Choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2

LAST EDITED ON May-19-03 AT 08:34 PM (EDT)

I am upgrading my computer with newer Video Card and I need the input of MSTS users for MSTS2. I have the choice of these Video Cards, which one would be right one ?? ATI Atlantis Radeon 9800 , 128 MB DDR , 8X ATI Radeon 9700 Pro , 128 MB DDR , 8X Jaton Geforce FX 5600 256 MB GainWard FX5600 128 MB Guys , any others , that you like ???? Pkman

Railroad MP 777.0

Jesus Forgives

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RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, patm41, May-19-03, 09:07 PM, (1) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, OTTODAD, May-19-03, 09:35 PM, (2) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, ssw, May-19-03, 10:33 PM, (3) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, Pkman, May-19-03, 10:52 PM, (4) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, heffed, May-19-03, 11:09 PM, (5) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, Fastruck, May-20-03, 00:51 AM, (6) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, Bing, May-20-03, 09:13 AM, (7) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, heffed, May-20-03, 01:09 PM, (8) RE: MSTS1 with 16 Mb video Card, Pkman, May-22-03, 11:48 AM, (9) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, adamw, May-22-03, 03:27 PM, (10) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, Motley24Crue2, May-22-03, 07:33 PM, (11) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, landnrailroader, May-24-03, 08:09 PM, (12) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, Motley24Crue2, May-26-03, 01:31 AM, (14) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, richb, May-24-03, 10:34 PM, (13) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, Hoosier95, Jun-02-03, 08:20 PM, (15) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, Pkman, Jun-02-03, 10:55 PM, (16) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, Motley24Crue2, Jun-03-03, 09:11 PM, (17) RE: choosing a New Video Card for MSTS2, prr643, Jun-05-03, 02:15 PM, (18)

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there are no specs of MSTS2 released we dont know what it will take to run it...
Patm41

Casino Express Route Designer

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The majority of reviews I read in FlightSim magazines gives the ATI-RADEON 9800 the thumbs up in preference to the nVIDIA FX range.Not just because the nVIDIA FX takes up 2 slots spaces on the MOBO and is a lot noisier than the ATI cards !It will be my choice of Graphics Card in the machine I am going to built if MSTS-2 is DirectX-9 compatible !O t t o

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Don't forget that nVidia just released the GeForce FX 5900 that beats the pants off of everything ATI has on the market to date. Look over at Toms Hardware. THey have benchmarks, and there's only one game where the ATI outperforms the 5900, and only VERY slightly.

Bradley Linda
Waco, Texas

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I just read about this video Card ( GeForce FX 5900 ) and I wonder just how much it going to cost me ? , it look like good card to have Another Question to , My intel D845Pebt2 only will support 4X AGP , will this be a problem with 8x GeForce FX 5900 ??
Pkman Mile Post 777.00 Jesus is the light
of the world

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>Another Question to , My intel D845Pebt2 only will support
>4X AGP , will this be a problem with 8x GeForce FX 5900 ?? Currently there isn't much performance difference between the AGP modes.
-Jeff

Union Pacific is my drug.

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LAST EDITED ON May-20-03 AT 00:55 AM (EDT)

I'v Heard that the radeon 9800 is backwards compatable up to apg 4x.maybe the GFX 5900 will be the same. click on the link and read the specs on 9800 radeon. http://mirror.ati.com/products/pc/radeon9800pro/specs.html

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Ditto on what I have read on Guru3D forum concerning AGP 8X: Not much difference. Yet. The best of DX9 and AGP 8X is yet to come, as game and sim developers start to use them. As to what Kuju will or won't do, it's "wait and see". We have a choice in the matter?To date I have not seen one commentator, industry or otherwise, who has said one word about MSTS2 and OpenGL. Perhaps the idea that coming from MS, OpenGL would be laughable to even think about. If so, why doesn't somebody say so? Odd.If someone has addressed the OpenGL issue viz TS2, please point me to the source. Bing

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>If someone has addressed the OpenGL issue viz TS2, please
>point me to the source. I would be extremely surprised if MSTS2 supported OpenGL. That's a bit like M$ Office supporting Linux. -Jeff

Union Pacific is my drug.

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I restall MSTS-1 on to my 450 K6-2 with my 16 Mb AGP video card and it is slower then snail . I guess I have to wait until my 2.8 GHz system is fix
Pk Man Mile Post 777.0 Jesus Heals all broke hearts

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I'd wait for the final GeForce FX 5900 and its Detonator drivers since it will be faster. It's also very much possible that third party manufacturers like MSI or Visiontek will release slimmer card which will not occupy PCI Slot #1.Adam

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im getting this RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB AGP $499http://mirror.ati.com/shopati/pricespcusa.htmlRobert Steskal
Philadelphia, Pa

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I've not had good results with any ATI product. My current board, is a GeForce-2 made by VisionTek, which I have had for over a year and not so much as a hiccup. The ATI I had would not handle MSTS-1 at all, and I passed it on to a relative who wasn't interested in simulations.J. H. Sullivan

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LAST EDITED ON May-26-03 AT 01:33 AM (EDT)

>I've not had good results with any ATI product. My current
>board, is a GeForce-2 made by VisionTek, which I have had
>for over a year and not so much as a hiccup. The ATI I had
>would not handle MSTS-1 at all, and I passed it on to a
>relative who wasn't interested in simulations.
>
>J. H. Sullivan Well currently i have the ATI Radeon 8500LE and i have not had a problem with it at all, frame rates have been good and there really hasn't been a Noticeable problemim going with the Radeon 9800 Pro 256 because im building a new system based on the Asus P4C800 Deluxe*Edit* im not building this because of msts 2 im building this because i want a Second Computer (So my wife doesn't well you know) Robert Steskal
Philadelphia, Pa

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LAST EDITED ON May-24-03 AT 10:35 PM (EDT)

LOL! I think they are still putting together the graphics card that will will be strong enough to run MSTS2! Geez, the game won't be on the market for months.I think it would be wise to wait until the product is out a few weeks and get the input from user's.Rich

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I fully agree with Rich. Why worry about what card to install now? By the time MSTS2 is released those high dollar cards are probably going to be around half the cost they now are and more than likely something bigger and better will be on the market. Seems like there is a new card being introduced every other week here of late so I wouldn't rush into anything that you may be sorry for once MSTS2 is released. If you feel you have $300-$400 to flush down the toilet send it my way and I will buy food with the money you may be wasting.I have an ATI 9000 Pro that works very well in both MSTS and the other train sim even though I have had to do a ton of tweaking to get them to an acceptable level of performance. If this card does not perform all that great with the upcoming relase I will then decide what to do, but not until then.Ken B.

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Well, I am waiting for the Asus V9950 , with the NVIDIA 5900 chipset , this will be my card for my system . I have paid for Asus V9900 with NVIDIA 5800 chipset , but I do not plan on keeping it , I will be selling it new . I know newer and newer cards are coming out , but I just want good card for my system and a card with Nvidia 5900 chipset will do me good for years to come . I am only getting 3-4 fps with MSTS-1 out of my AGP card that is 8MB with K-6 450. I just got used 32MB card off of Ebay to hold me over , until Asus 9950 Is out. One thing nice about Asus 9950 it is a 256 Bit card .
Pkman Mile Post 777.0 Jesus died , that we might live again

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well as far as buying a card goes, im sticking with my current card until atleast fallBut i am upgrading my System toAsus P4C800
Mushkin PC3200 1gb
Intel P4 2.6ghz 800FSBRobert Steskal
Philadelphia, Pa

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I'll start by saying I'm as much of a hardware junkie (I purchased a Geforce3 in the first 6 months they where out) as anybody, but I would advise NOT purchasing the fastest card on the market. There are several good reasons for this. The biggest reason is the signifigent lag time between hardware release, and the release of games that actually require or use the features the new cards have. I would say on average, it is at least 12 months from card release until you actually see a differnece in performence in a new game. Big title games may be even longer (how long have we been waiting for Doom III now?).
Which brings me to my second point. The card you purchase should have some relation to the type of gaming you do. If you play a lot of cutting edge titles, like Unreal 2, UT2003, or later this year Doom III, HL2, etc, then you need more horsepower. But even those titles will probably run pretty darn well on my Radeon 9500 Pro, and many of them are 6-8 months from release. If you play more main stream titles you simply do not need the fastest card available because they are aimed at a larger audience, and as much as I love my fast cutting edge video cards, the vast majority of consumers do not have a Radeon 9800 Pro, most don't even have the level of a Geforce3. MSTS is without a doubt a main steam title. It will look really good, but MS wants to sell as many copies as possible. I'll bet money that MSTS2 will run terrific on any mid to high end card sold in the last 6-12 months.
My basic advice is purchase the card that is best suited to your needs now, and for any games you know you want that are comming out in the next 6 to 12 months. If trends continue as they have, today's fastest cards will most likely be out performed, or pared, by the mid-range cards out this time next year. For half the cost of a Geforce 5900 you can have a card that will do almost as well for most titles in the next 12 months. You could keep that extra $200 in your pocket till next June, and probably there will be mid-range hardware then that is as fast or faster then the Geforce 5900 or Radeon 9800 is now. Either way, by the time games come out that actually use their advanced features the Radeon 9900 or Geforce 6000 (or whatever they are called) will have moved the current generation to the bargin bin (by price compairson anyway). The Geforce 4 4600 was $350 this time last year, they are now $185. The Geforece 4600 is still a great card, just not the fastest or newest on the block. Just my thoughts, I'd love to buy the fastest card everytime a new one came out, but also I want to have some money left to buy games for the fancy new card!

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