I have been running FSX pretty well with a few tweaks but like most others have set backs with certain add-ons and dense areas. My system; Pent 4 3.2, 3Gigs ram, XP2, Nvidia 6800 256mb Could someone please advise whether or not and which card would make an investment worth it. In the near future I will be building a new system and can possibly utilize this card in it.

You would benefit more from a CPU upgrade. That said, a >512 MB graphics card would also help to some extent. I recently upgraded to a Powercolor HD4870 1 GB graphics card but found performance was actually worse (at standard clock rates) than my previous card, which was an EVGA 8800GT 512 MB KO. I therefore recommend going the whole hog and buying a GTX280. However, you will need to make sure your system is compatible with this card in terms of power supply. If your power supply is not good enough for the GTX280, perhaps a 9800GT 512 MB?This question should be in the Hardware Forum.Cheers,Noel.

Agreed this ought to be be in the hardware forum.If it were me I would wait until I upgraded the whole system. If you spend the $$ now, on something like a GTX280/260, you may find:a) by the time you build the rest of the rig, there is a much better card out there, and:( as Noel says, you may get the GTX260/280 and find that your current power supply can't handle it wellFor me a) would be the biggest consideration; I wouldn't want today's Nehalem quad mated to yesterdays video card.RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

I think your right Rhett, Ive been holding off on a new system because I hear about some new stuff coming up in systems and cards.Its just that constant attempt to better what u have. Thanks

> I have been running FSX pretty well with a few tweaks but>like most others have set backs with certain add-ons and dense>areas. My system;> Pent 4 3.2, 3Gigs ram, XP2, Nvidia 6800 256mb>> Could someone please advise whether or not and which card>would make an investment worth it. In the near future I will>be building a new system and can possibly utilize this card in>it. This post is in the hardware forum...that is where I was looking when I read it. My system is similar to yours. I have FEX...GEX....XGraphics....and a couple of add on planes....GA stuff. FSX runs decent on my system. Yes it is true we need a new CPU but in my opinion an upgrade to a new video card will help you in some areas. I started out with an PCI Express ATI 300. The program would hardly run. Upgraded to an 7600 GT and the difference was night and day. That card burnt out 7 or 8 months ago. I have been using on board graphics since then and FSX will not even boot on that. I just ordered an 9600GT for 79 dollars. It will help me pass the winter months flying again. I do expect to see better performance with this card than my 7600GT. I noticed some cards at NewEgg for 54 dollars that are far better than your current video card. The point is that much better cards than what we had are so cheap it is worth the try and I am sure you would see some benefits in things such as antialiasing...some increased FPS......more weather.....those are the improvements I saw in stepping up and expect to see incremental improvements with this new 9600GT. In the end we will need a new CPU but I have decided to wait for FS11 or whatever it is as money is tight right now. My new card will be here tomorrow and I will let you know if it gives me any more than I had than with the 7600GT. Regards

Update...installed my card and it was worth the 79 bucks. Yes I still have mild texture popping in and out and some blurries but I can fly in storms...rain.....snow....with better performance. If CPU prices really drop in the next month might consider a bare bones but if not will wait until next sim version comes out.

> This post is in the hardware forum...that is where I was>looking when I read it. That because it was posted in the wrong forum prior to your reading it. http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...d=456830&page=4