Upgrading video card for FS9

"Tim" <nospamthanks.RemoveThis@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:Z%7Xf.150871$zk4.85376@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>I run FS9 on two monitors and currently have a GeForce FX5700LE card with
>128MB memory (system is AMD Athlon XP 3000+ running Windows XP Home Edition
>with 1GB of RAM).
>
> At some point in the next year or so, I plan to do a major upgrade
> (motherboard, processor etc) but am looking at possibly an interim upgrade
> of my video card. I don't want to spend a huge amount and in any case, my
> choice would be somewhat limited as I can only consider AGP cards. As far
> as the GeForce cards go, it looks like the highest spec chipset I can go
> for is the FX6800XT, with 128MB of RAM. Am I likely to see much of an
> improvement in appearance of FS9 with that, or would I be better saving my
> money and going to PCI-E in a years time? Or alternatively, would I see
> more of an improvement by getting an AGP based Radeon card (I have zero
> experience of those)?
>
> I am also trawling other info sources on the net, but since I am primarily
> interested in running FS9, it makes sense to ask the question here, since
> someone probably runs the card in question (or knows about it).
>
> Thanks folks,
>
> Tim

Tim

My advice would be to look for a used AGP card with a better spec to keep
you going in the short term.
There must be plenty of people upgrading and going over to PCI-E.
PCI-E is going to be almost mandatory for Vista to benefit from large
increases in video performance.
Not too long ago I had an ATI 9800XT which cost me more than I'm prepared to
admit (!) It was recently warranty exchanged with a X800 which currently
sells for a third of the price of the 9800XT; the performance increase was
significant.

Chris
 >> Stay informed about: Upgrading video card for FS9 

Here's the absolute straight scoop on this!
I just went through this exact decision process.
Whatever you do, DON'T upgrade until FSX, Vista, and DirectX 10 settle in
next year. Reason for this is that PCI-ex will be the way to go, but if you
upgrade too soon, the card or cards if you are going SLI MIGHT NOT be
compatible with directx 10!!! This is a HUGE reason to hold off upgrading
between now and after all this settles down.
The card you have could be upgraded to a GeForce 7900 oc AGP from BFG, which
has been designed for just this situation. It maxes out your AGP capability
for FS9 assuming you have a high end processor. The spread between your
present card and this card must be considered to justify the expense of
about $350 retail, or $299 from a first rate supplier like Mwave. My
personal opinion is that you could benefit from the new card considering the
spread you have with the 5700. This will allow you to enjoy the sim and WAIT
for that upgrade to develop as I'm going to do.
Remember.....even if you go to a new board and PCI which is absolutely the
wave of the future, the card you get now might not be compatible with direct
x 10. Also, if you will be going SLI, you might need MATCHED cards to boot.
Nothing is firm on all this yet, but the word I'm getting from some
extremely knowledgeable people at this point is to hold back on that major
upgrade.
This being said, if you get the 7900 AGP from BFG, the performance increase
in FS9 from the 5700 should be considerable )
Dudley Henriques

"Tim" <nospamthanks.RemoveThis@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:Z%7Xf.150871$zk4.85376@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>I run FS9 on two monitors and currently have a GeForce FX5700LE card with
>128MB memory (system is AMD Athlon XP 3000+ running Windows XP Home Edition
>with 1GB of RAM).
>
> At some point in the next year or so, I plan to do a major upgrade
> (motherboard, processor etc) but am looking at possibly an interim upgrade
> of my video card. I don't want to spend a huge amount and in any case, my
> choice would be somewhat limited as I can only consider AGP cards. As far
> as the GeForce cards go, it looks like the highest spec chipset I can go
> for is the FX6800XT, with 128MB of RAM. Am I likely to see much of an
> improvement in appearance of FS9 with that, or would I be better saving my
> money and going to PCI-E in a years time? Or alternatively, would I see
> more of an improvement by getting an AGP based Radeon card (I have zero
> experience of those)?
>
> I am also trawling other info sources on the net, but since I am primarily
> interested in running FS9, it makes sense to ask the question here, since
> someone probably runs the card in question (or knows about it).
>
> Thanks folks,
>
> Tim
>
 >> Stay informed about: Upgrading video card for FS9 

Thanks for all the advice folks.

I note what you are saying Dudley re FSX and Windows Vista, which is one of
the reasons I am holding off on a major upgrade at this time. Also, my
brother-in-law has just bought a new system (after his old one died!),
complete with Windows XP64, only to find that a lot of hardware and software
is incompatible...

Tim

"Dudley Henriques" <dhenriques DeleteThis @earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:x5bXf.12166$k75.11145@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Here's the absolute straight scoop on this!
> I just went through this exact decision process.
> Whatever you do, DON'T upgrade until FSX, Vista, and DirectX 10 settle in
> next year. Reason for this is that PCI-ex will be the way to go, but if
> you upgrade too soon, the card or cards if you are going SLI MIGHT NOT be
> compatible with directx 10!!! This is a HUGE reason to hold off upgrading
> between now and after all this settles down.
> The card you have could be upgraded to a GeForce 7900 oc AGP from BFG,
> which has been designed for just this situation. It maxes out your AGP
> capability for FS9 assuming you have a high end processor. The spread
> between your present card and this card must be considered to justify the
> expense of about $350 retail, or $299 from a first rate supplier like
> Mwave. My personal opinion is that you could benefit from the new card
> considering the spread you have with the 5700. This will allow you to
> enjoy the sim and WAIT for that upgrade to develop as I'm going to do.
> Remember.....even if you go to a new board and PCI which is absolutely the
> wave of the future, the card you get now might not be compatible with
> direct x 10. Also, if you will be going SLI, you might need MATCHED cards
> to boot.
> Nothing is firm on all this yet, but the word I'm getting from some
> extremely knowledgeable people at this point is to hold back on that major
> upgrade.
> This being said, if you get the 7900 AGP from BFG, the performance
> increase in FS9 from the 5700 should be considerable )
> Dudley Henriques
>
> "Tim" <nospamthanks DeleteThis @nowhere.com> wrote in message
> news:Z%7Xf.150871$zk4.85376@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>>I run FS9 on two monitors and currently have a GeForce FX5700LE card with
>>128MB memory (system is AMD Athlon XP 3000+ running Windows XP Home
>>Edition with 1GB of RAM).
>>
>> At some point in the next year or so, I plan to do a major upgrade
>> (motherboard, processor etc) but am looking at possibly an interim
>> upgrade of my video card. I don't want to spend a huge amount and in any
>> case, my choice would be somewhat limited as I can only consider AGP
>> cards. As far as the GeForce cards go, it looks like the highest spec
>> chipset I can go for is the FX6800XT, with 128MB of RAM. Am I likely to
>> see much of an improvement in appearance of FS9 with that, or would I be
>> better saving my money and going to PCI-E in a years time? Or
>> alternatively, would I see more of an improvement by getting an AGP based
>> Radeon card (I have zero experience of those)?
>>
>> I am also trawling other info sources on the net, but since I am
>> primarily interested in running FS9, it makes sense to ask the question
>> here, since someone probably runs the card in question (or knows about
>> it).
>>
>> Thanks folks,
>>
>> Tim
>>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Upgrading video card for FS9 

"Dudley Henriques"
> It maxes out your AGP capability
> for FS9 assuming you have a high end processor. The spread between your
> present card and this card must be considered

Whoa!... Dudley...

What happened? Not long ago you were a babe in the woods when it came to
computers. Now, you sound like a hardware guru.

This could be your new career.


Dallas
 >> Stay informed about: Upgrading video card for FS9