What video card should i get?

[Glucagon]

hi, i have a 3 year old dell with a ATi Radeon X300se. I'm getting flight simulator X. And im worried about it lagging(i tried demo-it lagged)What video card would you guys think best for the game between 0-$150

Additional info

pentium 4 ht@3.2gigahertz

1gig DDR2 memory

Or do I have to upgrade memory or both?

 

[Rik]

What model dell is it, because ddr2 ram hasn't been arond for 3 years!!!!

 

[Glucagon]

i think i made a mistake but it was made in 2003 i'm not that good with memory-- u guys have any idea what kind of memory i have-DEll 8400 made in 2003

 

[Rik]

Here is all the specs for your pc - http://computershopper.com.com/Dell_Dimension_8400/4507-3118_7-30919189.html

You are right, it is ddr2!! Sorry,i didn't think ddr2 had been around for that long!!!!

 

[F1N3ST]

Is the X300SE AGP or PCI-e?

 

[Rik]

From the look of the specs i found, i'd say its a pci-e!!!!

 

[F1N3ST]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150157
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102606

Are the *Best* In that price range IMO.

 

[F1N3ST]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102042 This would actually be better, because it flashes to 16 pipelines.

 

[vnf4ultra]

I'd suggest a 7600gt.
I like these two most.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150186
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143049

An x1800gto or 7900gs would be nice too, but could be hard to find at $150(maybe after rebate).

Here are the system specs, for reference.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8400/SM/specs.htm#wp1052308

Also, F1N3ST, your cards are all agp, and won't work in this system.

 

[wolfram]

I'll second what vnf4ultra said. The 7600GT card is the best choice, and should work properly with your Dell PSU, because it is not a power hog.

BTW, FSX will lag anyway, it's designed for Windows Vista. It runs on XP, but not too well. That's why I won't get it Back to FS9

Regards :wave:

 

[Sharkfood]

That's actually not a bad system for a Dell. If the specs linked is the actual system, then you do indeed have an open PCI-Expressx16 slot, so you have a wide variety of 3d cards to choose from.

I do have a little bit of bad news though- while the X300SE is a really, really low-end 3d card that most certainly needs upgrading... Flight Simulator-X really is a slow, stuttery mess on even the most upper-end systems I've been trying it on.

You'll get definate improvements with an upgrade, but it'll still be a chore of configuring and re-configuring to get decent/acceptable performance from it.

I'd truly recommend an X1800/X1900 or 7800/7900 series PCI-Express card for FS-X. While you'll still be limited to very, very low framerates- you really don't need super framerates for a flight sim. But going with a modern SM3.0 card will improve smoothness and framerate consistency (to the extent of your CPU, which will also be very taxed by FS-X). You'll want the smoothness so you can actually land a plane without belly-planting on the runway from stutter lol.

 

[F1N3ST]

Well, my bad, I thought he was AGP

 

[Glucagon]

yeah,ill get the 7600gt