Hardware (graphics card) for Dummies Using Condor2

[paulster]

First time user here - I'm pretty familiar with Apple products, hate Parallels, and haven't touched a windows machine in probably 20 years. I was given an older windows machine that I hope to used exclusively for Condor. Specs:
AMD FX8320 8-Core i5 CPU
240gb SSD
16gb RAM
Windows 10 Pro
Graphics card: GeForce 7900 GS

I loaded Condor and tried to run a sample flight - wouldn't run and gave me a message that the graphics card was inadequate. I saw that coming but decided to try it anyway. So I'm looking for a new graphics card. I'm concerned about performance and size (I have no more 9 inches long to work with and that is tight), power supply needs (my power supply is marked 330w ave power/480 total max, +12V 16A max), and the connector is marked PCI-E. I've looked at https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php (is the Passmark G3D score the one referred to in previous posts? And, lacking any idea what that rating indicates, is that an indicator of the performance I should pay attention to?). I don't have any experience with simulators and have no idea if I'm going to want multiple monitors or some kind of VR system. I intend to use this on the advice of a couple of pilot friends to get some pre- flight exposure and for practicing while training - my ultimate goal is to fly a plane, not a simulator.

Suggestions on a graphics card? And is there anything else about this set up that could be a show-stopper that I should know before investing in a new card?

Thanks in advance. I'm excited to be a new member of this community!

[k6chris]

How many screens are you trying to run? Do you want to use VR??

[janjansen]

GPU market is a bit tough right now. There isnt a new budget card I can recommend. They are all shit and overpriced. The least worst I can think off is something like a radeon RX 6600, which should be plenty fast for condor up to HD resolution, but its not nearly as fast as it should be for that price, and your PSU is inadequate.

A second hand card probably makes more sense, but the PSU issue will remain. "12V 16A max" means 192W. The CPU alone will use more than half of that (125W TDP). Probably not while using condor, but still, thats no good. And it it probably wont have 6/8 pin PCIe connectors. IOW, unless you find a really low power card, that still offers adequate performance, you will need to upgrade the PSU as well. Not sure that makes sense on an old computer like that. For the price of a decent PSU + GPU, you can probably find an older gaming PC that will perform better.

All that said, its possible the 7900 will do the job, despite being 18 years old (!) if you stick to the default scenery, dial down the settings and set the weather for small clouds. Wouldnt bet on it, but I would try

[paulster]

Thanks. I suspect I'll stick with one monitor. I really just plan to use this to set me up for pilot training, not as an end in itself. My instructor thinks one monitor is likely to be enough. I don't have any other software on the machine aside from a browser and don't plan to use it for anything but Condor.

[k6chris]

For one monitor, something like a GeForce GT 1030 should work with Condor 2 and suit your power supply and case size (check the latter as cards vary in size by manufacturer). Try eBay.

[Rotareneg]

All that said, its possible the 7900 will do the job, despite being 18 years old (!) if you stick to the default scenery, dial down the settings and set the weather for small clouds. Wouldnt bet on it, but I would try

Condor 2 uses DX11, that's a DirectX 9 card, it can't run C2 at all.

[Bre901]

For one monitor, something like a GeForce GT 1030 should work with Condor 2 and suit your power supply and case size (check the latter as cards vary in size by manufacturer). Try eBay.

I used to have a GeForce GT 1050Ti which worked quite nice with Condor and which also has low power requirements as far as I can remember

[k6chris]

For one monitor, something like a GeForce GT 1030 should work with Condor 2 and suit your power supply and case size (check the latter as cards vary in size by manufacturer). Try eBay.

I used to have a GeForce GT 1050Ti which worked quite nice with Condor and which also has low power requirements as far as I can remember

Yes, the 1050Ti also runs C2 in VR (on a Rift) quite acceptably, great little card. Be aware we are taling about running C2 here. If C3 has around three times the GPU requirement as suggested, a 1050Ti won't cut it (neither will the GT1030!)

[janjansen]

Condor 2 uses DX11, that's a DirectX 9 card, it can't run C2 at all.

Directx is a software API. Support comes through drivers, but its not necessary for the hardware to directly support all the features in order for games to run. nVidia kepler doesnt natively fully support DX11 either, it can certainly run condor. AFAICT, the latest drivers to support the 7 series is this:
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverR ... 758/en-us/

And it does support DX11.

[juro]

1 year back I had Nvidia RTX 3070 and Condor flew flawlessly in VR. Anything slightly weaker will be for screen good enough.

[kalorama]

The power supply in your PC is the major limiting factor. I faced the same issue and bought an rx6400. For the money, there are more powerful GPUs, but there don't appear to be more powerful ones that will work on a machine with a 330W power supply.

How has the rx6400 performed ? -- pretty well at 1080P. I've no idea how it will perform with Condor 3.

[paulster]

Thanks to all for your help. I installed a Geforce GT 1030 card and driver and did a couple of test flights with one monitor. That set up works - not ideal and really not a good idea for someone looking for a high-quality gaming experience, but adequate for my needs

[scottrev]

1 year back I had Nvidia RTX 3070 and Condor flew flawlessly in VR. Anything slightly weaker will be for screen good enough.

I had a RXT 2060 and flew in VR with the Oculus 2 and it was great. Just got a new computer with a 4060ti, i7 chip and 32MB DDR 5 RAM. Just got the Oculus 3 too.

I should be good for quite a while.