Here what I have gathered in my research on these three classes of vid cards, and I need your help in making sure my conclusions are right:1) the ATI HD3870 and HD3870x2 would give about the same performance, unless you run super high resolutions in which case the HD3870x2 shines (true or false)2) the 3870 and 3870x2 are a little slower than an 8800 ultra (true or false)3) the 3870/3870x2's don't have any problems in FSX, whereas the 8800's often do (flashing textures, etc.) (true or false)4) the 3870/3870x2 has superior image quality in FSX when compared to any of the 8800's (true or false)Thanks for any input you might have! I do appreciate all of your advice!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

Hi Rhett,Although I haven't owned a 8800 I do have the 3870X2 and have flown FSX with all the sliders to the right and have seen what the card can do.1) The 3870X2 certainly beats all competition at 1920*1200. At 1280*1024 my guess is that there wouldn't be too much difference but the X2 should edge it.2) At 1280*1024, yes. At 1920*1200 the 3870X2 is faster in benchmarks (PC Pro magazine reviewed all major chipsets this month).3) I haven't seen any visual anomalies with my 3870X2. Can't speak for the 8800.4) Couldn't say but I'm more than happy with the image quality in FS9 and FSX.I would say the extra memory on the 3870X2 certainly helps with FSX and if you're going to get a large display (24") then I'd recommend that card. At more reasonable resolutions the 8800Ultra probably has the edge.And my tests are all with the current drivers. Performance can only get better. :-)

Thank you. This and the other new threads are most informative.Why all the new 3870 discussion here all of the sudden? Is there a full moon or something?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

Hi Rhett,The 3870X2 is a brand new card - hence the discussion. There's only a few of us with one. I only saw it reviewed just over a month ago and after seeing screenshots posted by Mike Swannick I decided immediately it was the card for me.It's just past a new moon actually but as far as this card is concerned I'm over the moon! :-lol I'll get my coat. :-walksmile

Hi AllI also want to thank you all in this and other related threads--I am building a new machine and all this info has been simply invaluable.Just think, I was going to buy an nvidia 8800GTXx2--not nowCheers

>Hi All>>I also want to thank you all in this and other related>threads--I am building a new machine and all this info has>been simply invaluable.>Just think, I was going to buy an nvidia 8800GTXx2--not now>>Cheers>Well, If you are big gamer, you had better do a little more reading on the 3870x2. It is better than an 8800Ultra in 3DMark06. However, when it comes to actual game performance especially with the newer games the performance does not scale and the Nvidia cards beat the pants off of it. Crysis 3870x2=23.1 FPS 8800Ultra=38.6FPS, Unreal Tournament 3870x2=86.5 FPS 8800Ultra=97.6FPS.So, while the card is cheaper its performance is not scaling with todays releases (which is why most individuals will be purchasing them). Which in my book means use a little bit of caution. It could be that the drivers just need to catch up. It could mean something else. Also, if you are into overclocking thus far the 3870 cards have proven to be very poor performers with little to no headroom for overclocking.However when talking price to performance the card is a good buy.

I too saw the Mike Swannick screenshots, and that was what first piqued my interest in the 3870-series cards. You Ray, already know that driver stability and image quality are more important than raw speed as far as FSX graphics cards go, since FS is so cpu-bound. I think you made a good choice.The question I need to wrangle-out with myself is, would it be worth the $$ on the 3870x2 vs. the 3870. That goes to the larger picture of whether or not I am going to do what I call a 2-year build or a 3-year build. It's an extra $1500 for the 3 year build, which would include a QX9670 mated to a 3870x2.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

Hi,Well, If you are big gamer, you had better do a little more reading on the 3870x2. It is better than an 8800Ultra in 3DMark06. However, when it comes to actual game performance especially with the newer games the performance does not scale and the Nvidia cards beat the pants off of it. Crysis 3870x2=23.1 FPS 8800Ultra=38.6FPS, Unreal Tournament 3870x2=86.5 FPS 8800Ultra=97.6FPS.Did you read my post further up this thread? I said that the 8800 Ultra did beat the HD3870X2 at lower resolutions (in some games) but at higher ones the 3870X2 took the lead. The resolution is all important in the choice. I think you're being rather selective in your quotes.Take a look at this review. http://www.fpslabs.com/reviews/video/amd-r...2-review/page-7You'll see that the 3870X2 returns consistently high fps irrespective of the resolution whereas the 8800 series drop off as res increases. As I run at 1920*1200 it was the obvious choice. Others who run at lower resolution may decide the 8800 is a better choice.The review on that sites states... Well, what we

Hi Rhett,There was one shot in Mike's series that convinced me to go for the 3870X2. It was an aerial shot at night of a Cessna on the apron with several aircraft parked behind. The frame rate on the 8800GTX was around 18 whereas with the 3870X2 it was 24. Most other shots had identical frame rates but as Mike had locked things at 30fps it wasn't possible to judge them.Supplied drivers are slow and I would expect new releases to give reasonable improvements. Impossible to say by how much of course.It's a hard one to call as to what you should do. The QX9670 will deliver great results and you could go with a 8800GTX, the 3870X2 or even the new nVidia twin GPU card(s) that will be out this year. I chose the 3870X2 because the timing was right. It came out just as I was ready to order and Mike's pictures convinced me of the quality. If I'd ordered a month earlier I would probably have a 8800GTX.Phil Taylor advised that FSX uses as much video memory as is available. 1Gb is giving FSX a huge helping hand. That might just swing it for you over the 768Mb of the 8800GTX. Chew things over. It's your money after all, not mine. All I'll say is that I'm happy with my choice.Cheers,

Ray,Have you happened to try the 3870x2 under DX10 preview yet? If so, do you have any issues with flashing textures (as experienced with Nvidia cards) or is all well with the ATI hardware?

I read somewhere that the 3870x2 doesn't work with some older games like Falcon 4, etc etc, so if you play those....mehBut other than that it looks like a great card, still though, the x2 is twice as much as a 8800GT, and if you're not into DX10, I'd stick with the 8800GToh, heres a nifty site I found on the 3870x2 - hey, it looks nice, my fav color is red!!http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Graphics-c...870X2-1-GB.html

Hi sargeski,That option is not available to me as I'm running XP. I've seen how slow Vista takes to load and it doesn't impress me as an OS. FSX performance also seems to be slower according to reports.A friend is getting a new machine shortly with Vista 64 but with the 8800GTX or Ultra. It'll be interesting to see how the DX10 preview looks on that.I see no flashing textures in DX9 or any other nasty artifacts.Cheers,

Hi Ryan,Phil Taylor's blog here http://blogs.msdn.com/ptaylor/archive/2008...d-consumer.aspx has some useful advice about choosing graphics cards. He places the GT variant in the second tier below the 8800GTX or Ultra. This comment is particularly revealing... "So the 8800 GT has only 55% of the memory bandwidth of the Ultra, and on an app like FSX that crunches through a lot of memory, that means even this part might have issues with some slider settings depending on the scene."Even without DX10 FSX still needs lots of graphical power. Yes, the 3870X2 is more expensive than a 8800GT but it has two GPUs and twice as much memory. That has got to make a difference in performance.Although I could have saved money and bought a cheaper card I decided that as I'd saved so much money on the processor it made it easier to spend the difference in the graphics especially when FSX benefits so much from the extra horsepower.I see that review hailed the 3870x2 as the fastest card available. Of course next month it could all change again but that's computers for you!

Hi Rhett,When I had build me new PC I chose nVidia 8800GT 512Mb.BUT, I had big problems with the TVOut and lack of proper adjustments in the latest nVidia drivers.So, I took it back and got an X3870 512Mb instead. No problems with TVout anymore, as ATI's drivers are better at this point.Performance-wise, I saw NO difference in performance with FS9 (Rpt, FS9, I don't have FSX), but I did have better image quality with the ATI and proper TVOut with overscan and position options.So, if you plan to use TVOut for ANY purpose (FS or whatever), you only have one choice for the time being: ATI8800GT is a really nice card, but nVidia will have to fix their crappy drivers to get the most out of it.George DorkofikisAthens, Hellashttp://online.vatsimindicators.net/811520/1704.png

Ray, I notice you have the Asus branded 3870x2. Have you heard of any differences between brands?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