Unplayably slow frames rates with FS2004

[Guest buzbox]

I wonder if anyone can offer me some advice.I've installed FS2004 on my Dell Dimension 5100 PC (P4 3GHz 2Gb RAM, ATI Radeon X300 graphics card 128Mb, Windows XP Home SP2) only to discover that the frames rates on this PC are utterly unplayable. As soon as you start moving in any plane the rate draps from around 25fps to just 1fps and that's with only an 800x600 screen resolution. I've tried knocking textures and detail down but it makes only a minor difference. More modern games that my kids play on this PC such as Sims and Spore play absolutely fine so I just can't understand how it can be SO slow. It can't be purely the machine spec, it's got to be something more fundamental than this. My older PC is a 2GHz P4 with 512Mb RAM and I typically get about 20fps.Has anyone got any ideas where I should start to look?Thanks.

[scoob 18]

first guess is the anti-virus program is checking again and again and again all data-streams.be sure you SHUT DOWN ALL PROGRAMS including the anti-virus. --

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

I wonder if anyone can offer me some advice.I've installed FS2004 on my Dell Dimension 5100 PC (P4 3GHz 2Gb RAM, ATI Radeon X300 graphics card 128Mb, Windows XP Home SP2) only to discover that the frames rates on this PC are utterly unplayable. As soon as you start moving in any plane the rate draps from around 25fps to just 1fps and that's with only an 800x600 screen resolution. I've tried knocking textures and detail down but it makes only a minor difference. More modern games that my kids play on this PC such as Sims and Spore play absolutely fine so I just can't understand how it can be SO slow. It can't be purely the machine spec, it's got to be something more fundamental than this. My older PC is a 2GHz P4 with 512Mb RAM and I typically get about 20fps.Has anyone got any ideas where I should start to look?Thanks.

Have you got DirectX installed? To check its status choose Start - Run and type dxdiag and hit Return. You should be on 9.0c.Go to the Display tab and make sure all acceleration is enabled.

[Guest Nealoc187]

Sounds like what happens when you have no video card drivers installed, or a totally wrong set that aren't at all compatible with your vid card.

[Guest buzbox]

Thanks all for the advice above.Checked the DirectX version which was 9.0c.I was sure my video card settings were OK as I'd only recently downloaded the updates.But scoob has hit the nail on the head. I disabled my Symantec NAV program and instantly got 30-50fps frame rates. I thought that modern antivirus programs were smarter than this or at very worst would never have this sort of dramatic effect... but clearly not. The trouble is that I don't really want to have to disable antivirus, so I guess I shall need to investigate if I can disable checks just for FS2004 only... Mmmm. Oh well, at least I know what the problem is. Thanks to all of you who took the trouble to offer your thoughts.

[Guest Nealoc187]

You probably don't want to hear this if you have a bunch of time left on your subscription, but my advice is to dump that Symantec crap. Symantec and Norton both suck TONS of resources, and are much less effective than many of the other AV programs out there if you go read about antivirus programs from folks who know them well.My suggestion is AVG 8.0 (free) along with Spybot Search & Destroy, this combo is pretty well liked among those well versed in anti-virus stuff, and it's not nearly as intrusive and cumbersome as Symantec, Norton, etc.

[argosafe 14]

Hi - Kasperky 2009 does not seem to suck resources either. I also use Smartclose and this stops over half my process's with no detrimental effect on FS2004 or the PC.

[Guest belga1]

Hello,

Symantec NAV

I wonder why peoples continue to subscribe to this antivirus after all the well documented advices published at large as this antivirus is:A big hog of ressourcesNot better or instead less effective than anyone others.Regards.

[scoob 18]

I thought that modern antivirus programs were smarter than this ...

default it seems is EVERYTHING is a threat ... same idea behind VISTA's UAC (IMO)

The trouble is that I don't really want to have to disable antivirus ...

facts -i disabled my antivirus on my old computer whenever i FSed. result - i never 'caught' a virus/etc because i didn't surf the www when i FSed. when i finished playing the game i rebooted the computer so the security systems were functioning.my new computer has no security except what comes with winXP. THIS NEW COMPUTER IS ONLY FOR FSing AND NEVER SURFS THE WWW. result it runs fast fast fast.all my computers (i have four) reside behind a router and that hardware's firewall.--

[Guest buzbox]

Unfortunately I've got too long left on my subscription to dump NAV for now. I know many people seem to hate Symantec NAV but it's not been bad for me until now... Err, OK, now I come to think of it that's probably not true as I've got email sending problems which are supposedly NAV related. So on second thoughts, you're right. It's crapp! Maybe I should look elsewhere. But my other sim software runs fine so there must be something a bit different about FS2004 (and presumably FSX which I am thinking of getting soon).For now I'll just take the reassurance that behind my router's firewall with no surfing all should be well.Thanks everyone for the comments.

[out 769]

As for the antivirus, I would also suggest AVG8. Its basic version is free and I see no impact on my FS9 at all (I tried simming with and without it).Best regards,Rafal

[Guest belga1]

Hello,ESET NOD 32 .. the best.Can't say more :)http://www.eset.comRegards.

[Luis Hernandez 570]

My preference is Avira AntiVir Personal-Free. Very good if you use to carry information between home and a school/university computer room in a USB drive (you know, those rooms are always full of virus). And yes, my sim runs fine.Best regards from ColombiaLuis Miguel

[Byrna 0]

You probably don't want to hear this if you have a bunch of time left on your subscription, but my advice is to dump that Symantec crap. Symantec and Norton both suck TONS of resources, and are much less effective than many of the other AV programs out there if you go read about antivirus programs from folks who know them well.My suggestion is AVG 8.0 (free) along with Spybot Search & Destroy, this combo is pretty well liked among those well versed in anti-virus stuff, and it's not nearly as intrusive and cumbersome as Symantec, Norton, etc.

Not only is Symantec Norton Internet Security NOT crap at all, it is the best suite out there. See this link from PC Magazine: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2333444,00.asp . Some of you may think that Symantec and other companies may pay pcmag to post favourable reviews on their websites, but when you read how detailed the reviews are, you will see that they are quite systematic and scientific. Also, a "real-life" example: AVG can't detect viruses and anti-spyware properly - a computer of a friend of mine got so seriously infected with viruses that Windows had to be re-installed. She was using AVG... Here is the link to the review on AVG Security Suite 8 by pcmag:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2277384,00.aspAnd a review by another website called "Top ten reviews" - http://internet-security-suite-review.topt...ity-review.html on AVG 7.5. The anti-virus is definitely less than perfect whereas the Norton AV is perfect as always. And while the Norton is rated at no. 9 in Top Ten Reviews, I frankly do not believe it because the review is very shallow and does not have any detail of how the tests were performed, whereas the pcmag review is much more detailed and complete, with a full explanation of how testing was done. I would rather believe the more professional and detailed review myself but you can decide for yourself...Norton Internet Security also has a silent mode and many performance tweaking features. Also, there are reviews from actual gamers on the pcmag website which state that they found no ill effects on the game performance.So, it's a matter of knowing how to use the suite. I currently use the Zone alarm 2009 suite and I have put it in game mode without issues. Even though pcmag review shows that ZA effects performance much more than Norton 2009 does, I had no issues with FS2004.You can also disable the firewall if you want and just keep the anti-spyware and AV or just keep the AV running and disable the rest. What I am saying really, is that noone should sacrifice their computer's safety for games. Get the best suite out there and use it. Do not base your judgement of a suite's quality by its performance impact, but by its ability to detect ALL POSSIBLE spyware and viruses out there. In fact, spyware detection performance is VERY CRITICAL today as good anti-spyware programs are hard to find. And spyware can cause very serious issues on a PC, even making it unusable. And I recently had an issue with Norton Ghost 12 and the online chat support person connected to my PC and solved my problem within 15 minutes - I was very impressed by their support. Symantec has definitely improved their product and support.Just thought I'd put in my two or three or four... cents worth!JohnJust thought I'd put in my two cents worth.