Hello.I am looking at upgrading a ti4600 to something else. The problem is the machine is kind of old now but can't afford to do much else. The machine is a P4 2.8 with 1GB of ram with a D845GBV board and will be running FS9 (not FSX).I am looking at replacing the current ti4600 with maybe a 7600GT or 7800GS. The problem is the board is only AGP 4x so I'll only be getting 2x/4x speeds instead of 4x/8x speeds.I know that FS is more CPU intensive than anything but I guess I'm trying to find out what kind of a difference I would see. Right now places like FlyTampa KSEA pretty much kill me.Your thoughts are appreciated.Thanks!

In your case I feel a vid card upgrade such as you suggest would be pretty helpful.While yes FS primarily a cpu game, sometimes a vid card can help a lot if the vid card is the weak link. In your case you have enough cpu for a decent FS2004 experience, but the vid card is the weak link.I once had a rig with a GeForce3 Ti 200 mated to a P4 1.8, and putting a mere 5200 in the same box made a significant difference in FS2004 performance.I would not worry about the AGP 4x vs 8x thing. I never noticed much difference there. If you can find an inexpensive 7600GT or 7800GS it wouldn't be too bad. Keep in mind those two cards are dumbed down members of the 7xxx series.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

There's a BFG 7800GS for $160 after rebate. I've heard they are a little on the noisy side though.

I don't have any experience with the BFG 7800GS, but as you can see, I have a 7800GT, and it has been a great card for me. I paid $320 for it but that was over a year ago.I don't notice it being loud, but then PC Power power supplies are known for drowning out any other fans you might have. :)RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

I agree, you should be able to pick up a 7800 for not a lot of dough by now. AGP 4x-8x is worth at best 5% speed so that won't be the issue. What will be is the improvement in quality you can get without affecting fps. I currently have a 6600GT card on an AGP board and have no intention of upgrading to PCI-E until the end of the year, by which time the future map of FS, Vista, PCI-E and CPU's and mobos should have stabilised. My intention is to use an ATI X1950 Pro AGP board, which has only recently come onto the market, and is a whopping performer for the money - better even than some PCI-E boards. However, Nvidia is better if you want to use TripleHead2Go or have a preference for cards from that manufacturer.Allcott

Allcott brings up another good point...that is the vast improvement in visual quality you should see in the sim...In my case, I went from a DX7 card (Geforce3) to a DX9 card, and the difference in visuals in FS2004 was amazing. Basically I didn't know what I was missing.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case