Been away for a while -- just switched out my nViaia GeForce 5600 for GeForce 6800 GT. Also ADDED 1024 meg of RAM, and I've got absolutely NO increase in frame rates. No particular problems, but nothing noticeably better -- a little surprising. Running Windows XP Home; Pent 4 2.6 gig processor. 77.77 drivers. any comments/recommendations appreciated. thanks.

I have 6.6.8.7 drivers. When i first got the PC with the card installed, i upgraded the drivers after a week or so, and it slowed my FS9 down to a crawl. I rolled back the drivers to the originals, and haven't touched them since

Actually I am not surprised. You upgraded everything except the most crucial part for increasing your FPS... the CPU.

I have no idea how old a performer the 5600 is, but from many years experience when it comes to hardware and FS, as long as your gpu isnt truly ancient you will never get an increase in fps by upgrading to a better card or by increasing your mem. You will/can see smoother overall performace on screen with better load times, less stuttering, smoother visuals during turns, etc....but if you really want or need to dramatically increase fps performance in the sim it has in years passed ONLY been attainable by dramatically increasing your processing power (cpu speed). These days you really arent going to be able to dramatically increase your cpu power since there arent any 5 gig processors around.Unfortunately, the hardware industry is at such a point now where it really doesnt pay to spend alot of money to upgrade past a 3.0gig machine/6800gt/1.0gig mem because the in-game, naked eye performance gaines are pretty much negligable as compared to the investment it would cost to go from 3.0 to 3.8 gig cpu system.Personally ive always been an Intel kinda guy and over the last 10 years ive never built myself an AMD machine, however, as of today the Athlons are performing at a much faster rate than Intel cpu's..in fact theyre over 4 gigs in virtual performance numbers...im looking to build a new machine next spring/summer and if this trend continues at that point i may just be inclined to switch over to AMD for the extra gaming cpu cycles :-)...although anything can change between now and then of course, hehe.Dave

How would I know or how can I find out how high of a cpu my mother board can take?Thanks

Dave -- thanks for the reply and information. It's somewhat confusing, though, as some post frame rates in the 50's at high density terminals with a P4 and the 6800, which is what I have. I know the numbers are quite variable, just needed to know if there was something major I could impact like BIOS changes, a particular driver, etc.

I totally agree to Dave's comment in all aspects!! I am an FS enthusiast for more than 10 years and my experience in upgrading hardware components reflects exactly Dave's judgement. I am running a 6800 GT Ultra and a 3,2 MHZ CPU. If there would be a CPU that promises a substantial increase in FPS I would not hesitate to invest, but there is none for the time being. It is said that FS is designed to Intel Chips as I know of some display irregularities with AMD chips. Rgds, Sam