New graphics card

[ckaack]

I am considering to upgrade from GeForce 465 to a Geforce 570 or Radeon 6970. The benchmarked FPS of a GeForce 570 are a bit higher than the Radeon 6970, but the Radeon 6970 has 2GB RAM instead of 1.2GB. I am not sure whether the larger memory will support FSX better. Has anyone any experiance?

[meshman]

In simple terms, it's not how much memory, but how fast you can het to it. The ATi/AMD cards have a limitation of 256-bit data channel, whereas the 570 uses a 320-bit channel. I'll take the faster transfer ability over more memory.

It also depends if the rest of your computer is fast enough to feed the data to the video card?

[Frank Lindberg]

Any card over 800 MB won't be a problem for FSX.. More importing is your CPU and RAM  and of course your choice of OS, it must be something like WIN7-64 bit.

[feer]

hi, ckaack frank is right any card over 800mb in fsx is the way to go is nvidia much beter any way you have a good card too regards feer..

[ckaack]

I do have an i7920 @3GHz water cooled on an Asus Sabertooth X58. My current GeForce GTX465 passed away for whatever reason and therefore I do require a new card. Your explanation of the broader memory access does make sense to me and will follow your advice of procuring a GeForce GTX570.

[meshman]

If you can push that i7 920 up some more your results will be a lot better. I have an i7 930 that is stock right now, as I have a problem with the EVGA mobo that needs to get RMA'd, but once that's fixed I see a nVidia 570 in my future and a whole lot of FSX goodness to come out of some O/C'ing! 

[ckaack]

guys shall I take a GTX580 with 1.5 GB or 3 GB RAM? What about the offered OC versions; does it make any difference or is it just waste of money? I do not play any ego shooter games on the PC. It would be for FSX only.

Btw. I purchased a i7970 in the mean time and a SSD and can feel the difference

[bradl]

guys shall I take a GTX580 with 1.5 GB or 3 GB RAM? What about the offered OC versions; does it make any difference or is it just waste of money? I do not play any ego shooter games on the PC. It would be for FSX only.

Btw. I purchased a i7970 in the mean time and a SSD and can feel the difference

I'd say neither.

I know a LOT of people who have NOT had success with any of Nvidia's Fermi-based cards, and that includes me. Drivers stop responding, fail to boot, black screens, the whole lot.. See the now 92 page thread on NVidia's forum about it.

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=187401

These issues have been going on for a year or longer, and still no real solution for it. I had this occur on my GTX460 1GB 31 days out, so I couldn't return it. People who had RMA'ed their card ended up getting the same card back from another user who RMA'ed their card for the same reason, or got theirs back with a response saying 'it works fine for us, it's your hardware', when the same hardware works on another card built by them.

Personally, I cut my losses and bought the Radeon 6950 2GB:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-102-914&nm_mc=EMCPB-042011&cm_mmc=EMCPB-042011-_-PB-_-Item-_-14-102-914

Worked solid with the same hardware I was told to replace, and haven't looked back. Future-proof as well, as you can unlock it to a Radeon 6970, let alone over/underclock it. The dual BIOS on it helps greatly with that. So to get a 2GB Radeon 6970 at the 6950 price is a no-brainer.

Good luck with your purchase, but IMHO, NVidia kinda blew it with this one.

BL.

[flapsup]

I have a GTX 580, and is fantastic. It is currently the best for FSX at the present time. It is pricey, but worth it. I have not heard or know of any issues the last poster is reffering to, but the Nvidia cards are far better in FSX due to the way it handles AA.

[flapsup]

guys shall I take a GTX580 with 1.5 GB or 3 GB RAM? What about the offered OC versions; does it make any difference or is it just waste of money? I do not play any ego shooter games on the PC. It would be for FSX only.

Btw. I purchased a i7970 in the mean time and a SSD and can feel the difference

I'd say neither.

I know a LOT of people who have NOT had success with any of Nvidia's Fermi-based cards, and that includes me. Drivers stop responding, fail to boot, black screens, the whole lot.. See the now 92 page thread on NVidia's forum about it.

So you are saying the GTX 580 is no good then ?
I have not experienced those issues you have described, and a lot of people are using the 500 series cards. Please be careful what you post is accurate, as your issues are with a totally different series of cards. just remember, ATi cards have limitations in FSX, so the OP needs well formed advice, and not just being told they are no good, you have to consider how many users are using them, and the forums would be swamped with error reports.

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=187401

These issues have been going on for a year or longer, and still no real solution for it. I had this occur on my GTX460 1GB 31 days out, so I couldn't return it. People who had RMA'ed their card ended up getting the same card back from another user who RMA'ed their card for the same reason, or got theirs back with a response saying 'it works fine for us, it's your hardware', when the same hardware works on another card built by them.

Personally, I cut my losses and bought the Radeon 6950 2GB:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-102-914&nm_mc=EMCPB-042011&cm_mmc=EMCPB-042011-_-PB-_-Item-_-14-102-914

Worked solid with the same hardware I was told to replace, and haven't looked back. Future-proof as well, as you can unlock it to a Radeon 6970, let alone over/underclock it. The dual BIOS on it helps greatly with that. So to get a 2GB Radeon 6970 at the 6950 price is a no-brainer.

Good luck with your purchase, but IMHO, NVidia kinda blew it with this one.

BL.

[ckaack]

What about the size of the memory; 1.5 GB or 3 GB? Does it matter?

[Frank Lindberg]

What about the size of the memory; 1.5 GB or 3 GB? Does it matter?

nope.. Not for fs9/x

Any card over 800 MB won't be a problem for FSX.. More importing is your CPU and RAM

[ckaack]

Finally I bought a ASUS Matrix GTX580 with 1.5GB and I am very happy. Even in highest dense and resolution I am getting in DFW 40 fps at 50% AI. I never experianced such smooth FSX operation.