Yo Denny, what sort of performance are you seeing in FSX?
Denny’s results are a pretty accurate cross-section of what you can expect with any given 3D game. The 8800s smoke the 7950s as well. In fact, only 7950s in SLI give a single 8800 a run for its money. It’s really some phenomenal tech.
Edit: The only downside is that 8800 SLI power consumption is through the roof. I’m talking well over 400 watts under full load.
So, its probably worth it to spend the extra 100-150 over a 7900/7950 variant to get a 8800 gts if I want a card that will handle things at 1280x1024 to 1680x1050 (18’’ to 20’’ widescreen lcds) for say the next two years? I don’t care about vista crap, as I won’t be likely using it for 2 years minimum.
Exactly what I was going to ask (except for the “Yo,” maybe). A CPU/video combo that could ably run FSX with full details is one of my Four Horsemen of the Expensive Upgrade.
Not gonna happen.
FSX is more CPU bound than graphics bound.
For example, we tested it on a Voodoo PC Omen with a Core 2 Duo cranked to 3.80GHz and two GF8800 GTX’s in SLI mode. We got 16fps in the FSX benchmark we use, with everything cranked up.
Crank it back one notch on everything (except pure graphics), and you can hit 25-30fps.
FSX is one of those “forward looking” titles ;-)
It’s depressing to know that not even the five richest kings of Europe could run FSX at Ultra High.
Enh, I dunno, the five richest kings of Europe could probably put together a 6 Ghz Core Duo liquid nitrogen cooled system, and that might be able to hit 40 FPS at max detail.
That’s my inner Rocky. He’s a graphics whore.
Andy: In your PC Gamer review of FSX, I noticed how you nicely framed downtown Vancouver for one of your screenshots. As someone who misses his old hometown and is doomed to flying FS9 for a while, are there any BC or Lower Mainland scenery packages you can recommend to me (free or otherwise)?
(Sorry to derail the thread, but then again, that sale ended a long time ago.)
I don’t own this one (pricey payware) but it sure looks good from the screenshots. Part 2 will include YVR.
Wow, that’s nice. It’s neat how they were able to recreate the Flying Beaver so well, but individually modelled tables and chairs seems a tad indulgent. And that EUR40 price tag… I think I’ll wait for my next round of chain letters to come back first.
The deal is back, and even cheaper!
Yes, if you got the 10% coupon or are willing to buy it off ebay, that deal can’t be beat.
Sadly I did not get a dell coupon in the mail and it seems all the ebay ones are gone. Oh well. Newegg has a 7950gt for 256 after rebate anyway.
I will never bitch about the price of a PS3. Cause I will never buy one. Meanwhile I’ll always be interested in the cost of PC hardware.
And occasionally I’ll buy stuf for my DS. It’s all about your focus, man. Peace. :-)
I feel the same way. When I was making my decision, I finally came to figure it like this: A PS3 that I will play every now and again (as often as I use my PS2), or 8800GTX I will use for hours every day both work and play. I see a large improvement over my 7900gt even in my 2d desktop IQ, much less finally being able to run my games at 1920x1080 with some eye-candy. I got mine a few weeks back for 575ish and I find it well worth it.
For people who use the PS3 as their primary entertainment vehicle, I can see them making a different choice. I can imagine, though, the price difference between games will soon enough balance those out to my satisafction. What justifies the huge price delta there?