Well guys, I turned light bloom off, checked other settings, and decreased autogen to dense from very dense. Traffic is at 40%, and boats are at 40% or less. What's interesting is that over downtown Chicago, I'm clipping beautifully at 25 + to even 30 fps. While on approach to KMDW or KORD the axe falls and I hit 6 - 7 fps!!!! ugghhh. New York is not that bad at all compared to Chicago, for whatever reason. I still need to check out Nick's tweaks. Thanks again. Tom

Hi Tom. I would have to say that going with SP2 is not going to degrade your performance and intoduce stuttering and smearing effects. In fact, I think that if you check with NickN who published the setup guide, he himself is running SP2. Also alot of addons that have been producd or are being produced require the use of SP2. Not all, but some. Some have the option of using FSX RTM, FSX SP1, and FSX SP2.Although I used FS-GS for my set up, they recommended/insisted on SP2. I am suffering no adverse consequences from doing so, in fact performance on my machine is wonderful.

Hi Pierre,Thanks for helping me out here. Yes, I do have SP2 installed I think. I understand it is included with Acceleration which I have installed. Regards, Tom

Hi Tom. I would have to say that going with SP2 is not going to degrade your performance and intoduce stuttering and smearing effects. In fact, I think that if you check with NickN who published the setup guide, he himself is running SP2. Also alot of addons that have been producd or are being produced require the use of SP2. Not all, but some. Some have the option of using FSX RTM, FSX SP1, and FSX SP2.Although I used FS-GS for my set up, they recommended/insisted on SP2. I am suffering no adverse consequences from doing so, in fact performance on my machine is wonderful.

Hi Pierre,Thanks for helping me out here. Yes, I do have SP2 installed I think. I understand it is included with Acceleration which I have installed. By the way, I can't find my FSXConfig. What folder is it in?? Regards, Tom

Well guys, I turned light bloom off, checked other settings, and decreased autogen to dense from very dense. Traffic is at 40%, and boats are at 40% or less. What's interesting is that over downtown Chicago, I'm clipping beautifully at 25 + to even 30 fps. While on approach to KMDW or KORD the axe falls and I hit 6 - 7 fps!!!! ugghhh. New York is not that bad at all compared to Chicago, for whatever reason. I still need to check out Nick's tweaks. Thanks again. TomHi Pierre,Thanks for helping me out here. Yes, I do have SP2 installed I think. I understand it is included with Acceleration which I have installed. Regards, Tom

SP2 is indeed part of Acceleration.If airports are killing performance, reduce traffic further.. 20% instead of 40%. Or, as a test, try 0 just to see what happens.Secondly, reduce scenery complexity a notch or two.Third, reduce weather settings... try fair weather for starters.Last, some aircraft are tougher on performance than others, and sometimes 2d vs Virtual cockpits can be different also.I usually switch to a clear view out front for the last 400 ft or so, for best view of the runway and best performance.

Flaps, as others have mentioned, save yourself a lot of time and frustration and contact the folks at www.fs-gs.comIt will cost you a few bucks, but you will have a system that runs FSX darn near 'WOT' in a few hours.