Hi John; I sent to ATI

Hi Mitch,What's the image quality like with the 8.11s?Such a performance hike in FSX does rather suggest compromises may have been made in other areas. However, as ever, I could be wrong, but can't help feeling just a tad suspicious ;)Cheers!Mike

I have a 4870 1Gb card using 8.11 drivers. I've turned adaptive antialiasing off and AI down to standard as I've found with other games this makes them faster and more stable.However, FSX still runs like a pig (worse than the NVidia 8800GTX I replaced).Could the original poster share his config file so I can compare settings?

I have a weird FSX font issue with 8.11 that was not there in 8.10. I think I had this problem with the catalysts a while back as well. It's obvious in the menus, but really bad on the ATC and other screens. Has anyone else reported this?

I have a 4870 1Gb card using 8.11 drivers. I've turned adaptive antialiasing off and AI down to standard as I've found with other games this makes them faster and more stable.However, FSX still runs like a pig (worse than the NVidia 8800GTX I replaced).Could the original poster share his config file so I can compare settings?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi Bottie, Here is my most recent FSX config file.[sOUND]AmbientUIMusicVolume=-6.000000SOUND_FADER1=0.080000SOUND_FADER2=0.750000SOUND_FADER3=0.330000SOUND_FADER4=1.000000AmbientUIMusic=FSX01SOUND=1SOUND_QUALITY=2SOUND_LOD=0UISound=1AmbientUI=0PrimaryDevice={00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}VoiceDevice={00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}[Display]ChangeTime=4.000000TransitionTime=4.000000ActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255ActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=0,28,140,64NonActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255NonActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=24,33,87,64InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,0,0InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,255InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,255InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128InfoBrakesEnable=TrueInfoParkingBrakesEnable=TrueInfoPauseEnable=TrueInfoSlewEnable=TrueInfoStallEnable=TrueInfoOverspeedEnable=TrueBLOOM_EFFECTS=0SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=70UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0WideViewAspect=TrueRUNWAY_LIGHTS_SURFACE_SCALAR=1.2RUNWAY_LIGHTS_VASI_SCALAR=1.2RUNWAY_LIGHTS_APPROACH_SCALAR=1.2RUNWAY_LIGHTS_STROBE_SCALAR=1.0[Main]DisablePreload=1User Objects=Airplane, HelicopterSimObjectPaths.0=SimObjects\AirplanesSimObjectPaths.1=SimObjects\RotorcraftSimObjectPaths.2=SimObjects\GroundVehiclesSimObjectPaths.3=SimObjects\BoatsSimObjectPaths.4=SimObjects\AnimalsSimObjectPaths.5=SimObjects\MiscSimObjectPaths.6=ORBX\FTX_AU\FTXAI_AIRCRAFTProcSpeed=3301PerfBucket=5Maximized=1Location=335,95,1367,869,\\.\DISPLAY1HideMenuNormal=0HideMenuFullscreen=1HideInfoText=1 FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33[PANELS]IMAGE_QUALITY=1DEFAULT_VIEW=0QUICKTIPS=1PANEL_OPACITY=100PANEL_MASKING=1PANEL_STRETCHING=1UNITS_OF_MEASURE=0[Weather]WindshieldPrecipitationEffects=1MinGustTime=10MaxGustTime=500MinGustRampSpeed=1MaxGustRampSpeed=200MinVarTime=5MaxVarTime=50MinVarRampSpeed=10MaxVarRampSpeed=75TurbulenceScale=1.000000WeatherServerAddress=fs2k.zone.comWeatherServerPort=80WeatherGraphDataInDialog=0AdjustForMagVarInDialog=1DynamicWeather=2DownloadWindsAloft=1DisableTurbulence=0CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=3DETAILED_CLOUDS=1CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=6THERMAL_VISUALS=0Mode=1280x1024x32Anisotropic=1[CONTROLS]Controls_Default=StandardControls_Current=StandardKBDAIL=64KBDELEV=64KBDRUD=64[TextInfo.1]Latitude=1,1Longitude=1,2Altitude=1,3Heading=1,4AirSpeed=1,5WindDirectionAndSpeed=1,6[TextInfo.2]FrameRate=1,1LockedFrameRate=1,2GForce=1,3FuelPercentage=1,4[TextInfo.3]Latitude=1,1Longitude=1,2Altitude=1,3Heading=1,4AirSpeed=1,5WindDirectionAndSpeed=1,6FrameRate=2,1LockedFrameRate=2,2GForce=2,3FuelPercentage=2,4[slewTextInfo.1]Latitude=1,1Longitude=1,2Altitude=1,3Heading=1,4AirSpeed=1,5[slewTextInfo.2]FrameRate=1,1LockedFrameRate=1,2[slewTextInfo.3]Latitude=1,1Longitude=1,2Altitude=1,3Heading=1,4AirSpeed=1,5FrameRate=2,1LockedFrameRate=2,2[DynamicHeadMovement]LonAccelOnHeadLon=-0.020000LonAccelOnHeadPitch=-0.010000RollAccelOnHeadLat=0.010000YawAccelOnHeadLat=-0.100000RollAccelOnHeadRoll=0.100000MaxHeadAngle=5.000000MaxHeadOffset=0.300000HeadMoveTimeConstant=1.000000[VirtualCopilot]VirtualCopilotActive=0[GRAPHICS]SHADER_CACHE_PRIMED=1693458432TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024NUM_LIGHTS=8AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1LANDING_LIGHTS=1AC_SELF_SHADOW=0EFFECTS_QUALITY=2GROUND_SHADOWS=0TEXTURE_QUALITY=3IMAGE_QUALITY=0See_Self=1Text_Scroll=1D3D10=0[RWW_WEATHER_MAP]SHOW_AIRPORTS=0SHOW_VORS=0SHOW_NDBS=0SHOW_APPROACHES=0SHOW_INTERSECTIONS=0SHOW_VICTOR=0SHOW_JET=0SHOW_AIRSPACE=0SHOW_FLIGHTPLAN=1SHOW_WEATHERSTATIONS=1SHOW_WEATHERSYSTEMS=1SHOW_DATATAGS=1SHOW_TERRAIN=1[uSERINTERFACE]PageID=1OpenATCOnCreate=0ShowAllACPaintSchemes=1SelectAircraftManufacturer=AllSelectAircraftPublisher=AllSelectAircraftType=AllSHOW_MISSION_CAPTIONS=0PAUSE_ON_LOST_FOCUS=1PROMPT_ON_EXIT=1Map_Orientation=2DisplayFuelAsWeight=0[ATC]ShowATCText=0COMM_MSG_NONE_COLOR=FFFFFFFFCOMM_MSG_ATC_USER_COLOR=FFB6FFB6COMM_MSG_USER_ATC_COLOR=FFFFD21BCOMM_MSG_ATC_AI_COLOR=FF00FF00COMM_MSG_AI_ATC_COLOR=FFFF7840AutoOpenAirTrafficWindow=1UsePilotVoice=1PilotVoice=196608[PointOfInterestSystem]CycleSetting=0[sCENERY]LENSFLARE=1DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=5[TrafficManager]AirlineDensity=100GADensity=0FreewayDensity=25ShipsAndFerriesDensity=0LeisureBoatsDensity=0IFROnly=0AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=3[TERRAIN]TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=1800TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=600LOD_RADIUS=4.500000MESH_COMPLEXITY=100MESH_RESOLUTION=25TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=29AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5DETAIL_TEXTURE=1WATER_EFFECTS=4[AContain]ShowLabels=0ShowUserLabel=0ShowLabelManufacturer=1ShowLabelModel=1ShowLabelTailNumber=0ShowLabelDistance=1ShowLabelAltitude=1ShowLabelAirline=0ShowLabelAirlineAndFlightNumber=0ShowLabelFlightPlan=0ShowLabelContainerId=0ShowLabelAirspeed=0ShowLabelHeading=0LabelDelay=1000LabelColor=FFFF0000[iNTERNATIONAL]ASLAT=2ASLON=1MEASURE=0[REALISM]PFactor=1.000000Torque=1.000000GyroEffect=1.000000CrashTolerance=1.000000General=1.000000UnlimitedFuel=FalseTrueAirspeed=FalseAutoCoord=FalseRealMixture=FalseStressDamage=TrueGEffect=TrueManualLights=TrueGyroDrift=FalseCrashWithDyn=TrueCrashDetection=TrueAutoTrim=False[sIM]SYSCLOCK=1[sTARTUP]DEMO=0SHOW_OPENING_SCREEN=1STARTUP_DEMO=LoadWindow=1[FACILITIES]COUNTRY=STATE=CITY=GTL_BUTTON=1232[Misc]Com_Rate=7[FlightPlanMap]LineWidth=2SHOW_AIRPORTS=1SHOW_VORS=1SHOW_NDBS=1SHOW_APPROACHES=1SHOW_INTERSECTIONS=1SHOW_VICTOR=0SHOW_JET=0SHOW_AIRSPACE=1SHOW_FLIGHTPLAN=1SHOW_WEATHERSTATIONS=1SHOW_WEATHERSYSTEMS=1SHOW_DATATAGS=1SHOW_TERRAIN=1show_waypoints=1show_airways=1show_markers=1show_volume_boundaries=1show_ac_twr=1[MAPVIEW_MAP]SHOW_AIRPORTS=1SHOW_VORS=1SHOW_NDBS=1SHOW_APPROACHES=0SHOW_INTERSECTIONS=1SHOW_VICTOR=0SHOW_JET=0SHOW_AIRSPACE=1SHOW_FLIGHTPLAN=1SHOW_WEATHERSTATIONS=1SHOW_WEATHERSYSTEMS=1SHOW_DATATAGS=1SHOW_TERRAIN=1show_flight_history=1[DISPLAY.Device.Radeon X1950 Pro.0]Mode=1920x1200x32Anisotropic=1AntiAlias=1[DISPLAY.Device.Radeon X1950 Series.0]Mode=1024x768x32Anisotropic=1AntiAlias=1[MULTIPLAYER]condAccoutPassword=0VoiceVolume=2.000000

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33Mode=1280x1024x32Anisotropic=1[DISPLAY.Device.Radeon X1950 Series.0]Mode=1024x768x32Anisotropic=1AntiAlias=1

Hi Mitch,Couple of things:1. Following a quick glance, I would say you can safely delete those entries (see within your quote above) from your FSX.cfgMy understanding is that the FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33 value is the default value so is not needed. Try commenting it out by placing a semicolon at the start of the line, save the file and check your performance. You shouldn't see any change.The other lines refer to your old monitor and are needed no longer.2. Did you see my post #17? I would be interested in your observations.Ta!Regards,Mike :(

Hi Mitch,Couple of things:1. Following a quick glance, I would say you can safely delete those entries (see within your quote above) from your FSX.cfgMy understanding is that the FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33 value is the default value so is not needed. Try commenting it out by placing a semicolon at the start of the line, save the file and check your performance. You shouldn't see any change.The other lines refer to your old monitor and are needed no longer.2. Did you see my post #17? I would be interested in your observations.Ta!Regards,Mike :(

---------------------------------------------------------Hi Mike!Yeppers....aware that 'FIBER' is standard at 0.33 :) I constantly play around and tweak...and adjust that setting. BUT....what you see in my .cfg is the MOST RECENT that I am flying with and am having fantastic FPS performane as per my P4 3.4GHz/ATI 256 1950 PRO. I have also figured out that I get the same great visuals with my AA set to 4 and my AF set to 8--not 16. It seems to truly make no difference in rendering..but MAN....does it with FPS performance. So, this .cfg file and my ATI CCC settings is what I am now flying with.As for your question asked on #17----my visuals are most excellent...and 8.11's give GREAT performance. Just great performance, and they will now be adopted as my 'fall-back' if any other future suites go 'South' on me. :)Cheers,Mitch

---------------------------------------------------------As for your question asked on #17----my visuals are most excellent...and 8.11's give GREAT performance. Just great performance, and they will now be adopted as my 'fall-back' if any other future suites go 'South' on me. :)

Hi Mitch,Good enough for me. I'll download them and try them out sometime soon.Just completed an hours flight over the Grand Canyon in the Bell 206B - late afternoon -> dusk - exploring the new Ozx 2m scenery with Holger's superb 10m mesh. What can I say other than fantastic! It's as if I was actually there, it's so real. I know, I've been there, twice! The ground texture detail is extraordinary - I could almost count the boulders! Truly amazing! Now that PowerStrip has resolved my monitor colour calibration problem (has enabled me to use the accurate Spyder2express calibration data in every situation) I can, once again, enjoy FSX and FS9 in all their glory :)I'm using the 8.10s and there was no deviation from 20fps, which is where I have it pegged. AA:6x, AF:16xIt may not be the fastest by todays standards, but the IQ rendered by the X1950Pro takes a lot of beating IMHO.Cheers!MikeAMD Athlon 64X2 6400+ (BE,3200MHz,Windsor), Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 PC2-6400 4-4-4-12(2T) (Dual Channel)(PCI-E)Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB (Catalyst 8.10 WHQL)Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22" LCD Display Monitor (1680x1050x32)

Hi Mitch,Good enough for me. I'll download them and try them out sometime soon.Just completed an hours flight over the Grand Canyon in the Bell 206B - late afternoon -> dusk - exploring the new Ozx 2m scenery with Holger's superb 10m mesh. What can I say other than fantastic! It's as if I was actually there, it's so real. I know, I've been there, twice! The ground texture detail is extraordinary - I could almost count the boulders! Truly amazing! Now that PowerStrip has resolved my monitor colour calibration problem (has enabled me to use the accurate Spyder2express calibration data in every situation) I can, once again, enjoy FSX and FS9 in all their glory :)I'm using the 8.10s and there was no deviation from 20fps, which is where I have it pegged. AA:6x, AF:16xIt may not be the fastest by todays standards, but the IQ rendered by the X1950Pro takes a lot of beating IMHO.Cheers!MikeAMD Athlon 64X2 6400+ (BE,3200MHz,Windsor), Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 PC2-6400 4-4-4-12(2T) (Dual Channel)(PCI-E)Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB (Catalyst 8.10 WHQL)Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22" LCD Display Monitor (1680x1050x32)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi Mike,Yes, by all means try out 8.11, for you quickly can go back to whatever. With your AA and AF settings, I was getting around 22-27 FPS, with the 8.10's. I deleted them, fired up the 8.11's---rebooted, and came back to my saved flight. Same weather, same everything. I was now running pretty steady (of course though some plus and minus jumps) around 33 FPS. Not too shabby for merely just swapping out the driver suite. If you remember, and I'm sure that you do....when we hit the 7.10's we all thought we had died and gone to heaven. Remember that most of us got a 10 FPS climb just for going from the 7.8's and .9's. We all couldn't figure out what they had done with those great 7.10's. I still have 'em. I won't delete them either. But...to be truthful, the 8.11's are in that same 'To Save-DO NOT DELETE' folder on my desktop. :) By their stellar performance on my P4, they deserve to be! Happy flying...Mitch

Mitch,Thank you for your config file info. I tried swapping it straight in to my FSX install but it gave me pretty much completely corrupted graphics. I put back my old config file and had a look at the differences with yours. Tried a few of your values, but I'm afraid, after another night of trying to tweek FSX it still runs like the unoptimised pile of poo that it is. Time to uninstall it from my HDD and wait for FS11. I pray they really will abandon all the backwards compatibility bloat that they claim has held back the sim for so long.

Mitch,Thank you for your config file info. I tried swapping it straight in to my FSX install but it gave me pretty much completely corrupted graphics. I put back my old config file and had a look at the differences with yours. Tried a few of your values, but I'm afraid, after another night of trying to tweek FSX it still runs like the unoptimised pile of poo that it is. Time to uninstall it from my HDD and wait for FS11. I pray they really will abandon all the backwards compatibility bloat that they claim has held back the sim for so long.

Hi Bottle,What's your CPU? Memory?As you know, performance in FSX is mainly determined by CPU grunt + a respectable graphics card (not necessarily the fastest).You will see from Mitch's and my specs that we get pretty good performance with hardware that, while still very capable, will be considered by many as becoming a tad dated these days. So what, I say. It does all we need it to do. Not all of us are interested in maintaining a position at the vanguard of technology.If you haven't already done so, I would suggest the first things you should be doing are:1. Defragging your harddrive thoroughly. Don't underestimate the power of a well defragmented drive. XP's (assuming you are still on XP which is still a great o/s without all the irritations brought along with Vista) built in defragger is a poor replacement for the many decent commercial offerings out there and can only be described as being barely adequate. I use PerfectDisk and have done so for many years, but others will certainly swear by their own favourites. If you do have to use the built in defragger run it 3x in succession and it will do a better job.2. Rebuild FSX's configuration file: Backup FSX.cfg, then delete it. Run FSX and a new file will be built. Resist the temptation to meddle with it meantime - make all your adjustments from within the sim and resist the temptation to push those sliders all the way to the right - it's NOT necessary to achieve a great experience. It has been shown beyond any dispute that there are very few tweaks to FSX.cfg that are of any discernible value.3. Check out DirectX by running the DirectX Diagnostic Tool: dxdiag.exe (start > Run... and type in dxdiag, then click the OK button.4. Restrict your flying to less demanding scenery areas like away from heavily populated airports and dense cities. The world of FSX has a great deal to offer everyone.Let us know how you get on.Mike

Asus P5E-extreme moboIntel Q6600 at stock 2.4GHz4Gb DDR2 RAMSATA2 HDDVista 64bit + SP2November 2008 DX9.0cATI 4870 1Gb with 8.11 drivers (with auto overclocking)Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer with latest driversRegular defrag with O&O defragMy test area is Edwards Airforce Base in the P51

Asus P5E-extreme moboIntel Q6600 at stock 2.4GHz4Gb DDR2 RAMSATA2 HDDVista 64bit + SP2November 2008 DX9.0cATI 4870 1Gb with 8.11 drivers (with auto overclocking)Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer with latest driversRegular defrag with O&O defragMy test area is Edwards Airforce Base in the P51

Okay, looks like you have the defrag angle under control.Also you appear to have a very capable system, so the potential for good performance must be there. I have no experience of quad cores in this equation and can not comment about the Q6600/clock rate - perhaps someone else could chip in here.Have you checked out DirectX yet and rebuilt your FSX.cfg?When FSX.cfg is rebuilt, open it in Notepad and post the Procspeed and Perfbucket values. These are a rough guide as to how the sim sees the capabilities of your hardware. Initial slider settings will be set accordingly.Mine are:ProcSpeed=6150PerfBucket=6Mike

Mitch,Thank you for your config file info. I tried swapping it straight in to my FSX install but it gave me pretty much completely corrupted graphics. I put back my old config file and had a look at the differences with yours. Tried a few of your values, but I'm afraid, after another night of trying to tweek FSX it still runs like the unoptimised pile of poo that it is. Time to uninstall it from my HDD and wait for FS11. I pray they really will abandon all the backwards compatibility bloat that they claim has held back the sim for so long.

---------------------------------------You are most welcome, Bottie!You have a great system, and I hope with help from others that have knowledge of the dual and quad cores...that you will get it up to your personally acceptable levels of performance. Let's hope that FSII is built to take advantage of what's around today...Cheers!Mitch

Hi , there