Hi,

 

Since the recent drop in price of some high end video cards I am considering replacing my AMD HD4800 with possibly a HD7870/50 or Nvidia GTX 570. My CPU is a 2.7GHz i7 with 6 Gb of ram. I currently get an average fps in the range 15 - 30 fps. However with some of the Orbx sceneries this can drop significantly. Some time ago in the FS2002 days I upgraded a video card and was some what dissapointed with the results. Any idea what I might expect with an upgrade or is the cpu likely to be a limiting factor? With my system being only three years old I am reluctant to dump it for a new one just to run FSX, everything else performs fine for me.

 

Hope someone can offer some guidance - thanks

 

Baz

Hi Baz, I think the CPU is the most important factor. Upgrade GPU will help but not a lot. FSX is CPU dependant. But if you plan in anext future to switch to P3D 2.0 upgrading gpu is a good choice. But maybe I will wait for this.

 

Consider I have a gtx275 and have achive a good compromise with graphics and performance, running REX and ASE with NGX and MD11 and I have a good fps, about 20-25, with some drops in big airport and with high percentage of AI traffic.

 

This is my opninon, others simmers can differ from mine :-)

Hi Baz, I think the CPU is the most important factor. Upgrade GPU will help but not a lot. FSX is CPU dependant. But if you plan in anext future to switch to P3D 2.0 upgrading gpu is a good choice. But maybe I will wait for this.

 

Consider I have a gtx275 and have achive a good compromise with graphics and performance, running REX and ASE with NGX and MD11 and I have a good fps, about 20-25, with some drops in big airport and with high percentage of AI traffic.

 

This is my opninon, others simmers can differ from mine :-)

 

This is all good until you start bumping up AA/AF and other visual enhancements which tax a gpu more than it does the cpu. If the OP wants to run with some degree of AA/AF and even some transparency multisampling, then the gpu will be a huge factor. It's all about balance like you said and what compromises the user is willing to make.