Yeah, I know exactly how you feel mate...I upgrade every 2 or three years and the computer parts and architecture all seem so to have changed so much each time I have had to delve into it.
It can really do your head in trying to learn or re-learn enough so you can be confident enough to even just know what it is you are buying! They way the various CPU and Video Card models are labelled are often so damn messy as well, so it just seems impossible to follow it sometimes.
I suppose it is a matter of breaking it down to the major components you need (CPU, motherboard, RAM, Video Card etc) and systematically going through them one by one to work out which is the best one for your budget...and which ones tie in together.
Actually, I can tell you what was a great help for me last time I upgraded. Go to a newsagent when you get a spare minute and buy a copy of an Australian gaming magazine called "PC Powerplay". I haven't looked at it for a while, but they used to have a section each month called the "Beast" which was a list of all the parts they would use to build the best monster gaming rig...if money was no object. Of course, that is way out of most of our price ranges, but they also had the same lists for lesser-beasts and budget beasts that would get you a great computer at a more realistic price. Anyway I used to look at those and they were extremely helpful in pointing me where to start.
I don't have RoF as yet but IL2 runs smooth as silk on my rig (my IL2 is heavily modded as well).
Again, good luck mate....you will eventually see some light at the end of the tunnel, and to be honest, its quite a sense of satisfaction when you have a nice rig running your favorite game smoothly, knowing you chose everything inside personally.
Cheers
