YAVCRQ - Yet Another Video Card Recommendation Question

My current system is a Dell 531 with dual core AMD at 2.1 Ghz / 4 G system ram / Geforce 8800 GTS w/640M / Thermaltake 700W modular psu / 19 " LCD monitor

Using Vista 32bit Home Premium. My 'gaming' needs are only MS FSX at 1280x1024.

MY QUESTION(s):

(1) Would replacing the 800GTS with a 280GTX be cost effective? My Vista 'Experience' performance numbers are all 5.9 except cpu calculations per second which is 4.8. So my overall rating is 4.8.

(2) Am I at a cpu bottleneck?
(a) If so what are my cpu / mobo upgrade paths?

(3) Would the 280 GTX yield any noticeable difference?

Thank you!!
Charlie

Using Vista 32bit Home Premium. My 'gaming' needs are only MS FSX at
1280x1024.

MY QUESTION(s):

(1) Would replacing the 800GTS with a 280GTX be cost effective? My Vista
'Experience' performance numbers are all 5.9 except cpu calculations per
second which is 4.8. So my overall rating is 4.8.

This number is really irrelevant and would likely remain the same or up .1
with a 280GTX

(2) Am I at a cpu bottleneck?

Yes. Does this box only have 2 gig of RAM as well?

(a) If so what are my cpu / mobo upgrade paths?

This box should be able to take an AM2 5600+ or 6000+.....check Dell's BIOS
updates to see if your BIOS can support it. Given it's a proprietary box,
this is about you max limite for mb/cpu upgrade.

(3) Would the 280 GTX yield any noticeable difference?

A 9800GTX+ coupled with a faster CPU would be just as fast on this box and a
whole lot cheaper than a 280GTX for running one game at 1280x1024.

Thank you!!
Charlie

Little Charlie wrote:
My current system is a Dell 531 with dual core AMD at 2.1 Ghz / 4 G system ram / Geforce 8800 GTS w/640M / Thermaltake 700W modular psu / 19 " LCD monitor

Using Vista 32bit Home Premium. My 'gaming' needs are only MS FSX at 1280x1024.

MY QUESTION(s):

(1) Would replacing the 800GTS with a 280GTX be cost effective? My Vista 'Experience' performance numbers are all 5.9 except cpu calculations per second which is 4.8. So my overall rating is 4.8.

No that would be stupid.


(2) Am I at a cpu bottleneck?
(a) If so what are my cpu / mobo upgrade paths?

Ya' think? You have not much of an upgrade path, your best bet is to
start from scratch and build your own rig. Honestly is the cheapest and
most surefire way of building a kickass system for flight sims.

(3) Would the 280 GTX yield any noticeable difference?

Ignore that for the time being.

Thank you!!
Charlie

With FSX you are primarily CPU bound. Even high end cards are waiting
for the game engine as it is continually processing a plethora of data
you hardly ever see. Your current card should work well into your next
system though (at least until you can afford a 260/280).

Start with an expandable system, right now Core 2 Duo/Quads like the
E8600 and Q6600 are very cheap and motherboards are reasonable as well
(P45 and P35 chipsets are very reliable). Even though Core i7 is out,
the existing 775 systems are going nowhere for a long time, and Core 2
CPU's are getting very cheap.

Then you should be able to utilize your existing DDR2 (as most x45 type
boards are DDR2). As well as hard drive (that's probably plenty good
still). You already got a half decent 8800, so keep it initially. The
OS is still yours as well (you might haggle with activation, but don't
worry).

So for about the same price as a 280, you can reasonable upgrade your
entire system and more effectively utilize what you've got. Now the
only thing remaining and what might incur the greatest expense is
finding a decent 22"-24" LCD. FSX at 1920x1200 is really a joy.