Flight Simulator
Why test the latest high-end cards with a game that’s known to be limited by the CPU? The reason was simple: Make sure that these new cards do at least as well as the preceding generation, and check the maturity of the driver – since, as we saw in the previous tests, Flight Simulator X can hold some surprises.
Sure enough, the new GeForce GT200 cards weren’t in their glory. None of them went beyond 23 fps, which is not great, even in Flight Simulator X. But the 9800 GX2 and the 8800 Ultra reached close to 30 fps, which is a lot better. We feel sure the next driver versions will improve the situation, because it’s paradoxical for gamers buying the latest generation of Nvidia cards to have to settle for inferior performance, even in a game where the CPU takes on a lot of importance.