end PC package with the exception of the power supply and motherboard from the next higher package. That was 2 years ago. I could now buy the faster 3.0 chip (at half the price it was then) to replace my 2.66, stick in a bit more RAM and perhaps a better vid card (all simple plug-ins since the basics are already there) and have a considerably upgraded system. Is very good advice- buying a decent, but not bleeding edge ($$$) machine, that can be upgraded over time will give you the option of installing better vid card, CPU etc... A good start would be an intel E8400 (for the games you are into which you can overclock. In my view there is no point in going to four cores for you, IL2, FS9 [and I believe BF2] do not implement multi-cores. Dual core will do you fine, and any mobo for a dual core should be good for a quadcore when the prices of those come down. The intel i7 chip will need a new Mobo- but I don't think you can afford an i7 rig at the moment. I haven't been following the tech for about a year and a half (when I purchased my present rig), so I may be wrong about the details of the above.

Woohoo! Happy 142nd

Woohoo! Happy 142nd

I never realized the Stuka was so small...

I never realized the Stuka was so small...

Knowing Jim, in 5 years he'll resell it during the next construction boom for three times as much as he paid for it! PS That thing is HUGE! Your wife really gives it a sense of scale that was missing from the previous image you posted.

Knowing Jim, in 5 years he'll resell it during the next construction boom for three times as much as he paid for it! PS That thing is HUGE! Your wife really gives it a sense of scale that was missing from the previous image you posted.

can't access the link (comes up as high security alert). what is it for? Identity theft

can't access the link (comes up as high security alert). what is it for? Identity theft

GK, I'm flying to France on July 11th from Toronto. If you want, you could have it shipped to me and I could bring it with me and forward it to Austria sometime after July 14- (arrival July 12 in Paris, settle in July 13, July 14 is Bastille day). PM me if you are interested and we'll get the details sorted out. PS- smuggling it up the pooper is a deal-breaker for me, sorry.

GK, I'm flying to France on July 11th from Toronto. If you want, you could have it shipped to me and I could bring it with me and forward it to Austria sometime after July 14- (arrival July 12 in Paris, settle in July 13, July 14 is Bastille day). PM me if you are interested and we'll get the details sorted out. PS- smuggling it up the pooper is a deal-breaker for me, sorry.

Hundreds of pics!! Awesome!!

Hundreds of pics!! Awesome!!

That was my own feeling when I watched it. Apparently the FAA has put it down to a sudden gust of wind, but it seems to me that there was a problem early on (trying to get the nose up without sufficient lift) regardless of any gust later on.

No half measures for you, Jim, eh?

Listen to the wise patriarch

LOL

Drooooooooooooooool....

Way back in 2000 I had a terrible experience with Logitech's FFB joystick- I literally brought back 4 of them to the store because each one got Parkinson's within a week. I know others have had bad experiences with them on the UBI boards. I bought a MS FFB1 at a 2nd hand store for 15$ and never looked back. That said, I have a logitech FFB rumble-pad bought used at a 2nd hand store which works great as a button-bay. My thought on this unit are that it looks like a nice trio for someone wanting a HOTAS+pedals set up with a single software package. It is competitively priced with respect to buying an equivalent Saitek setup and less expensive than CH.

hooooo! Tears in my eyes

Well done, Smash! Is it hollow or solid all the way through?

Thanks for the link Tonar. Awesome pictures!

ROFLMAO!!

There are 10 kinds of people who understand binary: those who do and those who don't.