Vid Card advise

[akajim]

Looking to upgrade my 6 month old system with a graphics card. Onboard graphics will run MSTS okay, but much to be desired. Would like some input from some of you "Techies" here on what would be best for my system.
Specs are:
ASUS P7H44-M Pro LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Motherboard

Intel Core I3-530 Clarkdale 2.93 GHz LGA 1156 Dual-Core Processor

4 GB G.Skill Ripjaws SDRAM DDR3 memory

Antec earthwatts 500w power supply

WD Caviar Green 500GB Sata Harddrive

Running XP Pro SP3

Had ATI Radeon in my previous AMD machine and have been researching same. Seems like many folks complain about getting the proper drivers installed upon initial card install. Don't need anything super fancy, all I play is Train Sim. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Ron K of Rockford

[derekmorton]

Hi Ron,

For MSTS any $50 - $100 card will be fine.
I have never had trouble with ATI drivers.
If you want to use Open Rails, you will need a better video card.

Cheers
Derek

[akajim]

Hi Ron,

For MSTS any $50 - $100 card will be fine.
I have never had trouble with ATI drivers.
If you want to use Open Rails, you will need a better video card.

Cheers
Derek

Thanks Derek;
I am contemplating XFX-ATI Radeon HD 4650 1GB DDR2 PCI Express at Best But for under $100.00; reviews are good and it supposedly has a lifetime warranty. Anyone familiar with this card?
Ron K of Rockford

[qballbandit]

Ron,
I have an ATI HD 5750 - six months old, you can have it - free of charge if you like.

Call or e-mail me about it.

Neil

[GoGoran]

Thanks Derek;
I am contemplating XFX-ATI Radeon HD 4650 1GB DDR2 PCI Express at Best But for under $100.00; reviews are good and it supposedly has a lifetime warranty. Anyone familiar with this card?
Ron K of Rockford

The HD4650 is outdated - and I mean it performance-wise. It really doesn't cut the cheese anymore. Also, DDR2 RAM is substandard even for the HD 4650 GPU.

If you can get your hands on a HD 4850, go for it ! If not, I'd recommend a HD 5750 upwards (also available for 100,--) ...