Hello All,I wanted to ask an opinion on a new video card beofe I bought. My system is Intel 3.4 OC'd to 3.57 with NO cooling problems, on an ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe MB, 1 gig Kingston PC3200 hyperram working with an ATI 9800 pro AGP card.I want to stick with the ASUS board for awhile, as I don't wish to have to totally upgrade my system, so unless there is something I don't know about, the PCI express cards are not going to work -- right?So, for the best AGP card out there today which will work with this system I need some advice and help being pointed in the right direction. So hammer away guys and let me know.This system is all air cooled but never runs over 35C even under the heaviest FS load. Please advise.Thanks in advanceClayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

Hi Clay,Yep, without a MB upgrade you'll need to stay with an AGP card. Just curious... why the upgrade from the 9800 Pro? It's s great card, and seems that it would be well balanced with your system.You don't mention what type of monitor and screen resolution you prefer, but this card offers outstanding performnace in FS9: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102570 I have the same card in PCI-e and have had no problems at all. Offers great eye candy enhancements.Hope this helps,Greg

Hi Clay,Well, I'm getting ready to upgrade my card as well. I am fed up with Nvidia, I can't stand the looks of the 6800 Ultra Extreme board. I am waiting for November 5th. I am looking into getting the ATI X1800XT video board. I'm using the same Mother Board you have.

Hi Mike,It will be intersting to see how it performs -- keep me postedThanks,clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

Mike, sorry about the additional post, but I only see this offered so far in PCI express, (I have been told they willNOT work with our MB's, is Nov 5th a release date for the AGP unit? Whats the scoop, you obviously know more about it than I do.Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

Greg,Just always looking for something a bit better, that will run a bit faster, but at this time I'm not ready to change MB's. I take it the 1800 willnot? be offered in an AGP card? If not, then the next best thing above the 9800 pro would be? Also, the new INtel 3.75 P4, I'm wondering: will that fit this board?Thanks, always trying to keep my options open and improve the system.http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

"I take it the 1800 willnot?"Nope. The first version (1800 XL) is now available, and of course it's PCI-e. But it is slower that the 850 XT (500/500 GPU/memory). And it's more expensive than the 850 XT.While the 1800 XL might excel in newer games that are coded for DX9 features (like the advanced Pixel and Vertex shaders) keep in mind that our sim's graphics are DX7 based. Such abilites are wasted on this sim.If you're planning on purchasing a new video card I recommend the following priorities: 1) Pixel Pipelines. 12 is good, 16 is better. 2)GPU/memory speed. 3)Cooling. Go for a card that uses a cooler that expels the hot air from the video card out the back of the case. You'll lose the PCI slot next to the AGP slot (no great loss... that PCI slot shouldn't be used anyway to minimize the chance of IRQ conflicts) but you'll keep the video card AND case cooler.A final note... make sure your PSU can handle any card you choose. The X8xx series cards don't require as much power as the current gen cards, but best to make sure before you buy (and create a mirth of headaches from system crashes and other weird goings on).Can't answer your question about the new Intel CPU fitting in your board. Best to check ASUS's site for the final word on that.Good luck,Greg

OMG whatever went wrong with your nVidia product? Mine has been just plain trouble free, beautiful IQ, and performance as specified.Noel

Hey Clay, If I didn't know better our systems could almost be twins. I actually just upgraded to the same model Asus board that you have. I was trying to do an incremental upgrade but now as I look back I could have done a whole PCI, AMD 64 system thing, bla-bla. But you know what... I am totally happy with my new upgrade.I just went from the ATI 9800 Pro (a very good card), to the ATI X800XT All-In-One (I do a lot a video production and like the added features). Thought I would pick up maybe a frame or two but this thing is screaming! I was set to OC to 4gig but now I really don't need to.I never had all my sliders leaning to the right, real weather, 100% UT AI, and still get 30's on the ground and 60-70's in the air. It's downright scary.So I am good to go for well into FS2006. No need to guess what they'll be putting into that baby for now.Now one question, how in the heck are you getting 35 degrees on a P4 3.4 on air cooling? Is it a Prescott? That's running at idle... no way that could be at full load. I haven't been able to get my 3.4 that cool...yet ;)

Now one question, how in the heck are you getting 35 degrees on a P4 3.4 on air cooling? Is it a Prescott? That's running at idle... no way that could be at full load. I haven't been able to get my 3.4 that cool...yet It is pretty cool...My prescott when clocked at 3-3.4 ghz runsin the 40's. Maybe even the low 50's if things get to cooking. At the moment I'm stock clocked at 2.4 due to testing. Sittinghere at avsim, I'm running 39c... if I clocked up to my normal3.0 ghz, I'd probably be in the low 40's. If I clock up to 3.4, I might bump another 2-3 degrees... I know many rag on the prescottsfor heat, but I've been running this one well over a year, and have never had any heat problems as long as I keep the heat sinks clean, etc.. I have to blow the dust out every once in a while. All my fansreally cause it to build up. This 2.4 runs good at 3.4, but my 3d videoin the sim is slightly more stable at 3.0, so thats where I usuallykeep it. There is little dif in performance between the two...MK

Hi greg,dont know if you remember or not, but this time last year, you shed alot of advice for me, for building a new system. With your help and advice, i built one. "See my specs below" I love it and really enjoy it. With the budget i was on though, i cut back on a card i could run with for a year and get good detail out of fs9. You reccomended the 9600XT, and thats the card that i infact decided on, and its been a work horse.I also said that in about a year (1 year next month), i would be looking for a new card. So today, here i am, taking considerations..The X8xx series have infact, come down in price with the new X1xxx series cards now out.Seeing your reccomendations to clay, i took the X850XTPE into thought. Its a few bucks more than i want to spend, but i could live with that little extra charge.What kind of performance do you get out of FS and what are your basic settings? Ie, screen res, fs9 display settings (scenery, clouds,) and what do you run at in terms of AA and AF?Could i expect a pretty good performance with this card on my system?I am for shure, looking into this card, taking it into high consideration. One of my questions is, does this card out perform the 6800 series? I really want to stay under 300, but i can go with the 350$ tag.. dont think it would kill me...Is there any other cards i can get this performance from at a lower price possibly? Just curious, i really like the looks of this card as i think it would be a great upgrade for my system... Next up, a 2nd hdd for FS... :)Thanks in advance bro! :-wave

Hi Chase,Glad to see your rig has proven to be what you were hoping for.You're in a bit different situation than Clay. Your upgrade path is even more limited with the Socket 754 system you're running. Clearly, your next system will be PCI-e based (and probably not soon after the new sim is released :-) ), so I'd be a bit reluctant to dump a bunch of money into a high end AGP card that you would use for possibly only a few months.You might look at the X800 Pro card. Under your $300 budget and far better than your vernerable 9600XT. 12 pipelines vs. your current 4. 256 bit memory interface vs. the 9600's 128 bit. Faster GPU and memory clocks. Shop around for a good deal and I'm sure you'll be happy... for a while at least (isn't that the way it works for all of us?).My system specs are in my sig. I run ASV with 100% 3D clouds at 40 miles distance. 60% AI (because I try to avoid the big airports just as I do in RL). Everything pretty much cranked up (except for ground scenery shadows... they absolutely trash any system I run no matter what).The 6800 series are certainly on a par with the X800's. It really comes down to personal preference. Couldn't go wrong either way. Keep in mind that the X800 Pro or 6800 won't yield huge boosts in FPS in this sim. But either will get you much nicer eye candy and the flexibility to configure the card for great visuals.Hope this helps.GregP.S. When you do get that new hard drive, immediately create a small partition (say 3 or 4 GB's) on it and move your Page File to it. Your games will run better if the PF is on a seperate HD than the OS and games.

When i built this one, i wish i would of looked into it more. It wasnt untill about 2 months after, that i realized i should of went with the 939 socket. I imagine i will be on this system, for atleast another year, most likely, ill build me a new one at the end of 06 or start of 07. Just depends on the financial situation. If i went with the X800 series, what could i expect? I would really like to up my sliders a bit, and be able to get around 35 or 40 in the air, and atleast 20 at the airport. All my flights are tooling around on vatsim, so AI isnt a factor for me. I do use mainly payware addons, PMDG 747/737, DF B58/A36, RXP gauges, Fly-Tampa, ASV, LDS, Flight1 products, ESDG aircraft... I can say that i rarely fly freeware, so i guess there is a higher demand for system resources...If i went with the X800 Pro, seen here >> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1082519264724could i expect higher frames? Id like to up my cloud draw and sight distance to around 100 miles, and clouds to around 70 with high density, or even maximum.I currently run at 70 or 80 miles on the sight distance, 60 miles on the cloud draw, and "high" density clouds, and 100% 3D. Depends on the weather, but if its bad weather, and many layers or clouds, i get about 8-16. Should i still continue to consider the X850 series, or stay in my price range and take a small hit, and stick to the X800 series? Minus the VisionTek X850XTPE AGP, here are the cards i have found...X850 Pro http://www.compusa.com/products/product_in...2729&pfp=BROWSEX800 XLhttp://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1107956855223X850 Pro at bestbuy.. :)http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1118842670249Of those, which would be the best bet for me? Or could i go better switching to the 6800 series? Im really happy with ATI, and honestly, i would like to stay with them, but it just depends on what the best for me is...Thanks Bro! :-wave

greg, found this just now... price looks good... X850 Prohttp://microcenter.com/single_product_resu...duct_id=0218026X800XLhttp://microcenter.com/single_product_resu...duct_id=0217988

Hi Guys, First it's not a prescott, its a Northwood 3.4 . I'll detail my case and such and you can see how:Xoide, Alien case, all aluminum. 2 80mm fans up front blowing through the case. two in rear, exhausting air and heat. One 80mm on left side, (side which has window) air entering, which also blows right over the vid card), one 80mm fan on top, air entering, which blows air right over CPU. True blue 480W power supply also has two fans. both exhaust to the outside.In addition, one 80mm on each HD (there are 2)and one 80mm downwind of the top fan blowing on CPU. Lastly on the fans, one 80mm blowing into a form which vents over the memory dims. Whew, I know, alot of fans! . Good thing I fly lots of jets cause at times when I turn the knobs up, it sure sounds like a 727.Vid card has a thermalake diecast pipe heat sink cooler, with one small squirel cage fan blowing on casting and one round 80mm on chip.CPU uses a Zalman copper finned heat sink and fan, (can't remember the number) which does an exceptional job! All cooling numbers are taken from both the ASUS prob graph and seperate leads to a monitor -- they both read within 1 degree of each other. In the summer I DO have a air con cold air duct which does blow down on the top fan, which helps, but trust me, although it may be a tad loud, it sure runs cool! That is with the case buttoned up, and in fact, I've tried it with the side off and another large fan blowing on everything, and it gets hotter that way, so the air flow in the case must be very efficient. At idle, 72degrees F in my office idle temp is 27C degrees tops.Not sure if it's suppose to run that cool, but it does and I'm not complaining. And yeah, I know, it's a bit loud, but after you've flown jets as long as I did, you sort of ignore it LOL.Best,Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"