Yes...another Video card question...

[Runcy12]

Hello,

After searching the boards I never found the definative answer I was looking for so here it goes. I have a Dell 4550 2.4ghz, 400mhz Front side bus. 1.5gig of RAM, and a ATI 128meg DDR Radeon 9700 Pro (AGP 8x). I can only run FSX with almost no sliders and then only get 3-12FPS

If I want to run FSX at say 20 to 30FPS with sliders at half or at least almost half, will upgrading to a newer ATI 256meg card be an option? In addition I plan to upgrade the RAM to my max which is 2gig.

Also, can anyone tell me what the average power supply for computer's is. I have noticed the ATI 512meg cards want 300watts or greater power supply. Dell does not list what my power supply is.

Thank you for your patients and any recommendations you might have.

Runcy12

[noell]

Upgrading your video card may help a little bit with FSX but the real weakness in your system in the CPU (2.4GHZ Intel Celeron) and lots of CPU power is what is required to run FSX. To put this in perspective, you say you want to run FSX at 20 to 30 FPS but even very powerful systems have problems running at those frame rates with the detail sliders much past mid-range.

Having said that, you may gain a few FPS by upgrading your AGP video card to a newer model. The problem with that is the Dell 4550 has only a 250 watt power supply. Today's systems generally have at least a 350 watt power supply and many video cards require a power supply with at least that amount of power. Dell power supplies are non-standard but there are Dell compatible power supplies available made by PC Power & Cooling. They make a 350 watt unit for the Dell 4550 (http://www.pcpower.com/products/view...php?show=S41D2).

If you upgraded the power supply, you could go with a video card such as an nVidia 7600GS or an equivalent ATI model. IMO, a video card any more powerful than that would not be used efectively due to the limitations imposed by your CPU. Again, don't expect miracles in the way of increased FPS by doing this. The best you can hope for would be somewhat improved video quality and perhaps 5 to 7 FPS.


....Noell

AMD Athlon 4000+ (San Diego) @ 2750MHz
CoolerMaster 'Aquagate 120' Liquid Cooling
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
2GB Corsair TwinX2048-3500LLPro @ DDR500 (2.5-3-3-6&1T)
BFG 7900GTX OC (512MB) @ 670/1640MHz (Driver: XG93.71)
2 X 36GB WD Raptor (RAID 0)
74GB WD Raptor
120GB WD Caviar
SB Audigy Gamer
OCZ GameXStream 700W
Antec P180B case

[Runcy12]

Thank you for your imput. Actually, and I apologize i missed it, my CPU is a Pentium not a celeron. That would help a bit I am sure?

I have noticed that many of the new CPU's are not much faster that 2.4ghz Pentium in that 3.3ghz seems to be the max. Is there something I am missing? That much power difference used to be unoticable in most applications.

Thanks again for your info.

Runcy12

[noell]

You are right. Your processor is indeed a Pentium. Whenever I see 2.4GHZ with a 400FSB I always think "Celeron". In any case, it does not make a huge difference.

The days of higher CPU clock speeds meaning higher performance are, for the most part, gone. The Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs, for example, are top of the heap these days and, even with their lower clock speeds, outperform anything previous from Intel (or AMD, for that matter). Another example would be that later model single core AMD processors. They were clocked slower than the single core Intel Pentiums but outperformed them in gaming and flight simming due to better, more efficient architecture
(on-die memory controller, for example).

You are also right in that many applications aren't nearly as processor dependent as FS9/FSX. For FS9/FSX, it is almost all about processor power followed in importance by the video card.



....Noell

[Rcca]

Have you tried www.systemrequirementslab.com
Pretty need tool,to see if your computer will run games.Tells what you have in your PC,and then tells your weakness,passed or failed.It doesn't tell what watts of P/S you need.My PC P/S is 700W.
Core 2 Duo E6600.I have the Nvidia GF 7600GS 256MB PCI-E x16.I was not going to expect a lot.Suprise!FPS up to 70FPS FS9.FSX sliders med.and higher on some reading setting,getting 30-50FPS,sometimes lower.
7600GS is a Keeper for awhile,DX10 GPU $$$$$$$ Too much now,but a kick butt Card.Noell as said that the Processor is a big part of flight Sims,then memory,GPU, P/S.He was right,what a Difference,living proof for me.Check out some of my post if I don't but you to sleep.good luck.
Ron

[Runcy12]

Thank you all for the info. Sounds as if I should just wait till I can get a new cpu. For now FS9 works great, although i am curious as to what i am missing out on in FSX.