My wife purchased a new 19" LCD monitor for me. Now I have to make some video card decisions. Currently running a 19" Dell glass monitor with a Nvidia Geforce 400mx 64mb. CPU is AMD 2600. Careful "slider management" gives me good FPS(20-25) for my needs. However, I would like better clouds and faster texture loads (stutter)so a new video card is now needed as well.With the appearance of the new 19" LCD my possible approach is to use a new video card in along with the old 400mx and both monitors. The issue becomes one of cost for the new card. From PriceWatch it seems that the Nvidia 5200 through 5600 line (not Ultra) hit my $$$ sweetspot. Power supply is 400w. I am sure that each has its pitfalls thus my need for opinions.Also, any issues running the two video cards at the same time that I should be aware of?Dick Boley @KLBE

Hi Dick, that's good news! I'm sorry I can't point you to a specific card, but IMHO, just bare in mind that the 19" 1280x resolution is a pretty tough cookie to run in full glory. On the Ati side of life, I'ld recommend a 9800pro because the 9600pro isn't strong enough at that res with lots of clouds etc. Then again, a 9800pro prefers a ca. 3000 class CPU... I hope you can translate these infos about Ati cards into a solution which suits you. For specifics on the various cards, perhaps check the following link (Ati GPUs). It is a nice overview of the different flavours. If you scroll down to the bottom, you'll find an identical listing for Nvidia GPUs. http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?locat...&var1=88&var2=0Hope this adds to thoughts, good luck and kind regards Jaap

>With the appearance of the new 19" LCD my possible approach is>to use a new video card in along with the old 400mx and both>monitors. The issue becomes one of cost for the new card. From>PriceWatch it seems that the Nvidia 5200 through 5600 line>(not Ultra) hit my $$$ sweetspot. Power supply is 400w. I am>sure that each has its pitfalls thus my need for opinions.>>Also, any issues running the two video cards at the same time>that I should be aware of?>>Dick Boley @KLBEDickThat 5200 card is slow,it wasn't a stellar performer from the get go,in fact many other older cards at the time would outperform the 5200 for less money. Its fine and at a great price point for everyday computing but doesn't hold much for gaming. In the graphic card game you really do get what you pay for. Many expect miracles out of $70.00 cards but it just won't happen. The 6600 cards are around $150.00-200.00. Leadtek and Evga are a couple of good card makers. I really like Gainward but their re-structuring the company and won't be selling cards in the US till later this year. If FS2004 was processor bound like previous versions it wouldn't make much difference but it isn't. I would look at least at some 6200 cards or possibly the 6600 series. One card that was a great performer for the money was the 5950 but I doubt that its available anymore. Here's some links to Toms Hardware you can do some comparing:http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/2...ce_6600-33.htmlhttp://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/2..._charts-09.htmlBTW,same Dick Boley from back in the Pro Pilot days? Your posts back then brought a lot of levity and sense to a sim that was a disaster.David

David,Yes, I was messing about with Pro Pilot. Probably had potential but amateur management killed it. I have the CDs here someplace. Since I suspend belief for this stuff I have been concentrating on improving scenery in my area (Pittsburgh). I also looked at air files but too arcane. I stick to the Real Air planes since they supposedly are the closest to reality. Looked at X-Plane but scenery and mesh are below "standards". At 32000ft who cares, but at 2000 AGL it ain't so good.My ancient G400mx 64mb works quite well but I can't use the "good" clouds. I do run with autogen at max. Anti-Alaise kills performance. The list below shows the current Price Watch data. 5950 is there but only for the idle rich!Dick Boley @KLBEhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/112406.jpg

>David,>Yes, I was messing about with Pro Pilot. Probably had>potential but amateur management killed it. I have the CDs>here someplace. Since I suspend belief for this stuff I have>been concentrating on improving scenery in my area>(Pittsburgh). I also looked at air files but too arcane. I>stick to the Real Air planes since they supposedly are the>closest to reality. Looked at X-Plane but scenery and mesh are>below "standards". At 32000ft who cares, but at 2000 AGL it>ain't so good.>>My ancient G400mx 64mb works quite well but I can't use the>"good" clouds. I do run with autogen at max. Anti-Alaise kills>performance. >>The list below shows the current Price Watch data. 5950 is>there but only for the idle rich!>Dick Boley @KLBEIf I was going with something between bottom and top I'd look at the 6600. About $150.00 with 256mb of memory and around 120.00 with 128mb. Just make sure you order with the right type of slot,I know some who have screwed up and ordered a PCIe when they only have an AGP slot. Good luck...David