Choice

[drod46]

I would like to know what the general opinion is on selecting a video card. If you had to choose between the Nvidia FX 5600 card or the Nvidia TI 4600 card, which one would you choose? I am confused because the FX 5600 has 256 MB of memory and the TI 4600 has 128. Yet the FX 5600 is cheaper.

[bigal1977uk]

The FX 5600 is cheaper because its not as good, by the time any game is released that takes advantage of the 256mb of ram on the gpu then a 9800pro will be a bargain basement gpu anyway ;-)

My overclocked Ti4200 performs just as good as the FX5600, ok, the FX5600 is a DX9 compatible card but can anyone tell me what DX9 components of FS9 can't be utilised by a good DX8.1 compatible gpu? ........ exactly ;-)

Me...... i would go for the Ti4600 :-)

[drod46]

Thanks, I value your opinion. I'll go with the TI 4600

[bigal1977uk]

No probs drod46 ;-)

But, my recommendation is really only if you are gonna be playing FS9 and not much else in the next year or so.

If you play other games such as Doom 3 or halflife 2 then a DX9 compliant card is a must.

Make sure aswell that you get the Ti4600 from a good quality manufacturer that will use quality RAM and a good HSF on the gpu then you'll be able to overclock the card without much problems :-)

[MajorChaos]

I have a Ti4600, and if I had a choice now, I paid 399.99 for the Ti4600, I would get a ATi Radeon 9600Pro. The 9600Pro is a full DX9 card and looks much better then any nvidia card.

[bigal1977uk]

Yep, this is true and i have to agree with you Major.

If Drod46 can afford the 9600pro rather than the Ti4600 then the ATI is the one to choose :-)

But, drod46, stay away from the ATI 9200 ;-)

[MajorChaos]

Currently I have
9700Pro
9800Pro
Ti4600
9200 128mb non pro
GF2 GTS

The 9200 is great for everyday stuff, not so great for gaming. Its in a first version HTPC right now. It did not do so good with FS. Its got the great image quality though.

9600Pro is $150-200 retail its a great price for a great card. It beat the Ti4600 thats for sure.

[garpower]

I am planning on getting a "Radeon 9600Pro 128mb......." to replace my Nvidia GE2 MMX 400 - I believe that's what it is.

My system is a Dell P4, 1.7mhz, fast harddrive, 512RAM (perfectly smooth for FS2002); will I get better performance (improved FPS, no flickers, no stutters) with the Radeon card/GPU?

I cannot afford to spend CA$300+ and be stuck at below 10 FPS on approach to busy airports.....admittedly, I have AI Traffic at 100% - as real as it gets, right?


Your advice on whether I should spend that money with my specs is greatly appreciated.


Jah bless,
Reggae Simmer.

[MajorChaos]

Your CPU is going to be the biggest hold back, if you can scale back the video settings and get a good frame rate you might have a chance. Lower the video settings and see what happens, if the FPS dont go up, then your CPU is the bottle neck.

In your case a CPU upgrade would be the best money spent. The 1.7 was a 400mhz part. The P4s got really good @ 533mhz FSB and up.

You can get the video card now and save up for a new MB/CPU in spring maybe.

Do you have DDR or RDram, it will make a big cost diffence in the future, RDram is no long used mainstream. DDR is used in both AMD and Intel systems. You may have to pickup some ram too.

[garpower]

Thanks Major.....I will decide if I "penny pinch", for now, and go for the video card or just wait a bit and change the entire system. I hate upgrades - usually there is some other bottleneck and older technologies (bus, etc) which rob the power of the enhanced CPU/MB.

I am using DDR 100mhz RAM - bought an extra 256 block for FS2002, which works beautifully. My system is quite okay for all my needs, except FS9 of course (which is a very important need/frustration now).

Thanks guy......did you see my other post - AI traffic disappearing because they wait too long holding short for takeoff? Any thoughts on how to "up the max AI wait time" would certainly be appreciated, also.


Jah bless,
Reggae Simmer.