My old video card has served me well and continues to serve well enough. But gosh darn it, I would really like to become a contender in RD's new Screenshot forum----but the graphics I'm getting from my old ATI Radeon 9550 just can't keep up with some of the tremendous graphics I'm seeing in some of "your" screen shots.
My big problem is that my budget has me stapled down so tightly to the floor that I barely have room to breathe these days in terms of PC upgrades.
Are there any among you who might have a spare video card collecting dust which you might be willing to part with at an affordable price?
I thought I would give the forums a shot before going on to Ebay or some other. Any ideas for the finacially impaired?
Oh really? I am using the 9600xt 128meg pro and it can push out some really nice stuff when I take my time to set it up. My run and gun settings even get some nice pics. I have seen my xt set beat out a 9800 radeon in visuals. Tried a 9700 but it didnt want to cooperate so I switched back to old reliable. Started out with a 9200 pro, it did well until it was time for reflections. The only reflections I could get out of it was daydreams of a better card. You can get some decent cards new now that were pretty expensive a year ago. Yesterdays technology is just fine, it's day before yesterday that you have to watch out for. Maybe your performance issues are related to driver issues, such as an unnecessary update. I always stick with the shipped driver unless an update is addressing an issue I am actually having. The latest aint always the greatest when it comes to certain driver sets.
Ideally, I am looking for something along the lines of a Radeon 9800 Pro, 128 MB card or similar.
Before I go spending money that I really don't have, I am interested in trading my perfectly functioning set of CH Rudder Pedals (gameport) which I no longer use. I have come to prefer the twist-grip function of my MS Sidewinder Precision 2 over using pedals.
I always stick with the shipped driver unless an update is addressing an issue I am actually having. The latest aint always the greatest when it comes to certain driver sets.
I'm about ready to yank my Radeon X1600 Series for that VERY reason. I was trying to further get rid of some of the jaggies in my shots and went down the path of updating the driver. It was a great thought right up till I lost the control panel for the card and the new driver simply will not take. It keeps telling me that I don't have Direct X 8 and no matter how many times I DL it, it is still missing. Makes me sad, I had finally got to the point of liking my shots and I wanted the golden ring and a NDN Taco too.
I R Fail
I found out the hard way. The newest drivers are not the best. Especially for Nvidia cards. ATI were more or less, more adaptable, and did do better for most. I totally find it unneccessary to get updated drivers, if your not having a problem with the one that came with your G-card. With my now 6600GT, I am still using the same driver that came with it. I have tried newer drivers, but they either hurt the display, or I lost tweaks that I had before. So my driver now, is the default that came with the card.
Settings....Depends on your system, on what you can and cannot do. You also have the option of playing with your FS9.cfg, to also make it better.
A ton of options are available. You just need to figure out, what and where your problem is, and take it slow when you make changes. Just make them one at a time.
The only experience I have with an ATI card, is.....I got one, hated it, and returned it. THE NEXT DAY.
However, the basic structure and settings are the same between both. And your card (Jaeg), can be made to make your visual perception, better.
If you need help, then do this. Post up your system specs, and your FS9.cfg.
Also, have you checked into the pci-latency tweak? Further, I highly recommend DiskTrix Ultimate Defragger and XP Optimizer, these two tools really made a difference on my system.
Intel D865GLC mobo
Pentium 4@3ghz
1Gbyte ram
80G drive and 40G drive, both are partitioned
ATI 9600xt pro 128
One extra note, I noticed that you both have your terrain max vertex set to 19. I use fsgen 38 meter mesh for all of the US and therefore have mine set to 20 to properly render the more detailed mesh. Watch even the default FS mesh perk up in most areas if you set it to 20. 21 is for 19 meter resolution mesh, and when other mesh areas are encountered it will merely interpolate and you can have a lot of errors. Just one more reason to use a configurator utility so you can have multiple .cfg's for the many different flying regimes you use.
Using nVidia, FX5200 DT 64 bit 128Mb Dual Dac, 350/375 2003, 93.71 drivers FINE: All settings payed to Aplication Control Rivatuner check ok.
This FS9 cfg is a modified by freeware for higher speed fps, more quality, adds amny lines other sheets do not have. To test, change display card in {] from mine to yours EG:
DISPLAY DEVICE
[Nvidia FX.... is now Make Mofel.0 ] <your card in 2x places on sheet
This has given me absolutely the highest frames from this old card, the clearest quality images for its day. Got in 7/03.
First thing I observed was that GS's fs9.cfg has many items listed which my .cfg does not. "Splain that to me, Lucy!"
Most of GS's settings were identical to mine, but a few were quite different. For those items that did occur, I changed settings to match GS's. Saved file.
Fired up FS9 started at my favorite LZ, went for a quick spin to see what differences I could detect. Can't say I saw any visual or graphical difference--how ever, I have not tested under weather conditions, nighttime conditions, etc. Frame rates seemed about the same.
My problem here is going to be that I have little understanding of even half of what these settings actually relate to, hence it is virtually impossible for me to know what changes to look for inside the game.
What are some things I should be looking for inside FS9?
Subtle - Gross Frame rate change?
Noticeable changes in scenery?
Others (relative to GS's posted settings).
What are the best ways to detect changes with the naked eye? Take screenshots of the same scenery and compare?
And before I do something stupid like jumping in the deep end of the pool where all the big kids hang out, is there anyway that I can accidentally render FS9 completely unusable by tinkering with any of the .cfg settings?
I got a small feeling inside my gut that I'm gonna like wrenching and tweaking inside the .cfg file.
nahhhh, if it mucks up you just delete the cfg and restart fs, it then writes a new default cfg. As you go, keep a copy somewhere with your changes that still worked before you tweakisized it.
It seems that I spoke a bit too soon about not seeing an improvement in my scenery in FS9. For one thing, no longer am I seeing those ridiculous conical shaped mountains. So that's a huge improvement as far as I'm concerned. Thanks GS! Thanks RD, Thanks Tomcat for the little push into the next level (FS9.cfg editing)!
Because GS's settings seem to agree with my platform (fingers crossed, knocking on wood) , I think it's a good place to start from for purposes of making further adjustments. I'll next begin tinkering with RD's settings and last but not least Tomcat's settings.
But! One thing that really mystifies me is the fact that GS's .cfg file seems so much more robust than mine.
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