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I'll soon be looking to upgrade my 8800GT video card. Which cards should I be looking at that are very good value for money and will allow me to play games (like Flight Sim X) at 1920x1200 in 32-bit colour? Cost-wise, I don't want to spend much more than £200 but the upgrade should be a significant improvement over my current 8800GT.
ati 4870 imo
Does this just have 512MB? If so, would it be able to perform well in DX10 mode at 1920x1200 at 32-bit colour depths?Quote:
Originally Posted by SSK
Yes, its 512MB of DDR5 DRAM, IIRC. It should perform well to your needs, but I can't say for sure as I still have an 8800GT myself. If you need a card with more VRAM, look at either the GTX 260 and GTX 280. I believe the 260 has 896MBs of DDR3 memory, and the 280 has 1GB of DDR3 RAM. The GTX 260 can be had for about the same price as the HD4870; the 4870 outperforms it slightly, I think, but if you need more VRAM, you might look at the 260. The GTX 280 is a bit more than either of the two, but has more VRAM and outperforms them both; the GTX 280 is the best single card right now (excluding the '2 chips on the same card' such as the new HD4870x2). Hope that helps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taz
The will be a 1GB version of the 4870 coming along shortly if you think the extra memory will be important, I was always under the impression that FSX was CPU bound rather than GPU bound may be wrong of course, but more GPU grunt never hurts :)
Some, if not all, of the 4870x2s might actually have 1 GB already (A true 1GB, not dual 512s; NewEgg seemed to be saying they were 2GB models, meaning each 4870 on the card had 1GB...).Quote:
Originally Posted by Webby
If *that's* the case, I know what I want for Christmas. :D
Edit: D'oh; looks like my PSU isn't stout enough for one of these. >.<
Webby is right FSX is CPU bound, however when you get to high res ie 1920 x 1200 then the graphics card will come into play.Quote:
Originally Posted by Webby
CPU service pack 1 introduced support for multi core cpu and aided the higher resolution screens.
Its a difficult call as opinion is varied but bearing in mind that Vista OS is demanding enough on your GPU card a shift to a next gen card might be beneficial.
There is a comparison here
Various cards tested and this is the system used
* Asus P5E3 Deluxe (Intel X38)
* Intel Core 2 Quad QX6850 (3 GHz)
* Crucial 2 x 1 GB DDR3 1333 MHz 7-7-7-20
* Western Digital WD5000AAKS
It appears the old 8 series did the best with the 9800 GTX doing good frames as well.
That can be had for £129 from Scan.
Or the 8800 GTX for £234 can be OC to Ultra. Based those results a 900GTX is a bargin.