Next upgrade 4870???

[grizzard]

I currently run a Nvidia 8800 GTX & am wondering if replacing it with the new ATI 4870 would make a difference in the FSX performance of my system (in signature).  Anyone with experience with this new card yet?

Or would a cpu upgrade from my Q6600 give me a performance boost?

A minor performance boost probably wouldn't be worth the investment ...  but if the boost was noticeable .... then yes.  ;D

[usapatriot]

I have the ATI 4850, the 4870's little brother and it is one hell of a card. I'm sure the 4870 is even more powerful than the 4850. At current prices the 4850's and 4870's are real steals and provide a lot of bang for your buck.

[BAW0343]

True but I think the 8800 should be able to run FSX just fine.  The Processor is what FSX puts the strain on.

I'd update the processor as I believe that's what will give you the most boost.

I'm sure some other members can recommend some products.

[rikm12345]

You should try overclocking your CPU to past 3ghz, that will give you a boost.

With a new CPU or GPU you'll get a boost, but for the spec your on, i dont think it would be huge.

Overclock you cpu, along with possibly Fast DDR3 ram, but that'll mean a new motherboard & probably a whole reinstall of everything.

I'm thinking the same myself, about changing over to 1600-2000Mhz DDR3. Hoping it'll be worth it.

[usapatriot]

DDR3 RAM is not really worth it right now as it only provides very slight performance boosts over fast DDR2 RAM.

Your right, FSX is largely CPU limited. Try getting an aftermarket cooler and overclocking your Q6600 to 3.6Ghz as many people have done. That should give you a nice performance boost.

[grizzard]

Thanks guys for the comments and feedback. I had originally overclocked my Q6600 to 3 Ghz but it would almost always crash under load. So at the suggestions here I went back and redid my settings but this time took off the system side panel and pointed a fan in to cool the mobo. With the side panel ON the motherboard chipset temp would climb up to over 65 but with the panel off and a fan blowing in the PK5 Chipset stays around 41-44 degrees, which is a little less than the cpu. The cpu hovers around 44-46 while playing FSX. I guess the next step is to cut a 4 1/2" hole in the side cover and mount a fan to blow directly on the chipset since with the fan OFF it starts right back in it's climb to higher temps. This is a nice looking shiny black steel Antec Case, but it's not much for cooling. I think I made the wrong choice in this case (for a case).  :-[