So here's the story. Have a Monarch Hornet (SFF) machine with the following:
ASUS P4/P800-VM AGP Mobo
P4 3.0GHz CPU
2.0Gb RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS 256Mb AGP video card
SB X-Fi Elite sound card
WD Raptor 36Gb HD's (2x)
BenQ FP241W flat monitor (1920 x 1200 native)
QWest DSL 7.0Mbps conection
I've had progressively worse performance (go figure) over the last year or so in terms of small screen delays or stutters. Just before the last major AH Terrain upgrade I had added the 2nd Gb of RAM and brought my DSL connenction up to 7.0 Mbps, but there was not much apparent improvement, if any. With the Terrain upgrade it's now nearly impossible to play if I get more than 10-15 people near me, air or ground.
And thats after reading all of the AH performance material and setting all possible graphics, terrain, card settings to off or as low as possible. In spite of that, I can just sit alone on the runway and spin around all 8 views from the cockpit and get at least one or two stutters.
As my 7800 GS is about the top of the AGP video line, any improvement in video means I've got to do a major upgrade to a PCI-Express motherboard.
As we all know, funds are very tight right now, but it's getting almost pointless to spend even $15 for what I'm able to do, so I'm looking for a good and affordable upgrade path. My big question is, where do I really need the improvement: video card, CPU or RAM. I suspect video, of course, but I've got to get a motherboard no matter what. If my current P4 CPU is not (or will not soon be) a bottleneck, then I won't upgrade the CPU now, but that will drive my choice of Mobo. Similar thoughts on RAM, etc.
If I spend what little money I have, I got to be sure I'll get something so I can actually play the game for awhile to come. I'll probably even ask Skuzzy to bless my eventual choices. As it is, it's going to be a financial magic act to buy a mobo and video card right now, so I've got to be careful and get it right the first time.
So suggestions overall and specifically on a video card are welcome.