I have just bought a new system based on the quad intel 6600 processor, 4gb of ram and a geforce 9600gt with 512mb. The monitor is 22". What would be the optimal settings for this setup? I don't do a great deal of urban flying and I like the A320/737 aircraft.

O/C that thing to 3.6, then you can do some business. At 2.4, it's going to be disappointing. At 3.6, Graphics,Res to monitor's default. DX10/bloom offAA off (use nvidia control panel to set)/Anisotropic Lock frames at 20.Scenery, Set Terrain and Water all hi except mesh res to 10 and water to low2x.Scenery Objects all hi expect AG one notch down and Shadows off. Traffic: 20/20/20/10/20/20The rest will pre-set about right.PMDG will cost ta All AG and All traffic.At 2.4, everything comes down ~ 30%.(Actually, that 9600 will most likely NoT be a bottleneck. Your smooth frames will be All about CPU clock)

I really don't think there's an "optimal" setting for everyone with the same setup you have. For instance, everyone has different operating system services running in the background and different video card settings. When you first install FSX, FSX sets up default settings based on 'your' system. You should first defrag your harddrive and then you can adjust your FSX settings upwards or downwards if you're not happy with the defaults but I would keep with the defaults for a few flights anyway. Just remember, FSX was not designed to run the sliders all to the right or maxed out for current systems. Maybe for future systems. Several flight simmers have done this but usually suffer a lot of the blurries, stuttering, or CTD's as it really taxes any system. (You can try everything maxed out too and see what happens. If it doesn't work well you can always return to the default settings by clicking on the default button). Another variable is the graphics card settings. If you don't have the default settings Nvidia recommended for FSX and changed your AA and AF to the max (16x), then that will place additional stress on FSX. So my recommendation is to keep the settings on the video card AND FSX at the default settings. Defrag your harddrive. Then, slowly move your FSX graphic settings to the right until YOU see everything crisp and clear or to your liking. You can even make changes to your settings during the flight so it's fairly easy to adjust the settings and find what's optimal for you. Hope this helps.Jim

And many don't like "fixing" the framerate either.It may reduce stutters, but I for one find it the opposite of smooth.When panning o/s the aircraft, as long as you have over 60fps if you fix Vert Synch to ON...it is like butter. If you fix the framerates, it will NEVER be smooth.Of course, if FPS drop below 60fps...it will stutter as it flicks between 60 and 45 or 40 etc......Try both and see which you prefer.