My system is Windows XP with an ATI Radeon 1650 Pro PCI Express 512MB video card.I am using Omega drivers and Tray Tools with my ATI Radeon PCI card.In Tray Tools, there is a setup section for OpenGL and Direct3D settings.It is my understanding that FS9 uses only DirectX.Do I only have to set up the Direct3D options .. AntiAlias etc for FS9?Or, do I also have to set up the OpenGL settings?Is it the application, like FS9 and FSX, that calls up either OpenGL or Direct3D?When I look at DXDIAG there is nothing listed for OpenGL, so I assume my pc does not have this software .. is this correct?

No need to configure OpenGL in your video card tweaker for any version of MSFS. It always has been and always will be a DirectX (MS) application.Regards,

Greg,Thanks for the reply.What applications use this OpenGL and does Windows XP have support for it ... if it ever needed?I need some direction on what to disable/application controlled etc. in FS9 and FSX and then assign values in Omega/Tray Tools do do the job properly.I am trying to do the setup but it can be difficult understanding what are the best choices ... non-video educated guy here!

You don't need to set any OpenGL parameters in Traytools for FS, as it uses DX.A long time ago, there was for a while a battle between OpenGL and DX. In the end DX became the king of the hill, 'cos MS had the power and money to take over the market for Video card display standards.That's a pity, because OpenGL is better than DX in many ways (which ones we don't need to go into here).A lot of games use OpenGL: X-Plane and the Condor gliding simulator for example. If you install anything that uses OpenGL, your Videocard can handle it just as well as it uses DX, and the same principles apply: You have the chioce of using the default Videocard settings, set from within the game, or overriding these with TrayTools.Hope this explains it for youRegardsGrahame

Vaughan,Project Magenta uses OpenGL and very nice it is too. www.projectmagenta.com/ Some would liken OpenGL to Betamax and DirectX to VHS if you're old enough to remmeber that format war. And like that format war some might say it was won by the inferior product! :-eek If you have a few hundred pounds to spare and a second PC it's a brilliant system for those who fly Boeing, Airbus and GA. Once you've bought the software updates are free for life.Cheers,

Grahame and Ray,Thanks for the feedback.So, if my understanding is correct now, OpenGL and Direct3D are Program Languages used to write the program/game. Or at least the "video" portion.Once the the program is downloaded and installed on a compatible system (eg. Windows XP that the program was designed to run on), the operation of OpenGl or Direct3D will be transparent to the user.It is the video card that must understand the language (OpenGL or Direct3D), not the users operating system (WinXp eg.).

Hi Vaughan,<>You've got it in one! Modern graphics cards can support both systems although nVidia cards appear to produce slightly better performance with OpenGL.As to which camp supports DirectX you'll get supporters from both extoiling the virtues of their preferred card! For FS I have preferred ATI for some time.

Thanks again.Much appreciated.I "finally" got my brain straight on that one!No I can go about setting all the ATI card options (AntiAlias, MipMap, Anthroscopis or whatever they are called) using ATI Tray Tools and save a "profile" there for FS9 ... then try to get a good profile done for FSX to use.For me, working with video card setups is like trying to drink sand ... it is just tough going down ... !!