FSX Aircraft Virtual Cabin framerate comparisons

[Sharrow 0]

Below is a performance table (in Frames Per Second) for some default and add-on aircraft in FSX.All aircraft were loaded 3 times to check for extreme variations and results averaged. The exact same scenario was used each time - Captains seat in the VC on hold for 27L at MegaAirport London Heathrow (this is a very detailed add-on airport). For the complex add-ons the machine was restared each time before loading the scenario to prevent build up of memory. All aircraft were left for a minute or so before noting the lowest and highest FPS number. Some aircraft varied 1 or 2 FPS, some jumped up and down by as much as 8 FPS. All aircraft were in a ready for take-off state. FMC's (where applicable) were not set up - this may influence the results slightly.The specific FSX settings used can be provided if enough people are interested, however, for the purposes of this comparison the key thing is that they were identical for all aircraft.This is not a scientific study by any means but it should be enough to get an idea how the various aircraft perform in relation to one another.Results are listed from highest to lowest:FSX Virtual Cockpit - Captains seat in the VC on hold for 27L at MegaAirport London HeathrowDefault Cessna 172......45 - 49 fpsDefault 747.................36 - 42 fpsDefault A321...............36 - 38 fpsDefault 737.................33 - 39 fps441 Conquest II..........32 - 35 fpsDefault F18.................30 - 34 fpsDornier Do-27.............29 - 32 fpsATR 72-500................25 - 30 fpsPilatus PC-12...............26 - 28 fpsLDS 767-300ER...........25 - 27 fpsPMDG MD-11...............19 - 22 fpsPMDG 747-400............18 - 20 fpsIf there is enough interest I could also add 2D panel FPS results to this table in the next few days. All the bestKonrad

[Guest Kimberly_RJ]

Hi there KonradThanks for the information, its really good to know.Can you do the same for the 2D panel's? That would be super!Thanks honeyKimberly.

[gresiek 0]

Hi Konrad,Thanks for your research! Could you tell me if you experience any kind of graphics card issues with FSX? Actually I was planning to buy 9800GTX card but I got confused by some reports (http://www.forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?showtopic=20388) on problems with this specific piece of hardware. Can you comment on that?Thank you in advance,Gregor Grzesiaczynski

[Sharrow 0]

Hi GregorWith regards to the nVidia 9800GTX issues on the Aerosoft forum all I can say is that I have had the 9800 since release and I have not had a moments problem with it, in FSX or any other game I run. Aerosoft mention that this seems to be a problem with drivers, but again, I install just about all beta's and whql drivers as they come up and I have never had an issue.It's a pity they do not make it clear what specific problems their (whole!) two users are experiencing with the 9800GTX. Also unclear if they are talking about a 9800GTX or a 9800GTX+. What forceware driver? What brand of card (reference or custom?)... as you can see there are a lot of potential questions.Having said all that I am not sure I myself would recommend the 9800GTX in the current climate. For that matter I would not recommend the Radeon 4850 either simply because it will struggle with higher resolutions and AA settings, perhaps more so outside of FSX, but few folks ONLY run FSX on their machines. Furthermore, most Radeon 4850's are single slot design cards, meaning all the heat they generate is dumped back into your system which is never a good thing in this day and age of overclocked quad core CPU's. The 9800GTX, like the GTX260 and Radeon 4870, are two slot designs and they expel most of the hot air they generate out the back of the case.There is a saying that if you buy cheap you end up buying twice, meaning that you end up having to replace or upgrade (at least) twice as often. Only tip is to stay away from dual GPU cards (X2, GX2 etc) as SLI/Crossfire has no, or even negative, impact on fps in FSX.If I was buying today (for FSX on a 22inch screen):1. Radeon 4870 (1024MB DDR5) - 64bit OS2. Radeon 4870 (512MB DDR5) - 32bit OS3. nVidia GTX2604. nVidia 9800GTX+On a tighter budget (where heat would be less of an issue anyway) or for 19inch monitors:1. Radeon 4850 (512MB)2. nVidia 9600GT (512MB)Watch out for card lengths (will they fit in your case?!) and make sure your power supply has the right number and type of connections.Hope this helps!Konrad

[fghdgdfdfgfgf 111]

Don't ignore the negative comments regarding the 9 series cards from Nvidia. The 9xxx series cards have unresolved issues. The Nvidia 8800gts, or the 2xx series cards are better choices.

[Sharrow 0]

No one is ignoring anything but fact of the matter is that if you look hard enough you will find an "unresolved issue" with just about any card (or anything else for that matter). As mentioned, I have a 9800GTX and have not had a single issue with it, period. Don't confuse drivers with cards either. Are the 9800GTX and 8800GTS not the same exact core anyways?I have, however, heard on various forums that some folks are having issues using the FSX in-flight menu with series 7xxx and 8xxx cards. Apparently this is an issue with FSX SP2? This is why I generally tend not to recommend the 8xxx series.Konrad

[Shmiffy 0]

I have to agree with Konrad here.I have been running the 9800GTX with no issues whatsoever. My PC is maintained and generally looked after by Mike Greenblatt at FS-GS and following his method for updating drivers (slightly complicated but the right way to do things), as mentioned i have no issues (touch wood)....If you look into the issues that people are having, bear in mind that they probably (not 100%)...1. Dont uninstall drivers then reinstall the new ones2. Dont defrag the machine anywhere near often enough3. Dont know what they are doing.I will be the first to admit that i havent got the first idea of what i am doing when it comes to PC's, hence the FS-GS service, but using Mike, i have no problems at all. When i do get one, they are solved uber quickly.....CheersPaul

[3-2-1-Now 126]

>> 2. Dont defrag the machine anywhere near often enoughThis point is BS. It affects absolutely nothing. If your system is giving you problems, this will have zero impact. I haven't defragged in years, literally. It's pointless. It only really made a difference in the old days with slow hardware.>> 3. Dont know what they are doing.Self-explanatory. :)The 8xxx was a first gen DX10.0 card. The 9xxx series was released when DX10.1 was made available as it required hardware support to make the best use of it, and not simply a driver update as in the past.Go for the 2xx series is my advice - it's a second gen DX10.1 card. I think nVidia released this so soon after the 9xxx series precisely because there was a problem. (but I'm not saying you're likely to have a problem).So many cards have been released in the last 18 months it is making my head spin. I can't keep up with the changes (more specifically: WHY). I don't remember nVidia ever releasing this many families of card for so few OS and/or major DX changes since the TNT RIVA.Best regards,Robin.

[Tabs 2,790]

I don't think that's true at all with regard to defragging - if you use a good app like O&O that can organize the HD by file name order, then you're setting it up so the HD head doesn't have to jump all over the disk to load sequentially named files, which happens a lot in a game that streams textures and scenery like FS. It speeds up Windows boot times by quite a bit too.

[Shmiffy 0]

>>> 2. Dont defrag the machine anywhere near often enough>>This point is BS. It affects absolutely nothing. If your>system is giving you problems, this will have zero impact. I>haven't defragged in years, literally. It's pointless. It only>really made a difference in the old days with slow hardware.>Robin:You might be surprised, As tabs said, there is a lot to defrag after a session (certainly long hauling) in FSX. I defragged immediately before a flight yesterday (8 Hrs transatlantic) and a defrag after the flight revealed 600 fragmented files. When the sim has to handle as many texture loads and reloads as an FSX transatlantic trip does. 600 fragged files is a normal sort of number...Couple that with a Panel State and Situation save (courtesy of FSUIPC Autosave) and you can frag the HD up quite quickly.I Use Ultimate Defrag 2008 to keep the MSFS stuff on the outside of my HD and run the FULL consolidation Defrag once a week overnight, as i will tonight in preparation for CTP tomorrow. A full consolidate after a fast defrag will take it about 6 hours, and is well worth doing IMHO :)CheersPaul

[Sharrow 0]

Not that I mind guys but we've been down the "to defrag or not to defrag" road on countless occasions...Konrad

[Mace 1,904]

Hi paul,do you think I should be running Consolidate defrags about once a week or two?I have not been doing that...I did a Consolidate after setting up my rig, installing FSX, etc. But since that time, I have only done "Fragmented Files only" defrags.RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

[Shmiffy 0]

Mace:In order to not drag Konrads post even further off topic (sorry sharrow) i suggest starting another thread.Get that started and i shall pass you my thoughts. Just trying to keep the threads in order. so please take no offence....;)CheersPaul

[Mace 1,904]

It would actually be better posted in the hardware forum. A simple "yes" or "no" would suffice--then the thread could move back OT. I assume though since you are doing Consolidates weekly, that it must be a worthwhile endeavor.RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

[Shmiffy 0]

Hi Rhett:I would imagine that once a month would probably be acceptable, although if any new addons go in, then immediately after.I like having a happy PC, so i do mine once a week / every two weeks to keep things neat. CheersPaulNow... Back to the OT.... ;)