BFG has launched a slightly stripped down, but factory overclocked 8800GTS for $300. Some benchmarks indicated that the BFG 8800GTS OC is almost on the same level as a 'standard' 8800GTS.The biggest difference is a memory size of 320MB, compared to 640MB for the 'regular' 8800GTS. However, if you don't run any super-high resolution, the memory size is supposed to hardly affect the performance and quality of the frames.The article can be found here:http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/02/12/the_amd_squeeze/I'm only going by the review, so please don't consider this to be a gospel, but merely some information that I want to point out.Looks pretty interesting for FSX - at least to me.Pat

I have to realize that memory matters a lot. For Flight simmers..we need video cards with lots and lots of memory.That card maybe ok for non flight simming.. I would think.Thats my guestimate.Manny

I would assume that memory size only becomes more important with higher resolutions, currently my GPU doesn't even use the full 256MB that I have on my card.It would be certainly interesting to hear opinions from fellow simmers with 512MB cards or higher.Pat

To the best of my knowledge, while screen resolution (and AA mode) will certainly have an impact, another factor is the quantity of different textures being loaded by the game or sim.I have an nVidia 7800GS with 512MB and despite using a rather low resolution (1280x800 wide aspect ratio) I seemed to run out of texture memory once. I was flying quite low around San Fran, circling the Golden Gate bridge area when I suddenly got the "blurries". Since I was circling over previously-viewed areas, I don't think it was the issue of getting ahead of the CPU trying to load textures, but rather that some of the textures had been bumped off the video card so that others could be loaded.That 320MB card mentioned is very tempting, but personally I think ultimately I might regret trying to save $100 - $150 for something that's going to become obsolete sooner. Texture size & quantities are only getting bigger... ;-)

I am very tempted to get one. I am quite happy with my 7600GT right now, but I think it's time upgrade and the 8800GS OC seems like a great alternative to a X1950XTX. Plus future support for DX10. Sounds like a reasonable choice to me.It seems that the GPU doesn't play a big role for FSX performance, so I am not expecting a huge fps boost.Pat

This article is from Daily Tech.Link here: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6068"The 320MB version of NVIDIA's high-end is here; why not?Yesterday marked the launch of the GeForce 8800 GTS with 320MB. Not surprising in the least, the card really has no problem going head-to-head with its 640MB older brother. So you get exactly the same performance as the 8800 GTS 640MB for only $299? Why wouldn't anyone want to buy this card?The majority of people I've discussed the new card with take issue in the possibility that games tomorrow might require the full 640MB buffer.I've been saying this for years, but I'll say it again: Never buy hardware today for games you want to play tomorrow. Computer hardware is not a commodity. Very rarely do prices increase and, without fail, even the most expensive hardware today is bargain-bin fodder six months down the line. My next PC title will likely be Spore, but I'm not going to pay a cent for gaming hardware until the benchmarks are in. The fact is, the few games I play today could benefit from new hardware, but there's also a very distinct possibility that top dollar hardware today might not be up to snuff for Spore. On the other hand, there's also a possibility the hardware I have today is also may be just fine. Why second guess the performance of tommorow's games based on today's dollar?So if the GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB rocks games you want to play today, why give NVIDIA the extra $100 for memory that's clearly not going to boost performance on any games today?"

If I remember correctly, the ACES guys said a 512mb card should be your target for FSX.Apparently the textures swapping in and out can quickly eat up the video RAM, especially at high detail, high resolution. Add AA into the mix and you can see what they mean although I would think for most people, the 320mb version should be fine. If you have a TH2G setup running crazy levels of AA, then probably not!Glenn

Right, it's not a card for the ones with a crazy 3 monitor setup with a resolution of 1600x1200 or greater, but 320MB should make little to no difference for the more casual 17"-20" one to two monitor setup that I have.Pat

>This article is from Daily Tech.> ...snip...>I've been saying this for years, but I'll say it again: Never>buy hardware today for games you want to play tomorrow.> ...snip... So if the GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB rocks games you want to play>today, why give NVIDIA the extra $100 for memory that's>clearly not going to boost performance on any games today?"Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, I have already noticed an occasional problem with running out of texture memory, and that's with 512MB. Will it happen much more with 320MB? I don't know, but it sure isn't going to get better! ;-) Is it worth spending an extra $100 - $150 to avoid the chance that it might get worse? Only you and your budget can really answer that.HardOCP did a comparison of the 640MB and 320MB versions of the card (and against an ATI X1950 XT) which is interesting since you can see exactly what difference the amount of memory makes. It's also a nice review because they are one of the few places that actually tests video cards with FSX. They also test wide-screen resolutions.One note: their testing philosophy is a little different from most places - rather than concentrating on raw FPS numbers, they attempt to turn on as many features as possible while still maintaining what they consider a minimum acceptable frame rate (30 FPS for FSX). They feel it gives a truer evaluation of what you will actually experience, i.e. most simmers are likely to turn up the eye candy rather than worrying about dropping from 120 FPS to 100. Anyway, for direct comparison tests it all works out...Here's the review: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html...W50aHVzaWFzdA==

I have never run out of memory with my 256MB 7600GT.According to THW: "So what do you expect when the memory is cut in half? The frame buffer memory is needed to store partially completed frame information. The effect we have seen in the past is that an application cannot begin a test at high image quality settings such as antialiasing while at extremely high resolutions. If the card does not have enough for the task, an error window will show up once the application closes abruptly. Simply put, it means that in some situations the GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB version could find itself under-equipped for extreme situations."Since I run FSX in a pretty non-extreme resolution of 1280x1024, I don't expect any problems here.I'll know more on Monday. The 8800GTS 320MB is on its way.Pat

>I would assume that memory size only becomes more important>with higher resolutions, currently my GPU doesn't even use the>full 256MB that I have on my card.>I bet that FSX is using all of your 256. Yes, I know about that program that tests your vid mem to show how much you are using. I do not think it is accurate at all.I think that way because of 2 things I heard from the FS devs: 1) "FSX will use all of the video memory that you have."2) "In FSX, it is better to have a slower vid card with more memory, than a faster card with less memory."Furthermore I think that way because I have seen the effect of similar cards with different memory configurations in FS.>It would be certainly interesting to hear opinions from fellow>simmers with 512MB cards or higher.>I'd get the most vid mem I could afford, if it were me.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 have never run out of memory with my 256MB 7600GT.>I'll know more on Monday. The 8800GTS 320MB is on its way.>>PatGreat! I'm jealous ;-), I probably won't be upgrading until late summer/fall. I'm sure you'll be pleased with it, and not just in FSX - some other games may show an even bigger improvement. Have fun!