Inquiring Minds want to know
Contemplate buying new computer soon.
2.6 Gig 512 mem....et all
Can the intergrated graphics really handle FS2004.
Is it worth while to buy with seperate graphics and sound card.?????

"Ludlow Johnson" > wrote in message
...
> Can the intergrated graphics really handle FS2004.
> Is it worth while to buy with seperate graphics and sound card.?????

What is the "intergrated [sic] graphics" on the motherboard? If it's a 3dfx
or nVidia 3D accelerator, then FS2004 will probably work fine. How well
will depend on what actual chipset it is and how fast it's running. We have
no idea what computer you're talking about buying, nor what kind of
motherboard it has, so there's no way to know what kind of on-board video
you're asking about.

If on the other hand the on-board video is some lame 3D acceleration, or no
3D acceleration at all then yes, you'll need a separate card.

Pete

"Ludlow Johnson" > wrote in message
...
> Inquiring Minds want to know
> Contemplate buying new computer soon.
> 2.6 Gig 512 mem....et all
> Can the intergrated graphics really handle FS2004.
> Is it worth while to buy with seperate graphics and sound card.?????
>

I would definitely get an AGP video card. Something like the Ti 4x00 or FX
5700 or ATI equivalent. As far as the sound goes, you need to listen for
yourself as the onboard sound varies a lot between different motherboards.
The top of the line video cards right now are the Nvidia FX 5950 and ATI
R9800s. A bit pricey, but good cards for FS. I would stay away from the
lower quality Nvidia FX cards (below the 5600) and all MX cards. The Nvidia
Ti series cards still do well and can be found at good prices. They range
from the Ti 4200 to the Ti 4800 (Ti 4400 with 8x AGP). If you can, up the
memory to a gig if you are using XP and plan any video/Photoshop editing.
For FS, 512 will be ok.

Ed


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On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 04:33:10 GMT, Ludlow Johnson
> arranged phosphur particles on my screen
with the following:

>Inquiring Minds want to know
>Contemplate buying new computer soon.
>2.6 Gig 512 mem....et all
>Can the intergrated graphics really handle FS2004.
>Is it worth while to buy with seperate graphics and sound card.?????

I've spent some bucks over the years trying to keep up with MSFS. My
last computer has been the best; a basic $500 E-Machine. Stock out of
the box it has been excellent.

Don't buy "anything" in anticipation until you see what stock will do.

I agree with the comments from Andrew.



I have also been working out the specs that I need for a top notch sim
machine.



While convenient, the onboard graphics will slow you down in comparison to a
separate dedicated board. With all the math calculations required by flight
sims, the processor needs as little other stuff to worry about as possible.



You might want to consider checking out a copy of Maximum PC on the
newsstand or at http://www.maximumpc.com. Like the tag line states, they go
right to the meat without much BS.



Good luck in your search.



Chris





"Ludlow Johnson" > wrote in message
...
> Inquiring Minds want to know
> Contemplate buying new computer soon.
> 2.6 Gig 512 mem....et all
> Can the intergrated graphics really handle FS2004.
> Is it worth while to buy with seperate graphics and sound card.?????
>

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 20:53:45 -0800, "Peter Duniho"
> wrote:

>If it's a 3dfx

???

"McCrack" > wrote in message
...
> >If it's a 3dfx
>
> ???

Sorry, my brain is stuck a few years back, I think.

Change "3dfx" to "ATI" (even though nVidia is who bought 3dfx) and what I
wrote won't seem so weird.

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message
...
> "McCrack" > wrote in message
> ...
> > >If it's a 3dfx
> >
> > ???
>
> Sorry, my brain is stuck a few years back, I think.
>
> Change "3dfx" to "ATI" (even though nVidia is who bought 3dfx) and what I
> wrote won't seem so weird.
>
>

Yep, and 3dfx bought STB......I remember using a 16mb STB V-4400 for a long
time back in the FS98 days. A real butt-kicking card back then.......:-) I
think that was the first NVidia based video card I had ever owned. I think
that card replaced a Matrox Millennium with a Voodoo-1 accelerator......

Ed


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