Looking for some advice...

[Slick9 24]

What I look for in my simming is the ability to crank my sliders to the max and still have extremely fluid simming. To this end I am stil using FS9. I have a pretty descent system that allows me to do that at most airports in FS9, however at some of the more complex (payware & freeware) ones i still see some stuttering due to extremely low frames. For eg, I did a KDFW-EDDF turn with the 744, I was able to hand fly the ILS to EDDF (aerosoft) but i would like to get the sim running just a notch smoother. What other components would you recommend I add to my system to get a little bit more horsepower (short of changing the processor and mobo). I run active sky, radar contact, and Ultimate Traffic, AS6 and Radar Contact are run over WideFS.Win XP Home SP2Processor 3.6GhzVideo 256 MB Geforce 6800GTSound Creative Soundblaster RAM 2 GB PC3200 DDR All drivers up to date. An example of what I am wondering is whether there is a video card that would give me better performance? Anyway, thanks for taking the time guys much appreciated.Richard

[FLEX1978 373]

Your Setup looks very close to mine and I also offload active sky servinfo etc to a second PC. I have an ATI X1950 512mb GPU The 512mb will not increase framerates but I find I can Run At 16AF and 8AA with no slowdown. Finding the right Video drivers is very important (took me a Long time) and the latest is not always the best, you will notice a big increase if you find a good driver.I run 3 gig ram but havn't noticed any improvement over 2gig in FS9 but other programs run better. I'm happy with the way the sim runs but I will still upgrade in the next 3-4 months. Raw Processor speed is what fs want's the most so the more Ghz the better.Rob

[BAW277 1]

Hi Richard,i am not sure if i am allowed to advice some consulting service here, but i would check www.fs-gs.com if i were you.I even heard some of the team members were using this service.BestHolger

[RDG41 1]

>Hi Richard,>>i am not sure if i am allowed to advice some consulting>service here, but i would check www.fs-gs.com if i were you.>>I even heard some of the team members were using this>service.>>Best>>HolgerHi Richard,I'm with Holger, in fact I was about to suggest the service but he beat me too it.I've used the service several times now and can honestly say that you will not regret the out come. And no, I have nothing to gain by saying this, it's just my own experience.What most of us don't realize is that part of the problems with any flight sim is the order of installation of addon's. And some addon's will kill your framerates, freeware and payware.So my advise is to take this service if you want everything running the way you want it.

[Slick9 24]

Thanks for the info gentlemen, I had actually planned on using this service about a year ago, but then good old procrastination got in the way. I will definitely go ahead and give them a try, hopefully I can get it done this weekend, the wife and kids will be out of town for the holidays. Thanks again.Richard

[BAW277 1]

Oh, wife and kids, tell me about it...I would really appreciate if you

[january 19]

Richard-Just to "widen" the discussion- Another way to look at PERFORMANCE is to count pixels rather than Frames Per Second. Monitor Resolution x Number of Monitors multiplied by Frames per Second = Pixels per Second.(Drop 6 zeros and you have Mega Pixels per Second- MPS!) I get a 40% increase in Mega Pixels with triple monitors powered by triple video cards- versus single monitor/single card. AND a 48" wide horizon!! Sure beats single mon tunnelvision! It's similar to coupling 3 fire hoses to a pumper- more gallons per minute on the fire than with a single hose- even though the pressure (fps) is lower. (AMD XP2200 1.8 GHz proc. with 3 GeForceFX5200 cards.)Alex Reid CYYJKSFO-CYVR Dawn- Quiet Two Departurehttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/180861.jpg

[Guest Manfred_A380]

Alex,I've been trying to get my setup to be like yours, but I seem to be bumping into some problems like a flickering screen. Do you mind me sending you a pb to ask you some questions on how you did it? Ofcourse if you don't have the time for this I understand.Thanks in advance,Manfred.

[Tabs 2,790]

>What other components would you recommend I>add to my system to get a little bit more horsepower (short of>changing the processor and mobo).>>Win XP Home SP2>Processor 3.6Ghz>Video 256 MB Geforce 6800GT>Sound Creative Soundblaster >RAM 2 GB PC3200 DDR The best thing to upgrade unfortunately is mobo/CPU/RAM - FS is very CPU dependent. I assume from these specs you're running a P4 660 or something like that right? The Core 2 Duo/Quad architecture is actually a lot faster even at a slower clock rate. I just got the C2Q Q6600 and it's a lot better than the last generation stuff (P4's and Athlon 64)That said though you probably would see some benefit from upgrading your video. Is your mobo AGP or PCIe? If it's PCIe I'd highly recommend the new 8800GT 512MB cards - it's cheap and performs extremely well. I chose one over the more expensive GTX or Ultra. It'll blow a 6800 away in any game.

[january 19]

Hi Manfred- happy to help, send a private message with your Email address. At 75, time is what I do have- I HOPE! I'm constantly amazed that so many simmers have no interest in "widening their horizons" and are content with the view as seen by a horse with blinders! I consider a 180