Upgrading an TNT2 pro

[Guest macman4]

card.I have HP AMD1300 with an TNT2 pro 32MB sdram 4X AGP. Will i see a good improvment when if upgrade to another card. I'm looking at an ATI 9600 Pro 128 MB AGP,at CompUSA for $99. Or an GeForce 5600 256 MB DDR AGP at Best Buy for $149.These cards are both 8X.My old card is 4X,will that matter? Or any other suggestions. I don't want to put more than $150 into a card. My pc is 3 years old and will replace within the year.Right noe I fly FS2002 on the high settings at about 12-14 FPS. thanks for any info Bob

[Guest fly4beer]

4x or 8x won't make alot of difference coz I doubt your mainboard supports it. Anyhow even if it would support it, this would be a minimal increase. look at it like a marketing thingie for the time beeing. Upgrading to a middle of line card would make a difference even with your cpu, but this cpu is at the bottom limit for "survival" in fs9.Now, what I would consider is if you want to buy the new pc later on with a card or without. I doubt it makes sense to spend dosh for a middle of line card now if you get one with the pc then. just a thoughtLucien

[Guest daveg4otu]

A 128 or 256 mb graphics card is going to make a big difference in my opinion.It can always be used later in an upgraded machine.I would disagree with Lucien that your "cpu is at the bottom limit for "survival" in fs9." A couple of weeks ago,as an experiment I installed FS9 on an old 700mhz AMD/MS663Ultra PC that I keep for my grand daughters to play on.The only thing the machine has going for it is a ATI Radeon 9000 128mb graphics card.It has 256 mb SDRAM.The sim runs fine on it turning in frame rates of 15 - 23 most of the time(full screen- default settings but res at 1024) .Occasional drops to 10 in complex areas.I'm sure it's the video card that responsible for the performance.Dave

[Guest daveg4otu]

Previous post somehow got duplicated here???Dave

[Cloud9 0]

Hi Macman,If you can find one, go with an ATI 9500 Pro instead. Also, you might consider upgrading your CPU. How much RAM do you have on your mobo?Cloud9

[Guest macman4]

I have 512MB of ram.I saw a ATI 9500 Pro at Best Buy .Don't remember what the price was. What kind of CPU do you suggest,How much?

[Cloud9 0]

I'm not familiar with HP PC's, but you should get at least an Athlon 1800+ if your mobo can take it. You'll need to contact HP for more information.A home built system gives you the greatest flexibility.Cloud9