177.79 beta driver seems good so far

[Guest UlfB]

Jim,Do you run those 8800GTX cards in SLI? What happens to your fps if you remove one of the cards? I've no experience with SLI but judging from some posts on Vista and FSX, SLI might not be increasing fps as expected.Ulf BCore2Duo X6800 3.3GHz4GB RAM Corsair XMS2-8500C5BFG 8800GTX, Creative SB X-FiFSX Acc/SP2, Vista 32

[Guest firehawk44]

"Do you run those 8800GTX cards in SLI? What happens to your fps if you remove one of the cards? I've no experience with SLI but judging from some posts on Vista and FSX, SLI might not be increasing fps as expected."Yes, Ulf, you're right. Even Aces said there's no increase or it's so marginal it doesn't really help make FSX go faster or operate better. I've mentioned this in several other posts - I made a major mistake getting dual cards. But I got my system soon after FSX was released and previous versions of FS were GPU intensive and I figured I would be on top of the world with two massive GPU's. But soon after release it was determined FSX was more CPU bound. Okay. So I made my first computer mistake ever. I think several others fell into the CPU/GPU trap so don't feel too bad. If there are any further iterations of FS (and I heard there will be), I will hold off upgrading my system until I know what's happening. I'll let Phil Taylor be the guinea pig...In all fairness to Nvidia (and ATI), the display drivers do make FSX run smoother (or better) (and smoothness is only in the eye of the beholder). I remember when the first display drivers were released for Vista. FSX was stuttering, and graphics were pretty blurry in most places. FSX also crashed fairly fast with the display driver not responding message. Over a year later and several upgrades of the display drivers and my graphics are as clear as I have ever seen them. And, I don't see as much stuttering as I use to. So, things are getting better and better every day. Again, it's all in the eye of the beholder.Now if someone can just fix the display problems with DX10 Preview enabled!Best regards,Jim

[Mace 1,909]

Ulf that is nice of you to post screens of your settings like that. Every time one of you fellow FS'ers does that, I always learn a little bit more, because I add it to the storehouse of knowledge that I keep.Interesting that you run mesh complexity of 91. Have you found that there is actually NO difference between 91 and 100, or is there a difference, but it's so minor that it doesn't matter? RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

[Guest UlfB]

>Interesting that you run mesh complexity of 91. Have you>found that there is actually NO difference between 91 and 100,>or is there a difference, but it's so minor that it doesn't>matter?Rhett,I haven't investigated this setting, because I haven't noticed any difference when I've changed it. I don't focus details like that when I'm flying (it would ruin your FSX experience). It's a coincidence that it's set to 91.I focus on the setting of sliders when they have an clear impact on fps and on the visual appearance of FSX. I also use your and other fellow simmers experience and discoveries (thanks a lot, guys).Ulf B

[Guest UlfB]

>So I made my first computer mistake ever.Jim,You should know how many I've done over the years :+ :+ :+I did my latest pc build mistake about 2 years ago when I got my self a new PSU, that didn't fit the case.Ulf B

[Mace 1,909]

>>Interesting that you run mesh complexity of 91. Have you>>found that there is actually NO difference between 91 and>100,>>or is there a difference, but it's so minor that it doesn't>>matter?>>Rhett,>>I haven't investigated this setting, because I haven't noticed>any difference when I've changed it. I don't focus details>like that when I'm flying (it would ruin your FSX experience).>It's a coincidence that it's set to 91.>>I focus on the setting of sliders when they have an clear>impact on fps and on the visual appearance of FSX. You know, another thing I noticed. You are running "Trilinear" filtering.I usually run "Aniso"I tried your settings last night, and when I had it set to Trilinear, the distance areas were much less defined. On the other hand, when I set it to Aniso, the distance areas are crisper.Now, I realize with a realistic visibility setting, this isn't much of an issue, but on your hardware, do you notice the same effect?(BTW, I did notice a performance difference between the two filtering settings. Is that your reason for running Trilinear?)RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

[Guest ledzzepplin]

Well ... I gave this beta a try. And I have to say that for me this is the best yet. There is a definite smoothness factor in FS9 and X, and I may have gained a few extra frames. It's a keeper.

[Guest firehawk44]

"Well ... I gave this beta a try. And I have to say that for me this is the best yet. There is a definite smoothness factor in FS9 and X, and I may have gained a few extra frames. It's a keeper."Thanks Rick for posting. It's nice to see others are just as happy as I am with these betas!Jim

[Guest UlfB]

>You know, another thing I noticed. You are running>"Trilinear" filtering.>>I usually run "Aniso">>I tried your settings last night, and when I had it set to>Trilinear, the distance areas were much less defined. On the>other hand, when I set it to Aniso, the distance areas are>crisper.>>Now, I realize with a realistic visibility setting, this isn't>much of an issue, but on your hardware, do you notice the same>effect?I can't see any difference between the settings trilinear and anisotropic.Ulf B

[bobbyjack 61]

Man, I hate to have to say it, but I've had to go back to 169 drivers. All of the 17x drivers cause my computer to hang for 2 or 3 minutes during start up, and have artifacts in FSX. Bummer, I like having all the latest updates.Bob

[Mace 1,909]

>I can't see any difference between the settings trilinear and>anisotropic.>>Ulf B>Really! That's strange, I see a HUGE difference in visual appearance.What vid card do you have?RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

[irocx 292]

You're not alone Bob, I tried these drivers out and while the IQ was improved, the frames went south, especially with the clouds and AA. They did seem to fix the control panel lag though but, I went back to the XG 174.74's, again.....Regards, Kendall#1: E6750@3.2GHZ/Coolermaster HyperTX2 Gigabyte P35-DS3L 4GB Ballistix Tracers PC6400 EVGA 8800GT - 174.74 Seagate 250GB 7200.11 CH Yoke/Pedals/Saitek Throttle Dual Monitor: Dell 2405/1905 #2: Dell 8400 3.2 H.T. 3GB PC4200 - X800XT Diamond Xtreme/Logitech X-530's

[Guest Antarius]

I just installled this driver. I finally can play DX10! Runaway flickering is gone!!!!!!!!!http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6548/20...21489249kf4.jpg

[Guest firehawk44]

"I just installled this driver. I finally can play DX10! Runaway flickering is gone!!!!!!!!!"The drivers are nice but not that nice! First thing I look for after upgrading display drivers. I still have the flickering. I believe others have stated these drivers have not fixed FSX. Make sure you still have DX10 Preview enabled. Jim

[Guest Antarius]

>not fixed FSX. Make sure you still have DX10 Preview enabled.http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9151/20...14443261uf3.jpgFS9 Mosquito is white in DX10. Choose any runway. I will fraps a movie for you tomorrow if you dont believe me.