I have a P4 3.0, 1.5 Gb Ram, Pny 6800 GT (256 Mb), and WD 200 Gb 7200 Rpm 8mb Cache. My system is constantly cleaned (not less than once a day) with Diskeeper and Registry mechanic and is tweaked in every possible way. My fps are normally 24 (locked at 25) and I have around 15 with some complex sceneries.Although I have an acceptable performance in terms of FR with almost all my addons, I have big problem in terms of ground texture loading when I run some photorealistic sceneries such as Megascenery ones. Another thing I noted is that, since I changed the HD, although my fps are about the same in every circumstance, when I run the Wilco CRJ I get about 10 fps in the Vistual Cabin (I used to get 15/20 with my previous 80 Gb HD).I know I have one of the best VCs available these days that there are very few models that are above it, so considering my Ram is acceptable too I have to think the texture loading it is related to a difficulty the processor has finding the textures to load them. I changed the HD a few days ago and kept having exactly the same problem.So my questions are the following:1) Do you think a 64bit AMD will solve this problem?2) If so, I am thinking about a FX55 or a 4800 dual? Which one is better, a 2.6 Fx55 or a 2.4 4800 dual? Thanks!!!Leo

Hi Leo,Actually, your texture laoding problem is more an issue of memory bus throughput than processor speed. In essence, your CPU (and to a varying degree the video card) is waiting for your motherboard to deliver the goods.The advantage of the AMD64's is that the memory controller is on die, thus elimiinating much of the bottleneck. Of course, you must be sure to get the right kind of NF4 board for the AMD64 to take advantage of the higher memory bus speed. Presently the Nvidia chipset motherboards are the best in this regard.FX-55 vs 4800 dual? Personally I'd go with the FX-55. Raw power! Others would want to take advantage of the dual aspect of the 4800. That may indeed be an advantage in the future (possibly with FSX and other games down the road), but by that time the 4800 speeed will be considered slow.Hope this helps,Greg

"Actually, your texture laoding problem is more an issue of memory bus throughput than processor speed. In essence, your CPU (and to a varying degree the video card) is waiting for your motherboard to deliver the goods"So, do you think a BIOS update would help? It is the only thing I haven't updated since my floppy drive is broken. I would replace it if that gives me guarantee I will get better performance.Thanks for the detailed answerLeo

A floppy drive is pretty cheap, certainly alot less than an entire system upgrade. And while you may see some benefit in faster texture loading from upgrading to a more "mature" BIOS, I wouldn't expect any miracles. Bottom line is that there is a distinct advantage to systems whose CPU has an on-die memory controller vs. a system whose memory bus is managed entirely by the motherboard.Regards,Greg

duel cores are only good for applications that support them, otherwise they are slower. I would get the FX-65 as my FX-55 runs HOOOOOOOT

>So my questions are the following:>>1) Do you think a 64bit AMD will solve this problem?>>2) If so, I am thinking about a FX55 or a 4800 dual? Which one>is better, a 2.6 Fx55 or a 2.4 4800 dual?>> My opinion: 1) no2) FX55 is better for FS9. Raw cpu power is what FS9 thrives on.The bottom line though, is that imo, you will not be blown away in FS by switching to an FX55 from what you have. The texture problem you are seeing won't be entirely solved by going to a FX55 or a 4800.I like to be blown away when I upgrade. We're talking P4 1.8 ghz to 3700+ type of upgrades. 512mb ram to 2 gigs.I have been giving my opinion to would-be FS upgraders, and it is, if you have a pretty decent setup (and you do) then I would think twice about upgrading at this time. You are getting mid-20's fps in normal FS conditions, and I think that's pretty good. You seem to know how to properly tweak and maintain your system, too, which helps you extend its useful life.But again, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed in finding the texture problem you're seeing still extant with a newer/faster cpu.Rhett

Thanks for all the advices. I am stuck!!! Lol.I was inches away from the FX55, but now I just don't know. Like I said before I have good fps in almost every situation with sliders at 75 to 100% depending on what. My problem is textures loading, and with this 6800GT VC and 1.5 G Ram I have to assume it is not them but something else.So I have to assume that no one that uses Megascenery gets a instant, or at least fast loading of textures. Or does anyone? What do you have if you do?My textures loading was pretty good though, but I got GE and now it became pretty bad. I mean, it looks good, but I get some blurries pretty fast (as soon as I get a bit away it starts to blur) and I am not sure if they are because of GE or because I changed the HD (WD80Gb 2Mb cache to WD200Gb 8 Mb cache). I don't remember seeing these blurries with my previous HD, with GE or BEV.I am doing a last try tonight. I had the old HD as a slave and it might have been pushing the mobo a bit too much. I disconnected it, tweaked the VC a little with Rivatuner and I'll see what happens. If the blurs continue I am going back to the 80 Gb one and test if it is just my eye, or if indeed this new HD is giving me a hard time.Thanks again,Leo