Sorry for the length of this post, but I think I may just have found the perfect "add-on" for FS, and I've got to share my experiences. There's a new company on the block called Flight Simulator Graphic Solutions. Their primary offering is a service deigned to help FS users tweak both their hardware and software settings in order to get the maximum performance from their PC when running FS, or any other application for that matter. My first reaction was skepticism. If I had a penny for every tweak posted on FS-related forums that I've tried (usually to little or no effect) I'd have my own real aircraft by now. I figured this would be more of the same -- at best some obvious stuff that I'd already tried; at worst a bunch of technical hogwash that would consume hours of my time and leave me with a botched system or right back where I started. However, a few things conspired to change my mind. I'd read glowing reviews from their customers on their own web site (http://www.fs-gs.com), but more importantly, I'd read an independent account of working with them from a very satisfied 'simmer in a recent issue of PC Pilot. So, in a moment of weakness (and dissatisfaction with my FS performance) I decided to send them an email and explore the possibility of getting some help. The final factor that helped me decide was that they promised me they could bring a great deal of fluidity back to my flying experiences, and were willing to postpone payment until I was happy with the result. It's hard to find fault with an offer like that.I had an initial MSN Messenger session with their head engineer in which he pointed out some things that were badly astray in my system. These were due to ideas I had about PCs and performance that dated back to the mid '90s, and turned out to be dated indeed and quite ill advised. Once I had corrected those problems, we had another marathon 4-hour session in which he systematically went through my PC with me, offering advice on what to tweak, delete or add in order to get my system down to its leanest and meanest. The end result? It's hard to overstate just how much of an improvement I have seen in my FS performance. I had recently purchased an add-on commuter aircraft that looked great to me, only to discover that it gave terrible frame rates from the VC. After the FSGS tweaks, this baby ran smooth as silk. I'm now able to turn my sliders up to full or nearly full for everything. Stutters had been my main nemesis before. Now, they're all but non-existent except in the most demanding of environments. In short, it's been a total upgrade of the enjoyment I get from 'simming. Now I can't wait to get finished with my work each day so I can get in a flying session before dinner... and maybe one or two more before bed!As a developer, there has been an important side effect of all this optimization, and it wasn't clear to me until we had gotten all the kinks worked out of my rig. When designing, it's very important to understand the performance impact your creations will have on a user's simulator. Now that I have my machine running at peak efficiency, I can know for sure that if I see a performance hit with a new design, it's time to go back to the drawing board. Before I could only speculate as to whether my system or my scenery caused slowdowns. Now I know for sure that the sim is running nearly perfectly, so if it starts to hiccup, I know who to blame ;-).I didn't really mean for this to run on so much, but if I had found a piece of software that enabled my to really smooth out my FS performance, I'd sure as heck run to the forums and tell everyone about it. Well this isn't software, but the effect is stunning never the less. I think it might have been one of the best investments I've made in years in my hobby. If you're not happy with your FS performance, I'd be willing to bet that these guys can help. And the best part of it is that it's not a bunch of techno-snake oil, it's just good solid computing practices coupled with a deep understanding of what your PC needs in order to run software as demanding as FS as well as possible. I can't recommend their services highly enough.thanks,

Hi Bill, I saw that letter in PC Pilot as well.What sort of things did they tell you to do, or rather, what were the..."...some things that were badly astray in my system. These were due to ideas I had about PCs and performance that dated back to the mid '90s, and turned out to be dated indeed and quite ill advised..."Interested to know...

Hi,It's great what you telling here. It's seems amazing and I believe you. But isnt'it a shame that one may have to get that service from a company like FS GS when M$F$ should gives you that support simply because you are a customer???Would you buy a car somewhere and pay more somewhere else to get it work ??? But I am very happy for you and seriously thinking of their services.Roger

Hi,Sorry to be so vague about what they had me do, but I am obscuring what actually took place because the advice given me was quite specific to my combination of hardware, and I wouldn't want to lead anyone down yet another technological rat hole by representing my tweaks as the best for their system. And, of course, at FSGS consulting is their business. Wouldn't be very sporting of me to go spreading around for free what they charge for. thanks,

Hi Bill Congratulations. Very pleased for you. Please allow one simple question, without you having to breech any secrets: In order to enjoy this service, does one need to get anything else than MSN (hard- or software, causing additional cost) to achieve, what you achieved? Thanks in advance for taking your time. Kind regards Jaap

No, I didn't purchase anything else other than what I already owned. I updated all my various drivers to their latest versions and that was it for software installs.

Hi Roger,You ask, "Would you buy a car somewhere and pay more somewhere else to get it work ???"And the answer is no. But, back in my younger days, I would buy a car then take it to a super-tuner to make it run BETTER. That seems to be what we are talking here. FS is made to work on all manner of PC hardware combinations. This outfit is "super-tuning" your hardware just like the speed shops used to tune my engines.I think that it is a worthwhile service; especially for those without the patience or the knowledge to do it themselves or those who would rather fly than tweak.Bill, are you allowed to tell us what it costs? It may be posted at their Web site, I have not looked. I'm a devout tweaker. R-

Sure, here ya go:http://www.fs-gs.com/services.htm

Hi Bill,Thanks for sharing your experience...I find it very interesting. I have a couple of general questions......I have an older system which runs most fs9 software ok...(I can run the Meridian, Ultimate Traffic, etc with low but acceptable fps)...I have an AMD XP1800+/512Ram/Ti4200(30.82)/Audigy/WinXP Home/DirectX9.0b.....could this service be helpful to me without simply getting recommendations to upgrade to faster hardware....which I'd like not to do for another year or the next fs version......Also, I don't use MSN or currently have a headphone with mic.....is this absolutely required to use the service?Thanks for your help.Steve J.

Hi Steve,From what I've been able to tell, the goal of FSGS is to help you wring the last drop of performance out of your system. They can't work miracles with a sub-par PC, but your specs are not so out of date, so they could probably help you. They won't charge you to ask; you should bring this up with them. The service is conducted entirely over MSN with voice, so yes I'd say that's pretty essential. MSN is very easy to use and you could just set up a Hotmail account to log in with and just delete or ignore it once you're done. A mic is a very cheap bit of kit, so I'd say it wouldn't hurt to have one around. Just my opinion ;-).thanks,

To be honest, I am very skeptical. News spreads like wildfire on the web, and it *should* be common knowledge by now on how to set up a rig for smooth performance. Plus there is a bit of an implication that regardless of the specifics, they will be able to maximize your smoothness/performance on your particular rig. Which in turn makes me think the tweaks they do will be fairly universal to apply. And then there is the very erratic way FS performs that is 100% dependent on the EXACT weather in any one momemnt--and everything else. If you are still happy in 2 months, I'll eat my ailerons. I've had it happen a zillion times--do a tweak, and all seems super. Come back the next day, and it gets a little iffy (usually due to complex weather). I hope I'm wrong!Noel

Hey, that's no problem as far as I'm concerned. Skepticism is normal and I wouldn't have it any other way. But while you're off being skeptical and second-guessing what they did, I'll be over here enjoying smooth performance and having a great time in FS!thanks,

We'll see!Noel