>I opened this new thread specifically with the question : > do you see the artifacts on ATI DX10 compatible cards, as>they are>reported for nvidia cards, in FSX DX10 preview.>>An example of a NON answer : >"If you want good AA and AF at that resolution, the 8800 GTX>is better. It beats the 3870 X2 at high resolutions with AA>and AF cranked up, I read an ExtremeTech benchmark on it:>"It seems the 3870/X2 just cannot keep up with nVidia at high>resolutions with AA and AF cranked up." Is what I think they>said. And, on NewEgg.com, an EVGA 8800 GTX Superclocked is>about the same price, if not cheaper, than an X2.">Sure, it tells me about AA and AF, but nothing about the>flashing textures or missing lights. >>Up to now, only one person managed to answer my question,>thanks baksteen33 (en ik hoop dat je beter vliegt dan een>baksteen ;-) ).>Nicks answer does not count, because it was burried in another>thread :-) .>>I hope I do not hurt anyone feelings, and I do appreciate all>feedback, but I would also appreciate a real answer about my>question.>>Image Quality, fluidity and no artefacts are more important>for me then framerates. I like the HDR lightning, but I can't>stand the flashing textures. >>Or, for the budget limited, if ATI does not have those issues,>it is clearly a driver problem, and NVIDIA owners can hope>that they get solved (some day?).>>JanSorry for hi-jacking your post! (in Dutch: sorry dat ik je post gehijacked heb!) I'd like to know too about the textures. Maybe I just go ahead and buy the 3870X2 tonight and give the answer to your question myself. ;)

>>I would not use anything other than DDR3. I know many people>say it

Dag Jan, No worries, you're welcome. :-) Well, again, certainly no artefacts like flashing runways and the likes. Thanks to Nicks comments, I'll try a bit harder to make DX10 work. A new mainboard will be on order soon. AIM, I'm very happy with the results in DX9 and was particularly surprised to see such good drivers almost immediately after buying the product. The past 14-18 months have rarely been like that. With the parallel upgrade to 8GB, I really realized what kind of 'RAM monster' FSX can be. 1.8GB free with loads of AI, etc. Crazy! Nevertheless, an extremely delightful way of gekte! :-) I don't think you can do much wrong with current X3xxxs, but I would get a 64-bit OS and >4GB if you go X2-1GB. ;-) IMHO, best in general would be, if we balanced the amounts of GPU RAM to our system RAM (and eventually OS). 512-768MB GPUs for example, make most sense with 3-4GB system RAM. Just as a rule of thumb. Personally, I would advise to look at DX10 as experimental and not have too high hopes to start. It's a 'Preview' after all. Vista SP1 which promises a couple of DX10 changes - for example, the OS upgrade to DX10.1 - may change the equation again? If you primarily look for DX9 delight, you'll be more than happy. IMHO... :-) Groetjes Jaap

If it's the merits of system memory, DDR2 vs. DDR3, and it's impact on FSX performance, that is something I would like to hear discussed more here. Maybe in some other thread...Yes, that would be interesting.

SystemLets keep it simple.. We all know that the CPU is the real bottleneck in FSX, Agreed?We all know that the bus feeding that CPU is, not as much of, but still makes a difference when/as it is increased and the CPU is also 'tuned' for that increase, Agreed?OK, nowIf I were to offer you a platform that will accept next gen video technology without removing the critical properties that will allow that adapter to work, and, provide you with a platform which will in fact allow you to hit clocks that you never could on DDR2 for the same or a bit higher (not like it is today) price as DDR2, which one would you take?If your answer is what I think it would be, you just answered your own questions.. every one of them, and, the issue is cost, not that it is better or not.It is:)Now I do agree that one must be careful in selecting a platform because it is easy to miss something and not have everything needed on that motherboard to allow the desired future result.. in that I can see the apprehensions for switching... that and the cost, but the bottom line is I am running 500-550MHz(+) and a true memory speed of 1000 (and better) without DDR2 and CPU FSB limits the old platforms will not allow... FSX will make use of that... all of itThese hardware sites that post benchmarks are only as accurate as the system configuration, setup, the test itself and the engineer reviewing the data.... and controversy makes for great web traffic. You either have the cash and want to play or you wait.. and that is the bottom line."Worth it" in DDR3 is not a performance statement if you know how to set up a system and make USE of the bandwidth.. "Worth It" is a statement and an issue of economics right now. In the beginning DDR3 had its issues because of the motherboard and chipset manufactures... that

LOL, worth it!? :-) I want 8GB of the stuff! Ouch! :-)

My current 4 (2x2MB) set me back quite a bit, especially having to purchase engineering samples to get the timing specs I was after.And my point about DDR3 vs DDR2 is that most do not know how to use it.. even the many of the best hardware review sites don

Early last year, I was certain I could go from DDR1(AMD64s) directly to DDR3... Now a year later, I have 20GB DDR2! LOL, hows that for optimism?!? :-) Oh well, at least the 'pain' dropped ca 15% in the last days, it's ca 200 Euro per 2GB here now. I haven't set a threshold yet, but 200 Euro per module is simply out of the question. I'd prefer to spend that kind of on a hi-end CPU if at all. In addition to the other thread, thanks for the pointers, Nick. Appreciate the ideas and thoughts. Agree fully with 'keep it simple'. A new mainboard is on the menu. The one I have isn't ideal thermally as well for the X2 --> the RAM slots are immediately above the 2nd GPU. It will likely be a X38. Out of curiousity, what do your CCC and X2 indicate in the info screen? Should it show 1024MB? I can see the operating system 'sees the VGA RAM' but it's indicating 512MB 'only' in CCC. Thanks for sharing your experience, kind regards Jaap

Nice post. Keeping it simple is my new modus operandi...Well, I'd like to hit 500 FSB and have my cake too. To keep it simple, I guess I'd need DDR3 to do that?To keep it not so simple, 500 x 9 = 4.5 ghz. ;)RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

-SNIP->An example of a NON answer>...I was replying to Lenny.As for your question, the ATi cards do not give good VSync, that is definitely a game issue. nVidia cards give better performance, but the drivers make the flashing taxiways/lines appear. That is nVidia's problem.BoeingGuy