I'm currently running a Dell XPS with a Pentium 4 at 3.8 GHZ with 2GB of RAM and an Nvidia 6800GT card with 256MB of RAM. I'd like a few opinions on whether upgrading to an 8800GT card with 512 MB would help improve performance of FSX on my PC. I get about 15-20 fps and some stutters right now, with sliders at mid-range. Would the card help by itself, or will I have to get a new PC to really make a difference?

Your CPU is more than enough for FSX, RAM is good to go too. Yes, getting an 8800 GT will help immensely, as it not only has more onboard RAM, but is faster than the 6800 GT.In the CPU, the terrain, autogen, and buildings get rendered, as well as in the RAM.The video card renders the shadows, the chrome/glass effects and the water, all of which use very complicated shaders, which is a video card attribute. So yes, you should see an improvement with the 8800 GT.

Here's a comparison of the two using FSX:http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_200...=1057&chart=289Look for the blue bars.Jim Harnes

Looking at those charts, I would most certainly say 8800 GT is the best choice. It seems you can crank up resolution, AF, and AA and hardly lose one-tenth of a frame.

I would say sure, but not a huge performance increase, at least not one you'd like to have :)