Hi guys,I have a GF6800GT in my FS rig now. Lucky as I am an ATI X850XT fell in my hands for almost no $$. Boefore I go through the hazzle of changing cards I'd like to know if it is worth it for FS2K4 and my home cockpit (AMD 3800+) or whether I simply should install the ATI in another rig I use for casual gaming (AMD Barton 3200+ holds a 9800XT now).Any suggestions?Alex

I just sold my 6800GT and will be buying an X800 / X850 specifically for flight sim use as IMO as low as 7FPS with heavy clouds is just not acceptable to me anymore with my rig below. So IMO, I'd say yes go for it. In fact, it would be good for you to report back on the performance difference you notice (objectively if possible) to see if I will be wasting my time.Gary

I expect that I will do it over the christmas weekend. I will get back to you regarding the performace difference. I do not expect a lot difference though as I believe FS is really dependant of memory bandwidth more than anything else. I hope to have a better picture quality and get completely rid of autogen shimmering as was reported in this forum.Alex

Yes, I would like to know how you make out also. Since the day one on my new Dell 8400, I have not been impressed with my 6800 GTO and am still sifting through drivers looking for the one with the least bugs.....

Try the latest drivers from nV. No bugs there in my experience with many titles.Noel

I use the 81.85s on my lappie, and with my main rig before I sold off the 6800GT, and they are quite bug free with the majority of games I play. They still have the tool tips graphics glitch in FS2004, as have any nVidia driver I have tried except 71.50, and they still try to unnecessarily smooth out jagged lines in FS clouds (and hence kill performance in cloud dense areas). I look forward to my renewed ATI experience.Gary

>Try the latest drivers from nV. No bugs there in my>experience with many titles.>>NoelLatest drivers from NV for me produced numerous system crashes, lockups, and freezes and also lockups of FS9 when using the mouse. Several other people have experienced the same thing.

Amazing, I haven't had any crashes, lockups or freezes with any driver set from nV. Lucky ducky I guess!

Same here BTW. No probs at all. Still running 78.03 though.Alex

Gary,I promised to report back. I installed the card an hour agi. If performance is the difference you are looking for than as I expected you will be disappointed. While there is a difference in performance that is noticable I doubt that it is worth a few hundred $$. The difference I was looking for was picture quality and the ATI is clearly an improvement in that department. Especially looking at my RXP Garmins the difference is huge. It is almost like a curtain was pulled. It is crystal clear now. Also a little less shimmering although I can still see some on close vertical lines.Alex

Alex,What settings did you have your nV card set on? I have had ATI 9600 & nV6800GT side-by-side (almost, at least on the same screen a few minutes apart), and could not see any difference after setting all the IQ settings, gamma, contrast, and in fact saw less shimmering with the nV card.Noel

I had the NV card runnign at AA2xQ and AF8. I tried AA4 but at 1920x1200 it did not make much difference reagarding the jaggies and it did nothing fr shimmering. The ATI I have set to AA4 and AF8. Believe me the quality is a lot better epecially in the clarity department regarding gauges etc. Even my girlfriend noticed it. I had a 9800XT before I got the Nvidia and I did not notice much difference. But the X850XT seems to be different. Alex

I ran the AA2xQ in TW2004 and it was also very poor in IQ, but as I run in 1600x for FS I never ran this AA setting in FS, so perhaps that is why I see comparable IQ between ATI and nV in FS. Using AA4x and AF16x in HQ mode it's been a wash in my limited experience, however I never did use an 850XT so perhaps you have something there. The AA2xQ is not a good compromise though as it is not pleasant for IQ I believe.Noel