Hi,I own a 7800GT 256MB Graphics card and am slightly dissapointed with the results (FPS) and was hoping somebody could help me with the settings etc...First, to let you know what sort of FPS i am getting:Say i start at KSEA, with the default C172, default weather, no addon-scenery what so ever, i get about 20 - 27FPS.FS settings:Terrrain mesh complexity - 100Terrain texture size - HighWater Effect - HighScenery complexity - V.DenseAutogen - V.DenseAdd-on dynamic scenery - V.DenseAircraft Reflections - OnAircraft cast shadows - On3D cloud - 100Detailed clouds, density - MaxTarget frame rate - Unlimited1280x1024x32T&L - OnRender to texture - OffAnti-aliasing - OffMIP - 4Global max texture size - MassiveGraphics card settings (Driver 77.77):AA - 8xSAF - 2xSystem Performance - H.PVertical sync - OffForce mipmaps - TrilinearTrilinear optimixation - OnTransparency AA - SupersamplingI keep my computer clean, i de-frag all the time, no adaware, spyware etc...If anybody has any suggestions or tips so i could increase my FPS it would be greatly appreciated.Thanks in advance,Nathanial

That sounds pretty off. Did you have heavy AI and weather? I have a slightly faster CPU (AMD 64 3200+) and a 7800GT card. At default KSEA in the 172, I would expect40+ FPS.A few things I see here:You use DDR333 memory instead of DDR400. Are you sure that's correct for 64 3000+ CPUYour AA settings are VERY high. Try lowering it.Your FS9 settings are generally higher than mine. Try lowering global max texture size and autogen.Try cloud draw at 40 miles and sight distance at 60 miles for your testing.Also your power supply. As I remember (if correctly) my 7800GT card needs a dedicated power cord from the power supply. Do you have that setup right? Your 420W supply is kind of low but I would think it should still do the job.Jason

Hi Jason, thanks for the reply,I could have a look into the DDR400 issue, any body else no weather DDR400 is recomended for 64 3000+ CPU?Tried all your suggestions, and the one that seems to make the most difference was lowering the cloud draw from 60 to 40, that got me up to about 28 Average FPS, And about the PSU, ive always wondered weather that could be holding my system back, as the 7800GT requieres 400W or more... double checked and yes it all seems connected ok... does anybody know if having a 520W PSU for example could increase the performance?Thanks again,Nat

Forgot to ask, what drivers are you using?Also, ive always read that you need to make sure you dont have multiple graphics card entires in your FS9.cfg file, i have two, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT.0 and NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT.1, i assume this is becuase i have two monitors... and its normal for multiple monitor users (btw these tests have been with ONE monitor only)Nat

I'm using the latest driver: 84.21FS tweaking is never ending. I've been tweaking FS9 since the day I got it. I'm pretty sure I'll keep doing it till FSX comes out then I'll have another 3 years of fun tweaking that one.There are very good tips here and at many other places. The "ultimate" tweak I used was FS-GS. For me it was the most expensive and the most effective. Jason

What motherboard are you running??Is this a socket754 processor or a 939??I think you could be running 400mhz Ram...But need to know answers to the above questions to say for sure...You should check your video card manufacturers recomendation's on the Power Supply...In my opinion...Your borderline...But if you have a decent quality Powersupply...And are only running a single videocard(ie: Not SLI)...You can probably get away with it...This would be more of a stability issue than anything else...You probably will not gain in FPS by swapping PS...But I personally try to shy away from beeing "borderline"...Just me though...A couple of comments:Yeah..if your on the 77.77 drivers...I think that would be a good first step...Get some current drivers...

Motherboard: ASUS A8v-E SESocket 939Hope this helps,Nathanial

In my opinion you are not too far off on fps. You are limited by your CPU. But I agree with Chuck, above, when he says to get the newest drivers, and that your power supply is borderline for the 7800GT.Too many people are mesmerized by the 77.xx driver and I think that in many cases their fs problems with later drivers have as much to do with corrupt driver setups than anything else.I run an eVGA 7800GT CO with a 3700+. If I unlock my frame rate, I can get in the 30's in the default KSEA setup (that means stock weather, too). I don't use any add-on AI traffic, just stock AI at 100%. I run the 84.xx (pretty new) driver.Also I noticed your TERRAIN_MESH_COMPLEXITY setting is at 100.In years past, I have read in mesh forums that 96 is the highest necessary value for display in the sim, and that moving it to 100 serves no visual purpose, even with high LOD mesh. All it does is use a little more cpu. You might want to do some research into that setting, as someone may have done a more current study of that value and disproved the old study. In any event, I'm not sure if you would get any noticeable FPS by going from 100 to 96. :)Rhett

Ive just updated to version 84.21 i think it was, defragged, cleaned the system etc and default KSEA, stock weather, no AI i get 28FPS, so its an improvement, and the visual quality is ALLOT better :)Ill look into the Mesh complexity and have a look how much a greater PSU and a 3700+ would be :)Thanks Chuck and Rhett, really appreciated,Nat

I just downloaded the 84.21 drivers, as other folks seemed to like them.I lose the preview view of the plane (even with AA at 4x), but the big issue is that if I bring up a little FSNav window everything to the left of it is blacked out.The 77.xx drivers are the last ones that I've been able to run, that don't do this.* Orest

Hey Nat..Glad to hear that trying some other drivers may have helped you out a little bit...Earlier I was going to make a few comments but elected not to until I saw which mb you were using...The A8v is a pretty decent mb(I have one on my "Old Faithful" System)...I'm glad it's a 939 set-up!! That is a good thing!!Rhett made a comment that I agree with...FS is heavly processor dependant...That is not to say that your video card isn't important..because it is...(It's allot about system Harmony)...But FS will utilize 100% of your processors capability...Therefore the faster the processor, the better results you may expect...You have a great Videocard...Although I have never owned a 7800GT(I do have a 7800GTX)...From all the reading I have done it is a very wise investment and I would expect it to be almost perfectly suited for FS9...Now What I'm going to say below is basically for "Educational Purposes"...I'm not suggesting you go out and make these changes...I'm just attempting to provide some info that my help if you do ever decide to Up Grade..or Build another system...Here Goes:Yes...You could indeed run 400mhz Ram on the 939 set-up that you have...As a rule of thumb...I always shoot to build my computers with "Harmony" in mind...In other words...the components should all "compliment" each other...Striving to avoid "Bottle Necks"...Your 333mhz Ram is an example of a Minor(Very Common) Bottle Neck...Your mb and processor are capable of running 400mhz Ram...That is typically what I would choose if I were building your system...*Nothing wrong with 333mhz Ram*...It will run Fine!!...But the fact is..You are not really maximizing the capability of the equipment...I also notice you have 1.25gb of Ram...Typically...You should use matching dimm(Ram) modules...It is best to buy your ram as a "Matched Pair" ie: (2x512 dimms for 1gb total) or (2x1gb dimms for 2gb total) ect...By matched pair I mean packaged together...The Factory will package matching dimms which will afford you the best performance.. Typically the better quality manufacturers will sell Ram in this fashion...The fact that you have 1.25gb of Ram listed leads me to believe you have some mis-matched dimm's there...If it's working for you(No Stability Issues)...Then Keep On Truckin...Just think about that if/when you go to upgrade next time...Your Power Supply being borderline weak...When you get into "Performance" Oriented Computers like these...The Power Supply becomes a quite Important part of the equasion...Much more important than people realize...A weak powersupply may induce anything from degraded performance to System Instability...I typically go Overboard when choosing my PS...Most of the cheep $30-60 level Power Supplies wont cut it when you start talking a 7800 level videocard and Athlon64 system...You can pretty much say...As a rule of thumb...you need to spend $100+ on a *Good Quality* 450w OR Better PS to avoid "Issues"...Like I say...I mention these things as "Food for Thought"...I'm not trying to tell you to go out and make these changes tomorrow or anything like that!!..You may just keep them in mind for future referance...Have Fun!!

>>Ill look into the Mesh complexity and have a look how much a>greater PSU and a 3700+ would be :)>A 3700+ is about $210. In my opinion, you already have a pretty decent FS system there, getting 28 fps on the default KSEA startup. I don't really think you'd be blown away by getting a 3700+. You might want to consider waiting until next year sometime to upgrade, as by then FSX, DirectX10, Vista will be out and the dual-core cpu's will become better (read = run cooler) and cheaper.Because of these upcoming changes in the FS world, I only recommend an upgrade right now, if someone is running something really old and slow. Yours is not...I run:3700+ San Diego2 gig Corsair TWINX (matched pair)eVGA 7800GT co w/256ASUS A8N-EPC Power&C 510SLI p/sCoolermaster Praetorian250 gig CaviarNotice I went all-out on the power supply (well, not quite, I didn't buy the 1000 watt one they make). That is because I plan to use that p/s in a new build, probably next year or so.I built that for <$1100 and that was a few months ago. Seems like the 3700+'s are holding price pretty well. That must mean they are selling a lot of them. Whereas the 3800+, 4400+, 4600+ (dual core) have all dropped quite a bit in recent months.Rhett

>Hi,>>I own a 7800GT 256MB Graphics card and am slightly>dissapointed with the results (FPS) and was hoping somebody>could help me with the settings etc...>>First, to let you know what sort of FPS i am getting:>>Say i start at KSEA, with the default C172, default weather,>no addon-scenery what so ever, i get about 20 - 27FPS.>>FS settings:>>Terrrain mesh complexity - 100>Terrain texture size - High>Water Effect - High>Scenery complexity - V.Dense>Autogen - V.Dense>Add-on dynamic scenery - V.Dense>>Aircraft Reflections - On>Aircraft cast shadows - On>>3D cloud - 100>Detailed clouds, density - Max>>Target frame rate - Unlimited>1280x1024x32>T&L - On>Render to texture - Off>Anti-aliasing - Off>MIP - 4>Global max texture size - Massive>>Graphics card settings (Driver 77.77):>AA - 8xS>AF - 2x>System Performance - H.P>Vertical sync - Off>Force mipmaps - Trilinear>Trilinear optimixation - On>Transparency AA - Supersampling>>I keep my computer clean, i de-frag all the time, no adaware,>spyware etc...>>If anybody has any suggestions or tips so i could increase my>FPS it would be greatly appreciated.>>Thanks in advance,>>Nathanial>>Why not increase AF to 16x, and decrease AA to 4x. You should get better performance and better IQ (imho). I am using the 6800 GTOC and run at these AA/AF settings, and at 1600x1200x32. There are times when it seems like more video horsepower would help on my machine, so I'm guessing you should have less of an issue with this than I do. Anyway, try those n see if you like it. There are a couple of schools of thought on the issue of how to use the fps slider effectively, some saying set it UNLIMITED for max use of all available resources, versus set it somewhere in the mean so that theoretically you can free up cycles to provide "in the ready" frames-potential (if you will!) during periods of low demand, and transfer them for ready use upon higher demand. I've always done the latter, but I think I will try the former n see . . .Noel