There is no GTX 550 so you probably mean the GTX 550 Ti.

Yes, that should handle FSX with ease.

FSX is driven more by the CPU than the processor.  I suspect you will get decent frames, but that will depend on your settings. 

I run a similar quad core, and while some sceneries run 30+ fps, there are times I am also running single digits if I have all my sliders maxed out (particularly in dense cities with plenty of autogen).  Getting a higher-end card will not make all that much of difference (trust me, I've tried).

If you can be happy with modest settings, than the GTX550 may be just fine.  All things considered, the card is pretty efficient when it comes to power.  Just so long as you don't have intentions of maxing out every single thing you should be fine.  You can probably still run addons like the PMDG 737, or Orbx sceneries no problem if you keep some of your autogen down, maybe turn down water shaders and shadows. 

FPS in FSX can really fluctuate depending on whether or not you have a CPU bottleneck.  Unfortunately, a lot of machines short of OC'ed 3.0 GHZ+ i7 can run into a lot of issues with this sim.  In the end, it comes down to expectations.

I run my FSX with mostly maxed settings, and don't mind the occasional FPS hit in dense cities.  The question is, would you mind under the same conditions?  I can also turn down my settings to pump out much more FPS.  Again, would you yourself mind?  If you answer yes to any of these two questions, then chances are, you will be disappointed no matter what video card you get unless you build yourself a machine with more processing power (FSX is the worst CPU hog ever!).  Otherwise, I can safely say that you will probably get good enough results with the said video card.

Steven Hernandez wrote on Sep 29^th, 2011 at 2:28am:


For approximately the same price - GTX 460, GTX 560. Radeon 6850 as well. Tons of more expensive cards will give more good results.