Well, all the parts for my new "super-puter" came in and I was ready to build a PC JUST for FS2002 use.Here are the final specs after tweaking for the last 3 days:P4 2.8Ghz - OC'd to 3.2Ghz (most stable)ASUS P4533 Mobo (RAID Disabled)512MB of PC1066 32 Bit RAMBUS (oc'd to PC1200 specs)Radeon 9700 oc'd to >700mz memoryWestern Digital Caviar 120GB 7200 RPM HDYamaha F1ZE 44X Write 24X Rewrite 44X read, CD-RThermaltake Xaser II 6000B Aluminum CaseCooling provided by 5 Case Fans & Water cooling systemhttp://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3da4b1395dd0a746.jpgAnd of course, a super-puter wouldn't be quite right without a case full of cold cathode ray lighting! (adds a nice ambiance to a dark room with FS2002 running)http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3da4b18d5edc2aa9.jpgNow on to the stats. Starting with 3DMark2001SE the system scored 17,110 which is 7,000 points faster than my 2.0Ghz rig.Of course, all of this would be for nothin' if FS2002 didn't scream so the time came for the moment of truth! And the verdict is...FS2002 is now a new sim! I have realized the simmers dream of enjoying all sliders right and every sight and sound available but have extremely fluid and high frame rates.I locked the fps meter at 25fps, which is television quality, and it stayed there religiously. Simflyers, Wilco, Lago scenery with 100% AI traffic and all gates filled may drop her down to 15-20fps, but still a great improvement from frame rates as low as 4fps with my 2.0Ghz rig! Flying FS2002 is now like flying a suped up version of a level D simulatator in terms of fluidity.So, it would seem that hardware has FINALLY caught up to flight simulator. From FS 4.0 on up, I've always been frustrated with the performance of flight simulator and for the FIRST time, it is everything I've expected it to be! It took hardware 20 years to catch up to MSFS! :-lolMike T.

*drool* :( :-eekI have to go to my room and cry over my 633mhz Celeron rig. :'(

Congrats on the new system. I also lock my frame rates at 25FPS, but I can't say I get that at all the Simflyer's sceneries. :-) Very nice case as well, I've got the same one. I might have to invest in a neon light too. :DRyan-Flightpro08 :-cool VATSIM Pilot/ControllerZLA ARTCC Controller 1 (C-1)SAN TRACON Lead [link:www.taxiwaysigns.com]Taxiwaysigns.com Scenery Designerhttp://members.cox.net/santracon/images/san_logo.jpg-----------------------------My "Home Made" System Specs:Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz ProcessorTurbo Gamer ATX Mid-Tower with 420W Power SupplyEPoX 4G4A Motherboard with Intel 845G ChipsetVisiontek XTASY GeForce4 128MB Ti4600 (Det 30.30 Drivers)512MB PC2100 DDR RAM40GB Matrox 7200RPM Hard DriveWindows XP Home Edition SP1*No CPU or GPU Overclocking*3dMark2001SE Score: 11298

Nice...I'm another fan of the 25fps lock, but on a far slower system (P3/800). I give up AI and much of Autogen to manage that feat. How great it must be to run FS with no compromises! Congrats!-John

I would love to see the day when I can fly FS200X without stuttering and bad frames. Well atleast I can dream about it lol. Been flying with my Celeron 633MHz crap pooter for two years now.Maybe I could ask Santa to bring me a Pentium IV 4G and GeForce 4 Ti with all the other goodies aswell. Then propably there would be no stuttering. Right now I can hardly get over the 5 fps mark. Mostly its a slide show unless flying over water. But then if I put the sliders to 0% it looks like FS5 lol. Well atleast I'm not the only one flying with an old comp.Jani

Awesome; so tell me: do you like that 9700/Pentium combo??? Need I ask!!

I'm right there with you, Kevin! :-) It's sad when people start getting new computers to replace those old one that you even envy.Me and my 1 gig machine will go back to being locked at 18 fps with almost everything maxed (terrain complexity 40; AI 20). Oh well, I'll definitely keep this machine for at least another year. After that, I'll probably will be hard pressed to put $2000-3000 into a new computer, when that will buy 200-300 hours in a 172. :-eek :-)Mike, I'd still love to just take that rig for a spin real quick. :-)Regards,http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jsnyder99/sigs/photopiper.jpg

Well, I can describe it in three words..."I LUUUUUUUUUUUVE IT! :-lol

Every once in a while you're going to run into a texture that the 9700 doesn't like. Out of a hundred or so that I've loaded, I've found two so far. The first was on the Dash7 and just tonight I found a second one, that being the Eurowings texture addon on Posky's CRJ200. They'll lock you up tight and it's a texture that does it cause all the other Posky liveries work fine. See if you can duplicate it??? hehehe. Let me know!!!!

Um, where can you rent a 172 for $10 an hour? $2000-3000 won't buy you 200-300 hours at normal $70-100 hour (wet) rates... :)

Hi Mike,Congrats on your newfound nirvana! :-beerchug Can I have your old box? I think it outperforms my 1.4 Tbird and GF3 Ti 200.Regards,

Dear Mike,Boy, do I know the feeling. When I built my new system, I was in hog heaven, finally getting to see what FS2002 was all about. It is such a joy to lock it down at 25, as you did, put all the sliders up full tilt boogie and forget about the frame rate counter and just enjoy the wonderful flying and scenery! 2002 has sooooooo much to offer when you have the right machine, and as they say in the racing game, nothing beats cubic inches, (in the case CPU speed and power.I run FS Nav, FSSE, Flightdeck Companion, ProFlight200,(when it works),FS maintenance with three monitors, (have a small graphics card running the 3rd for FSNav, and all is smooth and beautiful. Have tried to overclock a tad here and there and been successful, so the figures I have end up almost at 2.6 on a Northwood P4 1.8 and jumped the Ti4600 card up just a tad in that area.Anyway, glad to hear you are up and running and everything is wonderful.......just in time for all the new 737's and 727's coming out........(hehehe).Best to you and yours,Clayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"[email protected]

:-lol Whoops, I got a little happy with my zeros. Nice catch.Correction--20-30 hours :9Regards,http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jsnyder99/sigs/photopiper.jpg

Congrats Mike !!!Can you tell me more about your new 9700 ?I'm interested in what you've seen so far.What's the AA, high res, and color like ?I haven't been happy with my Geforse3 and it's AA.SteveCYYZ

>propably there would be no stuttering. Right now I can >hardly get over the 5 fps mark. Mostly its a slide show >unless flying over water.Jani,Something is not right. I have PIII 500 and I use my beloved 767PIC sim and have fps set at 18. When making approaches to Prince Juliana airport I get about 16 fps (and have high resolution mesh for this area). Over "normal" terrain I usually average 15 fps. I don't use autogen and no AI but as you can see above with some compromises I can still get smooth flying experience. On the other hand if I insisted on using something so complex as Thomas Kwong's Hongkong airport then I get ... 2 fps.Michael J.