This is my first post, so please be kind!!Like most simmers with FSX, I'm not entirely happy with the FPS. I have just purchased a new computer (specs below) and am trying various suggestions that I've read on these forums to improve performance. I can get 20-24 fps but not on every plane and scenery is sparse at times... I have a Vista upgrade coming, but will probably hold off on the upgrade for a few months once it's available.My questions are:1) Is it worth to install FSX on a completely separate hard drive that is only used for FSX? If yes, what would a good drive to get?2) Will ATI's crossfire platform help improving FPS?Thanks in advance,ChrisDell 9200 Duo core e6400 2.13 GHZ2GB DDR2 Ram 533MHZ250 GB 7200rpm HDATI Radeon X1300 ProSamsung 19W/S LCD

>This is my first post, so please be kind!!>>Like most simmers with FSX, I'm not entirely happy with the>FPS. I have just purchased a new computer (specs below) and>am trying various suggestions that I've read on these forums>to improve performance. I can get 20-24 fps but not on every>plane and scenery is sparse at times...I think with your cpu can do a little better than that. You have a faster cpu than mine, and yet I am getting 20-24 fps and that's with pretty dense settings.Keep in mind, don't have unreasonable expectations. You're not going to be able to run 35 fps in New York City at the present time.>I have a Vista>upgrade coming, but will probably hold off on the upgrade for>a few months once it's available.>In my opinion, that is a wise move. Let others test FSX + Vista for us.>My questions are:>>1) Is it worth to install FSX on a completely separate hard>drive that is only used for FSX? If yes, what would a good>drive to get?>That is of some benefit. In that case you would have your paging file and OS on a separate physical drive, and that is always a plus for performance. But nothing earth-shattering.Combine that with a solid defragger like UltimateDefrag, and you will notice faster load times and less cpu cycles spent looking for files, thus better frame rate.Any fast hard drive will be good. The Western Digital Raptor hard drives are fast mainstream (read: easily available, inexpensive) hard drives that run at 10,000 rpm and will do well.>2) Will ATI's crossfire platform help improving FPS?>I would say no.I think in general you can get more out of your Core2Duo. You should hands-down be beating my cpu, but you're not. I suggest searching for Matt Fox's tweaks, namely the modified AutogenDescriptions.spb file. That one gave me 3-4 more fps.Memory latency (see sig) adjustment also gave me an 8% frame boost.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

thanks for the reply. I have been reading other posts and trying various tweaks to improve FPS, namely Matt Fox's.Can you clarify what you mean by "memory latency"?Chris

>>Can you clarify what you mean by "memory latency"?>Sure.Look in my signature. You will see memory timings of 2.5-3-3-8 (1T).About a month ago, I was running 3-3-3-8 (2T). Those figures are the standard settings for my Corsair XMS memory sticks.These changes 2.5-3-3-8 (1T) (done in the BIOS) gave me an 8% increase in frame rates. And I do meticulous, standardized testing. The reported gain by others with this tweak is 5%-8% gain. I am not sure what benefit this tweak has on Intel boxes. But on AMDs it helps some.The memory latency timings are set in the BIOS. You have to be careful though, because if you set your timings too far out-of-spec (each memory stick is rated differently) you can lock your computer and even make it unbootable without resetting the BIOS. Believe me I have had to pull a jumper on mine a time or two in my years...I'd suggest some heavy research (google 'memory latency' and 'memory timing') and look at the popular overclocker sites. You're not actually overclocking here, just simply adjusting the latency of your mem sticks.The first step is determining what your default timings are. That can often be found in your BIOS screens. If you're running a command rate of 2T, moving to 1T (if it's stable on your machine) can often help.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

I can chime in from the Intel camp and report that memory timing makes neglible performance difference in either FSX or FS9 on my C2D rig. I do recall from my A64 days however that changing from 2T to 1T made the noticable performance boost that Rhett speaks of. Gary

Thanks for the clarification.Playing around with the latency is something I may hold off and see if I can get some other tweaks that I've read about working to my satisfaction.Cheers,Chris

With regard to multiple hard drives, the Page File should be on the second hard drive (not on the drive that the OS is installed on). Also, the second drive should be at least as fast as the OS hard drive if you wish to move the Page File to it. I have two 74Gb Raptors, the OS on one (w/ my games--- no partitions) and the Page File on it's own 5GB partition at the beginning on the second Raptor. All my other non-gaming apps are also on the second drive (but not installed on the Page File partition). Having the Page File on its own small partition at the beginning of the drive insures that the PF will always remain at the beginning of the drive, and makes defragging the PF much easier.Hope this helps,Greg

After much tweaking with FSAutostart, I tried the Clean Boot procedure published by MS. Without trying any CFG tweaks, the clean boot gives me 30fps with most of the sliders maxed out (autogen causes this to go down). The clean boot is very easy, but I think I will try and get FSAS to do a "clean boot" without actually restarting the computer.Cheers,Chris

What is a clean boot and how does one go about it? Also, will it disable my antivirus software?gremel

Hi gremel,Here's the Microsoft KB article describing a clean boot: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331796Regards,Jim Karn

Thanks Jim. Got it..Regards,jack