Solving Graphics card jargon.

[Bluescaster 21]

Hi All, Happy New Year!I find myself needing some advice in cracking the blurb on graphics cards in order that I pay for what I need as opposed to what the advertisers SAY I need:-)System: Athlon XP2700+ CPU. K7N2 Delta Motherboard. 1 gig RAM (not sure make). 2 X 80 Gig Hard drives. (Slave used only for Flight Sim) nVidia FX5600 Card. Plus usual ROM drives etc. CRT 19" Monitor 1280 X 1024.I'm looking to update my graphics card but am unsure exactly which of the short list to go for as the jargon confuses me somewhat.I mainly use the system for Flight Sim. (i.e. no other gaming) plus the usual letter writing etc.I have my eye on the nVidia Geforce 6800 card but have the following questions if anyone would wish to assist please.1. Is there anything to choose between the various manufacturers? (Currently use MSI and that has been good)2. Which of the Geforce 6800's would be most suitable for Flight Sim? The "GT" - "Ultra" etc? (I don't play videos/watch T.V. etc. etc. using this machine)3. Will the 6800 fit my current set up? (My mother board has an "A" socket according to the literature)4. Should I opt. for the "PCI -Express" or the "AGP"? (I understand these are the "slots" where the card is mounted - currently my card is AGP)I've also looked at the Geforce 6600 but don't know if this would be an option if the 6800 is not compatible with my system. (I'd like to stick with the nVidia Geforce as I (sort of) understand how they are set-up with FS9 and have been pleased with the current card in service.Do hope someone has some observations. My thanks in any event for reading this far.Regards, Blue

[Guest SoarPics]

Hi Blue,"1. Is there anything to choose between the various manufacturers? (Currently use MSI and that has been good)."http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-127-140&depa=0"2. Which of the Geforce 6800's would be most suitable for Flight Sim? The "GT" - "Ultra" etc? (I don't play videos/watch T.V. etc. etc. using this machine)"Many folks feel the GT offers the best bang for the buck... most are easily overclockable to Ultra speeds. Of course, the Ultra can be overclocked as well. It comes down to how much money you want to spend."3. Will the 6800 fit my current set up? (My mother board has an "A" socket according to the literature)"Yep it will fit. Though you should check the PSU requirements of the card to make certain your system has enough juice."4. Should I opt. for the "PCI -Express" or the "AGP"? (I understand these are the "slots" where the card is mounted - currently my card is AGP)"Your motherboard is built for AGP cards. You'd have to upgrade to a PCI-e motherboard to take advantage of that technology (there is little if any advantage today... the technology is still rather new.The 6800 series cards would be better than the balance of your system. If you're planning a major system upgarde in the next 6 months or so you should consider it. If you wish to hold onto the hardware you're presently using then perhaps the 6600 series cards would be a better choice.Hope this helps,Greg

[Guest orenda635]

Just a comment on 4. Don't bother upgrading right now as the difference between AGP 8x and PCI-e is very small. Less than 5fps at the best of times.

[Bluescaster 21]

Thank You Both for taking the trouble to help me out. I was interested to see the chart of card comparisons here in this forum. Unfortunately the 6600 card did not figure in the test. On the otherhand the 6800 seemed to be amongst the leaders.... Could I ask, will my system be able to take advantage of it's (6800's) reportedly good frame rate?If not could I look forward to a reasonable improvement with the lesser 6600 card?Regards, Blue

[Guest CHRISH]

Hi Blue,This might help you, I upgraded to a 6800 Ultra had some problems which are now resolved, and I am now very pleased with it. This is part of an email sent to PCP in Ireland a few days ago.PCP...........Just read your fascinating article on your Meigs test with your new AMD 64 3400. I thought I would just update you on my system, which maybe of interest to you. I changed my FX 5950 video card to an Nvidia Geforce 6800 Ultra, which proves your point that updating just the Video card is not enough to increase Frame Rates, as Frame Rate increases are CPU dependant. Many maybe thinking why update my video card especially as the 5950 is a superb card? Well my eyesight needs high refresh rates, and the 6800 Ultra allows me to fly at 1600 x 1200 at refresh rates of 120 MHz at a constant and fluid rate, which is fantastic!! My 5950 struggled to give anything over 100 MHz, and flying was a bit of a stop start affair at Flytampa's KMIA / KSFO. Now I get frame rates of between 25 and 33 with the sliders set to maximum, and traffic at 75% at all complex airports made by Simflyers and Flytampa's without exception! At the Meigs test I reported FPS in the range of 70 at 1024 x 768 resolution, under the same test conditions I now get an average of 76 without traffic, dropping down to 63 with AI traffic at 100% (FStraffic 2004). Although the frame rates drop dramatically down when I switch to 1600 x 1200 x 32 bit to around 40 with Traffic at 100%. I am delighted with this because I get a) High refresh rates, :( little if any shimmering, c) Fluid and constant Frame rates, d) Quality images are very sharp, e) No waiting for texture build up !! However to achieve this I have had to take on board both George's and John's tweaks, and also some advice from the forums at PMDG, which has had a significant impact upon Frame Rates and fluidity. This tweak seems to have had the biggest impact thus far: Locate FS9.cfg:"C:Documents and SettingsChrisApplication DataMicrosoftFS9FS9.CFG" I've have now added the following lines: (Thanks Nick for explaining how this works!) [DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra.0]Mode=1600x1200x32TextureAGP=0TriLinear=1AntiAlias=1MipBias=8UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=400 (Standard setting is set to 40 so increase it to any figure up to 400!) Check to make sure no duplicate entries exist mine had references to three different Video Cards!) This has increased the framerates an amazing 100%, using all maximum settings, at 1600 x 1200 x 32 bit, Traffic at 100%, Visibility 40 Miles, Clouds set to few; From 14 FPS at Leeds Bradford (UK2000 Scenery) to 31 Min FPS, KORD (Simflyers( from 8 FPS to 21), On a slightly different note, I have an Nvidia FX5950 Card for sale or part ex for FS9 Scenery, my email address is chris.j.hickman@btinternet.com if this is of any interest to you. This is a fantastic card, because of poor eyesight I had to increase refresh rates, beyond that available on the 5950 and the 6800 Ultra allows me to do that nicely with decent frame rates! (Now that I have found this Cure to poor frame rates!) Interestingly I have noticed that the shimmering experienced by myself and many others has now disappeared, by switching resolution to 1600 x 1200 ! Thanks to George for a very interesting article! I hope this helps. Happy New Year ! Best Wishes to all,Chris.J.HickmanEGBB

[Bluescaster 21]

Chris, Many thanks for your help - I've ordered a 6800 today otherwise I may well have bought your old card - particularly in light of Greg's answer here.In any event I'm interested in your note - :-)I have yet to receive the card but am already thinking about fitting etc. (I'm no computer buff I'm afraid but I'm enjoying the learning curve - mind you it doesn't seem to get any less steep!! :-) )You mention "PCP" and these tweaks that helped you out - could you expand please - I have a feeling I may need them.Also - did you have any problem with the on-board sound card with your 6800? I read these pages somewhere that one needs to have a separate sound card. I'd like to know more about this if you (or anyone else) can assist.Thanks anyway. Regards Blue.

[Guest CHRISH]

Hi Blue,Glad it helped.Regarding the sound card this really depends on what you fly. I fly the PMDG 737-900, and you really need a top end sound card like the Soundblaster Audigy otherwise you get all sorts of crackling sounds. PCP is the PC Pilots Club of Ireland which is a club devoted to FS9, we have a forum where we exchange idea's and problems. www.pcpilotsireland.comThe main tweak is as described in the note above that made a huge difference for some reason to image quality and FPS. Be careful though because unless your mmonitor can support 1600 x 1200 and you have a good CPU ie 3200+, you may not get the benefit of having a 6800 GT / Ultra. Also less than this resolution the shimmering is not good, it seems to be considerably less (80 % less!) at 1600 x 1200, than at 1280 x 960. (just my estimate)Also Power supply needs to at least 550 PSU, otherwise forget the upgrade.Cant help on installtion I got my vendor in Birmingham UK to fit it, I'm useless at PC installation.I hope this helps.Best Wishes,Chris

[Bluescaster 21]

Chris, thanks for the extra info. The new card has arrived now and the cheque is cashed so I guess I'll have to tweak it as best I can on my system.My CPU is 2700+ so looks to be wanting there.... time will tell. If I get stuck I'll just have to buy your old 5950 eh:-) Regards, Blue.

[Bluescaster 21]

Hi Greg, Chris and All who have helped me here or taken an interest; I'm adding a post as it may be of interest to others taking a similar path to me.The straight nVidia 6800LE Card now fitted, tweaked, tuned and working beautifully. My current power supply (450w) was more than adequate for the additional loads on the system. (This is a powered card)My Athlon 2700+ CPU & motherboard seems to be more than adequate for the upgrade.Fitting was straight forward which was lucky because unlike the previous card (MSI FX5600) this one - Aeolus nVidia - came with a poorly written hand book with inadequate guidance and little if any specifications. This frankly was a major handicap for a computer novice such as myself - a lesson for me here, the MSI card was about

[Guest CHRISH]

Thanks Blue, glad we could help. To maintain the correct aspect ratio, the resolution for FS9 should be set at 1600 x 1200, or 1280 x 960, 800 x 600 etc. I hope this helps.If you fly at 1280 x 1024 I think the Aircraft look longer! Also I think FPS and Image Quality will improve also. Happy Flying!Best Wishes,Chris

[Bluescaster 21]

Chris, thanks for the advice - I don't know much about aspect ratios with the computer. I started using 1280 X 1024 when I got a new monitor - the aircraft seems to be in proportion so I didn't question it...... I did try some resolutions which were clearly NOT in proportion. How is the aspect ratio worked out? Looking at 1600 X 1200 it appears to be 4 X 3 ..... I can see the connection - sould try it.Regards, Blue P.S. Actually Chris..... thinking about it, the 1280 X 1024 DOES follow the 4 X 3 ration except for the odd 1 pixel doesn't it? Or am I over simplifying this??

[Guest CHRISH]

Thanks Blue, the correct aspect ratio is 1280 x 960. There are various articles on this forum. If you type in Aspect Ratio several posts shouls come up.Best Wishes,Chris

[Bluescaster 21]

Thanks Chris, from your reply I assume I was over simplifying it then? :-) I'll look at the post as you suggest. Regards Blue