Video Cards

I have the original IL-2. I didnt want to get Forgotten Battles until I tried the first one.

Best card right now at the 200 price point is: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB. Its one generation back, so it is not $400+ or some bullshit, but it has a lot of power to it. If you want you can go for the 256 MB version, but its a bit more pricy. The 256 MB version probably won't help much with current games, but games like Doom 3 and HL 2 will make use of the extra 128 megs and speed up the system and increase image qaulity by using less compression on textures. I used to be die hard Nvidia, but the 9800/9600 generation (Back one gen from bleeding edge) and the 9700/9500 generations (Back two gen) both trounced Nvidia. The most recent generation is actually pretty even though. Anyway a 9800 Pro w/ 128 MB will set you back about $195-205, depending where you order it from. The 256 MB version is $235-280. Don't be afraid to order a Sapphire, Crucial, Powercolor version of the Radeon. ATI, like Nvidia, uses third party fabricators to make ATi chipset vid cards. Although, unlike Nvidia, they also make their own cards. Be careful when buying, there is a lot of versions out there. Dont get an SE, XT, or other versions. Make sure it is Pro.

Great OEM places to buy from that I trust:

www.zipzoomfly.com
www.mwave.com
www.allstarshop.com
www.newegg.com

All of these offer good whitebox prices and some have free shipping. Most are in California I think, so you wont have to pay tax either. You can also go to www.pricewatch.com for a very good computer hardware price search engine. If you go to Blurst Buy or ChumpUSA, they will rake you over the coals. They sell retail versions AND they charge a premium on top. Something like $50 on the 128 MB version.

D>M>