I recently upgraded from a P4 3.0C to a FX-55 with an Asus A8V motherboard and I FS2004 is performing the same as the P4 3.0C in a particular scenario. The scenario is LAX, autogen off, full 3D clouds, and overcast. I still get the same frame rate there and I though FS2004 was very CPU dependant. In fact I even downclocked my FX-55 from 2.6 to 2.0 and I get the same frame rate in that situation. If I underclock my 6800 Ultra to 350/1000 from 425/1100 my frame rate goes down 1-1.5 fps if I recall in that situation. Why isn't the frame rate increasing with a faster CPU and why is not changing if I underclock to 2 GHz?

Hi, that sounds weird! What are the rest of your specs? RAM (amount of modules), OS, display/resolution, etc? Good luck and kind regards Jaap

The rest of my specs are:Asus A8V motherboardWindows XP Professional SP2Nvidia's 71.89 video driverslatest Via 4-in-1 driversAudigy 2 ZS1 GB Dual Channel PC3200120GB SATA hardriveI noticed that it starts to slow down at that situation if I downclock to 1.8GHz. Nothing running in the background. I'm using 4x AA and 8x AF at 1600x1200. Maybe those 3D clouds are video card intesive?

If you are using the Microsoft cloud textures, they can be very hard on your video card, even though its high end, they are very big and detailed textures. Plus the fact you have AA and AF set high. I noticed VIA just released some new drivers. Try installing those and see if that helps.

Hi, thanks for posting your specs. I'm baffled with the performance you're getting because you should have seen a substantial improvement. Kurt is right about the clouds but IMHO, they alone couldn't make up for the performance you seem to be missing. I went from the same P4 as yours to a 'measy' 3200 Clawhammer and got a ca. 40% performance increase. Did you use a smaller resolution or a different display adapter on your old computer? Which other components did you take along in case? Good luck and kind regards Jaap

I'm using the same video card on the new system. When I upgraded from a P4 2.53GHz/PC2700 single channel DDR to a P4 3GHz/PC3200 dual channel I saw a big increase in performance in that same situation but was using a 9800 Pro at the time.

You guys aren't going to beleive this but I downclocked from 2.6 GHz to 800 MHz and the frame rate only went down from 16.3 fps to 12.3 fps. Downclocked my CPU by 3x and only dropping my FS2004 performance 25% in that scenario.

It sounds to me like your m/b drivers are not installed correctly.regards,

I have to agree with the above statement that the Default NS clouds are probably hurting your performance. I only have a P4 2.8 with 1 gig of 2800 DDR and a 9800 pro. If I try and run the default clouds, my system barely moves. When I replace them with the ones from the below site, I can see high 20- to low 30s with clouds at 50%. Clouds Off, and I see 70-100 + FPS so yes clouds will hurt your performance. I also do not run auto gen as it is too unrealistic for me.TerryFSW Highest PerformanceClouds ForMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2004

Definetly try a reinstall of your MB drivers. Just seems like the culprit.

I reinstalled my motherboard drivers and still I have the same problem. I turned off AA and AF and tested again. This time there is a bigger difference in frame rates between CPU speeds. At 2.6 Ghz I get 29 fps and at 2 Ghz I get 27 fps. With clear skies it's 67 and 56 fps respectively. If I use 4x AA and 8x AF then with clear skies it's 57 and 56 respectively.

I forgot to mention that I also only played that game at 1024x768 instead of 1600x1200 at that time and that could be the reason for the big difference in performance.

I have found that with some newer games resolution can make a big difference, it may very well be that in the one scenario you really are asking it to work too hard, I find 1280x960 a good resolution to use, of course the more graphically intense games I run down at 1024x768. Try turn AA and AF back on, run resolution at 1280x960 and go to that same scenario again, Also have you tried locking your FPS at 25 or 30? Anything over 30 is really a waste since the eye can't see any more then 30.

I have an LCD with native res 1600x1200 so lowering the res makes everything look blurry.

Try locking the frames, like I said, you do not need anything over 30. The processor may be working more then it needs and all of a sudden you get to a really detailed area and it bogs down. I lock mine at 30 and have never had any stutters and my graphics card is old.