FS2004 - GF3 Ti200 to ATI 9800 .... Worth it for image ...

[JayDub 0]

A Little help from the experts please. Have chance to upgrade my current GF3 Ti200 to ATI 9800/non pro. Have read all the reviews and since this card is being advertised in my area at a great price thinking of making the jump. Have to say getting pretty good performance from the old GF3 with everything maxed out, but looking for faster loads and reduced "blurries" at a distance. Overall image quality an issue. If dont see big improvement with my system it may not be worth the effort.... Any suggestions appreciated.JayDubLian-Li Aluminum Case 400W Power SupplyAMD ATHLON XP 2400+Gigabyte GA-7VAX VIA KT400 Dynatron CPU CoolerWindows XP 1024MB Corsair DDR 2400Maxtor 40GB 7200/Maxtor 30GB Sony 16x DVD / 40x CD-ROMPlextor 16x10x40 CD-RWCreative Audigy XGamer 5.1MSI GeForce 3 TI200 Pro - 52.16 DriversViewSonic19 Inch Flat Screen ViewSonic ViewMate Office KeyboardCreative V.92 PCI ModemSaitek X36F/X35T Flight Control System

[Guest jonal]

Hi JayDub,I recently upgraded from a GF3Ti500 (64 Mb) to ATI 9800 Pro (128 Mb). At the same time I upgraded from an AMD 1800+ to an AMD 2400+. I was amazed at the difference. Obviously some of the improvment will have been due to the processor upgrade (I did not do an intensive check after installing the processor - just checked it worked !). I had recently installed Ultimate Traffic and was finding, after a while the aircraft textures were not loading, so I thought a new graphics card was due.As far as image is concerned, I have noticed a vast improvement since I can now use AA and AF, all shimmering has gone and framerates (for what they are worth) are nearly always knocking on the door of 25 fps (locked at 25) apart from near busy airports like EGLL. Mind you I have most sliders to the right.Make sure you upgrade to the 3.9 Catalyst drivers.Overall, I'm very happy with the upgrade. Hope that helps.Jon

[Guest LonelyplanetXO]

giday,Your system spec is quite close to mine. I reluctantly made the jump from a Radeon 9500 64Mb, (which would perform similarly to your card) to a 9800 Pro 128Mb. The difference in performance was illustrated with 3dMark 2001 - from 9780 points to about 13500. This is also reflected in FS, where I'm able to wind up the settings considerably - water reflections, 3d cloud density & draw distance all well up. The card is definitely a great investment.But - there's a world of difference between pro & non-pro cards. My advice is wait & get a pro version as the non-pro may disappoint. The 9800 Pro will drop in price fairly quickly now the XT is out.LonelyplanetXOSystem spec fyi:AMD Athlon 2.5Asus A7V600 board, 333fsb1gb of 333DDR RAMOriginal ATI Radeon 9800 pro 128mb card550Watt power supplyCH Pro stick, throttle, pedals

[Hornit 3]

Just for info, I have my 9800 non pro running at almost pro speeds as far as clock speeds for memory and chip go, its a great bargain. I highly recommend getting a non pro and overclocking it. I had gone from a GF4 Ti4200 to this card and see a big improvement in the ability to do FSAA and image quality. Also the FSAA of the ATI cards is noticeably better than Nvidia.Hornit

[JayDub 0]

Thanks to those who replied.... Guess at $199.00 at Circuit City in the Atlanta Ga. area, thats the way to go.... Reviews show it only on average 10% below the pro version in performance and that is before overclocking. Looks like the "Best bang for the buck".. JayDub

[Guest panda234]

I you can do! I did the exact same upgrade and it's like a while new simulator. Expecially now that the drivers work. :-)rgds,billg