I recently upgraded my video card from an eVGA 8800GTS (320MB) to the eVGA 9800GTX+ (512MB). With the new card installed, I've encountered some graphics issues in FSX that I had not seen before. First, when the game starts, and I'm on the runway for takeoff, the runway has a dark black surface, with streaks or bands running along the surface that appear like streaks of sand on the runway. Not too pretty. At other times, when I'm using the virtual cockpit, the illumination of the cockpit becomes very dark.If I fly around for a few minutes and then return to the airport to land, the runway then appears with normal textures. They will remain normal until I end that FSX session. But if I restart FSX, I am back to black and streaky runways. The view out the cockpit and the other exterior views are all quite acceptable.I have tried both the 178.24 drivers and the 180.48 drivers with this card, but the effect is the same. I have run the game using the nVdia default driver profile settings for FSX, and I have tried nHancer with Nick's recommended settings that worked so well for me with the 8800 GTS card. None of these changes or substitutions have helped resolve this.My rig: eVGA 680i mainboard, Intel Conroe 3.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB of Crucial Ballistix memory, 3 SATA Hard Drives, 9800 GTX+ video card, Corsair 650 Watt Power Supply, Syncmaster 19" LCD display, running on Windows XP (32 bit).Thanks for any tips to resolve this. I may just RMA the card to Newegg if the graphics don't improve.Rich

I recently upgraded my video card from an eVGA 8800GTS (320MB) to the eVGA 9800GTX+ (512MB). With the new card installed, I've encountered some graphics issues in FSX that I had not seen before. First, when the game starts, and I'm on the runway for takeoff, the runway has a dark black surface, with streaks or bands running along the surface that appear like streaks of sand on the runway. Not too pretty. At other times, when I'm using the virtual cockpit, the illumination of the cockpit becomes very dark.If I fly around for a few minutes and then return to the airport to land, the runway then appears with normal textures. They will remain normal until I end that FSX session. But if I restart FSX, I am back to black and streaky runways. The view out the cockpit and the other exterior views are all quite acceptable.I have tried both the 178.24 drivers and the 180.48 drivers with this card, but the effect is the same. I have run the game using the nVdia default driver profile settings for FSX, and I have tried nHancer with Nick's recommended settings that worked so well for me with the 8800 GTS card. None of these changes or substitutions have helped resolve this.My rig: eVGA 680i mainboard, Intel Conroe 3.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB of Crucial Ballistix memory, 3 SATA Hard Drives, 9800 GTX+ video card, Corsair 650 Watt Power Supply, Syncmaster 19" LCD display, running on Windows XP (32 bit).Thanks for any tips to resolve this. I may just RMA the card to Newegg if the graphics don't improve.Rich

Which model card? I would think that the driver would be the problem. But since you tried two, then I would send it back.

Gone through many a vid card in my day, sounds to me like a bum card...take it back to the retailer if its within 30 days, most of the time I find you can, and exchange, RMAs are VERY painful.

I would suggest running a GPU stress-testing application before sending the card back. If the problem is only observed in FSX, then the card is not at fault and you have a software issue. Try ATi Tool. Don't let the name fool you, this application also works with Nvidia cards, at least the stress-testing portion does. All you need to do is hit the "scan for artifacts" button to run the stress-test. If it goes for an hour or more without artifacts, there's nothing wrong with your card and you should look elsewhere as to the cause of your problems.Regards,Max

lol I use that tool and mine artifacts within 5 seconds....factory OCed from MSI....go MSI!!! :(

lol I use that tool and mine artifacts within 5 seconds....factory OCed from MSI....go MSI!!! :(

I've got friends with factory o/c'd MSI cards that report the same. MSI really pushes their cards to the limit. There's a reason why they're among the chepest brand options, but usually they also have the highest overclock too. Doesn't seem a likely combination if you ask me...

I've got friends with factory o/c'd MSI cards that report the same. MSI really pushes their cards to the limit. There's a reason why they're among the chepest brand options, but usually they also have the highest overclock too. Doesn't seem a likely combination if you ask me...

Yeah next time I'm going with eVGA, BFG or XFX (my old 6800XT was XFX, only good things with that card)I have lots of issues with this OCed card...*sigh*