Sometimes I think it's a giant crap shoot [choice of video card] of
sorts because there are so many variables involved. Machines, in terms
of their innards and peripherals, are so widely diverse that one
person's sim nirvana can be another person's nightmare! The ATI vs
Nvidia thing [read: which is better argument] often reminds me of the
old boxing glove icons as to Billy G's IE browser versus Netscape.
Remember that one many moons ago? For example, at least with my system
and back to video cards, one noticeable difference was moving from MS's
8.2 series of DIRECT X to Direct X 9A and then 9B. With the Nvidia 5600,
the 9B seemed to have the edge of 9A while the 8 series caused smearing.
Yet [and someone please correct me if I'm in error here], there was a
sale on the ATI 9700 [not 9800 but 9700] but I don't believe that was
Direct X 9a or B compatible and using 9 was not as good as the 8.2
Direct X. So too, sometimes...I say sometimes...moving up to the
'latest' and MS hawked allegedly 'greatest' new Direct X series
[depending on one's system and what is in there and thus what interacts
with what considering the 'whole' system s a cohesive unit] can be a
step backward!

On the other hand and having had ATI cards previously, [although not the
9800 series], I saw no noticeable [operable word] difference, view wise,
in the ATI Radeon card 128 megs on-board DDR memory versus my present
Nvidia with 256 megs on-board DDR video.

But then, a change in memory SPEED made a big difference. Here's a tip
and I mention this because I simply didn't know it. When my motherboard
came out [Soyo P4X4000 Ultra Platinum] and its accompanying manual, the
'manual' speaks of the MAX memory speed being PC2100 DDR but, ahhh,
guess who didn't keep up with the SOYO website where an UPDATE not so
much of the board but rather manufacturer memory updates showed that the
same motherboard could handle PC3200 DDR memory! Thus, when the prices
remained low, I went from PC2100 to PC3200 and the difference was
dramatic! So too, my board permits 'tinkering' with the BIOS and thus I
was able to get away with setting a lower memory CAS and it worked fine.
The board had the memory set for 3.0 CAS and I lowered it to 2.5 and it
still worked without problems. Ditto the CPU where I upped the P4 Intel
2.4B chip to 2.6 without incident. I just ordered a 2.8 gig CPU however
because the prices have fallen dramatically on that too.

Ahhhh, there are so many variables that one can go nuts trying to get
the most beneficial settings! But I'm quite satisfied if the sim flies
without the stutters or frame freezes. BTW, again this just me, if you
can't see a noticeable difference and I mean 'noticeable' difference in
using anti-aliasing, dump it [if the 'jaggies' don't look much different
then 'with' anti-aliasing] because what you save NOT using same will go
towards better frame rates and overall performance. I find that for
every extra 'make-it-better' video card setting, there is generally a
price to pay at the expense of 'overall' card performance!

Doc Tony


Dashi wrote:
There are also a lot of complaints about the lack of decent drivers for the
ATI 9800 series of video cards. It appears that they don't work very well
with FS9.

Be happy that you didn't buy one.

The latest mid range Nvidia card is the FX5700 and has received excellent
reviews, just in time for Xmas!

Dashi

"Dr. Anthony J. Lomenzo" wrote in message
...

Question is, George, will it fly for that ATI 9800 Pro? Although, just
for those reading, there are some good deals floating around on a more
reasonable alternative and I got the Nvidia GeForce FX5600 AGP 8X
w/256megs of on-board DDR video and thus far it's worked well. Caveat:
The 'secret' to that Nvidia card, and I'll put this out to, is the
Nvidia DRIVER! Free at the Nvidia website but the latest drivers will
prevent that color 'smearing' effect in the gauges of the sims that the
earlier drivers caused. Not a bad card at least in terms of the
discounted price. Sure, I'd like that ATI Radeon 9800 Pro but the tag
for same [$375-$400 is the lowest I've seen] is right up there! But
then, like everything else, I just jumped from PC2100 DDR to PC3200 DDR
memory and the prices are excellent! Brand stuff to boot and 2.5 CAS!!