I just installed an new ATI Radeon 9800 Pro on my P4 2.0 gig 512RAMBUS machine and I even uped the PS to 350watts.My FPS in clouds are decent at~15 where I was in the 8-10 in a PMDG 737 2D panel.My previous card was a Ti4200 64meg and my ?? are I am not seeing a big boost here.I sre AA at 2X and AF as well and am running 3.9 downloaded from ATI.When I sit at KLAX SIMFLYERS I am getting around 5 FPS no better than my p[revios card.WHAT SHOULD I DO.Here is the section of my FS9 config file as well.PLEASE HELP b4 I retun this and try the FX5900.[DISPLAY]Mode=1280x1024x32MipBias=5TriLinear=1TextureAGP=0PanelAsTexture=0UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=25TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=100THANKS

You should notice that the image quality is substantially better than the Ti4200. Don't be afraid to max out your AA and AF settings - the 9800 can take it all the way up with minimal degradation in speed.Your Simflyers results indicate the CPU as your bottleneck. Remember that FS2004 is still more processor dependant than video card dependant (like some 3d shooters are). Most people see the biggest jumps in performance with new processor/mobo combinations. YOU just bought the ability to have the image quality a cut above the rest, while also improving performance. I should know - before I had the 9800 Pro, I had the Ti4200! :) It will improve your frames, but not by a landslide. Enjoy! I wouldn't want to fly without my 9800!-Greg

Well I took the dive and purchased a ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128 MEG card installed it with the latest 3.9 Driver set from ATI and then from Omega and my FPS sucked except the weather did improve slightly,but not enough to justify the 300.00US,so I gladly returned it.My next move is to take my exsisting rig replace the mo-bo,CPU,Ram, and vid card and hopefully I should be ok.I would love an ALIENWARE 64Bit machine but for the price and what is available software/hardare it is not worth it.Might be a year before they are even price for tyhe common folk to afford.Thanks

The 9800Pro is terrible in flight sim and has horrible FPS performance and equal IQ with the Ultra (yet the Ultra seems 2x as fast). I have a 128mb 9800pro on my second computer running a 3.06ghz P4, and the card is extremely slow compared the my Ultra. I tried every kind of driver too, from the Catalysts to the Omegas...no improvement. I hope my Ultra lasts me because I never want to FS with a 9800 again.Only work for my 9800Pro is lesser games and lots of business work/surfing.Mike

Mike speak for yourself .. the radeon (built by ati.. not powered by...) works great for me and show me 1 review in which the radeon pro's didnt get more frames than the geforce fx ultra line especially with AA and AF maxed out?

I have the one built by ATi...and it is horrible with the same amount of FSAA and Anio (4x/8x) as the Ultra. Some of the sites that do reviews are bogus and others don't know a computer from a hole in the wall. I can show you Maximum Pc's latest publication that even though awarded the 9800xt best video card of 2003, they say the 5950 is FASTER. Or is the likes of Alienware and Voodoo Pc (who both have the fastest built gaming rigs according to the recent CGW magazine) doing something wrong by equipping their top of the line, 5,000.00 systems with Nvidia 5950's? I didn't believe it either, but I can see it with my own two eyes... If you like, I can easily show you two screenshots with FPS counter on at the same location, weather, res, everything if thats what it takes (even with the adavanced display settings tab up within FS9 so you wont think I'm cheating). Also, the driver support is lousy and the textures do their own thing at times on the Ati. And that spans from one game to the next. They (Ati) have better IQ than the Ultra, yet their twitchy drivers between 4 different games is enough to make me insane at times.I don't talk plainly because of what someone says on some website or in some magazine. I talk because I see it in my own house...the differences in speed and IQ from one to the other. I own both cards on 3.0ghz+ machines, one being the 128mb Ati 9800Pro, and the other being the Asus V9950 Ultra 256mb. I think that justifies my own opinion on the matter, more so I feel than someone who only benchmarks cards, listens soley to what websites say (which differ from one to the other believe it or not) or owns just one of the two.MikeP4 2.4C @3.44 285FSBAsus P4C800 Deluxe1gb Corsair XMS PC3500 Asus V9950 FX5900 Ultra 256mb 500/950SB Audigy2 Platinum ExWatercooled baby!!!Pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/chksix2002

Well I was so disappointed with this hole mess with the 9800pro that I was going to do an upgrade of my machine but that will run about 1100.00 and I am sure some headaches.I decided to go with an ALIENWARE P4 2.8 here are the specs hope you gurus approve because the price is not cheap $1550.00 but I hear they make great solid machines.I did not order it until tomorrow because I am contemplating going with the 3.0GHz P4 for an extra 75.00.I like the idea of the SATA and the CorsairXMS but would of preferred a FX5900 but was too much $$$ and maybe a ASUS MO-BO 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service Alienware Full-Tower Case (420-Watt PS) - Saucer Silver Intel

Andy, it that situation you might be better off with a 9600 by Ati than the 5700 Ultra. See if they have that card as an option, you would be better off with that one. If the decison was between a 9800 or a 5950, than I would say to go with the 5950.It is a good system..however for 1500 bucks, you can surely build a system capable of giving the above more than a run for it's money. Do you know how to build your own? If you don't, than this is a good deal. MikeP4 2.4C @3.44 285FSBAsus P4C800 Deluxe1gb Corsair XMS PC3500 Asus V9950 FX5900 Ultra 256mb 500/950SB Audigy2 Platinum ExWatercooled baby!!!Pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/chksix2002

>Andy, it that situation you might be better off with a 9600>by Ati than the 5700 Ultra. See if they have that card as an>option, you would be better off with that one. If the decison>was between a 9800 or a 5950, than I would say to go with the>5950.>>It is a good system..however for 1500 bucks, you can surely>build a system capable of giving the above more than a run for>it's money. Do you know how to build your own? If you don't,>than this is a good deal. >>Mike>>P4 2.4C @3.44 285FSB>Asus P4C800 Deluxe>1gb Corsair XMS PC3500 >Asus V9950 FX5900 Ultra 256mb 500/950>SB Audigy2 Platinum Ex>Watercooled baby!!!>Pics:>http://community.webshots.com/user/chksix2002>Mike yes they do offer the 9600 128 for a few bucks less but I have a bad taste im my mouth after this 9800 pro fiasco.I always had Nvidia and I like the idea that they are always improving their drivers to suit their chips.Why do you say get the 9600 ???I can build my own but the price delta is not going to get me that much more plus I am going to give this P4 1.9 to the kids.Thanks

Andy,I had a few people that had trouble with the 5700 Ultra. It could only be limited to them..but I just felt like I'd throw the idea at you. If your limit is 1500, gimme some time (about 40 minutes) and I'll pm you with a list of parts. See what you think.MikeP4 2.4C @3.44 285FSBAsus P4C800 Deluxe1gb Corsair XMS PC3500 Asus V9950 FX5900 Ultra 256mb 500/950SB Audigy2 Platinum ExWatercooled baby!!!Pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/chksix2002

Good deal. Do you use new egg ...

You know it. ;)MikeP4 2.4C @3.44 285FSBAsus P4C800 Deluxe1gb Corsair XMS PC3500 Asus V9950 FX5900 Ultra 256mb 500/950SB Audigy2 Platinum ExWatercooled baby!!!Pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/chksix2002

Andy, Im PM'n you now. Let me know. I moved you up to a 5900Ultra 128, 1gb of ram (corsair xms 3200), an Asus P4C800 Deluxe and a 3.06 P4 HT for less than 1500. With all the other trimmings, of course. :DMikeP4 2.4C @3.44 285FSBAsus P4C800 Deluxe1gb Corsair XMS PC3500 Asus V9950 FX5900 Ultra 256mb 500/950SB Audigy2 Platinum ExWatercooled baby!!!Pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/chksix2002

Not too sound dumb here but I am new to this so how do I read your PM

Here Andy, compare. All you have to do is go under topic forums, than user menu, than inbox. But I'll list it here for you. ALL of this is from Newegg.BLACK CHIEFTEC Server Chasis Workstation Tower with Side Panel Window and Front USB and Firewire**Now with 2 x Front USB and 1 x Firewire IEEE1394 ports**Specifications:Form Factor: ATX M/B AND Micro ATXDrive Bays: External 4 x 5.25", 2 x 3.5", Internal: 4 x 3.5".Expansion Slots: 7Fans: 0Power Supply: **NO POWER SUPPLY** $56.00 1 $56.00ASUS 875P Motherboard for Intel Pentium 4/Celeron Processors, Model "P4C800-E DELUXE" RetailSpecifications:Supported CPU: Socket 478 Pentium 4/Celeron ProcessorsChipset: Intel 875P + ICH5RFSB: 800/533/400MHzRAM: 4x DIMM support Dual Channel DDR400/333/266 Max 4GBIDE: 2x UltraDMA100(4 Drivers), 1x UltraDMA133(2 Drives)Slots: 1x AGP 8X, 5x PCIPorts: 2xPS2,1xCOM,1xLPT,1xSPDIF Out,1xLAN,2xIEEE1394(Rear 1),8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),AudioOnboard Audio: AD1985 6-Channel CODECOnboard LAN: Intel CSA 82547EI Gigabit EthernetOnboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA 150,RAID 0/1/0+1Onboard 1394: VIA 1394 ControllerForm Factor: ATX $180.99 1 $180.99Asus V9950/TD, GeForce FX5900, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, RETAILSpecifications:Chipset/Core Speed: Geforce FX5900/400MHzMemory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/850MHzBUS: AGP 1X/2X/4X/8XPorts: VGA Out(15 Pin D-Sub)+TV-Out(S-Video Out)+DVI connectorSupport 3D API: DirectX