Already eyeballing new HOTAS setups, now I'm thinking about graphics...advice?

[JesterPgh]

So, it's been established that I'm well overdue to replace my aging (should have been retired a long time ago) X45.  We'll see how that goes, hopefully soon.  I've also been looking into graphics.  My pc overall is adequate for AH3, but I feel my graphics processing is leaving me some wiggle room.  Over the open sea, if I'm not in the clouds, I can hit around 50fps.  If I fly through clouds, I get 17-19fps.  I fly with lower than default settings, no anti-alias, and in DX9.  I'm very out of the loop with regard to video cards anymore, but I would like to have something better than I have now.  Here's what I know:

Graphics Card Manufacturer - Powered by AMD
Graphics Chipset - AMD Radeon R7 200 Series
Device ID - 6610
Vendor ID - 1002
SubSystem ID - 7250
SubSystem Vendor ID - 1682
Revision ID - 00
Bus Type - PCI Express 3.0
Current Bus Settings - PCI Express 2.0 x8
BIOS Version - 015.032.000.004
BIOS Part Number - 113-250A-CLF-101
BIOS Date - 2013/09/12 02:57
Memory Size - 2048 MB
Memory Type - DDR3
Memory Clock - 800 MHz
Core Clock - 1050 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth - 25 GByte/s
2D Driver File Path - /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/Class/{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}/0000

Radeon Settings Version - 2016.1025.1747.30190
Driver Packaging Version - 16.40.2911.1001-161025a-308178E
Provider - Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
2D Driver Version - 8.1.1.1571
Direct3D® Version - 9.14.10.01221
OpenGL® Version - 6.14.10.13456
OpenCL™ Version - 21.19.155.257
AMD Mantle Version - 9.1.10.0163
AMD Mantle API Version - 102400
AMD Audio Driver Version - 10.0.1.0
Vulkan™ Driver Version - 1.3.0
Vulkan™ API Version - 1.0.26



I don't necessarily want to spend a lot of cash on upgrading, especially if there are perhaps some tweaks I could make on my end to make this setup work better.  However, I am absolutely open to suggestions on a newer graphics card, and perhaps information on where one gets the best deals on them.  Thanks in advance.  If a dxdiag is needed, I have no problem with posting that either. 

[Easyscor]

Your reported frame rates for that card are impressive. I presume you have most of the ingame graphics dialed way way back based upon a comparison using your posted info.

To get a general idea of how your card rates compared to others, I recommend the PassMark website:

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

That will be a good place to start. Using your browser, use Ctrl F to search the page for R7 200 and you'll be able to verify it shows you either 1000 or 1290 on their scale.
I have no idea why it lists 'R7 200 Dual' instead of your posted card name.

btw, I loved my x45 until it died

[Chalenge]

You should probably post a complete DXdiag, so that we can more properly suit your needs.

[Easyscor]

Agreed, I meant to add that.

[save]

Looks like Nvidia 1060 with its low power consumption is a good choice if you do not intend to go beyond 1920x1080 res.

AMD 480 should also do the work, if you have the power supply to fuel it.

[JesterPgh]

------------------
System Information
------------------
      Time of this report: 12/2/2016, 22:04:10
             Machine name: OWNER
               Machine Id: {A58FA924-E0C6-4370-9894-9190EC62ED3D}
         Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit (10.0, Build 14393) (14393.rs1_release_inmarket.16 1102-0100)
                 Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
      System Manufacturer: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
             System Model: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
                     BIOS: Default System BIOS
                Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X2 B59 Processor (2 CPUs), ~3.4GHz
                   Memory: 8192MB RAM
      Available OS Memory: 8192MB RAM
                Page File: 3308MB used, 6162MB available
              Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
          DirectX Version: DirectX 12
      DX Setup Parameters: Not found
         User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
       System DPI Setting: 144 DPI (150 percent)
          DWM DPI Scaling: UnKnown
                 Miracast: Available, with HDCP
Microsoft Graphics Hybrid: Not Supported
           DxDiag Version: 10.00.14393.0000 64bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
      Display Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
          Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D:    0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw:  0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay:  0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow:  0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
          Card name: AMD Radeon R7 200 Series
       Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
          Chip type: AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x6610)
           DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
        Device Type: Full Device
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6610&SUBSYS_72501682&REV_00
      Device Status: 0180200A [DN_DRIVER_LOADED|DN_STARTED|DN_DISABLEABLE|DN_NT_ENUMERATOR|DN_NT_DRIVER]
Device Problem Code: No Problem
Driver Problem Code: Unknown
     Display Memory: 6125 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 2029 MB
      Shared Memory: 4095 MB
       Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: NS-39D400NA14
         Monitor Id: BBY3942
        Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
        Output Type: HDMI
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Driver File Version: 21.19.0155.0257 (English)
     Driver Version: 21.19.155.257
        DDI Version: 12
     Feature Levels: 11_1,11_0,10_1,10_0,9_3,9_2,9_1
       Driver Model: WDDM 2.1
Graphics Preemption: DMA
 Compute Preemption: DMA
           Miracast: Not Supported
Hybrid Graphics GPU: Not Supported
     Power P-states: Not Supported
  Driver Attributes: Final Retail
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        WHQL Logo'd: Yes
    WHQL Date Stamp: Unknown
  Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-2550-11CF-3374-CB52BCC2D835}
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          Device ID: 0x6610
          SubSys ID: 0x72501682
        Revision ID: 0x0000
 Driver Strong Name: oem6.inf:cb0ae414555c5f0a:ati2mtag_R501DS:21.19.155.257:pci\ven_1002&dev_6610&rev_00
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       D3D9 Overlay: Not Supported
            DXVA-HD: Not Supported
       DDraw Status: Enabled
         D3D Status: Enabled
         AGP Status: Enabled
           MPO Caps: Not Supported
        MPO Stretch: Not Supported
    MPO Media Hints: Not Supported
        MPO Formats: Not Supported

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
            Description: Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)
 Default Sound Playback: Yes
 Default Voice Playback: No
            Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0885&SUBSYS_18491890&REV_1001
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 65535
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            Driver Name: HdAudio.sys
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      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: Yes
          Date and Size: 7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM, 410624 bytes
            Other Files:
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         HW Accel Level: Basic
              Cap Flags: 0xF1F
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

            Description: Speakers (Logitech USB Headset H340)
 Default Sound Playback: No
 Default Voice Playback: Yes
            Hardware ID: USB\VID_046D&PID_0A38&REV_0113&MI_00
        Manufacturer ID: 65535
             Product ID: 65535
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            Other Files:
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         HW Accel Level: Basic
              Cap Flags: 0xF1F
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
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            Description: Microphone (Logitech USB Headset H340)
  Default Sound Capture: Yes
  Default Voice Capture: Yes
            Driver Name: USBAUDIO.sys
         Driver Version: 10.00.14393.0000 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 7/16/2016 06:41:52, 132096 bytes
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[Skuzzy]

You do not have the native audio driver installed.  Usually that creates stability issues as the supplied default driver from Microsoft was never intended to work with DirectX games and is single threaded.

[JesterPgh]

There are so many audio things further into the dxdiag, but I had to cut it off to meet the 12,000 character limit.  However, I don't know how to read this thing really either way.  I don't have any stability issues, and I have good sound. I have the hd-audio disabled so it doesn't try to play through the hdmi, but other than that, I haven't experienced any real issues.  I am not sure what the native audio driver would be?

I went on PassMark, and my current card, according to their site, says 1404. It's clearly way down on the scale of things, and I do have a lot turned down.

[Easyscor]

Either of save's suggestions should be a big boost for you but I'm not familiar enough with your cpu/mb to know how much of a bottleneck they might be.

As you know, these two cards will run on your PCIe 2.0 bus, but not at full throttle. Nevertheless, you can start with one of those cards and save toward a later purchase of faster cpu/mb/ram.

This advice is free and that's about what it's worth. 
Good luck and happy gaming.
 

[JesterPgh]

Yes, they do indeed look like workable solutions.  A little more research on my end before I pull the trigger on anything, just to be sure.  I appreciate the direction.

[Easyscor]

Different models within the same family of cards made by the same manufacture can come with different specs. Know what the differences are before you pull the trigger. Ex: Basic speed/Boost speed. And fan noise isn't a bother wearing a headset but it can be annoying for simple browsing.

[JesterPgh]

I went with an AMD RX480 4gb.  Doubled frame rates with more things turned up.  I'm digging it so far.  It's got two big fans on it, which, combined with the 3 case fans, I don't hear them, and it's running around 58 C. 

[Pudgie]

I went with an AMD RX480 4gb.  Doubled frame rates with more things turned up.  I'm digging it so far.  It's got two big fans on it, which, combined with the 3 case fans, I don't hear them, and it's running around 58 C. 

Hi JesterPgh,

If I may ask, which brand\model of RX 480 did you get?

 

[JesterPgh]

XFX Radeon RX480 4Gb

[Pudgie]

XFX Radeon RX480 4Gb

Ah, good choice JesterPgh!

From my reading\studying and usage, the best AIB's to pick for Radeon cards are Sapphire, XFX, MSI and Asus (these are on AMD's preferred AIB list so they usually will get the better of the best binned GPU chips.....) especially when shopping North American\USA markets.

XFX w\ their patented Double Dissipation HSF designs makes for exceptional Radeon GPU performance as their cooling solutions can tame these GPU's w\ PLENTY of excess cooling overhead capacity to spare so they can usually optimize AMD's PowerTune GPU power\clock algorithim better to maintain a Radeon GPU at higher power levels\clock speeds under load than others, even better than reference AMD designs themselves.

I own a XFX BE R9 290X 4Gb graphics card w\ this DD cooler on it. This was the card that once I learned AMD Hawaii GPU's "secrets" got me to move to the red side from the green side. Currently am running a Sapphire R9 Fury X 4Gb graphics card and loving every minute of it as well.

With this last Crimson driver update (Crimson ReLive 16.12.1) which brought the newer Radeon Wattman GPU power\clock control and Radeon Chill GPU frame limiter control that was developed for the Polaris GPU's (RX series) to my R9 Fury X (Fiji GPU), this has brought a huge performance improvement over AMD's older existing OverDrive GPU power\clock control to the tune of approx 25%-30% as Wattman is MUCH, MUCH better at optimizing this Fiji GPU's performance and it shows up big time on my box. The AMD hardware's capability has been available all along but the software hasn't been developed well enough to extract the performance from it....until now. AMD is really starting to get this stuff right now on the GPU side. Now we'll see how Zen fares on the CPU side.

From what I'm seeing now I'm feeling better at the prospects of what Vega 10 is going to bring to the table........

Enjoy!