Time to upgrade my wife

The main reason why there's a seeming lack of ATI simmers is simply because ATI was smart enough to pull their sub-performing cards off the shelves until they managed to sort out a better DX10 solution.Now that the new cards are released, expect to see more and more folks 'making the switch...' nVidia's failure to own up to and fix[/d] their crap drivers does nothing but bring rivers of tears to simmer's...Check out the new HD3000 series of cards. Already there at lease FIFTY-FOUR different configurations, from a dozen or so OEM manufacturers.http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....+HD+3000+series

...gotta tell ya I have NO blurries with the ati/amd card. Didn't have them with the 1950XTX and don't have them with the 3870. I do believe that the standard nVidia 8800 gtx is the equal of the 3870, and has has versions that will cream it, and there are a number of oc'd and tweaked that are even more powerful.... BUT FSX is processor-intensive and therefore does NOT demand the latest, greatest, sli'd, crossfire'd - and MOST EXPENSIVE gpu out there. My "beast" cost me just $250 Canadian, and I'm happier than a sandfly. The 8800 variants retail between 590 and 800 in Toronto, so it was a no-brainer. Besides - you get more from a 6600 proc and overclocking it (free) than paying the 4-600 bucks difference for the nVidia card - and given the huge number of posts about "blurries" etc., and driver issues, etc., ... :+

Thanks Bill & Paul, are you guys using SP2??The 3850/3870 series is what I've been considering since I do play a few games besides FS9 & FSX.Before building a new system for FSX last year, I had an ATi X800 AGP and don't remember having any problems other than poor frame rate. I knew from the start that FSX demanded more system than I had at the time.The 8800 seemed to be a good idea at the time, now I'm questioning my choice. FSX has been a love hate relationship.

>...gotta tell ya I have NO blurries with the ati/amd card.>Didn't have them with the 1950XTX and don't have them with the>3870.>> I do believe that the standard nVidia 8800 gtx is the equal>of the 3870, and has has versions that will cream it, and>there are a number of oc'd and tweaked that are even more>powerful.... BUT FSX is processor-intensive and therefore does>NOT demand the latest, greatest, sli'd, crossfire'd - and MOST>EXPENSIVE gpu out there. My "beast" cost me just $250>Canadian, and I'm happier than a sandfly. The 8800 variants>retail between 590 and 800 in Toronto, so it was a no-brainer.>>>Besides - you get more from a 6600 proc and overclocking it>(free) than paying the 4-600 bucks difference for the nVidia>card - and given the huge number of posts about "blurries">etc., and driver issues, etc., ...>> :+ The 3870 is NOT more powerfull than the 8800gtx, gts 512 or gt, in any way shape or form. But there may be a link between nvidia cards and msvcr80.dll crashes or other problems with sp2, some people are fine others are not. If you only use fsx it is not goign to matter much whether or not you get an 8800gt,gts,gtx or a 3870 or even 3850, because fsx is rediculously cpu dependant. If you play crysis, call of duty or want to play any other modern games get an nvdia card, there is no denying that the 8 series cards beat the ati hd3000 series in terms of performance and bang for the buck. But if you know you are only going to use fsx then I would say get a 3850 since its cheap and possibly more stable with sp2, but again possibly. And btw, the problem described by the op should not be because of an nvidia card, it is most likely some other problem. Blurries are most likely due to the cpu or some other system problem, the cpu is what counts in pretty much everything to do with flight simulator.

Hi Ray,I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the new 3870X2 1Gb card. It's effectively a Crossfire version of the 3870 but in a single card albeit a huge one.I've just built a new system (see System 1 below) and FSX rocks. I have most sliders towards the max with no 3rd party addons.I did a standard FSX install and applied SP1 and SP2. The system is stable and the views are stunning even with the supplied drivers. Once they're tweaked things can only get better.As to which card is best for FSX it depends on your screen resolution. Up to 1600*1200 the 8800 Ultra is best but once you go higher the 3870X2 has the lead.The reason you probably haven't seen any complaints from ATI owners is that few people have their cards. But I do and you'll hear no complaints from me. Quite the opposite actually. I'm as happy as a pig in muck!:-hah

>Hi Ray,>>>As to which card is best for FSX it depends on your screen>resolution. Up to 1600*1200 the 8800 Ultra is best but once>you go higher the 3870X2 has the lead.>>The reason you probably haven't seen any complaints from ATI>owners is that few people have their cards. But I do and>you'll hear no complaints from me. Quite the opposite>actually. I'm as happy as a pig in muck!:-hah Ahh, good point, I should have stated I've got a Samsung 22" running at 1680x1050. As I pointed out in OP, FPS is not a problem, and with SP1, things look quite good and I run the siders quite high. It's SP2 causing a progressive deterioration, gradually increasing blurries then loss of the menu and a lockup that drives me nutz.I've look to see if there is a firmware update for the 8800, no luck and today downloaded new drivers (169.44) but haven't had the guts to try SP2 again.Time to make a choice is near. Momma want's an upgrade... and "trickledown" works :-)

Ray,I replaced my 7900 GTX Ultra 512 last october with the 8800 GTX Ultra 768 (both are EVGA cards) and I was blowing steam when I gained 2 fps at best. I wasn't blaming FS for that, but I did a whole pile of bench marks and tests with other software, and on some notes I "felt" as if the 7900 was actually a better card overall. Probally due to the more stable drivers at the time. Regardless it ended up in the wife/kids rig, and solitare and facebook just fly's now LOL.Anyways with having all the noted issues in this forum at one time or another with the Nvidia and a few more (menu crash, blurries, crappy AA, odd BSOD's, mouse lag etc) followed up with a year of quesitonable drivers at best (that you have to hack to do anything with - like screen rate refresh overides etc) - I think my next card will be an ATI. I've been a Nvidia faithfull since the TNT, and I don't think their hardware is all that bad - but for me it comes down to support & drivers. Same reason I've dropped Creative, will be why I leave Nvidia.Just an opinion from a guy that has just about every "ultra" Nvidia card since the TNT in a box ... (skipped that whole 5000 series fiasco though ..)Regards'Garett

I didnt say it was Mike. I said the standard gtx is the equal of the 3870. There have been so many variants since the 8800 came out that it would be impossible to generalize one over the other. When it comes to running FSX it doesn`t make much of a difference: everybody`s pc is built different to the next guys. Its the cpu that makes the difference with FSX - and even then - everything else must also be right. < bang for the buck > - 250 compared to 700 - I don`t think so. I also play Crysis, and with moderately high settings, and I`ve seen it played using the 8800, and its a job to tell the difference.Stability??? - here I think your`e joking - right? The HD3870 is as stable than the 8800. And ATI`s drivers are more stable.If there was a magic bullet, Mike - everyone would know about it, but it sure as heck isn`t ATIs HD3870 nor is it GEForce`s 8800.

I have an ATI HD3870 installed in my e6750 WinXP system with FSX/Accell-SP2 and the reason you may not hear much from other ATI 3870-series owners is because perhaps they, like me, have spent yet another weekend simming from sunup 'til lights-out without coming here to type messages. Except for this one of course. :) Rock-solid, runs cool, gorgeous image quality, excellent price, friendly driver setup, no issues. P e r i o d .(He said, right before this post was relocated to the hardware forum.....)

hahaha! You da MAN, Stoopy!:-beerchug

>I have an ATI HD3870 installed in my e6750 WinXP system with>FSX/Accell-SP2 and the reason you may not hear much from other>ATI 3870-series owners is because perhaps they, like me, have>spent yet another weekend simming from sunup 'til lights-out>without coming here to type messages. Except for this one of>course. :)> Well I'm glad you did quit flying long enough to post!!! We generally don't see posts about what works, only about what's wrong... I had a suspicion that may be the case with the ATi users. They are flying while we "others" are searching for answers.Thanks,--Ray

.. but get the big one if you make the plunge, Ray.I have long believed that there are many closet "ATI"-ers out there, but never heard a peep from anyone. Thing is - you only ever hear of the problems - the squeaky wheels, so thanks to your post I now know that its not just me that flies trouble-free in the gpu department.For what its worth - I do get - quite literally - very smooth performance, with most sliders way up there, ASX clouds, Vic+, GEX, UTX, FSG, autogen all the way, and I have very, very good ground detail, 12% autos, 25-75% aircraft, no bloom, ships, boats - and this is anywhere around Seattle.

Hi all you helpful people,Interesting thread! I am the owner of an NVidia 7900GS with 256 MB RAM. I have two issues that really really bugger me, and I would like to know whether ATI owners experience the same (or if any NVidia owners have a fix for these):1. VSync does not work in WINDOWED mode. I've tried a lot of driver versions and played around with NHancer... alas, I have never been able to got it working. Would an ATI card solve my problem?2. In heavy cloud conditions, e.g. overcast, my FPS takes a heavy drop. I guess NVidia may be just as good as ATI in this department, but will a speedier card improve this -- knowing that FSX is CPU bound?Bonus questions:1. Does ATI support the use of two monitors in the same way as NVidia's "dual mode" -- allowing you to run FSX on one monitor and other applications on the other?2. Are passively cooled (no fan) ATI cards available in the fast range (I know NVidia's 8800GT exists in a fanless version)?Any input is highly appreciated -- I would love to get the vsync issue fixed before Easter :-)Windows XP SP2FSX Acceleration (SP2)Intel E6600 @ 3400 MHzNVidia 7900 GS 256 MB2 GB memory

Hi Ray,<>In that case it's borderline as to which card would be better. But if you think you'll go for a bigger display (with higher resolution) then the 3870X2 would be a better choice.<>I don't see any of this and I have SP2 installed. It sounds like a driver issue. I'm not sure what specific things were changed by SP2 but it would be bizarre if those were responsible for the problems you're seeing.Do you have any 3rd party aircraft or scenery that could be causing the problem? Try flying a default aircraft out of a default airport and see if that helps.You might change the card and still have these problems. As the 8800 has been out for some time I would have thought the drivers would be stable. Post your driver details here and see if anyone else is using those and having (or not having) problems.Cheers,