Need recommendation for good AGP video card

A PNY GEForce 6600GT nets about 60 fps on my system running G3.5.

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I hope this is appropriate to ask this question here. I have RealFlight G3.5 currently running on top of a AMD Athlonâ"¢ 64 3300 CPU with 1GB of ram, and the video card is a AGP version of ATI Radeon® 9250 with

1. If I'm a casual gamer who sometimes also play MS Flight Simulator X, would I be better off to just upgrade my system to a PCI-E system, such as a Intel Core 2 Duo system??

2. If I want to save some money by upgrading to a new system, would I expect really big performance jump (frame rate it is) by upgrading to a newer 256MB or even 512MB AGP based video card?? If so, which card should I get for the best C/P value (Cost / Performance) for a AGP card under US0?? Is this is a wise investment (given that AGP might be really phasing out in the next few years)???

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate that!

I hope this is appropriate to ask this question here. I have RealFlight G3.5 currently running on top of a AMD AthlonT 64 3300 CPU with 1GB of ram, and the video card is a AGP version of ATI Radeon® 9250 with

1. If I'm a casual gamer who sometimes also play MS Flight Simulator X, would I be better off to just upgrade my system to a PCI-E system, such as a Intel Core 2 Duo system??

2. If I want to save some money by upgrading to a new system, would I expect really big performance jump (frame rate it is) by upgrading to a newer 256MB or even 512MB AGP based video card?? If so, which card should I get for the best C/P value (Cost / Performance) for a AGP card under US0?? Is this is a wise investment (given that AGP might be really phasing out in the next few years)???

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate that!

NeVidia GeForce 7600GT. Best bang for the buck? I just installed one in my Dell Dimension 8400 and it is fantastic!

Good flying, desmobob

I'm definitely on the geeky end of computer geek. I would recommend you go ahead and opt for the Core 2 Duo and PCI-E option. The nice thing about going this route is that everything will speed up, not just your simulators. You also won't be obsolete so fast. The high end video cards are already PCI-E only. The downside of course will be that it'll cost you more.

Which video card to get has several variables. The short answer is the best you can afford, but you may not need to go there. What resolution is your monitor? It makes a big difference in the needed firepower. I'm running 1600x1200 with an ATI Radeon 512MB 1900XTX and get 400fps in Aerofly Pro Deluxe, but can just barely get usable framerates in MS Flight Sim X with the visual settings maxed out. This card was state of the art 3 months ago. ( It's not even in the top 3 now) If you're running a lower resolution (1024x768 or 1280x1024) your card requirements won't be so steep.

Good Luck, maybe you can find some Black Friday deals....

PCPhill

I hope this is appropriate to ask this question here. I have RealFlight G3.5 currently running on top of a AMD AthlonT 64 3300 CPU with 1GB of ram, and the video card is a AGP version of ATI Radeon® 9250 with

1. If I'm a casual gamer who sometimes also play MS Flight Simulator X, would I be better off to just upgrade my system to a PCI-E system, such as a Intel Core 2 Duo system??

2. If I want to save some money by upgrading to a new system, would I expect really big performance jump (frame rate it is) by upgrading to a newer 256MB or even 512MB AGP based video card?? If so, which card should I get for the best C/P value (Cost / Performance) for a AGP card under US0?? Is this is a wise investment (given that AGP might be really phasing out in the next few years)???

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate that!

| I hope this is appropriate to ask this question here.

It is.

| I have RealFlight G3.5 currently running on top of a AMD | Athlon? 64 3300 CPU with 1GB of ram, and the video card | is a AGP version of ATI Radeon® 9250 with 128MB of ram. For | current setting the RealFlight G3.5 simply could not perform with | reasonable frame rate.. Here are my questions:

The rest of your computer is fine, but that's not a high performing card at all. I would have thought it was OK, but then I looked up some benchmarks on it -- and it appears to suck.

Personally, I've got a similar computer (slightly slower, X64 3000) and a Geforce 6800GS, and it runs RFG3.5 flawlessly, as well as every other game I've tried except for MSFS X. I can even turn on anti-aliasing (makes it look better, but usually slows it way down) for most games and it works fine. | 1. If I'm a casual gamer who sometimes also play MS Flight Simulator X, | would I be better off to just upgrade my system to a PCI-E system, such | as a Intel Core 2 Duo system??

MSFS X drags on my computer, and is the first game I've played to do so.

| 2. If I want to save some money by upgrading to a new system, would I | expect really big performance jump (frame rate it is) by upgrading to a | newer 256MB or even 512MB AGP based video card??

Memory doesn't really matter that much. 128 MB would be enough. 256 MB should give you some good room for future expansion.

| If so, which card should I get for the best C/P value (Cost / | Performance) for a AGP card under US$150?? Is this is a wise | investment (given that AGP might be really phasing out in the next | few years)???

I'm partial to Nvidia, so I'd go for another 6800 GS or perhaps a 6600 GT (slower, but cheaper.) The 6800 GS's have come down recently, and I believe are well within your price range now.

Nothing you buy will be modern forever. But AGP still has plenty of life left in it, as does your x64 mb and cpu.