HOLY SH*T

[the_autopilot]

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

yeah, but at what fps? It would lagging like hell on integrated x200 gfx.

You need a 6800 gt or x800 xt for something like that.

[Jakemaster]

I bumped it up to 1152X Whatever it is, locked my frames at thirty.  It looks a lot better.  I posted pics in the freeware screenshot forum.

[Jakemaster]

Since I don't want to buy a super expensive card, I think I know what I am going to get.

My bday is next thursday, so I'll be getting money from relatives.  I was looking around, and saw a Radeon X600Xt for 70 bucks, and I'm probably going to pick it up, along with a yoke.  The card is basically a higher clocked, pci-express radeon 9600.  I don't think I'm going to expand memory, because I only have one expansion slot, and to buy a large amount would be pretty expensive.

[4_Series_Scania]

Buy that card if you wish, as I keep saying, something like a 6600GT is the card you should be looking at!

To give you an example, a plain Geforce 6600 will out-perform an  X600Xt , the GT Variant is quicker again.

Your money, but, why buy the X600Xt when a PCI-e 6600 costs more or less the same and is significantly faster ? - The 6200 will better an X600 ! and there regarded as poor gaming cards !

Your pc is a reasonably good spec, they cut corners, and cost, by fitting basic graphics, by "upgrading" to a low end card, your still missing out on your PC's potential.

Have a look at these benchmarks, ok, they use Doom 3 as a test,instead of FS9, but, you will get a good general idea as to how well a particular card will perform.

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/rad ... -1_12.html

[Jakemaster]

the 6600 costs a lot more.  

What would you suggest in the under $150 range.

[4_Series_Scania]

http://www.dealtime.com/xPC-VGA_LTK_GF6 ... 8MB_RETAIL

That is the same card I have, I paid

[congo]

Hi Jakemaster,

I'll put my 2 cents worth in here and back up what 4_Series is trying to tell you.

The graphics card is the ONE THING that will make all the difference on your PC.

The good video cards are expensive for a reason, because they are great and transform an otherwise mundane machine into a gaming beast!

If you try to cut corners and do a budget deal on a G card, you are only going to rip yourself off and be disappointed.

Right now you seem very happy with your new PC, enjoy it, but start saving money for better card now, and you will be amazed at how much better your PC will run FS9 and other games/sims when you install it. You are in for another treat.

You can buy a cheaper card, but it has to be the correct one, there are heaps of bad imitations out there SO BEWARE and get some good advice in this forum when you are ready  to buy.

[the_autopilot]

6600 gt hands down. You can see it for around 160. On newegg, they have a sale for it at 150.

The x600 can't really do much. It can outperform a 6200, but barely...