I was running an E8500 at stock speed and getting around 16FPS sitting in my PMDG747-400 on the threshold of the runway. This figure increased to about 50-60FPS during departure as detail diminished at height. I tried overclocking and it showed promising results so I figured a CPU upgrade would improve the performance.After spending a considerable sum on a QX9770 (yes my ram has a top speed of 1600MHz, so it's compatibile with the FSB and the X48T MOBO), without changing anything other than the CPU clock, FSB and RAM speed, I now get 10-12 FPS on the threshold and it only increases to about 15 at height.Can anybody explain this?Rgds

I dont know. If you post some details on your hardware (mobo, ram, graphics card, psu), OS and post some pictures taken from CPU-Z (CPU, Memory and SPD tab) somebody might be able to help you.

Well the 9770 isn't a huge step above the E8500 (3.2 GHz vs 3.16GHz). honestly, I would have purchased a new cooler and overclocked the 8500 instead of dropping a lot of money on a 9770. If anything, get a Core i7 940 or 920 instead of the QX9770I'd return that 9770

True story. The CPU went from a dual at 3.2 to a quad at 3.2. Scenery may load a bit better, but that's about it. The reduction in performance is something else. Recheck drivers, etc.However, you now have a quad that will go to 4.0+. If you can get that clocked up, you WIll see some Real difference. Get this cooler: http://www.crazypc.com/products/ultra-120_extreme-50983.htmlSet the multiplier to 10X and the FSB to 400. Let that DDR31600 ram run at 1:1 (800Mhz) That'll get that QX to 4.0 Ghz. Go fly. Now re-set the ram's speed to 1600. Shut off the frame counter and use your eyes. Any difference?