Graphics Card

[Iroquois]

The FX5200 still holds it's own too. It handles everything from FS2004 to Il-2 without trouble. Even does ok with Far Cry with only a little lag.

As for the 9800pro, I was in Futureshop the other day and they were selling them for over $700!
(Futureshop is owned by Best Buy for those who don't already know.) That seems a tad expensive to me concidering that the 6800 and X800 are selling around $300 - $400 depending on the store. Just to show that I'm not kidding, here it is. Radeon 9800pro

I took a look for some cards for Scorpion. I did a quick search on Guru3d's hardware price watch for any cards $200 or less. I asked it to give me ones with TV-out as well which is a nice feature.
Take a look here

[Gixer]

I think what we are trying to say about the fx5200 is that yes it will play the game but with very small amounts of detail and very low levels of AA if any at all.  

The card itself will play all of todays games but will it play them at high res with detail turned up and AA and AF on?

For the price though it isn't a bad card though I would still try and search out a second hand GF4 ti4200 or GF4 ti4600 first as Directx9 compatability isnt a big issue with FS9 or a lot of games for some reason.  I would have thought I would have been limited more but I havn't noticed any.  All effects in fs9 work just great  ;D

9800pro does look about the best for your $200 but like said if you can afford to wait and save a bit more its probably well worth getting a fx6800gt up or ATI9800pro up.  I reckon 6800GT is a pretty good but as everyone is managing to o-clock them to ultra speeds at the moment  ;D

[Iroquois]

I have my FX5200 set at 8x AF, High Quality with no AA. I play games at 1024x768x32 res. I with other resolutions, desktop icons are harder to see. Bad eyesight runs in the family.  :P I use the 62.11 bete drivers with it. It handles 2x AA pretty well in FS2004 but I keep it off so I can keep preformance up on aircraft that are hard on frames. I'm waiting for Jaton to officially release the 3DForce 6800 before I think about a new card. I find they make good nVidia cards.

How do you link URLs to text? If you tell me, I'll be able to compress those great big links.

[Gixer]

Im short sighted but run desktop at 1280x1024 and fs9 at 1600x1200 with 2xAA. Cant go higher as its starts gettin sloo in the busy bits as it is LOL.

Hmm let me try. Test

Its like this : [*URL=http://link_here.com] your name here[/URL*]

I put this posts http...... and Test where 'your name' bit is

[BFMF]

I'm looking to finally getting around to buying a new motherboard to replace the one that died a couple months ago. Anyway, I'm also looking for a newer video card to replace my old GeForce 3.

How well will a computer running an Athlon 2800+ processor, 512 MB of PC2100 ram, and a 128MB GeForce4 Ti 4600 video card handle FS2004?

For the last year, I've been running the same specs, but with an old GeForce 3 Ti 500, but it has a hard time with newer games like FS2004

[4_Series_Scania]

grr im not saying that the 6800's arent beastly sons of a bitches im even thinking of getting one in my new machine just stating the point that the 5950 is not outdated yet

Sorry Daz, just about any current batch test of video cards will tell you that ,frankly, it is just that, outdated!

The only "old" card out that can hold its own with the new breed is an ATI9800 but, considering specs/price/performance, it is now way overpriced.

And by the time we've finished a flame war about the relative pro's 'n'cons of this card against that one, the cards were bitchin about will indeed themselves be outdated.

Birtman's got a good point, by the time we've all saved up for X800's or 6800Ultras, DX10 will be out and they'll be relegated to bin fodder!!!  (Oh no it's happening all over again!!!   )

Trying to keep up with PC hardware is a little like keeping women happy, the more money you have access to, the better chance you've got!!!

Alas,certainly in my case, a happy Mrs = no money for 6800 Ultra.... Bah!  ::)

Paul.

[Daz]

but but but *Sniff* they called it lame  :'(

just sticking up for the thing thats all yeah the 6800 will rip the 5950 ultra to shreds but fs9 looks great on my machine so i dont plan on upgrading yet

when dx10 comes along then yeah it will be time for a new one as i dont like not running games at there full settings and dx10 cards will be powerful

Alas,certainly in my case, a happy Mrs = no money for 6800 Ultra.... Bah!

hey tough choice i know how ya feel if i didnt choose the gf id have a porsche sitting on my driveway now lol

daz

[Scorpiоn]

OK, change of plans guys.  I've vetoed putting the card on hold, but I have put it in the end of my update queue.  The main reason being that, assuming everything goes to plan (and it never does), I'll devote 100% of my paycheck to getting this computer and a shiny new pair of boots, and then I'll have about a year left before I go to Europe, and because of power differences, I doubt I'll be able to use it there, after a year in Europe, I'll come back and be in the airforce (and with more luck than I really deserve) flying whatever they need me in.  So why am I going to wait to buy something that I probably won't be using more than a couple of months?

Putting a definite money ceiling aside, what's the best value card, now or within the next month or two?

PS: Is there any way to learn this stuff aside from just reading tons of reviews?

[bm]

Not saying the 5900's and 9800's are out of date now if you've got one, it would just be madness getting a new "top of the range" old generation card now.

Cards rule for 6 months, then suck for 6 months and then are dead! There in the middle at the moment

[congo]

Is there any way to learn this stuff aside from just reading tons of reviews?

Probably not. However, if all you want to do is choose a Graphics card that represents value for money, then get hold of a recent VGA Card Performance Chart, and start doing price comparisons based on card performance on those charts. I still do it that way regardless of how many reviews I've read. Tom's hardware guide does VGA card comparison charts.

Just take care when you order the card, that you are actually getting what you want, instead of a different card with a very similar name. Many manufacturers code their own names, disguising the genre of the card.

For example; Winfast Leadtek A350 TDH is actually an nVidia FX5900XT. XT doesn't stand for "eXTra" either, as in the ATI Radeon series where the XT model is the better one. The FX5900XT is the slower one out of the 5900, 5900 ultra, 5950 ultra etc.

ASUS makes a 5900XT that confuses the FX5950 name I believe.

Let the buyer beware.

[BFMF]

How much better would a GeForce4 TI 4800SE 128MB 8X DDR perform then the Geforce 3 Ti 500?

[Gixer]

Not sure about the 4800se.  I went from a GF3 ti200 which was 64ddr to a GF4 ti4600 and did notice a difference especially as the GF4 is 128ddr.  Thing is they are old cards now and unless you have been offered one really really cheap then you would be better off savin a bit more for an FX5900 or 9800pro.

[BFMF]

I've beel looking at Pricewatch.com, and if i'm gonna get the 5900, it's definently gonna be the 128 mb version. The 264 mb version is running for almost $400

[BFMF]

Found a Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce FX5900XT Video Card, 128MB DDR for only $183. It's an 'XT' model, but it seems like they all are

Would this, in your opinion, be a good video card?

[Gixer]

I believe the 5900 is better than the 5900XT.  I do know Congo has just brought a 5900XT so he is the man to answer this question for you.  His benchmark scores looked pretty good though to me  ;D

Take a look at this one :

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-238&depa=1

Its a bit more at $199 but this is retail version.  Get the OEM one and its only $158 but you wont get a flashy box or software bundle (This doesnt bother me as I never use the drivers supplied as they are never the latest ones!) I always make sure I have downloaded the latest official drivers for the g/card I am installing.  Another thing with the 9800pro is, if you like playin they usually overclock to 9800XT speeds no problem thus you get more performance for your money!

In the battle between ATI and Nvidia ATI have always been better with OpenGL games and Nvidia with Direct3D.  FS9 is OpenGL thus the ATI card will probably run FS9 better than the FX range.

I believe on the new gen cards though x800 and 6800 series things are very close so it wouldn't really matter.