Thanks Shane! I'll try and report.(Richard, I realize that we are off-board, sorry :-))

Don't be David, I'm sucking in everything that is said about 480s right now trying to make a final decision if I should get one or not. Thought I already decided to stick to my 285 after your post but then I read some other threads where people said they were very happy with their new 470 and 480 cards going from 2 series cards so now I really don't know what to do...luxery problems...I know :(

luxery problems...I know :(

Indeed! :--))I have some time to spend today so I will try different drivers and few FSX.cfg tweaking and I'll give you my last feeling later :( .I understand your hesitation... Computers are traps!

Indeed! :--))I have some time to spend today so I will try different drivers and few FSX.cfg tweaking and I'll give you my last feeling later :( .I understand your hesitation... Computers are traps!

Thanks alot David, I really appreciate that and looking forward to hear your final verdict :(

Hi RichardI've tried the card with 3 different drivers (original CD driver, 197.41, 197.75 beta) and 3 different fsx.cfg (1 without tweak, 1 with most of ******* tweaks and 1 with the same tweaks but no BP=0). I've used 4 different flights: 2 are VFRs with the default Goose at PNW over mountains and over KSEA, and 2 are the PMDG 744 flying at FL100 and FL300.These 4 flights are my "tests" flights I use for years and I call them ie. "12-15" which means that the average framerate is between 12 and 15. Everytime I upgrade a component I rename them with the new results so they always reflect reality. I know each and every detail of these 4 flights, where do they stutter, where do the frames drop down etc... so I have quite a solid base for benchmarking.Of course, every computer is different and again the following comments are the conclusions of tests done on my machine and I respect others opinion or results.So does the GTX480 compared to the GTX285 2 Gb in my stable system:- Gives a smoother image? YES for the VFR flights, NO for the IFRs- Accept more autogen without loosing fps? YES for the VFRs, irrelevant for the IFRs- Accept more clouds without loosing fps? NO and NO- Stops stutters? NO and NO- Cures blurries? using ******* tweaks YES but with more micro-pauses.- Shows artifacts when pushing sliders to the right using ******* tweaks: YES and YES- Stops "The driver has stopped functioning..." random issue: NO with the 3 driversSo....When some guys say "it's night and day", they probably compare with GTX2xx that are probably not 285 and surely not 285 2Gb.On a satisfaction scale of 10, upgrading to the "revolutionary" GTX480 gave me maximum 2 points, FSX wise.But I loose those 2 points on a day to day use because of the noise and the heat.I have added a new line on my FSX.cfg:

[UPGRADE]GTX 285 -> GTX 480 =0

Maybe new drivers will reveal the "beast", maybe not. Anyway I hope it'll help taking the right decision and maybe saving your money!:--))

Hi RichardI've tried the card with 3 different drivers (original CD driver, 197.41, 197.75 beta) and 3 different fsx.cfg (1 without tweak, 1 with most of ******* tweaks and 1 with the same tweaks but no BP=0). I've used 4 different flights: 2 are VFRs with the default Goose at PNW over mountains and over KSEA, and 2 are the PMDG 744 flying at FL100 and FL300.These 4 flights are my "tests" flights I use for years and I call them ie. "12-15" which means that the average framerate is between 12 and 15. Everytime I upgrade a component I rename them with the new results so they always reflect reality. I know each and every detail of these 4 flights, where do they stutter, where do the frames drop down etc... so I have quite a solid base for benchmarking.Of course, every computer is different and again the following comments are the conclusions of tests done on my machine and I respect others opinion or results.So does the GTX480 compared to the GTX285 2 Gb in my stable system:- Gives a smoother image? YES for the VFR flights, NO for the IFRs- Accept more autogen without loosing fps? YES for the VFRs, irrelevant for the IFRs- Accept more clouds without loosing fps? NO and NO- Stops stutters? NO and NO- Cures blurries? using ******* tweaks YES but with more micro-pauses.- Shows artifacts when pushing sliders to the right using ******* tweaks: YES and YES- Stops "The driver has stopped functioning..." random issue: NO with the 3 driversSo....When some guys say "it's night and day", they probably compare with GTX2xx that are probably not 285 and surely not 285 2Gb.On a satisfaction scale of 10, upgrading to the "revolutionary" GTX480 gave me maximum 2 points, FSX wise.But I loose those 2 points on a day to day use because of the noise and the heat.I have added a new line on my FSX.cfg:

[UPGRADE]GTX 285 -> GTX 480 =0

Maybe new drivers will reveal the "beast", maybe not. Anyway I hope it'll help taking the right decision and maybe saving your money!:--))

What can I say David :( , as you said when I read some topics(such as:http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=283110&st=50&start=50) , I despair from my 285 :( but you gave me another shiny day.ThanksBob

Very kind of you David taking time to put this detailed report together and doing all the testing!Someone else said in another thread that upgrading your GFX cards in FSX almost always gives you only an "incremental" change and I've seen that myself going from my old 8800 GT to my current GTX 285 for example. So I guess should I go for this upgrade to the 480 I would see a similar incremental change here too where it's better in some regard although the HUGE improvement you would of course like to see spending this kind of money just ain't gonna be there for you.One thing I was thinking about though in your particular case David is maybe you don't see more of a difference becuase you came from a GTX 285 with 2 GB of memory...? And was your 285 overclocked in some way either by you or from the factory? I'm running default clocks on my 285, did some tests overclocking it when I first bought it but never managed to get any good results even though I have a high quality waterblock for it so in the end I gave up. I also only have 1 GB on my GTX 285 and although I'm uncertain of how much memory FSX can/will use maybe that also in some regard has an effect on the results and difference experienced...?I also noticed that other thread Bob was referring to above where people is saying going from 2 series cards to a 4x0 card has given them a HUGE difference and must admit it's very confusing to come to a decision with so conflicting information...and especially when you have the new card just in front of you almost whispering 'Come on Richard...what are you waiting for...'Will rest my mind from the 285 vs 480 question for a while and instead have a look at Nick Needhams Win 7 guide and see what that can give and make sure I didn't miss anything fundamental when doing my last install of both Win 7 and FSX, guess it's very true that it won't matter how good your hardware is if you don't use it the right way and have it correctly tuned in all aspects.Sure isn't easy to be a FSX-performance/hardware junkie but a day like this one when it's grey and rainy outside and "she who must be obeyed" is out it's a very good opportunity for these kind of activities :(P.S It's one very new and interesting switch you found for FSX.CFG there David and asking someone else I'm sure they will have it set to '1' instead :( D.S

David,I went from a GTX 280 to the GTX 480 SC. What tweaks are you using? Are you using nHancer? and How do you have FSX configured?

- Gives a smoother image? YES for the VFR flights, NO for the IFRs

On my system yes for VFR and yes IFR

-Accept more autogen without loosing fps? YES for the VFRs, irrelevant for the IFRs

On my system yes for VFR and yes for IFR (irrelevant when at altitude possibly but completely relevant on approach and takeoff)

- Accept more clouds without loosing fps? NO and NO

No problem increasing the sliders here as well.

- Stops stutters? NO and NO

I have no stutters with GTX 480 and had no stutters with my GTX 280. Again balance. However, the sliders can really get cranked on the GTX 480.

- Cures blurries? using ******* tweaks YES but with more micro-pauses.

I have no blurries and the ONLY tweak I use is AffintyMask=14

- Shows artifacts when pushing sliders to the right using ******* tweaks: YES and YES

The only place I can get artifacts with BP=0 is YBBN. FFTF=0 is a blurry mess. Best performance for me is NO Tweaks. I only use AffintyMask because AirHauler hits core0 pretty hard when running FSX.

- Stops "The driver has stopped functioning..." random issue: NO with the 3 drivers

FSX crash with an Nvidia error only when testing BP=0 with Extremly Dense Autogen in PNW or FTX AU. Again NO Tweaks other than AffintiyMask and no nHancer. I limit frames within FSX. AF nd AA on within FSX. Nvidia Control Panel Set to enhance AA. AA set at 32x 8XSS, AF 16X. Also my computer is not any louder than it was with my GTX 280...maybe overall I'm staying cooler and thus less fan noise.

David,I'm sorry to hear that you're having no success or little success with the gtx 480.I went from a 1 gig gtx 285 to my new gtx480 and all I can say is WOW!I also performed a full re-format. It was worth the time I spent, because I'm seeing unbelievable graphics and performance.Not only have my fps and image quality gone up, but I'm also able to raise the AG to extremely dense. No flashes nor CTDs.I'm using the 197.41, latest nhancer with 32aa HQ etc. I'm delighted with my upgrade.

Good to hear more sunny stories from you who already upgraded from a 285 to a 480 (or 470). Considering the huge difference in results doing this kind of upgrade I wonder what it is causing it...could it be the amount of memory on the 285 playing a role in all this?Noticed one thing today when doing a short flight, when looking in GPU-Z only approx 400 MB of my 1 GB on my 285 was utillized and the load on the GPU was approx 40% and this was in the Flight1 Mustang which is known to be quite hard on your system. That makes me wonder how an even more powerful GFX card can do much to improve things when my current one so obviously even isn't utilized to half of it's capacity both from a GPU and amount of memory perspective but guess the formula behind net FSX performance isn't that simple...hmm...Anyways I'm lucky I have one week to decide if I should keep the 480 or not, this has become a much more difficult choice than I thought it would be with all different reports some beeing far from positve and others like the last one above 100% the other way around.

Good to hear more sunny stories from you who already upgraded from a 285 to a 480 (or 470). Considering the huge difference in results doing this kind of upgrade I wonder what it is causing it...could it be the amount of memory on the 285 playing a role in all this?

The amount of memory has nothing to do with it...the GPU on the other hand has everything to do with it.

OK, was just a thought since David who haven't seen that much of a difference came from a GTX 285 with 2 GB RAM where those who say they have seen a huge positive difference mostly had 1 GB 2 series cards.Well...time to go to sleep and I hope I will dream about something else but FSX performance :(

OK, was just a thought since David who haven't seen that much of a difference came from a GTX 285 with 2 GB RAM where those who say they have seen a huge positive difference mostly had 1 GB 2 series cards.Well...time to go to sleep and I hope I will dream about something else but FSX performance :(

I have a 2GB 285GTX, a 1GB ATI 5870, and a 1.5GB 480GTX.The 480 is the clear champion in FS by a wide margin here...no ifs, ands or buts.CheersBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Hi Rich,Having one week to try the 480 shouldn't make you hesitate anymore :--)I sincerly hope you will enjoy the upgrade and keep the card.I have made some more tests last night, when the house is calm and only some birds break the silence of this magic moment.I really would like to say that "the 480 is the clear champion in FS by a wide margin" with the same enthousiasm but I can't.I build and overclock my own PCs for years now and the current one is a nice compromise between performance, stability, security and noise.It is clean, with the latest BIOS drivers and works like a charm . Win7 has all the available updates and runs pefectly well.To finish with the background, I, like many others, spend 75% of my sim time tweaking, trying, cleaning, installing, and that, since FS3. So I can honestly say that I'm not really a newbie even if I still have a lot to learn and that's part of the fun too :--))Now...To the question "does the 480 runs better than the 285 2Gb?" I answer yes without hesitating.To the question "is the upgrade really significant FSX wise?" I keep on answering no.The "incremental" change" exists for sure but is nothing compared with the quantum leap when upgrading from a GTX8800 to a 275. (that was about two years ago, before upgrading to the 285). I still get heavy micro pauses, panel textures that takes time to load when changing external/3D internal view with the PMDG 744, stutters and some blurries on heavy sceneries.On spot view with minimum zooming, landing at YBBN with the 747-400, at about 1.000ft height and 2 miles from the runway I get 15fps and that's not what I expected.Now is that landing smoother than with the 285? Yes.... a bit. It reminds me when I upgraded from a GTX275 1Gb to the 285 (same chipset)2Gb.Better but not revolutionary.Here is a screen of the 11-15 fps landing at YBBN.I don't use nHancer, I get the same average with all kind of FSX.cfgs with or without tweaks, the frames are locked externally.My settings are moderate for this kind of heavy flight as you can see: You see, I would have expected the same fps with almost all sliders to the right or a 25 smooth fps flight with the same settings.That's what I wanted so say and that's why I can't speak of "night and day".Now again, I wish you to be very satisfied if you go with the GTX 480. :( Best regards,

Thanks David , many useful post,Could you please give me a chance to compare our FPS in some other heavy sceneries? (I know it seems 480 provides more smooth instead of FPS) but let me test please.So if possible , select some(2 or 3 is enough :( ) sceneries that your FPS is below 22 , please help me to experience exact position , (time , weather, alt. , ....) , I think PMDG 747X external or VC view is good choice also one shot for each position can help more.I know this will take your time but it really help to arrive at a conclusion. :( RegardsBob