Best Graphics card to run FS9 on?...

[737NGCapt]

Well i'm getting a new computer soon, and I have a choice of the following cards, and I don't want to get one that wont run FS good. Any input on these are greatly appreciated!

128MB DDR ATI RADEON

[Rivers]

1-256MB DDR ATI RADEON

[Gixer]

EEEEEEK scrap the FX5200 off the list straight away!! my old GF4 Ti4600 out performs em lol.

As said the 9800XT is the best and the 9800Pro its little brother.

My brother has a 9800pro, he upgraded from a fx5600 256ddr (Think it was only 128bit though).  He has noticed a big improvement though still cannot run everything maxed out.  The clouds still hurt FPS a little. I do not know what the 9800XT performs like though it should be better and be able to handle a little more.  

If your gonna buy any of these two try and wait a bit, with the new generation of cards coming out prices should drop a little, either that or try and stretch to purchasing a X800pro or 6800GT  ;D  Only thing is I gotta feeling you may have to wait a bit for these cards as many people have them on pre-order already.

Usually with graphics cards though your limited by how much you can afford, if you can afford it get the 9800xt or newer gen card if not then get the 9800pro which can be had rather cheap nowadays.

[Iroquois]

Ultimate card for FS9? Probably something like a nVidia Quadro FX3000. The very same kind 3D graphic artists use. Of course who what's to shell out $1200 for a graphics card.

The best on the market right now are the nVidia Geforce 6800 and the ATI Radeon X800. It seems both cards are neck and neck in the race. The 6800 is beating the X800 on some benchmarks but not in others. There doesn't seem to be any real advantages between the two. Seems the 6800 is more expensive but I only checked one site for prices on those.

Of course, when it comes to graphics cards, I don't trust benchmarks. I've run benchmarks that give my system a low rating but I have no problems when it comes to playing many newer games. Just like life, you can do very well or very poorly on a test but it's how you preform in the real world that really matters.

[Daz]

dont forget the 5950 ultra it matches the 9800 xt or there abouts

[congo]

The best bang for buck in these parts is in the GF FX5900XT at the moment, even though the 5900XT is a lower spec and price, it performs almost equal to it's high priced sister's and has 85-90% of the power of a ATI Radeon 9800XT. So, it depends on what is outpricing what where you live.

You need a VGA performance chart to check what card you intend on buying for a performance comparison.

Here is a link..........

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphi ... ts-03.html

Note that many of the cards have very similar names. This is a HUGE TRAP as the performance can vary significantly by the mere addition of of letter in the graphics card's name. BEWARE of that and ask here if you are not sure, also make sure you get what you want when you actually buy it, and not an inferior model with an apparently same name.

For instance:

9800se
9800pro
9800xt
R9800

There are large performance gaps between those cards even though at first glance they are the same.

[Skittles]

I have the ATI 9800 Pro 128 and burned up two cards. I eventually replaced the fan and heatsink with better quality parts.

As far as performance I'm running P4 3.2GHz w/Hyperthreading, WIN2K, Video card above, Soundblaster Live (Upgrading soon) and a WD 1220GB HHD, 7200RPM

Keep in mind my FPS are locked at 24.

[Scottler]

Don't listen to 'em AJ.  You've seen my screens.  Those were all taken with the FX5200.

[4_Series_Scania]

[quote]Don't listen to 'em AJ.

[Gixer]

I dont think prices will just drop over nite lol. The prices of 9800pro's have already started to drop a little and one of these can be clocked to 9800xt speeds pretty easy anyhow usually.

As for the FX5200 I still say it SUX big style. My bro had a FX5600 256ddr card and my GF4 ti4600 out performed it.  On a clear day with no traffic about yes the FX5200 may well give desent FPS but get near a big airport with thunderstorms and AI planes everywhere I think the word DIE comes to mind  ;)

Another thing, ok say you spend

[Scottler]

As for the FX5200 I still say it SUX big style. My bro had a FX5600 256ddr card and my GF4 ti4600 out performed it.

So you've never even seen a 5200?

[Iroquois]

So you've never even seen a 5200?

I guess he hasn't. Lets remember that not all of us have money to burn. The FX5200 is a excellent card for it's price. Plus it has DX9 compatability that the TI 4x00 series doesn't have.

[Gixer]

Yes I have on my friends system  :P and it SUX!  Its nothing against you the card just cant handle much.  

You are totally right that the Ti4x00 series doesn't fully support DX9 BUT, myself and my bro have exactly same spec except for G-card.  My ti4600 would run fs9 far far far smoother that his fx5600 256ddr job.  

I was a bit gutted coz i told him to get it as it should be better than mine lol, but after a while we did some research (Someone did post some benchies on here recently) and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  The fx5600 was quite a few down from my aging GF4 ti4600.  That explained y i was running smoother and then I appologised to him for recommendin it  :-[  

On the DX9 note even though it doesnt fully support it all reflections and effects in fs9 work.  Also on 1280x1024 I can run a bit of Anti Alias which I am sure the FX5200 could never handle with AI and clouds without runnin like a slide show.  

On the system that I saw the FX5200 on he now has my brothers FX5600 and it does run much better but his system spec is higher than mine bar the FX5600 and in all benchy tests we run I score better???

Again its nothing against you guys its just the fx5200-5600 dont perform well at all.  From the FX5700 up things get a lot better.  

The thing is the original question was he has a choice of various cards and out of those I would not choose the FX5200.  Yes I know we dont all have lots to spend on a G-card but I am guessin this guy is willin to pay a bit more so he has a good setup.

[Scottler]

But again, you're comparing the 9800 to the FX5600, which was never an issue.

My ti4600 would run fs9 far far far smoother that his fx5600 256ddr job.

That's twice now.

[4_Series_Scania]

The FX5600 with Anti Alaising & Anisiotropic filtering enabled will out perform a ti4600. - The reason I bought mine instead of an Asus 8460 Ultra (which cost