I just got my NEW GTX280 TODAY and after installing it and testing FSX, all I can say is: WOW!With my previous card (9800 GX2), I was getting too mauch micro stuttering and I had to play it in DX10 Preview Mode just so I could get better FPS. This meant that I had to live with just the 2XAA and taxiway line flickering.After installing the GTX280, I flew a quick test circuit around the Richmond, VA area and I was totally impressed. Some might say that this area is not as demanding as places such as NYC, but this area is where I always do my hand-on testing and if I notice a tremendous increase in performance here, then I know that it's indeed an improvement which will translate to other areas.Here are the settings I ran the card with: 16x AF, 8xS AA, SS transparency, FPS locked at 30, GEX, UTX and FEX SHD Edition (4096 texture resolution) and ALL FSX settings to the right.I had never experienced FSX as smooth as it did on this test flight, with all the eye candy. No shimmering. No flickering. No stuttering.I can safely say that the GTX280, plus a PROPERLY TUNED SYSTEM (Such as explained by NickN), is a winner.______________Efrain RuizLiveDISPATCHhttp://www.livedispatch.orgCooler Master cosmos SDFI LP UT P35 T2R (3-17-2008 BIOS) | E8400 @ 4GHz (500MHz x 8) | 2 x 2GB OCZ Flex II PC9200EVGA Nvidia GTX280Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Operating System RAID-0) | Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Flight Simulator RAID-0)Corsair CM PSU-750TX | Asus 20X DVD

Glad to hear....I'm looking forward to testing out the NYC area with all the addons since it's where I nest (KLGA-KJFK-KEWR).Do you really need to lock down at 30fps?? Have you tried unlimited frame setting?

I haven't tried the unlimited setting, since it's running so smooth that I am scared to screw it up! LOLFrom what I've read, it is better to just lock it from 20-30 FPS, so I went with the 30.______________Efrain RuizLiveDISPATCHhttp://www.livedispatch.orgCooler Master cosmos SDFI LP UT P35 T2R (3-17-2008 BIOS) | E8400 @ 4GHz (500MHz x 8) | 2 x 2GB OCZ Flex II PC9200EVGA Nvidia GTX280Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Operating System RAID-0) | Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Flight Simulator RAID-0)Corsair CM PSU-750TX | Asus 20X DVD

Thanks for the post, been waiting to hear about the card!What drivers are you using for the card in Vista 64 ?Did your PSU have a 8 pin plug or did you use the adaptor?Did you check the 280 temps while playing FSX?What about noise level while playing?If you don't mind could you ... ;)post your frame rate range over NY City with target framerate set to unlimited using a maule?

>Thanks for the post, been waiting to hear about the card!>>What drivers are you using for the card in Vista 64 ?>>Did your PSU have a 8 pin plug or did you use the adaptor?>>Did you check the 280 temps while playing FSX?>>What about noise level while playing?I

>Thanks for the post, been waiting to hear about the card!>>What drivers are you using for the card in Vista 64 ?The 177.41s>Did your PSU have a 8 pin plug or did you use the adaptor?Yup, my Corsair TX750 came with 8 pin plugs... Works great>Did you check the 280 temps while playing FSX?Mid to upper 60s>What about noise level while playing?Less noise than my previous 9800 GX2. I have no complaints on fan noise, but then again, I have a Cooler Master Cosmos S case, which provides awesome cooling.>If you don't mind could you ... ;)>post your frame rate range over NY City with target framerate>set to unlimited using a maule?I will give it a shot...______________Efrain RuizLiveDISPATCHhttp://www.livedispatch.orgCooler Master cosmos SDFI LP UT P35 T2R (3-17-2008 BIOS) | E8400 @ 4GHz (500MHz x 8) | 2 x 2GB OCZ Flex II PC9200EVGA Nvidia GTX280Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Operating System RAID-0) | Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Flight Simulator RAID-0)Corsair CM PSU-750TX | Asus 20X DVD

After more and more flying with the GTX280, I can safely say we have a WINNER! The difference in performance over my previous 9800 GX2 is unbelievable. I have never experienced a smoother FSX. I bet if I was to give FS2004 a shot, the GTX280 would blow it out of the water, but I just can't justify in "downgrading" myself to FS2004.I mean, my FSX is configured with GEX, UTX, FEX (SHD 4096x4096 clouds), 1920 x 1200, 8xAA, 16xAF and it's ROCK SOLID at 30FPS. Simply amazing. Even in heavy clouds, there are NO stutters or microstutters.I also have to credit NickN for his AWESOME tips on how to properly setup a FSX system.It really is a disservice to the GTX280, in saying that there is a -30 FPS loss when using this card with FSX. This is completely not true. For those that have been debating on whether to get this card or not: If you are willing to spend the cash, GO FOR IT.______________Efrain RuizLiveDISPATCHhttp://www.livedispatch.orgCooler Master cosmos SDFI LP UT P35 T2R (3-17-2008 BIOS) | E8400 @ 4GHz (500MHz x 8) | 2 x 2GB OCZ Flex II PC9200EVGA Nvidia GTX280Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Operating System RAID-0) | Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Flight Simulator RAID-0)Corsair CM PSU-750TX | Asus 20X DVD

ehhhhyep, setting up correctly is the key most dont 'get' dont 'believe' and will try an few things and claim 'it dont work'.. then there are those "who are experts and know better" LOLOLOL!!!!!!!! but the bottom line is, if followed correctly the list is the way to get the most out of the system.for me the 8800GTX overclocked (same as an ultra) is still the best bang for the buck in MSFS... I wont be upgrading till later this year.. wanna give ATi the proper time to get back in the game first because I have always found their video quality higher and hopefully they will pull their head out of their *CENSORED* by the end of the year or early next year with the right stuff to finally put Nv in their place for price gouging

>>for me the 8800GTX overclocked (same as an ultra) is still the>best bang for the buck in MSFS... >Maybe best bang period, the 280 is fine but I can't say better than a 8800GTX / Ultra.Nick - does maxing the texture slider to 7cm help with GEX ground texture sharpness when flying, or would having it at 1m be the same?

>Nick - does maxing the texture slider to 7cm help with GEX ground texture sharpness when flying, or would having it at 1m be the same?I do it for 3 reasons1. Roads in UTX are 7cm2. I find the textures look better and stay crisper at 7cm3. Sim defaults to 7cm when 10m mesh resolution is setYou will hear all sorts of stories from experts about what not to do. Set it 7cm.If you use FSGenesis 10m mesh the sim defaults to 7cm automatically when mesh is set to 10m... and visa-versa so 7cm is what I run.

It appears the 8800GT is an adequate conduit. (Now that I have your attention!) I've been using the FSMark07 Seattle run to "dial-in" my system (search Avsim library FSX>Scenery>Benchmark). It's a precisely repeatable flight. Outbound from KSEA, reset the AP to ~12K'. You'll climb into a cloud layer to check cloud rendering too. This "canned flight" allows a user to watch for the effects of only those changes made between runs. I'm using a 20FPS frame-lock. My system "dials in" here: [email protected]/4Gs@800x60ns/8800GT:Nvidia CP (only) @ 8/16/Clamp/HiQual/etcFS Graphics: Res, 1920x1080. Anisotropic, AA unck, G-Tex VH, DX10/bloom off. Aircraft: Ex Settings, all ck'd. Scenery: All sliders full rt, except water 2L & Tex Res 7cm & Shadows off. Weather: Cloud draw 60mi/detailed. Traffic: 20/20/0/10/20/02Right here I get consistent, "stable" and clearly definable stutters and this is exactly what I want to see. If I take out - one notch - of AG, the stutters smooth out and the sim is pleasurably flyable. I want to see those stable stutters just a notch away from smooth flight. That means I am right on the edge of the system's capability. The frame counter rarely dips below 20, but the Look and feel is more like ~ 7-10FPS. Any change I make in this slightly overloaded "stable stutter" environment will be objectively observable. Here's what does not help:Ram latency change from 80ns -> 56ns. No change.Ram speed change from 800-> 1000Mhz. No change Here's what does help: {Display}TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=XI find that changing TBM from 40 to 70 reduces the stutters by 50-70%. They don't go away, but appear to soften. Above 100 increases stutters. Remember the frame counter stays at ~20. Adding the lines:{BUFFERPOOLS}Poolsize=XThis reduces the big frame-skip events that sometimes occur when panning or changing heading. For my 512 card, I'm using 50Mb (50000000). I've been from 4M to 100M. I need more than 4 and 100 starves normal Vcard ops. 50M allows normal ops and helps with panning frame-skips. After I'm done messing around, I drop AG a notch and go explore Victoria at 1500' in the P51. Smooth running. Great View.With this system's characteristics fully repeatable, I dropped in a 260GTX. There was no change. It really appears the Vcard is (essentially) a conduit for the CPU's (yea OK, ram too) performance. Once an adequate conduit is in place, additional Vcard capacity no longer provides a performance advantage. It appears the 8800GT is an adequate conduit.(Also FYI, the thing roars like a dang vacuum cleaner even at idle. The noise is ridiculous . . . and the 200 drivers will not pick-up a second nonSLI Vcard.) Now, on to Crysis. Life does not end with FS!

>Now, on to Crysis. Life does not end with FS!AMEN! You have summed it up beautifully. Many people forget that there is life beyond FS. The GTX280 might be similar in performance IN FSX as a 8800 Ultra (by other user's accounts, since I've never had a 8800), but this is not the case in other games and most definitely in newer games.______________Efrain RuizLiveDISPATCHhttp://www.livedispatch.orgCooler Master cosmos SDFI LP UT P35 T2R (3-17-2008 BIOS) | E8400 @ 4GHz (500MHz x 8) | 2 x 2GB OCZ Flex II PC9200EVGA Nvidia GTX280Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Operating System RAID-0) | Two (2) WD3200AAKS 320GB (Flight Simulator RAID-0)Corsair CM PSU-750TX | Asus 20X DVD

>> Life does not end with FS!You

>>ehhhh>>yep, setting up correctly is the key most dont 'get' dont>'believe' and will try an few things and claim 'it dont>work'.. then there are those "who are experts and know better">LOLOLOL!!!!!!!!Nick, can you direct me to a link with your pearls of system setup for FSX?Thanks,Noel