Hi all,I'm pretty certain I've resolved the low frame rate problem. It seemed to be memory related although there was suspicion amongst some that it was related to nVidia graphics cards. It's neither although the large amount of memory being used by the 737 does need to be addressed.So what did I do? I changed from a fixed page file of 770Mb to letting Windows determine the size. Result? Hugely improved frame rates. Before I was getting 6.6fps at Meigs, now I'm getting 16.5 with exactly the same setup. Although a large amount of memory is still being used and the page file is still huge none of this seems to impact on frame rates.So for those of you that thought fixed swap (page) files were a good idea it's time to rethink that rule. I should add that I'm running Windows XP Home with SP1 installed. To change to a Windows managed page file do this...Start / Control Panel / System. Choose the Advanced tab. Under Performance choose Settings. Chose Advanced tab. Under Virtual Memory choose Change. Select System managed file and press Set and then OK. Reboot when prompted.I hope it works for you!

Thanks for the tip Ray but already have a correct Virtual Memory Setup also correct FPS in the 2d but the VC after switching a few times is leaking memory hughe :(Even got a special defrag program that defrags my HD swap file online :-) (you've got the light version in XP)It looks strong a programming issue :-rollBut anyway thank you for sharing your experience really appreciated :-)As your stated the memory amount used by the program seems to be very large more as FS2002 :-boomAndr

Hi Andre,I haven't used the VC so I can't really comment on the memory leakage with that panel. If you're getting decent frame rates then what is your "correct Virtual Memory Setup"? I've believed for years that a fixed swap (page) file was more efficient that allowing Windows to determine it. Maybe that still applies and my limit of 770Mb was causing the problem? Oh well, I'm not that fussed now as I can at least enjoy the aircraft.I hope the memory leakage is solved soon so you can enjoy the VC.Cheers,

Yes I would tend to agree that is most likely a programming issue, as most folks seem to be reporting the FR decay after switching to the VC. Enough folks have reported this consistently that I'm sure PMDG will work on it. I'm hesitant to start twitching with my systems settings, especially because I'm not too experienced with things like that.I remember the same thing when the PSS Airbus first came out...it was "change your drivers, it must be your hardware, it's an individual system issue..." and on and on. This went on for about two weeks and PSS issued a patch to the code and it went away immediately. I'm hoping that this takes the same course.regards,

I tried this- it does seem to help frames in general, but the problem with the VC is still there- after viewing the vc and returning to the 2d cockpit, frames decay to around 6 and stay there.

I understand what you're trying to do increase frame rates. I to get low frame rates when I switch between 2D and VC. But your solution is only a band aid. Setting the swap file o a fix size eliminates windows from taking over and really reducing resources by trying to maintain what it thinks it needs for memory. There's a XP tweak that you can make to force XP to use your insttalled memory before trying the swap or page file. By default no matter how much memory you have installed, XP will still use the swap file. The tweak stops that and make XP use system memory first and page secondary. The low frame rates I suspct is a software problem with AC. When I switch to VC on other AC, I maintain about 16 to 20 FPS with sliders up to full.Bill M

Ray wrote:"I changed from a fixed page file of 770Mb to letting Windows determine the size."On Win 2K Pro (my system) I do not believe this option exists. :-(- Pete

Bill and all,<>Agreed and of course the memory leak does need to be resolved. But, and I didn't mention this earlier, I'm not just getting improved frame rates with the PMDG737 but with other demanding panels such as the 767PIC where frame rates for that are now virtually equal to the default 737.As I don't use the VC that particular problem doesn't exist for me and I wasn't suggesting changing the page file would be a cure to all ills. But I'm really pleased that I have seen such a performance increase with such a small change. And I would say to Chris that this change is not difficult to make but I understand your reluctance if you don't feel confident doing it.I monitored the size of the page file as the PMDG737 loaded and it peaked at 825Mb! So my limit of 770Mb was cuasing a bottleneck. What I may now do is to try a fixed page file but increase the size to 1Gb.Cheers,

Hi Pete,I searched the Microsoft Knowledge base and found the following entry: -"After you start your Windows 2000-based computer, you may receive the following entry in the System Event log: Source: FtdiskEvent ID: 49Description: Configuring the Page file for crash dump failed. Make sure there is a page file on the boot partition and that is large enough to contain all physical memory."This is not related to our current problem but shows that a page file does exist in W2000.Hope that helps.

Sure does. Select My Computer -> Properties -> Advanced -> Performance Options to adjust your virtual memory settingsBy the way, I'm getting the same FPS problems with VC models, and I have a pagefile of 1.5 GB..Regards,Ryan

it worked for me, thanks for the tip, unless it was the rebooting that did the trick. i'm getting 18fps in default scenery w/ vc and cabin, in any view. drops at times but overall it's quite smooth. 8fps in simflyers scenery but a smooth 8fps. my settings are turned down a bit though, but it's ok for now, haven't tried turning then up yet. excellent job pmdg. beautiful plane inside and out, silk flight model, an overall imersive sim, just as promised. love the sound of the tires at high speed.Andre2.53ghz 533fsb512mb rdramti4200 64mb2 lcds: 2048x768

Hi Ray,Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I didn't mean that Win2K doesn't have a page file - sure it does - but that the option to have Windows control its size doesn't exist. The user either takes the default or sets it up by hand, as was pointed out in another message. This I have done ages ago: I have 512 real and 768 virtual (ie 768 on the page file on my c: disk).I'm coming to believe that there are in fact two, and maybe three, distinct memory problems with this product.1) It grabs 300Mb of memory at startup.2) It gradually soaks up more memory (the longer you fly the worse things get) until at some point catastrophic page thrashing occurs and FPS falls through the floor.3) Using the VC and switching views also uses up memory.I am not entirely convinced about (3) but the other two I can observe and measure.One good (?) point: terminating FS frees up the memory!I don't believe we've yet had a response from The Wonderful Team acknowledging that there is a problem with memory usage? But perhaps I've missed such a message.- Pete

Hi Pete,Sorry for my misunderstanding. I think you may still be able to improve frame rates though. Since my original posting last night I noticed that leaving Windows to its own devices the page file increased to a stokin' 820Mb! So, I've changed back to a fixed page file of 1Gb. The acid test of this is a flight I'm currently in the middle of from EGBB down to sunny Rome. So far everything has been great. Frame rates are constant around 16 - I have the system capped at 18. Whether your point 2 applies I should know by the time I get to Rome. I'll let you know.There hasn't been any "official" response to the problem which has rather surprised me. So get changing that page file to 1Gb and see if it helps with 2D. I don't think it will for VC and that will need to be addressed by the PMDG programmers.Cheers,

taken a sickie from work today Ray?:-lol

Absolutely not. I'm on 2 weeks leave. I'm an avid Wimbledon fan so I'll be disappearing downstairs shortly to watch some tennis!Cheek! :-lol