Upgrade Question

[philbrown 9]

My current system is a P4 2.5GHz Processor, 512 MB DDR RAM, ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB. With the sliders set at medium levels, using the PMDG 737 with Radar Contact active using Adventure Display, Flight Deck Companion active and Active Sky 2004 active, my frame rates are about 15 fps. This is without any AI traffic and very little Autogen.With Radar Contact 4 promising more interaction with AI, I would like to be able to have it active without too much a hit on frame rates.My question is this: Would an upgrade to 1Ghz PC3200 DDR RAM increase my fps noticeably?Thanks for any help on this matter.-Phil Brown

[imoore 1]

Well I can speak from experience :)Up until 24 hours ago I had a AthlonXP 2400+ w/ 512mb PC2700 ram, now I havce a AthlonXP 3000+ w/ 1024mb PC2700 OCZ ram. It didn't really make much of a difference in framerates but textures load much faster and everything is all around smoother.If the frame rates went up, the difference is negligible.Merry Christmas!

[Guest sj3]

Phil: I think you mean 1Gb rather than 1Ghz. Anyway, that upgrade will probably help, however it will help more if your motherboard supports dual-channel RAM and if it's enabled in the BIOS. Check your motherboard manual so you install in the correct slot(s). Also, it helps a lot if the two 512k chips are the same manufacturer and model.Good luck,sj MantelKEWR

[philbrown 9]

Yes, I did mean 1GB, not 1GHz! My bad! I consider my system to be pretty good. The graphics card is top of the range, and the processor is not that far off the fastest ones. And if doubling the memory will not increase frame rates that much, does that mean that I will constantly have low frame rates? I know 15fps is not that bad, but in areas of dense cloud, or when you activate AI it will drop through the floor. And it seems that there is nothing I can do about this.-Phil

[Guest rjjoost]

Phil, I have about the same system you have: P4 2,4Ghz, 1024MB ATI 9700I doubled my RAM two days ago (512 - 1024) and it didn't do anything positive to my frame rates but I must say it runs a bit smoother. I have the same frame rates you mention but with AI traffic 50%.What I did to improve framerates is this: set all your ATI-sliders to max. performance instead of best quality and disable Anti-Aliasing in MSFS. I went from 10 frames/sec to 15 frames/sec with the PMDG at EHAM with 50% AI. I have a second monitor though. With your graphics card it must be possible to win some extra frames somewhere.I hope this helpes a bitRegards,Ruud

[crvm 0]

IT WILL make a difference. You will basically get rid of the dreaded *stutters* so even at 10 FPS, with no loading issues it will be smooth and that is really all you need for a good FS time, I know too with a new Asus A7N8X delx board and DDR 400 I am in smooth heaven ;) One other thing, if you are like me and play other games such as Battlefield 1942 or America's Army, it will boost FPS BIG TIME..[h4]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smithhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/betaimg.jpg

[philbrown 9]

Thanks for the advice Randy. At the moment, it is quite jerky, especially at airports after you've completed a 2 hour flight. Appreciate all the good words.-Phil