Question on graphics card

[Guest amsterdamer]

I wonder if anyone can kindly assist me in what graphics card I can purchase for fs9. I currently have an nvidia fx 5500 and therefore is ot powerful enough as I have a lot of detailed scenery and ai traffic installed and therefore I have no knowledge at all what power of graphics card I need to purchase in order to make fs9 perfect and smooth, all assistance will be much appreciated, thankyou in advance.

[Jim Harnes 13]

Take a look here for good info on video cards:http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/05/the..._for_the_money/You don't list your pc specs. You need to match the video card to the rest of your computer. FS is cpu-intensive and the wrong hardware setup and software settings will quickly produce a FS slideshow.I don't think there is any computer setup available which will "make fs9 perfect and smooth." But it's fun to try :)!Jim Harnes

[Tabs 2,790]

I'm guessing you have an AGP port right? You're probably gonna be limited in what you can get with that if so... Best bang for the buck card right now is probably something like a 7900GS.

[Guest mcalpinep]

Have to disagree with you there Jim, I'm running FS9 on a laptop with all detail maxed out ,granted I've not installed any extra scenery but it runs very smooth - even with QOTS virtual cockpit. Dell XPS Gen2 , Geforce go 7800 GTX and displayed at 1600x1200.This doesn't really help out Amsterdamer of course as go 7800 GTX is a laptop only videocard but it's as you say ,he needs to match it to his PC specs.

[Guest blevenzon]

I have an athlon 64FX with a an EVGA 7800 GT OC, 2 GIGS of RAM (Not brand name) Runs like water on max.

[Guest amsterdamer]

My specs are AMD ATHLON 641 GB DDRPROCESSOR 3400+200GB HARD DRIVEDVD DRIVEDVD WRITERNVIDIA GEFORCEFX 5500256MB VIDEO MEMORY Thanks.I had purchased a nvidia 7600GT graphics card but unfortunately when I tried to install it into my computer it did not fit in so I am quite disappointed so can anybody recommend me another graphics card that would fit in to my HP computer, thanks.

[Guest mcalpinep]

Can you clarify on what you mean by "did not fit", there are currently 2 graphic card interfaces, AGP (old stye) and the newer PCI Express or was the card just too big ?.What is the exact model number of your HP computer ?Phil McAlpine.

[Guest amsterdamer]

Well when I tried to connect my new graphics card which is a pci express nvidia 7600 gt it did not connect to the slot so I believe my computer has an AGP slot although I purchased my computer just under 2 years ago, thanks.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/for...argo_hauler.gif http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e62/ritz...tishAirways.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e62/ritzer82/untitled.jpg http://www.danasoft.com/sig/RAYEK82.jpg

[Guest mcalpinep]

Yep, sounds likely that you have an AGP slot, the newer PCI express interface is less than 2 years old, AGP will still serve you well, I suggest you return your new card to the store and explain that you need a AGP card. If you can get a refund then visit this online store (assuming you live in the UK), anyone of these card's will run FS9 smooth as silk with your Athlon 64 though I would recommend a 7600 GT and above.http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist....id=56&subid=411

[Jim Harnes 13]

If you have an AGP slot the Tom's Hardware article linked to above will give you info on some good AGP cards.You might want to see how much room you have for a video card. Some of the newer cards are rather long.Jim Harnes

[Guest Savage]

Hmm, ok considering I am in the same boat... AMD AM2 64 5400+Asus N2M32 WS Professional Board2GB DDR2 (1 x 1GB Sticks)2TB Disk Space (RAID5 - I just had to mention this) :)XP Pro (32bit)I am currently split between the nVidia XFX GeForce 7950GT 512MB or the ATi Radeon X850 Pro... Both semi high end PCI-e GRFX Cards.Now, I currently have a entry level nVidia (PCIe), and the nVidia drivers are causing problems in my FS9 with windows not showing up correctly and what not (http://forum.ivao.aero/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=40661) There's even a nice picture of the problem.Should I rather be going for the ATI???

[Jim Harnes 13]

Now that will start a debate :). The proper video drivers for a system seem to be the key to your problem and there is much discussion in the various support forums on the topic.The article I linked to above is worth the read and should help you make a decision on ATI vs Nvidia.This thread may be most properly be in the FS hardware forum, but the Mods will have to determine that.Stepping back out of the line of fire now :).Jim Harnes

[Guest amsterdamer]

Unfortunately I have bought my graphics card from PC World and they are only giving me a refund in vouchers, as I require an AGP what do you think of the PNY GEFORCE 7600GS 256MB AGP GRAPHICS CARD, would this make my fs9 work smoothly and perfectly with no stuttering, please bare in mind I want to max out the cloud texture using ASV6 which as you know takes up a lot of graphics and also I have a lot of detailed scenaries installed such as London Heathrow airport and to make it worse I have a lot of ai traffic installed, almost every single airline using Ultimate Traffic so as you can see I need an adequate graphics card that can handle this as I currently have an Nvidia geforce FX 5500 graphics card for my HP Pavillion, and also what is the difference between 256MB and 512MB does this make the graphic card more powerful having a 512MB rather than a 256MB, all assistance will be much appreciated, thanks.

[Jim Harnes 13]

Sorry, I do not have any experience with that card. Take a look here:http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/05/the...ard_for_125_tie512MB vram is better than 256MB if the rest of your system can take advantage of it. Don't know if you could get 512MB in 7600 series of cards.Jim Harnes

[Guest amsterdamer]

Unfortunately I have only PC World vouchers to spend in their store so hopefull I can find it in their store but I take it this is a 6600 GT and the one I like to purchase is the 7600GE so does this mean the 7600 is more advanced in quality and speed then the 6600 GT and is there a huge difference between the GT version compared to the GE, thanks.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/for...argo_hauler.gif http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e62/ritz...tishAirways.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e62/ritzer82/untitled.jpg http://www.danasoft.com/sig/RAYEK82.jpg