>i have just built this very high spec machine hoping for>smooth frames in fsx but have been sorely dissapointed as have>achieved as low as 7 fps in built up areas with the queen and>all sliders maxed out>. I realy thought my performance problems would be over with>this lamborghini of computers. I have installed all the latest>drivers and enabled sli and every possible tweak yet fsx still>kills it even though my 3d mark score of 61512 is pretty high.>It has 2 EVGA GeForce 8800 Ultra SuperClocked SILENT 768MB>GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) SLI'd.>here are the specs>>Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme Edition QX6850 "LGA775 Kentsfield">3.00GHz (1333FSB)>>EVGA nForce 680i SLi (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard>>>Enermax Galaxy 1000W EGX1000EWL ATX2.2 Modular PSU>>Zalman CNPS9700-NT nVidia Tritium CPU Cooler >>2 x EVGA GeForce 8800 Ultra SuperClocked SILENT 768MB GDDR3>HDTV/Dual >DVI (PCI-Express)in SLI config>>Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10000RPM SATA 16MB Cache - OEM>>8 gigs ram/ memory G.Skill DDR2 PQ PC2-8000C5 (2x2GB) CAS5>Dual Channel Kit>>>has anyone got a similar rig and had the same results ,>perhaps tell me what fps you get or 3dmark benchmark score you>have achieved >i cant believe that this is as good as it gets for fsx>thanks>Kav>>Go here --> http://forums.guru3d.com/ for some help.Are you using Vista and Dx10?Your DD2 memory is probably not allowing the CPU to run at it's full potential.

My Signature says it better than anything:-fume

You do not give enough detail for anyone to be truly helpful.what OS? DX9 or DX10?SP1 or SP2?What airport? what airplane? 2d panel or VC?What slider settings? what happens as you reduce slider settings? what happens when you turn off bloom, shadows, and drop to water 1.hi?what power supply? what happens if you take 1 8800 out?Have you looked at this threadhttp://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...&topic_id=31320especially this posthttp://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=31320#32194and run the benchmark in the avsim library as noted herehttp://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=31642&page=and see what is says about your machine. If you do not get similar results to what is posted in these threads, it is very likely there is something about your config that isnt right.

"Your DD2 memory is probably not allowing the CPU to run at it's full potential."?? :-hmmmHow do you mean??Glenn

Kav, Try disabling one of your 8800's and see if there is a difference.I was running SLI but I seem to have better performance in FSX with only one card.That is a crazy high 3D mark score.I use 3dMark06 and my best score is 6500.But then again I only have an E6600,2GB Ram and a couple crappy old 7600GT video cards.Michael

sorry yes am using vista 64 with dx10 fsx sp2 and realy this is with default aircraft , the fps goes as high as 40 fps in the less dense areas but the 7 fps was at kjfk in the day time.ive taken one card out and the performance is even worsei will have a look at that bench mark thanksKav

Michealwell it would appear then that fsx is not interested in gpu power but relys on cpu power insteadkav

Do you have SP1 installed?? If so, ensure that the affinitymask setting has been included in your FSX.cfg file. This setting improves the performance on multi-core machines. If you're not familiar with this setting, just do a search for "affinitymask", in the forums. There's many threads that discuss it....cheers

I have a simular system to yours.I assume your using PMDG's 747-400, when you mention "The Queen". This aircraft is extremley complex and is hard on frames. Also, I don't beleive FSX will run any faster with SLI. so that wont help you. Ive run my system with one or two cards and see no difference. Ive heard FSX will take advantage of more than two cores, but benchmark results dont show much of an increase in going from 2 to 4 cores with FSX. I made the mistake of upgrading from a dual core to a quad core and saw very minor difference. Not worth the money.Bottom line is there is no computer that will run FSX with all sliders maxxed. You will have to adjust them down to find a sweet spot that works for you.One of the nice things I like about FSX, is the ability to save multiple display settings. I have one for General avaition aircraft in which I have autogen very dense and water cranked up to the max and get good FPS. I turn cloud draw distance down and display area to small. I turn only general avaition Ai on. Things look great down low and slow and I have 30+ fps in even dense areas. For heavy jets I turn Autogen & water down a few pegs because I wont be seeing most of it anyway because of the higher altitudes. Cloud draw distance and display area go up. I turn general aviation ai off and big jets on about half way. (I dont think every gate should be occupied at the same time). I get 20-30 fps at all major airports. looks great and its so easy to load the different configs prior to starting a flight. Just decide what type of aircraft you want to fly and load that config before clicking the fly now button.Last thing is to make sure you shut down anything you don't need running in the backround. This helps squeeze and 1or 2 more fps on my system.Hope thins helps and good luick with your new computer.Rob

You say you are "running the Queen with sliders maxed out"I take that to be the PDMG 747 with sliders maxxed. There is no computer made that can run well with those settings.You are going to have to do what all of us do, and that is turn the sliders down a little.Now, once you experiment with sliders, and you STILL get bad performance, come back here and post and further things can be analyzed and done.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

I wouldnt quite phrase it that way.If the CPU isnt good enough, it doesnt matter about GPU.But, if you have a great CPU and a low-end GPU, the GPU can be a bottleneck.performance is only as good as the weakest link in the chain.

thanks all for your suggestions, yes am using pmdg queen of the sjies and sp1 and sp2. i was not aware of the fsx confing addition for dual coes will try this tweakkav

ive found a few thread about affinitymask but they are all a little confusing as to exactly what number you need to out in trhere , do you leave one core for window services etc etc are how should it be, could you paste you cfg entry here as i realy dont know what it should be for optimum performancethanksKav

>Do you have SP1 installed?? If so, ensure that the>affinitymask setting has been included in your FSX.cfg file.>This setting improves the performance on multi-core machines.>If you're not familiar with this setting, just do a search for>"affinitymask", in the forums. There's many threads that>discuss it....>>>cheersAffinity mask settings should NOT be changed with a dual core machine.

Although in your original post you said you didn't want to be lectured on using the sliders, ACES has left the user with too many untenable options to choose from, and I think you've picked some of them.Air traffic at realistic levels should not exceed 60%. Anything more than that, and you're just adding extra planes that are not needed. Likewise especially with ground and water traffic. Although it's fun to clog up the roads and waterways with vehicles, too much can be too much. I have them at around 10-20%.While using TweakFSX, I accidentally added 2000% of the maximum airport traffic. Every single meter of tarmac was covered with support vehicles, which made taxi impossible, even with single digit frame trates. Certainly airport traffic can be dialled down to a minimum. Flying in New York, you are in proximity to several large airports, which will totally drag down your performance due to all of the resulting traffic intermingling. I don't find much difference between water at 2XHi and 2XLo, so I leave it on Lo. Likewise, you can find some graphical wiggle room by playing with your cloud percentages: dense overcast past 60 miles is mostly meaningless, visually, although you may feel differently.Lastly, although DX10 is supposed to improve bloom, on my DX9 system, I leave bloom off unless I am taking screenshots. And I never ever turn on Lens Flare, not because it's a system hog, but because like narrow metallic neckties, tall hair, and lip liner on men, it's a visual abomination that has survived to haunt us from the 1980's. Jeff ShylukAssistant Managing EditorSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM