I just purchased and installed the GeForce GTS 250 in my 2.2 GHz Quad core machine with 3GB RAM.I am SO dissapointed!!I replaced my GeForce 8800 GT card, and my frame rates are now PATHETIC!Is there something I might be missing here, or is this just a BAD card?Any advice/experience would be appreciated.Gavin

I may be wrong but I've got a feeling that a 250 is a "re-badged" 9800 and your 8800 would have been as good if not better. Also, if the new card has 1GB VRAM on board and you are running a 32-bit OS you may need to put the /3GB switch /USERVA in your boot.ini file otherwise FSX may not run as well as it should or not at all. With your system there's not much better than an 8800 but you could always try the 260/275/285 series, but bear in mind you may experience OOM issues if running on a 32-bit OS.RegardsPeterH

I just purchased and installed the GeForce GTS 250 in my 2.2 GHz Quad core machine with 3GB RAM.I am SO dissapointed!!I replaced my GeForce 8800 GT card, and my frame rates are now PATHETIC!

I felt the same way moving from a 7600GT to an 8800GT. I have been thinking of getting a GTS 275 for my I7 CPU but it is hard to commit the money when it sounds like the newer ones may be actually worse in FSX.Steven.

I felt the same way moving from a 7600GT to an 8800GT. I have been thinking of getting a GTS 275 for my I7 CPU but it is hard to commit the money when it sounds like the newer ones may be actually worse in FSX.Steven.

The OP is running an older quad core CPU at 2.2 GHz...the bottleneck is in the CPU there--the disappointing results are due to that and not the GPU. An i7 even mildly overclocked is a much different scenario.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

The OP is running an older quad core CPU at 2.2 GHz...the bottleneck is in the CPU there--the disappointing results are due to that and not the GPU. An i7 even mildly overclocked is a much different scenario.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

True enough Bob. The GTS 250 is also based on the 9800 GTX. It is actually an old architecture part whereas the 275 is a new architecture.

This has come up befroe, fsx is a cpu hog, you would of being better off getting a faster cpu, it should give you more framerates.

I have the 250 too, and I must say it's one of the best choices you can make: I guess better graphics adapters don't contribute to more FPS, and switching to the latest ATI 4xxx series gives you troubles (see another post of mine). I tested with a 4870 and switched back to the 250 - that should say enough. The way FSX handles AF and AA (i.e. in-game), you cannot really "outsource" AF and AA tasks to the graphics hardware. A more powerful CPU is a way better choice if you want more FPS.Andreas

Just bought an HP Elite Model e9180f with a I7 920 and a 250, coming from a Q6600 and a 8800 GTX, i am quite happy with the results !I might try the 8800GTX in it just for fun... now if i could find a way to modify the HP bios to overclock the I7 a bit.... :( anybody knows how ??Alain Form Montreal

I just purchased and installed the GeForce GTS 250 in my 2.2 GHz Quad core machine with 3GB RAM.I am SO dissapointed!!I replaced my GeForce 8800 GT card, and my frame rates are now PATHETIC!Is there something I might be missing here, or is this just a BAD card?Any advice/experience would be appreciated.Gavin

Your 8800 GT is still one of the best cards out there. The 250 is a rebadged 9800 which was a rebadged 8800 from what I've read. I have the 250 with 1G or RAM and I saw no differencefrom my 7950 GT 512 overclocked. I've been thinking about swapping the newer for the older.The cold fact is that in FSX a new bigger badder GPU does not mean better.Craig

The OP is running an older quad core CPU at 2.2 GHz...the bottleneck is in the CPU there--the disappointing results are due to that and not the GPU. An i7 even mildly overclocked is a much different scenario.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Colonel BobI agree with your sentiments exactly but can you explain why this cpu became worse wrt FSX when the OP installed a new graphics card. Presumably when the OP had the 8800 card installed he/she had reasonable performance? The OP said "I replaced my GeForce 8800 GT card, and my frame rates are now PATHETIC!" ThanksPeterH :(

Colonel BobI agree with your sentiments exactly but can you explain why this cpu became worse wrt FSX when the OP installed a new graphics card.

I can explain why that might have happened, Peter, because I've seen it happen. The (short) answer: video card driver.It's not that the cpu became worse. It sounds like the video driver was bad.We really don't have enough information to properly diagnose. I would want to know if the OP simply pulled the old card out, put the new card in, and rebooted. That is a no-no in my experience. The OP needs to properly remove the old driver set first, boot in safe/800x 600, and go from there with a new driver.

Just bought an HP Elite Model e9180f with a I7 920 and a 250, coming from a Q6600 and a 8800 GTX, i am quite happy with the results !I might try the 8800GTX in it just for fun... now if i could find a way to modify the HP bios to overclock the I7 a bit.... :( anybody knows how ??Alain Form Montreal

Alain, I am afraid that there is not a way to modify the setting in the BIOS. The reason I say this is because I myself have a Dell and I know Dell uses modified motherboards and also locks the BIOS so I can not overclock thru the BIOS. The only way I can overclock is by using some software which I have yet to find one that is reliable. I am assuming the same applies to you and anyone with any brand name computers like Dell, HP, Gateway, and so forth.Best regards,F.K.

I can explain why that might have happened, Peter, because I've seen it happen. The (short) answer: video card driver.It's not that the cpu became worse. It sounds like the video driver was bad.We really don't have enough information to properly diagnose. I would want to know if the OP simply pulled the old card out, put the new card in, and rebooted. That is a no-no in my experience. The OP needs to properly remove the old driver set first, boot in safe/800x 600, and go from there with a new driver.

And ,of course, make sure the new GPU is the one listed in the FS cfg.I can't speak to a 250, but my 260 runs better than my 8800gt did. Bob

I can explain why that might have happened, Peter, because I've seen it happen. The (short) answer: video card driver.It's not that the cpu became worse. It sounds like the video driver was bad.We really don't have enough information to properly diagnose. I would want to know if the OP simply pulled the old card out, put the new card in, and rebooted. That is a no-no in my experience. The OP needs to properly remove the old driver set first, boot in safe/800x 600, and go from there with a new driver.

MaceThat makes a lot of sense - I would endorse what you say re-removing the driver even though the new card will use exactly the same driver. Most of the guru's say that the 182.5 driver is the one to stick with.RegardsPeterH

Alain, I am afraid that there is not a way to modify the setting in the BIOS. The reason I say this is because I myself have a Dell and I know Dell uses modified motherboards and also locks the BIOS so I can not overclock thru the BIOS. The only way I can overclock is by using some software which I have yet to find one that is reliable. I am assuming the same applies to you and anyone with any brand name computers like Dell, HP, Gateway, and so forth.Best regards,F.K.

Well, i think i am scre...d :( any software you can recommend ? ThanksAlain from Montreal