Simviation Forum - New Graphics Card Reconmondations

Jun 6^th, 2010 at 2:47pm

C170b Offline
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KLMO

Posts: 233

Recently, my nvidia 8600 GTS crapped out so I'm looking for a new card. What is a card that exceeds the performance of the 8600 for a similar price?
Thanks,
C170B

Dell XPS 720: Liquid Cooled Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40Ghz 8MB Cache, 2GB DDR3 SDRAM at 800MHZ, Seagate Barracuda HDD 250GB (7200RPM w/DataBurst), Seagate 300GB HDD, Seagate Grizzly HDD 500GB, Dell H750P-00 Power Supply (100-240v), Dual 16X DVD/CD +/-RW ROMS, NVIDIA/GALAXY Geforce GTS 250 (1GB, 256bit, DDR3), Windows XP Media Center, Dell E207FP Monitor (20in), Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Speakers w/ Subwoofer

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Reply #1 - Jun 6^th, 2010 at 3:23pm

Steve M Offline
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I have an 8600GT and after checking several forums I am starting to lean towards an 8900 series. Most poeple are saying you need to go at least 3 steps up in order to see any marked improvement. The only thing holding me back is finding out if it will fit in the pci slot above my TV card. (if it drops any lower than the 8600 I'd have to pull my TV card)

Flying with twins is a lot of fun..

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Reply #2 - Jun 6^th, 2010 at 3:34pm

C170b Offline
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KLMO

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Ok, thanks for the info. I looked at those but then read a review for a GTS 250 which really impressed me. Do know anything performance-wise about the GTS 250?
Thanks Again

C170B

Dell XPS 720: Liquid Cooled Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40Ghz 8MB Cache, 2GB DDR3 SDRAM at 800MHZ, Seagate Barracuda HDD 250GB (7200RPM w/DataBurst), Seagate 300GB HDD, Seagate Grizzly HDD 500GB, Dell H750P-00 Power Supply (100-240v), Dual 16X DVD/CD +/-RW ROMS, NVIDIA/GALAXY Geforce GTS 250 (1GB, 256bit, DDR3), Windows XP Media Center, Dell E207FP Monitor (20in), Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Speakers w/ Subwoofer

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Reply #3 - Jun 6^th, 2010 at 3:43pm

Steve M Offline
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C170b wrote on Jun 6^th, 2010 at 3:34pm:

Ok, thanks for the info. I looked at those but then read a review for a GTS 250 which really impressed me. Do know anything performance-wise about the GTS 250?
Thanks Again

C170B

I really haven't looked into that one, someone else may comment, pricewise I don't know, the 8900s are relatively cheap though.

Flying with twins is a lot of fun..

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Reply #4 - Jun 6^th, 2010 at 3:57pm

C170b Offline
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KLMO

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Alright, thank you for your help.

Dell XPS 720: Liquid Cooled Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40Ghz 8MB Cache, 2GB DDR3 SDRAM at 800MHZ, Seagate Barracuda HDD 250GB (7200RPM w/DataBurst), Seagate 300GB HDD, Seagate Grizzly HDD 500GB, Dell H750P-00 Power Supply (100-240v), Dual 16X DVD/CD +/-RW ROMS, NVIDIA/GALAXY Geforce GTS 250 (1GB, 256bit, DDR3), Windows XP Media Center, Dell E207FP Monitor (20in), Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Speakers w/ Subwoofer

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Reply #5 - Jun 6^th, 2010 at 5:00pm

Rich H Offline
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C170b wrote on Jun 6^th, 2010 at 3:34pm:

Ok, thanks for the info. I looked at those but then read a review for a GTS 250 which really impressed me. Do know anything performance-wise about the GTS 250?
Thanks Again

C170B

GTS 250 has been quite good for me, it runs FSX ok; but not great to be honest. It's quite good in other games though, and couple with a fast processor, it makes a decent, cheap, gaming system.

"Politics" is made up of two words, "Poli", which is Greek for "many", and "tics", which are blood sucking insects. - Gore Vidal

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Reply #6 - Jun 6^th, 2010 at 11:36pm

Groundbound1 Offline
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No, I don't work for Mythbusters...
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These might help you decide.

Gaming Graphics Cards Charts 2009

Desktop Video Card Guide

Might not be a perfect representation of performance (based on synthetic benchmarks), but it could give you a rough idea.

Specs: Asus Crosshair nForce 590 SLI,
AMD Athlon X2 6400+ w/ZeroTherm BTF90,
4GB G.Skill PI Series DDR2-800,
Sapphire HD4870 512MB,
PC P&C 750 Quad, in a CoolerMaster HAF932

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Reply #7 - Jun 7^th, 2010 at 12:09am

hhomebrewer Offline
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Sticking with FS2004
United States of Good Beer

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Hey, Groundbound...

I have a retired Phenom 9500 free to a good home if it would improve your performance. You want it? I'll ship it to you at my expense. I sent a chip first-class to Australia for $3.12 postage, so I know it would be really cheap to send it to an address here in the US. Hit me in the PMs and we'll get it going if you'd like it...

I am homebrewer. I had 633 posts when for some unknown reason, my account disappeared...
AMD Phenom II X4 940 (Deneb), Asus M3N72-D motherboard, 2 x nVidia 8800GTS @640MB RAM, 1 x Seagate Barracuda 500Gb HDD (storage), 1 x Western Digital Black 250Gb HDD (boot), 12Gb 800Mhz G.Skill RAM (5-5-5-18), 2x Sony DVD writers, 28-inch ViewSonic monitor given to me by my computer guru, FS2004, Windows 7 Professional (64-bit), 850-watt Thermaltake modular p/s, 7 x 120mm fans to cool it...

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Reply #8 - Jun 7^th, 2010 at 7:11am

NNNG Ex Member

8900 doesn't exist?

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Reply #9 - Jun 7^th, 2010 at 1:30pm

C170b Offline
Colonel
Aviation all the way!
KLMO

Posts: 233

Rich H wrote on Jun 6^th, 2010 at 5:00pm:

C170b wrote on Jun 6^th, 2010 at 3:34pm:

Ok, thanks for the info. I looked at those but then read a review for a GTS 250 which really impressed me. Do know anything performance-wise about the GTS 250?
Thanks Again

C170B

GTS 250 has been quite good for me, it runs FSX ok; but not great to be honest. It's quite good in other games though, and couple with a fast processor, it makes a decent, cheap, gaming system.

Thank you. That helped a lot. Just wondering, what kind of frames do you get with it?
Thanks again,
C170B

Dell XPS 720: Liquid Cooled Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40Ghz 8MB Cache, 2GB DDR3 SDRAM at 800MHZ, Seagate Barracuda HDD 250GB (7200RPM w/DataBurst), Seagate 300GB HDD, Seagate Grizzly HDD 500GB, Dell H750P-00 Power Supply (100-240v), Dual 16X DVD/CD +/-RW ROMS, NVIDIA/GALAXY Geforce GTS 250 (1GB, 256bit, DDR3), Windows XP Media Center, Dell E207FP Monitor (20in), Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Speakers w/ Subwoofer

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Reply #10 - Jun 7^th, 2010 at 1:33pm

C170b Offline
Colonel
Aviation all the way!
KLMO

Posts: 233

Groundbound1,
Those links are amazing. Thank you very much for them.
C170B

Dell XPS 720: Liquid Cooled Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40Ghz 8MB Cache, 2GB DDR3 SDRAM at 800MHZ, Seagate Barracuda HDD 250GB (7200RPM w/DataBurst), Seagate 300GB HDD, Seagate Grizzly HDD 500GB, Dell H750P-00 Power Supply (100-240v), Dual 16X DVD/CD +/-RW ROMS, NVIDIA/GALAXY Geforce GTS 250 (1GB, 256bit, DDR3), Windows XP Media Center, Dell E207FP Monitor (20in), Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Speakers w/ Subwoofer

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Reply #11 - Jun 7^th, 2010 at 2:28pm

Groundbound1 Offline
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No, I don't work for Mythbusters...
Michigan, USA

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Posts: 1745

Your very welcome. Smiley

Specs: Asus Crosshair nForce 590 SLI,
AMD Athlon X2 6400+ w/ZeroTherm BTF90,
4GB G.Skill PI Series DDR2-800,
Sapphire HD4870 512MB,
PC P&C 750 Quad, in a CoolerMaster HAF932

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Reply #12 - Jun 7^th, 2010 at 6:10pm

Steve M Offline
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Cambridge On.

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Posts: 4097

Quote:

8900 doesn't exist?

Sorry.. In my first reply I said 8900 series. I didn't say which one, however.

Flying with twins is a lot of fun..

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Reply #13 - Jun 13^th, 2010 at 2:32am

C170b Offline
Colonel
Aviation all the way!
KLMO

Posts: 233

Thank you everyone for the input. I've decided on the Galaxy GTS 250 and I'll post some screen shots soon.
Thanks again,
C170B

Dell XPS 720: Liquid Cooled Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40Ghz 8MB Cache, 2GB DDR3 SDRAM at 800MHZ, Seagate Barracuda HDD 250GB (7200RPM w/DataBurst), Seagate 300GB HDD, Seagate Grizzly HDD 500GB, Dell H750P-00 Power Supply (100-240v), Dual 16X DVD/CD +/-RW ROMS, NVIDIA/GALAXY Geforce GTS 250 (1GB, 256bit, DDR3), Windows XP Media Center, Dell E207FP Monitor (20in), Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Speakers w/ Subwoofer

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