This is a basic question that has probably been answered before on the forum. I would like a link to answer my questions or comments.I have an ATI 9800 128MB pro video card.I run my card with 4X on both Anti-Aliasing and Anisoltropic Filtering for 3D and Open GL.The only thing I really know is that Anti-Aliasing gets rid of the jagged edges on the airplane.1. What is the basic difference between 3D and Open GL on my settings for the card?2. What is the basic difference between Anti-Aliasing and Anisoltropic Filtering?AND what should I look for when I change the "X" settings?Thanks

1. What is the basic difference between 3D and Open GL on my settings for the card?3D refers to the DirectX API. MSFS is a DirectX product. Open GL is simply another API. A number of other games use Open GL. Setting anything in the Open GL tab for MSFS is useless... make all your settings for this sim in the 3D tab.2. What is the basic difference between Anti-Aliasing and Anisoltropic Filtering?http://www.tweak3d.net/3ddictionary/index.shtml#AAND what should I look for when I change the "X" settings?Not sure what you mean here?Greg

Thanks Greg for the reply.A poster referencing some tweaks by Koorby which recommended 3D settings for AA and AF to be set at 4X because higher settings didn't really show any benefits. I have been trying to see the differences but I can't with higher than 4X with the "X" settings.I have to say that I'm most satisfied with my overall SIM performance with FPS locked at 23. I watch for how smoothly the scenery passes by the window at low altitude.My only complaint is when I pan with the "hat" past 90 degrees. I get a momentary stutter as the textures reload. I presume that I wouldn't have this if I had a 256 MB card.Back when PCI latency was a topic, I decreased my setting down to 128 or so from a stock 255. I have since gone back to 255 and have not been getting the white texture blocks as they pan into view on the edge of the screen.thanks again

The amount of AA and AF used is entirely based upon user preference. If the sim looks good to you at AA 4X and AF 4X then that's fine. Each of us has our own taste in image quality. Don't let anybody dictate what you should use... simply use what works best for you with the hardware you have.With regard to the momentary stutter you see when panning that can be tweaked (again, to your preference) using this line in the "DISPLAY" section of the FS9.cfg: TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT= . Default setting is 40, but that is far too low for today's hardware. When I had a 9800Pro I used a value of 120-150, but this setting is also dependant upon other hardware factors such as CPU and memory bus speed. You should play with this setting until you find the sweet spot for your rig.PCI Latency can be set at 32 for all devices. Some have reported that a higher value given to the video card has helped with stuttering in games, but I never saw any advantage using a higher value with any of my hardware while still using AGP based components (PCIe doesn't use a latency setting for the video card... PCIe uses "lanes" for throughput). Again, the PCI Latency is system dependant. You might try arriving at a balance between PCI Latency and the TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT settings to gain the best performance between texture load times and stuttering. Doing so will require a fair amount of testing in sim, but it gives even more reasons to fly :-) .Hope this helps,Greg