Hi all, I am getting a new computer. A Dell 4600 3.06ghz, 512 ram. It has a integrated Intel graphics card. I can add a AGP card as the computer does come with a AGP slot. Since I have been running on a 1.4ghz Celeron I figured this is going to be a big leap. Anybody running the intergrated video & sound card? Are you happy with them? What would you recommend for a addon video. I am using a GF4 TI-4200 in my Celeron right now. Any comments would be appretiated.Pat Callaghan

For the kind of graphics technologies that FS2004 uses, a Ti4200 shouldn't a bad card: you could just swap that over into the new PC and see how well it runs, then upgrade if it's not good enough. Certainly it's not that much slower than my Radeon 9500 Pro, and that only slows to a crawl in heavy weather: otherwise I get 25fps most places at 1600x1200 with no AA.

Thanks for the info. What kind of system are you running? I would take the TI4200 but my son is getting the other computer. He's into online gaming. I was thinking of a Geforce FX 5200 for the new computer. After buying the Dell, maybe I can afford a new card next month.Pat

Mine's similar to that Dell, really, but with more RAM and a better graphics card: P4-3.06, 1024MB PC2700 RAM, Radeon 9500 Pro. I'm planning to put an X800 XT in there in a couple of months when prices are a bit more sane, since I'm pretty sure it's the graphics card causing the weather slowdowns and that should have about 4x the pixel-pushing power of the 9500 Pro.I'd probably go for an FX5600 or Radeon 9600 rather than the FX5200: that's more of a GF MX replacement than a GF Ti replacement.

Build you own computer. I owned a Dell. Good computer but they charge WAY too much. Besides you say that comes with integrated graphics. Of the total cost of the system how much are you really paying for that integrated graphics? about 100-200 of the total cost of the system? Then you said you will buy and put a card for the AGP port. So in essence you are throwing about that 100-200 bucks because you will be disabling the integrated graphics. I built my last system and will NEVER buy a prebuilt again. I bet I saved over 500 bucks building my own.

Do you really want to join this group?: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1867.htmlRead the reviews.David

I have had a Dell for 5 years. My company has purchased Dells. I have no complaints with either their service or product. Of course that is not what this thread was about & I am not here to defend Dell. I was asking about the integrated audio & video. Thanks for your input.Pat

PatSorry I got off the subject of your post. My experience with integrated audio and video is the audio can be fine but seems to use more CPU cycles than a sound card. Integrated video tends to be more problematic but you can add a vid card to fix that (as you mentioned). I hope you will consider cactus' suggestion about building your own system; that way you only pay for the exact components you want. By the way my last "off the shelf" computer from about 8 years back was a Dell. I was very happy with it and still use it for displaying charts etc. However since I started building my own I've never even considered buying another computer. Hope this is of some help.David

Okay since you made up your mind I will not tell you what I think about Dell :) You are just paying much more for much less as if you where building it yourself but if you have been satisfied with your computer for so long you will most likely be satisfied with this too since it will definiatly perform a lot better!As for video card a 5200 FX is a worse choice for FS 9 as your current card so that isn

Dell - you can buy Dell or you can have much better gaming computer for less money and with top quality parts. No, you don't have to build it yourself. Check prices here or ask for a quote:http://www.progresssystemsinc.com/Michael J.http://www.reality-xp.com/community/nr/rsc/rxp-higher.jpg

David, Thanks. I hope I did not come off as snippy or short because that was not my intention. I do appretiate all the info I get. I have already ordered the computer so that is done. I have built my own but there were some financial considerations that got me back to a Dell. I wonder if there is a way to disable the on-board sound in these things? I know for a fact that it has the AGP slot so I can add the video card. Thanks again.Pat

Usually there is an option in the BIOS to disable onboard sound. Although I wouldn't know about Dell's and their proprietary motherboards I wouldn't doubt if such an option is in their's.Regards,Jim

Yeah but Cactus, not everyone may have your computer savvy, and in all fairness to Dell, their support is second to none. They've been helping me out corners I've painted myself into for years after my service contract had expired, and you can call 24-7...hard to beat.http://www.2decker.com/media/solent1-2.JPGAlex ChristoffN562ZBaltimore, MD

I run FS9 on a standard Dell 2350:2GHz Celeron processor512Mb RAM,7200 rpm 60Gb hard diskIntel Extreme GraphicsNokia 445XAv monitor at 1024 x 768.I get 15-17 fps with UK VFR scenery, default weather but no AI traffic. I suits me and I'm unwilling to spend about half the cost of the PC on a video card - especially when I read in the various forums of the problems others have. My only tweak was to set FS9 to the same screen resolution as I normally use.

About Dell hardware support I have heard many horror stories but I guess you have to be lucky getting the right people on the line :)