I am considering an update for my PC for FS9, Specs as follows;XP Home SP3Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 GHZGeForce ENGTS 250 PCI-E 512 MB GDDR3RAM 3 GB DDR 2HDD 320 GB SATAPSU 650 W22 ins TFT (1280X800)Will a higher spec Video card improve performance , as I have a lot of Military AI installed and I do not wantto turn the wick down.Advise please.Many thanks in advance.Brian H

Given the above info can anyone advise me as to whether a higher spec graphics card wil improve FS9, if so which would you recommend.Cheers

Given the above info can anyone advise me as to whether a higher spec graphics card wil improve FS9, if so which would you recommend.Cheers

No not really, it wouldn't be worth much in terms of performance, the best thing you can do I guess is go for a cheap quad or OC your dore 2 duo to 4GHZ. The card is already pretty good, what kind of FP/S are you seeing right now

For your rig - 100% Absolutely Yes! The 250 (ala 8800gts) was a decent card back in the day, but even the 260-(216 core) was a nice worth while improvement especially over the 250—512mb card that you have which struggles with texture loading If you do any AA filtering and pan around the view.The perfect fit for your situation would be a Fermi junior - 1 GB-460GTX especially now since the drivers are really starting to mature and @ $200 it really fits your rig.The only caution to throw out there is to make sure the early driver issues for XP 32 have been resolved - Might want to post something specific in the FS9 forum to see if all is ok now.

Your GPU is fine. Upgrade to an E8X00 or Q9X50 if you want to get a boost or upgrade your mobo/RAM/CPU to socket 1156.

Your GPU is fine. Upgrade to an E8X00 or Q9X50 if you want to get a boost or upgrade your mobo/RAM/CPU to socket 1156.

+1 the gpu is a little old but this is FS9 not FSX it's not at all graphic intensive.

Your GPU is fine. Upgrade to an E8X00 or Q9X50 if you want to get a boost or upgrade your mobo/RAM/CPU to socket 1156.

Sticking to thoughts about the GPU:It might be fine if he had the right version of the 250 or if he was running a vinilla install of FS9. He doesn't and he isn't. There is a reason that 512MB card could be had for $129 bucks when it came out.I guess we could also say that an upgrade would not have much of an impact if he turns all filtering off, all true..but lets be real here for a minute.In FS9 @ 1680x1050 with simple 4AA and 8AF (Filtering IS graphic intensive) with his question in mind and mixing in some nice add-ons and some layered weather on aproach with some decent airport traffic the difference between a 250-512 card and a 275/280 is a hefty 25-35% more frames when it is probably hurting him right now. With that CPU @ 3Ghz If hes seeing it dip into the low 30's/ high 20's this will hold him into the upper 30s/low 40s maybe even. The 460 puts him above the 275/280. The rest of the time he will be really enjoying some smooth flight and will be able to pan all views with no delayed textures. Other upgrades won't help much under those conditions if he is still using that 250-512 card. wont happen.

Look at the small resolution though: 22 ins TFT (1280X800)

Many thanks for the responses, I have FS9 set to 1680x1050x32 by the way.Given all the above comments, in simple terms, will I gain anything by going up to a GTX460 1024, not to fussed about cost.Cheers

Many thanks for the responses, I have FS9 set to 1680x1050x32 by the way.Given all the above comments, in simple terms, will I gain anything by going up to a GTX460 1024, not to fussed about cost.Cheers

The numbers I posted above are from reference. If you dont like the figures I posted (read and understand it carefully), then dont do it. If on the other hand that is the kind of improvement you want, its what you WILL get >.

Many thanks for the responses, I have FS9 set to 1680x1050x32 by the way.Given all the above comments, in simple terms, will I gain anything by going up to a GTX460 1024, not to fussed about cost.Cheers

Yes you would gain something, its not a waste really.

Yeah you'd get a gain but it wouldn't be too impressive. If you want to upgrade at least wait for a good sale to justify the cost.And about how GPU intensive MSFS is... I don't think it is. Look at my GPU and I play FS9 for heavy metal locked at 35FPS with tiny dips and FSX general aviation locked at 30 with dips into the teens

Many thanks for all the responses, having looked at various sites for a GTX460 1024, I am somewhat confused by the amount available.I have looked at the ASUS site as well, and there are several versions there.Would anyone recommend a specific version that would suit my needs please? Many thanksBrian H