Hi all, I want to upgrade my video card as I will be working a lot this summer. I am however lost as to what to buy. I have been very disappointed with my GeForce FX5700LE, but I was probably expecting too much from it. Could someone please recommend a card for me. I have always been an nVidia user but have no problem going to ATI.I am lost when it comes to LX, FX, Extreme, Ultra, PCI Express, and all the other video card suffixes. Anyway, I know the GeForce 6800 is popular, but which one? The GT, Ultra, Overclocked? Anyway, I don't really want to spend more than $450 on this, but I am very eager to get my clouds to stop causing the stutters. I have been told the video card is the bottleneck in my system. The rest of my specs...Intel P4 3.0 GHz1 Gig 3200 DDR RAMSoundblaster Audigy 2 ZS80 Gig HDWindows XP ProDirectx 9.0cThanks,Tim

Hmmm, I was going to suggest something from the nVidia 6600 or 6800 series until I read this: "but I am very eager to get my clouds to stop causing the stutters."nVidia cards anti-alias Alpha textures. And FS clouds are Alphas. But why AA clouds? Which is why I use ATI cards. The downside of the ATI's is that some folks don't like the way some of the scenery (for instance trees) shimmer. Though the shimmering trees are not an issue for me (depends alot on the drivers and how they're tweaked), it may be for you.So, the choice is this: go with nVidia and have nice trees but worry about how many clouds you can draw before the system croaks, or deal with ATI's shimmering scenery.Your budget price should allow you to get a very good card no matter which brand you choose. They are both very good, and in the end it really comes down to a matter of preferrence.Hope this helps.Greg

Well I was leaning towards the GeForce 6800, just because I'm more familiar with nvidia as opposed to ATI. Not sure which 6800 to get though. All I know is to stay away from MX, FX, LE and things like that. I found a 6800 on the Dell website that is a BFG GeForce 6800 Ultra Overclocked 256 MB card for 580.95. Then there's the 6800 at Bestbuy for 399 that says BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3. Also, I would like to do a pyament plan at somewhere like Bestbuy. They offer no interest financing. Just wondering if anyone can shed some light on such programs, as I've always just bought it all at once. It's just a little more money than I want to plop down at once.Thanks,Tim

I recommend you buy your stuff at Newegg.http://www.newegg.com/You'll save some cash, and you can compare what is out there, not what Best Buy just happens to be making money on at the time.As for Dell, run don't walk from them too.I just found a BFG 6800 Ultra 256mb at newegg for $459.00 a savings of $121.89.BFG 6800 at Newegghttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814143024Other BFG 6800 Ultra for $515 at newegg:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814143023So you can buy it from Newegg, and buy me an add-on for saving you some bucks. ;-)LeadTech has one for $419 at newegg.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814122196Regards,JoeGrab My FREEWARE Voice recognition Profiles here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=58334]Cessna 172 Voice Profile[/a][a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=60740]FSD Avanti Voice Profile[/a].You will need the main FREEWARE Flight Assistant program to use it, get it here:[a href=http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=genutils&DLID=39661]Flight Assistant 2.2[/a]

The 6800 series cards all have 16 pipelines (very desirable). Most GT's have a core clock of 350Mhz and memory clock of 1000Mhz. Most Ultra cards have a core clock of 400Mhz and memory clock of 1100Mhz. Some manufacturers will offer both versions with an overclock (usually 25Mhz or so).It just depends upon how much speed you want and how much money you're willing to spend.In choosing a video card look first to the number of pipelines (16 is currently the industry best) and also make sure that the card has a 256 bit Memory Interface. Some folks confuse this with the card having 256 MB of memory, yet they are two totally different card specifications.Hope this helps,Greg

I would just like to add that you'll probably have to look at your power supply too and specially case you go for the Ultra. Good luck and kind regards Jaap

"I would just like to add that you'll probably have to look at your power supply too and specially case you go for the Ultra." Sheesh, I forgot to mention the PSU (again). Thanks for the reminder, Jaap.Greg

The part above about the ATI cards being better with the clouds has me leaning that way now, but what is the ATI equivalent to the 6800? Tim

@ Greg, no worries mate. Maybe it's the joint effort which is making the advice here pretty complete and well worth the read? And how often have I forgotten to mention the PSU..?!? Btw, I particularly liked your remark about the clouds and the conclusion. Also the hint about 256-bit not being the same as 256MB. So true! @ Tim, I think it depends a lot on the resolution you require. If i.e. 1280x, a X800pro will probably be more than enough. If you want to take it to 1600x, the greater card the better. As Greg mentioned, just pay attention to certain technical details and you can't go wrong. Here's a link to a site which lists Ati's GPU specs (if you scroll to the bottom you'll find a link to the same for Geforces): http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?locat...&var1=88&var2=0Good luck and kind regards Jaap

If you want the best cloud performance, the ATI x800 series is what you are after.Gary

>The 6800 series cards all have 16 pipelines (very desirable).>GregI don't think that they do. The 6800LE only has 12 pipelines although some have managed to unlock the other four in software. The performance difference is considerable. I also believe the is a version of the 6800GT that only has 12 although I have never seen one.Chris

"The 6800LE only has 12 pipelines..."Arrrgh! Another video card that "looks" better than it really is! I just love it when manufacturers nueter a card and then put it a box that says "6800". Then they throw the things in the marketplace and watch the uninformed and unsuspecting throw their money at the product. Saw the same thing last summer when a couple of manufacturers brought out ATI 9800 cards with 128 bit memory bus instead of the spec 256.Thanks for the correction, Chris. I went over to Newegg and did a search for the 6800LE. They had 2 options available... and both had 8 pixel pipelines! Worse than you even pointed out.Caveat Emptor!!Greg

Sorry for the mistake but yes it does look like the 6800le only has 8 pixel pipelines - I thought it had 12. Don't ignore the fact that - I believe - the 6800LE only has 4 pixel shaders whilst the 6800GT has 6.The point of all this is that by releasing cards with lesser spec nVidia can use some of the chips that do not pass the quality test to become 16/6 whereas they are fine at 8/4. Of course if they don't have enough faulty chips they can use good ones & just only use the 8/4.It is common practice but as you say you do need to know what you are buying.Out of interest the pipelines & shaders are limited in this case by the software & some users have found that they can open up pipelines/shaders that have been left closed by nVidia & get a very powerful & free upgrade. Voids the warranty & you don't know if it will work until you try it but there you go.Be warned that there are also differemt grades of X800's.

Thanks everyone for your great advice!!! I'm not sure my monitor goes higher than 1280x1024, so the x800 pro is looking good right now. I'm really into smooth clouds. The monitor is a Sony LCD, but I'll check on the max resolution...What resolution are most of you with high end cards running?Thanks again,