HOLY SH*T

[Jakemaster]

OMG!!! I JUST GOT A NEW COMPUTER!!!

Heres the specs:

AMD Athalon 64 3200 Processor
160GB Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW 16x Double layer Multiformat Drive
512MB DDR SDRAM
8-in-1 Memory Card Reader
7 USB Ports
ATI Radeon Xpress 200 PCI-Express Graphics

Just started up flight sim, averaging 30+ FPS, actually passed 100 FPS

[4_Series_Scania]

I doubt your settings are that high, nor are you using anti-alaising.

But, if your happy with it, great! - Well done.

A batter card and it'll be a whole new experience,which when you consider how impressed you are with it now, should give you an idea of whats to come.  ;)

[Jakemaster]

nope.  My settings are pretty high.  I have antialiasing, trilinear filtering, massive texture size, etc...

Im considering a new card, and if I get it itll be pci express, but the only ones availiable now are $200, which is like half as much as the computer.

[4_Series_Scania]

nope.  My settings are pretty high.  I have antialiasing, trilinear filtering, massive texture size, etc...

Im considering a new card, and if I get it itll be pci express, but the only ones availiable now are $200, which is like half as much as the computer.

I run FS9 as you see in this screenshot,
note anti-alaising is unchecked in FS9 and checked in my display properties, this is how you should have yours set, I get a big perfromance hit if I check the tab in fs9, why? I don't know!

Half as much as the computer, granted, but the return will be worth it, and, your cpu etc will be a good match for a high-end gfx card.

An Ati X800 or, Nvidia 6600GT will transform your FS experience.

[Jakemaster]

Ill get a new PCI-Express card at some point.  My B-Day is soon, and I'm gonna get a CH Yoke, but I'll probably end up getting a new graphics card before the end of the year.  This one is pretty good, especially for one that comes with the computer.

[4_Series_Scania]

Ill get a new PCI-Express card at some point.  My B-Day is soon, and I'm gonna get a CH Yoke, but I'll probably end up getting a new graphics card before the end of the year.  This one is pretty good, especially for one that comes with the computer.

I must admit, I was surprised to say the least!, it sounds like its a fair card, certainly for the price!

Shop around, do your homework and you'll get an excellent card for ,perhaps, birthday money (ask people for money, not presents ) it'll be money well spent.

Come on guys, back me up here!  ;D

[the_autopilot]

the x200 is horrible card.

Consider getting a 6600 gt and you'll see what fs2004 is really capable of (a lot more).

[Jakemaster]

Its not horrible.  Its okay.  Im getting 40 fps.

Is the 6600 gt pci-express?

[bm]

As long as you're happy with it im sure we all are, looks like a great little system! Perhaps as suggested a new PCI express card wouldn't be amiss but quite frankly there is no point spending $200+ on a card which will be old hat by the time FS10 comes along when you are happy, and rightly so with your present card.

[the_autopilot]

Its not horrible.  Its okay.  Im getting 40 fps.

Is the 6600 gt pci-express?

40 fps, at what settings?

the 6600 gt is a native pci-express video card. I highly recommend it. Look around, I've seen it for 160 dollars.

[Jakemaster]

Pretty high settings, actually.  I have the card set at optimal performance, all of fs9s hardware settings at max, 1024X768X32, I have airplane detail at max, 40% 3D clouds, medium cloud coverage, Mesh complexity at 40, terrain texture size at high, land only, autogen at sparse.

[4_Series_Scania]

No mate, you can get much higher settings than that, throw anti-alaising & anisotropic filtering into the mix, then goto 1600x1200

Now your talking of high settings!

1024x768 is positively nasty by comparison!

I'm not "dissing you" I'm just trying to point out that, when compared to even mid range current cards, your current setup is easily bettered, and by a considerable margin.

Running FS9 with scenery set to Extremely dense etc with no slowdowns is what you want, its is a simulator after all.

For games such as first person shooters, I'd expect your setup to rock, sure it does. FS is a completely different ballgame, thankfully a ballgame where you reap rewards for a powerful 3D card.

You won't be dissapointed.  ;)

[Jakemaster]

Are you saying that my computer would be capable of 1600X1200?  And what should I set for antialiasing and antisotropic filtering?  My computer just shows 2X 6X etc.

[Jakemaster]

Are you saying that my computer would be capable of 1600X1200?  And what should I set for antialiasing and antisotropic filtering?  My computer just shows 2X 6X etc.

[4_Series_Scania]

Are you saying that my computer would be capable of 1600X1200?  And what should I set for antialiasing and antisotropic filtering?  My computer just shows 2X 6X etc.

with a mid range Geforce 6800LE or 6600GT ,absolutely, yes.
I have a 6800LE with a slower cpu than yours, FS9 looks & runs beautifully at 1600x1200 with 8xAA if required.

For the best "bang for buck" I'd go for a 6800GT, more money, but a different league again in terms of performance.

Your monitor should support higher ,assuming its new.

The rest of your spec is pretty good, a mid range card and ,ideally another 512MB RAM and FS9, and most other games, will look simply stunning.