Hi, I have for this moment a P4 2.53GHz, 512DDR, Geforce 4600Ti, 120 GB Harddrive. What is the best thing to upgrade? Price? Well, I was thinking around 340USD. What do you recommend?CheersJohan "Whats VNAV?!?!" Adolfsson

Get more RAM and Radeon 9800XT.KostaBAW645

Ah yes, and OC that CPU of yours to 2.89 (150 FSB, 2.650V power).Word Not Allowed

I was thinking of getting the Radeon 9600 XT 256 MB DDR and a extra 512DDR RAM...Is it worth the cost?CheersJohan "Whats VNAV?!?!" Adolfsson

Well, dunno how GeForce performs, but Radeon will give you great looking FS, with (almost) no impact on the FPS when using AA or AF. And probably better FPS (my GUESS is about 5-10fps), but I can't say for sure.More RAM will make the FS smoother, less PF usage, less jerky. If you had enough RAM (1GB or more) you could possibly turn off PF (which is risky, but possible).Word Not Allowed

Be careful with Radeon although - they need GOOD PSU, and compatible motherboard.Word Not Allowed

Just installed a 9600XT and I can tell you FS is for sure all about CPU, power power power :-) I went from a geforce 2 mx400( I know a dog card), and all that I got was really stunning graphics. Frame rates around the 3d clouds and with all the hype about AA/AF was no better. still very jerky. So I have backed off the AA stuff and the frame rates are more acceptable. Gets down to high teens around busy airports with AI. The DX9 support really made a difference with the special effects,water textures etc. Cant complain about that.I have a P4/1.9, with 1GB RAM, so if I were you go to the top dog CPU if you can and the 9800XT and treat yourself for Christmas.hope that helps.Bill

What is PSU?CheersJohan "Whats VNAV?!?!" Adolfsson

>What is PSU?>>Cheers>>Johan "Whats VNAV?!?!" AdolfssonPower Supply UnitBill

I would overclock the processor to FSB=155 MHz and run the Ti4600 with the official Nvidia 52.16 drivers and force 2xAA and 4xAF..Run the monitor at 1280x960x32, and then: go fly!Total cost $0..

Assuming you have WinXP or 2K, RAM should take a priority. I would also wait a few months to see where the CPU market is going and also determine where if your mobo can support a much faster CPU. 2.53 is reasonable now, but I don't think you would see much of an FPS increase going to 3.0 or 3.2 if your mobo can handle it. While the graphics card efficiency is very important, it all falls back on the CPU.So get some RAM (total 1 GB) for a few bucks and save your pennies to get a mobo screamer as new CPUs come out and prices fall on todays existing screamers.After you get a much faster CPU, then perhaps a newly designed graphics card will be available with appropriate drivers to take advantage of it.In your post, you did not state what mobo you are using which would affect recommendations.

While the graphics card efficiency is very>important, it all falls back on the CPU.I don't see it quite that way. I think it's always a case of leapfrog--in some systems, at some resolutions and AA/AF settings, the video card is the main limiter. In other situations, clearly the CPU is the limiter. And this situation is completely situation-dependent on the same machine. Given heavy duty clouds n autogen, I notice 4xAA on my Radeon 9700 chokes a bit for certain at my 1600 x res of choice, indicating the video card is now the limiter. Noel

i'm 5 days late 2 this party; do u have a problem with the current setup? or have u already bought something?

Nope, didn't by anything yet! But I am going to, don't what to upgrade still :D More RAM......I think at this point.CheersJohan "Whats VNAV?!?!" Adolfsson

http://www.crucial.com for your ram =)