Hello all. Well, a dark day in simulation for me as my ATI Radeon 9700 Pro seems to have gone to the blitz of graphics graveyard. About a week ago funny lines and waves started appearing on my monitor and it gets worse daily :-(Sooooo . . . . . . I started looking at graphics cards and . . . . My main purpose is Flight Simulator. I am looking at the higher end GeForce and ATI cards thus far, but I am going to save my pennies and invest in the best I can possibly get for my simulator. I mean -- I am talking 200 GB's of flight simulator here -- I have spent the last few years making my sim literally as real as it CAN get considering the available resources and it REALLY tasks my video card and processor. I need a card that can do the job for me, so my question is this . . . . What should I go with? Throw suggestions at me galore. LOL I know this thread is probably going to start a little "who's better" contest of words, but I am interested in multiple opinions over the next few weeks to help me make my decision.So please be blunt and honest and help this poor soul spend his money right :-)I look forward to your replies **smiles**Chris

Did you like the ATI card? If you didn't have any problems with it you may want to go with an X8x0-series card in your price range. I'm very happy with my X800XT.Also new cards will be announced later this spring, and those are rumoured to have memory running at 1.6 GHz and 24-32 pixel pipes ie big improvement over current cards.

Why not send your card back to ATI for repair? I have the exact same card and mine too went on the blink one week ago. (It's a conspiracy... they all have built in obsolence to break down last week!).It's still under warranty. Shipped mine back a week ago. A lot cheaper than purchasing a new card - now if I can just wait the 5 weeks to get it back. Let's see, one week down, 4 to go....

My card is likew 2 years old I think. I still sent them an email though to see if they'll fix it :-)Still looking at upgrading though as my sim is starting to outdo this card LOL. I think the hardest tasks on her is dealing with the airports I have installed and AI. Simflyers scenery add AI is a massive hit on my frames and coming in for landings is like a scene out of Air America.Although . . . . . Air America . . . . hmmm . . . . if FS ever comes over the limit of "level" runways ity's be awesome to try one of those landing strip stunts in Laos . . . not that we were ever really there, which we weren't, though we really were, but weren't, really.Chris

Id go with the X800. Many people dont like it and go for the 6800 series. But im with ATI.There was a benchmark done between the ATIX800 and 6800 by Toms Hardware. Dont have the link to the results but ill look for the url.If you havce a lcd and stick with lower res of around 1280*1024 like i do, the 6800 is your way. If you run at 1600**** with AA and AF and high as you can get, the X800 is better.Simply put, the 6800 out performs on lower res and settings, but the ATI pulls ahead when your turn up the settings. For instance, the 6800 at 1600**** with AA and AF turned up, would get around 42FPS or so, teh X800 on the same settings would be at 48FPS or so. Not accurate, but a example. Both stayed in to 40's with max settings..:-wave i plan to go with the X800 sometime this year when i can afford it.. :)

Went ahead and bought my card.The responses I got both in this post and email were basicly even. Seems it really depended on what I wanted insofar as certain features of my Sim. It was a hard decision because both ATI and nvidia are frankly awesome.I went through TD and got this . . . . http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&Tab=0&NoMapp=0Many thanks to those who gave me their opinions, as well as an indirect thanks to those who posted on other forums and review sites.And, yes, I know this card probably could be aquired for cheaper elsewhere, but I actually have a personal dedication toward TD because they have bent over backward for me in customer service more than once.I'll post here after I install the card (I receive it Tuesday) and let everyone know what difference it makes in the Sim.Chris

good luck man! if you feel like it, #### one of those to my huse to! :9

I spent hours online comparing the ATI cards with NVidia. Think I must have seen pretty much everything out there that relates to these cards and Fligth Simulator! After looking at benchmark results in FS2004 and given the not insignificant price difference, I went for the 6800GT too. It's part of a new PC though, with an AMD 64 FX55 CPU, so I won't really be able to report back what difference the NVidia card has made by itself, but I doubt very much you'll regret what you've bought!Martin

Jimmi, do you have any url's you can point me to re: the new cards coming out this spring. I assume there's new ones (there always is) but I haven't seen anything yet. Thx!billg

Well, I CAN say that ATI insofar as my 9700 Pro conflicted a lot with my Soundblaster. I checked around and found out that was pretty common with ATI but not so common with GeForce, so going to see if I can use my Audigy 2ZS again. LOL Been using onboard sound because of that conflict.But hey -- the onboard sound on this mobo is sweet as well. The only reason I'd want to go back to my SB is 1) I paid for the bloody card -- may as well use it and 2) Sound cards take workload off the mobo processor, so more resources free for simming.I heard a rumer yesterday from one of my friends that they actually use computers for something other than simming -- is this bloody true?????2 more days . . . 2 more days . . . 2 more days . . . .