After following your threads and applying your recent tweaks I am very happy with FSX.However, I want more. I was considering an Nvidia GTX 4xx card but it seems supplies are rare. I read on another forum your comments regarding the ATI 5870, particularly regarding the performance drop with complex scenery and mdl objects. What level of performance impact are we talking?My current system comprises an i7 975 at 4.2Ghz and a GTX280 and is stable using the BP=0 and Highmemfix=1 tweaks. FSX settings are not quite maximised and this gives me a good balance with only the odd texture flash. Flying around Manhatten X I can get 30-40 fps with default aircraft and 18-20 fps with PMDG aircraft. However, I run with the frames limited to 24 in the sim.Would a 5870 yield similar or even better performance than the 280 whilst allowing me to increase water to 2x High, making use of the increased shader cores of the ATI card?TIADarren

After following your threads and applying your recent tweaks I am very happy with FSX.However, I want more. I was considering an Nvidia GTX 4xx card but it seems supplies are rare. I read on another forum your comments regarding the ATI 5870, particularly regarding the performance drop with complex scenery and mdl objects. What level of performance impact are we talking?My current system comprises an i7 975 at 4.2Ghz and a GTX280 and is stable using the BP=0 and Highmemfix=1 tweaks. FSX settings are not quite maximised and this gives me a good balance with only the odd texture flash. Flying around Manhatten X I can get 30-40 fps with default aircraft and 18-20 fps with PMDG aircraft. However, I run with the frames limited to 24 in the sim.Would a 5870 yield similar or even better performance than the 280 whilst allowing me to increase water to 2x High, making use of the increased shader cores of the ATI card?TIADarren

nVidia has pretty much always been the best card for Flight Sim because I believe that MS had some joint engineering deals going on.jja

After following your threads and applying your recent tweaks I am very happy with FSX.However, I want more. I was considering an Nvidia GTX 4xx card but it seems supplies are rare. I read on another forum your comments regarding the ATI 5870, particularly regarding the performance drop with complex scenery and mdl objects. What level of performance impact are we talking?My current system comprises an i7 975 at 4.2Ghz and a GTX280 and is stable using the BP=0 and Highmemfix=1 tweaks. FSX settings are not quite maximised and this gives me a good balance with only the odd texture flash. Flying around Manhatten X I can get 30-40 fps with default aircraft and 18-20 fps with PMDG aircraft. However, I run with the frames limited to 24 in the sim.Would a 5870 yield similar or even better performance than the 280 whilst allowing me to increase water to 2x High, making use of the increased shader cores of the ATI card?TIADarren

I'm running an i7 975 at 4.4GHz and a 1GB Gigabyte 5870 mildly clocked to 885/1290 MHz. I can fly the PMDG MD-11 around NYC with "Stormy weather" set, and hold about 21-23 fps, and it's very smooth (water set to Mid 2x). My previous 285GTX at 675MHz would give me a few frames higher, but was not nearly as smooth.2x High water invokes a second shader pass, and would slam your frame rates. (edit: well, maybe not...I'm flying the Duke over NY harbor and barely seeing a hit on frames with water at 2x High. Hmmmmmm, now that's interesting. Never tried it before with bp=0 and himemfix in place)Image quality was a bit better on the nVidia, but I had big stability problems with two nVidia cards.Not sure I'd spend the money to move from a working stable 280 to a 5870...might be better to wait for the next generation of cards to get the bugs worked out and show up on the shelves.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

However, I want more. I was considering an Nvidia GTX 4xx card but it seems supplies are rare. I read on another forum your comments regarding the ATI 5870, particularly regarding the performance drop with complex scenery and mdl objects. What level of performance impact are we talking?

Not much... 4-6 FPS, and ONLY under a very heavy/intesive/weather area. Now. the ATI has faster DDR5 memory AND much more shader cores, so, altough the card is not as 'fast' in terms of 'object rendering' it is EXTREMELY fast doing 'command processing'. BP=0 bypasses a software managed vertex buffer, making this 'commands' go directly to the card, so ATI's LOVE BP=0 and they will be 100% stable. Nvidias do not like BP=0 very much, unless you LOWER autogen and scenery complexity. Of course, that will change with the new nVidias ;)

I read on another forum your comments regarding the ATI 5870, particularly regarding the performance drop with complex scenery and mdl objects. What level of performance impact are we talking?

Hey Darren: I went from a GTX9800 to the ASUS 5870 card around the same time ******* did, and he had the option to return it: I didn't. I run all that's in the screenshots at the top of the forum, but I pull back Mesh to 80, Mesh Res to 10m, Text. Res to 15cm, water to High 2.x. Sc. Comp. to V Dense, AG Full., plus I add 25% Road, 35% GA and 20%Airline, with #3 REX clouds, FTX north of Seattle, around Arlington. I don't have to, but I want heavy clouds and traffic - traffic being where the .mdl files are - plus I fly the Maddog, which is a framehog. I play the numbers a little, dependent upon what I want to do and what aircraft I'm flying. This was a post for someone who couldn't get a solid overcast. Here it is at solid 22fps at 3840 x 1024 res:- (settings not finalized at this point)http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o83/pj_...FSX%20Overcast/

However, I run with the frames limited to 24 in the sim.

Yep, but mostly I run 26, the sim being dead solid, with no flashing, hesitations, black squares, and so on.

Would a 5870 yield similar or even better performance than the 280 whilst allowing me to increase water to 2x High, making use of the increased shader cores of the ATI card? Darren

No - in fact - I should have kept the GTX until the Fermi 480 came out, but I was just a bit too impulsive. Now, of course - I want to try the 480!!The 5780 is certainly a top-line card: It's better than anything I've had or seen thus far, but it still suffers from (minimal) vSync issues, and clouds do load it somewhat - not too bad - manageable, but it's there. I just feel that the 480 might still be a better card.Hope this helps.

No - in fact - I should have kept the GTX until the Fermi 480 came out, but I was just a bit too impulsive. Now, of course - I want to try the 480!!

Well.. I overclocked my 5870 (it was the Vapor-X) to like 900/xxx i don't remember the xxx for memory ;) extremely stable, great with Ultra dense autogen and unlimited frames.. impossible to crash (I could not make it crash once) but.... it gave me 4-5 less FPS than my GTX 285.So, why a Fermi? (which hopefully arrives tomorrow) well... it has FASTER memory than the GTX 285 (DDR5) it has twice the number of cores and SAME shader clock speed. so, will it increase my 'FPS' considerably?? NO!! probably not even 0.1! however, I will allow me to run Extremely Dense autogen, ENBSEries, Multimonitor, without ANY kind of stability problems.Tomorrow, I'll write a short review... so stand by :)

Well.. I overclocked my 5870 (it was the Vapor-X) to like 900/xxx i don't remember the xxx for memory ;) extremely stable, great with Ultra dense autogen and unlimited frames.. impossible to crash (I could not make it crash once) but.... it gave me 4-5 less FPS than my GTX 285.

Yeah... I oc'd mine too, ******* - up to 900/1300, but immediately got awful st-st-st-tutters (don't know why), but I'll try it again, now that the dust has settled. I love this sim! Bye the way, *******.... I remember somewhere you said you were going on vacation, now that FSX is fixed....... :(

Bye the way, *******.... I remember somewhere you said you were going on vacation, now that FSX is fixed....... :(

Tweak vacation that is ;) no monster BP=0 thread to worry about.I'm still here, doing real work to pay the bills.

Thanks for the comments.I am going to give the 5870 a whirl and I can always sell and upgrade should the GTX4xx prove a leap forward (when they eventually arrive).I'm plumping for the Asus model as it offers a voltage tweak to aid overclocking.DazEdit: Change of plan. Just managed to secure a GTX470 for pickup today so will give that a go instead.