768 is enough :). You will benefit some going 1 gig but that

ok here goesin ATI:AA 4xAniso Filter 4xtexture High QualityMipmap detail Qualitygame Scenery: Ultra High Hardware 1280x960x32 everything full except mipmapat the alps scenic tour, press w to take away cockpit look at screenshot for FPS and quality (i paused it right the second the scenery starts) i have it in full mode (i.e alt enter)hope it gives some ideashttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/86747.jpgCheers Nick...my friend thinks it has nothing to do with the card so i dont have to return it...caus monday im leaving and in the weekend shps are closed...p.s if i go to JFK where i usually test i have 4 less FPS (usually hae 20 a setting medium high and in hardware everything in middle)

Damn that is way better than what I was getting? In virtual cockpit what do you get then?

yeh its very wierd here is the result with v cockpit (zoom at .64)http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/86749.jpgnow whats so wierd is that when there are buildings around and AI planes (all from Project AI) my FPS drop like a stone in water...so only thing i can think is get more fps friendly AI planes...but hmm that will take long and its very anyoing (kinda out of the option)....cheersNickp.s when i paused it the FPS jump from 45 to 50....flying its lower (35 - 45)

Hi Nick,Try these settings in fs9.cfg:(TERRAIN) <-------N.B. Square bracketsTERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=19TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=4.500000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=4.500000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=1.... and take that shot again. Go into slew mode, set the scene up as you have it in the original image, hit pause, come out of slew and leave the sim to settle for a few seconds before you grab the image. Post your image with the same text info for comparison with the original.Mike

Nick, I think you are beginning to realize a truth here: Flight sim's performance relies heavily on the quality of 3rd party addons, whether they be scenery or aircraft. We have all suffered disappointments in this regard and I suspect your expectations are perhaps a little unrealistic. Out of the box the sim should run as smooth as silk in the vast majority of situations with your current setup - I know, mine did.There are gifted 3rd party designers and programmers out there that can supply us with impressive products that exhibit minimal impact on frame rates. Equally, you will come across many addons that do have a significant impact. This can be especially true with airports, some of which are extremely complex in their detail. Turning the scenery density slider up to max only exacerbates the problem if you don't have the horsepower to cope with it. Having said that, I have discovered that it is not all about frame rates but fluidity of performance. The sim can perform well even at relatively low frame rates providing it and your system have been set up correctly. Sadly, there is no easy answer to this as each system is different and needs individual attention, but it can be done.Mike

ok i put the stuff in the .cfghere is the pic...mind that the FPS jump up and down alot from roughly from 45 to 56....hope this pic can tell some answers...http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/86755.jpgcheersnick

Looking good so far :)Now try these settings and do the same again please:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/86758.jpgYour 3DMark results compared to mine suggest your system should be able to handle these settings.MikeEdit: Choose your own preferred screen resolution - I have an LCD TFT Monitor which imposes 1280x1024. If you have a CRT monitor you might like to try 1280x960x32. Oh, and make sure Anti-Aliasing is unchecked in the sim.Edit2: Set your target frame rate to unlimited for the purposes of this exercise.

ok i have all the same settingshere are 2 shots one of the test and one showing my ATI thing, it looks different then yours.. bit wierdhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/86759.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/86760.jpg cheersNick

"my ATI thing, it looks different then yours".....that's simply because I prefer to use Omega's tuned variants of the ATI drivers.What do you think so far? I can now see a huge difference in image quality as compared with your original captured image.Now, you might like to make some changes to your cloud (for better performance) and sky textures (for better appearance). I am assuming you have the FS9 defaults installed.1. Backup the main Texure folder in case you want to go back. 2. Download and install the following files (available here in the file library) as per included instructions with each archive:Chris Willis (FSW)HiFPSv2.zip (cumulus dxt3, cirrus dxt3) Nils Danielsson 2003fs9skytext.zip (140 sky_*.bmp files)Post another image please and then set your target frame rate around the 30 mark - the sweet spot you will discover by trial and error but should be somewhere between 28 and 31, I would guess.Turn off all background programs before loading FS9 - I can recommend 'EndItAll 2':http://www.docsdownloads.com/enditall.htmBetter still, if you are not already using it, I would urge you to download and install Ken Salters excellent FSAutostart utility: fsasv1b8.zip This takes a little time to set up correctly so you might wish to leave it till later.Turn OFF the frame rate counter and fly around for a while in, say, the default Cessna Skyhawk 172SP... and then report back your experiences.Mike

Holy moley are you running 6xaa and 16x aniso??? No wonder you have trouble with performance!I could never dream of running that on my computer that was higher spec then yours (got a new one now).Try lowering your aa to 4x and your aniso to 4x HQ. I don

thanks guysi will try that tomorrow as its very late now...tomorrow a friend is coming with another harddrive we are gonna instal Xp on there and then FS09...and then see if there is an improve ment...after that im gonna format my pc anyways as it has never been done on this pc (its 2 years old so lots of stuff has come on it to make it slower!) do you think this will make a diff to start with a clean pc?did one last test TURNED OFF everything in FS as in all settings to the lowest possible(setting in ATI is 4x on both) and just look at the fps i get...now what is going on here??!?!http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/86769.jpggoodnight n cheersNick

Sorry P

Well I just thought if he always would play with those settings he would get problems.When I max just about everything out at 1280x960x32 16x aniso is just asking to much. And to get fps over 30 constantly 8x aniso is also a bit much. That is countryside when going over cities even 4x aniso and just about everything maxed at 1280x960x32 4x aa gives me problem at times.I didn

It all depends on what you're looking at. Here's a shot at 1400x1050x32 running 4xAA & 16xAF with all eye candy maxed (AI off):http://www.x-plane.org/users/mgdbottled/9800ProFrames1.jpg