The best graphics card for FSX

[BigT-65]

I am looking for opinions on the best graphics card for FSX.

[Strategic Retreat]

One that is yet to be designed, I fear. Take the actual state of the art, affordable only if you aren't scared of paying prices with 4 numerals... still too little for the bugger, but I guess it would do, if you can content yourself.

To have a more accurate answer, you should at the very least mention how much $ or

[ArcticFox]

With the ridiculous 20% V.A.T. I have to pay in sweden I got my new components for 4700sek:

Asus p8h67
Intel i5 2500k quad
4gb corsair ddr3 memory
Asus 560ti

The only issue I have on max is that stupid fsx bug that says it "ran out" of memory.

I of course have an old case, old psu, old drives and old screen. It's important you get those right so you don't have to get new ones every single time.

[BigT-65]

Mine is an EVGA GeForce GTX285 with 1 GB DDR3. FSX stops with sound still running. FSX can be shut off with CTRL-ALT-DEL and computer is still running OK. Also sometimes goes to black screen, this can only be overcome by shutting off the PC with the on/off button then restarting. These shut downs are random. Sometimes right away, sometimes after a long time. This activity only happens with FSX. Does anyone else have these kind of problems?

[Slotback]

MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition

[F35LightningII]

FSX doesn't require that much power from the graphics card. Wait until December when NVIDIA upgrades their GTX 560 Ti and get one of those.

[Strategic Retreat]

With the ridiculous 20% V.A.T. I have to pay in sweden I got my new components for 4700sek:

Come here in Italy, my friend. We here have an equivalent to VAT tax, called IVA, of ONLY 21%.

As a rule of thumb, do not bemoan your perceived misfortune, because there's always someone, somewhere who has a bigger and longer pole up his or hers <expletive deleted>.

FSX doesn't require that much power from the graphics card.

This kind of statement, sadly read not only here, always incenses me, because it flies in the face of facts and makes bloody fun of them. ::)

While it's true and all nice and good that simulators need a good CPU, but those who downplay the need of graphical power for any modern sims, FSX first and foremost among them, are misinformed in the best case and spreading their misconceptions (like here, I suspect), or in bad faith (like in some shop, when someone with a big and sincere smile wants to sell you, for a pittance of three numerals, a powerful Radeon 9500 capable to cater to all your gaming needs... happened for real not long ago... cannot repeat here what I told the slime because it would be ground for me to be banned immediately).

Do not bankrupt yourself (especially in the current conjuncture) for it, but go for a card you can afford that is powerful, or you WILL be sorry.

[BigT-65]

I would buy a new graphics card but I don't want to spend a couple hundred bucks and end up with the same problem. I was hoping for some information on known FSX compatible cards. There is not much discussion in the forum about problems like the one I have. Makes me wonder if it's just me or what.

[Strategic Retreat]

I would buy a new graphics card but I don't want to spend a couple hundred bucks and end up with the same problem. I was hoping for some information on known FSX compatible cards. There is not much discussion in the forum about problems like the one I have. Makes me wonder if it's just me or what.

See, the problem is: you are not bringing examples of what is available where you live nor you state your FSX configuration.

My kids, to say, are happy with FSX used under the honest yet modest Gefo 9600GT 512Mb I have in the other rig, but the FSX installed for them is pretty much default, with some minor add-on to make it look less unrealistic (FSX Italy default seems a main branch of the Sahara desert... I mean, all right desertification is a problem, but THAT is quite too much at the present moment), but I am quite certain performances would go straight through the events horizon of intolerability if some pesky add-ons available around were installed there...

What kind of add-on are you going to install on your FSX? If you want to keep it almost default, you can go even with something comparable to my videocard, else you MUST rise the bar.

[Ireland89]

I have a HP G62 and the card is not that great, can it be upgraded?

[Strategic Retreat]

I have a HP G62 and the card is not that great, can it be upgraded?

A laptop? You want to upgrade the video section of a laptop? :-?

...to do miracles, we are not equipped yet...

From the net I can see your laptop has a ATI Mobility Radeon HD5430, which is quite the better deal than the infamous Intel integrated videochip with shared memory, but if you're not satisfied... either change laptop or change sim.

[FSX_Dude]

I remember on my old XP I had a factory default Graphics card the game worked with 10 FPS on low settings.  Now I got a Win 7 with a new graphics card(but I don't remember what it was and don't know how to look it up)and it works fine medium settings.

[Ireland89]

I have a HP G62 and the card is not that great, can it be upgraded?

A laptop? You want to upgrade the video section of a laptop? :-?

...to do miracles, we are not equipped yet...

From the net I can see your laptop has a ATI Mobility Radeon HD5430, which is quite the better deal than the infamous Intel integrated videochip with shared memory, but if you're not satisfied... either change laptop or change sim.

I guess it's ok for a laptop.

I won't say anything else to save myself from any embarrassment 

[BigT-65]

This is the computer I am using with FSX
Motherboard Asus P6T Deluxe V2
Processor Intel Core i7-940
Memory 12 GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3
CPU Cooler Zalman CNPS 9900
Power Supply Corsair TX850 W
Graphics EVGA GeForce GTX 285
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
I am running FSX maxed out on graphics and normally get 30 fps with it set at 30. All this is great if I could just get the random freeze problem solved. Tuning the graphics settings down doesn't seem to help much.

[Strategic Retreat]

A random freeze of what kind?

If the kind that from time to time seem to trip the smoothness of your simflight, it does not forcibly mean your videocard is maxed out. Could mean you need to fine tune your FSX to use all the cores of your CPU, manipulating the Affinitymask= variable (in my kid's FSX, setting it to 3 for the dual core CPU that rig has, has cured a lot of micro-stutterings and even the odd transient random freeze).

That or your PC could have some other process in background that is time consuming and intensive enough to trip your sim from time to time... using FsAutoStart would help a lot, here.

If the random freeze is instead the kind where only a hard reset can get you out of, you have a hardware overheating somewhere. Could be either the CPU or GPU, and here I would recommend you to keep the heatsinks of both as clean as you can, with monthly check with a can of compressed air or garage compressor, and to keep an eye on the fans' working.