Hd 4870 X2 Or Gtx 280

[Guest]

I am thinking about getting a new system, with amongst others the i7 920 CPU. AFAIK the 4807 is the fastest card around, but I've heard that it's not the best card for FSX... I currently have a E6600 CPU and a 8800GTX. Will a GTX 280 give me more fps in FSX? Small problem is of course I don't only play FSX...I am also in doubt of getting Vista 32 or 64 bit. I have 32 bit now and have some older hardware (wheel en joystick) and I doubt if they will work with 64 bit. Is 64 bit really, really better, when you don't take compatibility into consideration?

[Sharrow 0]

When paired up with a decent CPU I do not think that the move from a 8800GTX to a GTX280 will bring you a significant improvement in FSX. There will be some improvement, sure, but not a lot. The GTX280 sure will help in other AAA games though.The 4870x2 is a fantastic brute of a card but you are left at the mercy of ATI's driver division which has of late been a bit wobbly. FSX does not benefit in any meaninigful way from dual GPU cards (or SLI) unless you are running a 30" screen.Generally speaking the best advice for gaming is usually to go with the fastest single card you can afford - you can always add another down the line if need be.Just a note here - EVGA has just released a 55nm GTX260 Core 216 which is shaping up very well and is very close on the heels of the original GTX280 in a lot of scenarios. The next version of the GTX280 is only out in Q3 2009.Potential compatibility issues aside a 64bit OS is the way to go, especially so if you are going to be using 6GB of RAM on your new Corei7 rig.

[GSalden 4,657]

FSX and Nvidia based cards like eachother.In the past there where some issues with ATI cards and FS.My self I never decided to try an ATI card with Fs.In our Fs Club I have heard of several people with ATI cards still having issues.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,956]

As someone who owned the earlier 3870X2 there's no doubt about its image quality in FSX. It was fantastic and significantly better than top nVidia cards.But where it fell down was in heavy cloud where frame rates dropped alarmingly. I believe the 4870 has gone some way to redressing this but still cannot match the top nVidia cards.I own a 8800GTX and feel the GX280 series doesn't significantly improve over its predecessor. Stick with the 8800GTX. Higher frame rates are more important than image quality. You do get used to the 8800's over time and it's by no means bad.

[Guest lukeh]

If the Quality of the Drivers are as poor as they have been for the last two-years then don't bother with an nVidia card, and get the ATi.

[Guest]

I forgot to mention (and it does make a difference) that I can't keep my 8800GTX. ;) It's staying in the computer and the complete computer goes to my son. So I want to buy a complete new system. Going from a E6600 with 8800GTX to and i7 with... an 4870 or 280 will make a difference, won't it? It's not only the video card that is changing! If I would keep my own computer, with the E6600, I wouldn't think of only getting a new videocard. It's the combination of the new videocard with the new CPU that I am looking forward too. But I know that FSX is not like any other game: it doesn't benefit that much from a better videocard.Anyone here who had a E6600 and a 8800GTX and now has a new CPU and video card? How did FSX improve?

[Fortiesboy 1]

I forgot to mention (and it does make a difference) that I can't keep my 8800GTX. ;) It's staying in the computer and the complete computer goes to my son. So I want to buy a complete new system. Going from a E6600 with 8800GTX to and i7 with... an 4870 or 280 will make a difference, won't it? It's not only the video card that is changing! If I would keep my own computer, with the E6600, I wouldn't think of only getting a new videocard. It's the combination of the new videocard with the new CPU that I am looking forward too. But I know that FSX is not like any other game: it doesn't benefit that much from a better videocard.Anyone here who had a E6600 and a 8800GTX and now has a new CPU and video card? How did FSX improve?

The content of this post is what i have been thinking about as I have been on the point of ordering a new computer for some weeks now, in order to make the best use of the two new WW1 sims - OFF Phase 3 and ROF - which are due out soon, and also for FSX.I have been thinking on the lines of E8600 duo core and nVidia 280 graphics card etc, and being in two minds re the new intel quad processor. As to the quad processors, I7 is it?, it would be nice to have, but I can't justify it, as the computer will be used almost exclusively for flight sims, which don't use quad processors.My present system is running FSX surprisingly well, and after reading of some of the FPS being obtained in FSX by guys who have bought new high end computers similar to my intended one, I am beginning to wonder if I need a new one at all?I have been getting FPS mostly in the high 30s, and taxiing around airports at about 16. And I am surprised all the more when some posts from guys with these new puters are quoting FPS in single figures!It may be that they have FSX with all sliders to the right etc, but I am not too far away from that.These are my FSX settingsTarget FPS =40 : Global texture resolution = very high: Running 1800 x 900x32: Filtering = Aniso.( No Lens flare, light bloom or Advanced animations.)High Res cockpit: Aircraft shadows on ground, landing lights illuminate ground SceneryLevel of detail radius = large: Mesh complexity = 91: Mesh res=2m: Texture res= 7cm:water effects=Max2xLand detail textures checked.: Scenery complexity = Normal: autogen +sparse: nspecial effects = medium.Airline traffic density =3: G.A. traffic density =3Airport vehicle =Minimum.Road vehicles =40: ships =5: leisure boats =15My system, running Windows XP, is as follows.AMD Athlon San Diego 4000 processor; nVidia 7800GTX graphics; 2 gig Ram, santa cruz sound cardPSU = 350w Enermax; Samsung HDD 250GB. Trackir Pro3.I do not play online, so I disable AV, firewall. I also use black Viper settings for disabling start up processes that i do not need.I have also modded the FSX confg file. My point is that, in truth, I don't know that I need this intended computer for FSX, as some with the newest specs seem to be running slower than me, and I might just "improve things worse" :)However, I reckon that I will get the new 'puter if only for the WW1 sims. But I will be keeping this present one handy just in case. lolIt all just seems to make you wonder just how much have computers improved in the last two years?

[jwenham 1]

FortiesBoy, I have recently bought and eagerly awaiting for the UPS man to show at my door for my new build. I have ordered the i7 940, Asus P6T Deluxe mobo, 6 gigs 1600 speed ram, and the GTX 260 super clocked edition video card. I am upgrading from a Pentium D 805 2.66 oc to 3.4, I currently have 2 gigs ram and a 8600 GT VC. I have properly tuned FSX to my system (thanks Nick N) and defrag usin O&O and am astounded as you to how well FSX now works. Even at demanding areas I can still usually maintain 15 FPS. What I want to improve on is not so much FPS but the overall smoothness of the sim and try to reduce the stutters here and now .... FSX CAN NOT be judged by FPS. I would much rather fly a 15-20 smoothly with jaw dropping graphics than 15-20 herky jerky with blury textures. Those you see with new machines getting poor performance either have not installed properly, tuned FSX PROPERLY to the system, never PROPERLY defraged the HD, or are not up to date with windows updates Direct X, ect. So .... for me I went with the new system and expect to be able to OC to 3.5 at min, hopefully 4Ghz! Will I be able to run ALL sliders full?, probably not, will I see a FPS improvement? I think I will get a 20-30% boost, Will my sim run silky smooth? Most likely as I will properly set her up.Good Luck and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[Fortiesboy 1]

FortiesBoy, I have recently bought and eagerly awaiting for the UPS man to show at my door for my new build. I have ordered the i7 940, Asus P6T Deluxe mobo, 6 gigs 1600 speed ram, and the GTX 260 super clocked edition video card. I am upgrading from a Pentium D 805 2.66 oc to 3.4, I currently have 2 gigs ram and a 8600 GT VC. I have properly tuned FSX to my system (thanks Nick N) and defrag usin O&O and am astounded as you to how well FSX now works. Even at demanding areas I can still usually maintain 15 FPS. What I want to improve on is not so much FPS but the overall smoothness of the sim and try to reduce the stutters here and now .... FSX CAN NOT be judged by FPS. I would much rather fly a 15-20 smoothly with jaw dropping graphics than 15-20 herky jerky with blury textures. Those you see with new machines getting poor performance either have not installed properly, tuned FSX PROPERLY to the system, never PROPERLY defraged the HD, or are not up to date with windows updates Direct X, ect. So .... for me I went with the new system and expect to be able to OC to 3.5 at min, hopefully 4Ghz! Will I be able to run ALL sliders full?, probably not, will I see a FPS improvement? I think I will get a 20-30% boost, Will my sim run silky smooth? Most likely as I will properly set her up.Good Luck and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Jwenham S!If you don't like the new system, just send it over here-lolIt reads a very nice system indeed. You should get a very good FSX from it, because, as you say, you have tuned the system and FSX correctly.I agree re smoothness over FPS, if you have to choose between them, but I forgot to add that I also get very smooth running- no stutters. I also didn't mention that I run FSX updated with SP1 and then SP2- It seemed to be a lot better after SP2.I have not got Acceleration, and i probably won't, after some negative posts i've read.Hope you get the most from the new system!cheers

[Arklight1 140]

The GTX 280 outperforms the 4870X2 in FSX. A site I found a while back did a head-to-head between both videocards with FSX. The GTX 280 seemed to come out quite a bit ahead, if I remember correctly. The 4870X2 is no doubt a fast card, but some folks make the mistake of thinking that a "faster" videocard is faster in everything.....and that is simply not true.