NEED HELP ON SETTINGS FOR BETTER FPS

[Guest]

Hi,I would appreciate some advice on some settings issues related to FPS, and on how I still could improve my FPS, which have dropped down since I have added Mytraffic which I cannot use to more than 40% ATC level... (which is a pain as I loose many small aircrafts). I also wish to anticipate the new UT which seems great. So thanks in advance for your expertize.My hardware: P4, 1.8, 768MB PC133 RAM, Nvidia TI4400 GEO4I know I must upgrade at least the CPU (for 2.6-3ghz)and the card (ATI9700/9800 or FX), but will not be able to do that before some time.FPS currently observed (main panel view, clouds 2/8, daytime): (Blocked at 40 fps)FL100-130: 40+ fps, FL50-100: 30-40 fps, approach: 10-25fps, takeoff: 15-25fps, ground:10-25fps. Lower figures concern complex airports with major traffic(40planes+) or dense areas. ( I needed to get ride of all my airport addon sceneries are they were killing FPS to under 8fps and now flies only default airport) Aircraft flown: DF734, EW PRO A319, ATR, BAE, Project fokker 100/70.Other addons: Lago Terra Mesh Europe, My trafficFS 2k2 settings summary: Display: high (not maximum), max vis at 90miles, no ground shadow, texture complexity 80, texture quality high, scenery complex: Dense.Aircraft: Massive, shadow; off, panel size on; Hardware: 1024/768/32, antialiasing off, MIP on, tri-linear onATC: 40% Here are some major concerns I have on potential ways in to increase my current PC performance as I have read it in this forum and others and where I would need your expertize: a) Virtual memory settings, I heard this could improve FPS, my system will give me min/max from 2 to 1150, I have manually changed it to 768/768 (my current ram), should I increase e.g 1150/1150 or more ? any risk?:( System and Graphic card performance setup: does it greatly change the FPS if I turn it to performance v.s image quality ?c) MSconfig: Does it really help (more cpu cycles ?)if I get rid of hiden start up programmes and some Window services (indexing, reports),am quite anxious to do that...d)Visual settings:, seems strange but have better FPS with 1024/768/32 than lower resolutions.e) Any other suggestion for PC settings ? Like blocking down FPS rate to 20 only to keep memory for CPU?Many thanks for your help. I know that there is no miracle but in order to fly with real traffic like mytraffic or UT I have already e given up, as you have seen, on many important FS settings (I used to have them all maximum except antialia not activited) but FPS always over 15FPS is my target. And as I am not an expert on PC I would need your help to seem if I am on the right track.Many thanks in advance for your timePatrick Geneva

[Emile 28]

Hello,"FL100-130: 40+ fps, FL50-100: 30-40 fps, approach: 10-25fps, takeoff: 15-25fps, ground:10-25fps. Lower figures concern complex airports with major traffic(40planes+) or dense areas. "this is quite good!!I run a P4 2.4, GF4 TI4600, 1 Gig memory, XP Pro SP1 , o'clocked CPU & Vid Card and I do not get these figures (of course you have no addon airports, Navigation or Meteo addons) on several regions in Europe. EmileEBBR

[Guest]

Emile,you are true, but in order to get those results (which I want to improve still...)I had to get rid of all my addon airport sceneries which I loved, German airport, Spain 1,2,3, UK airports, Scandinavia, Greece, Austria.This was a pitty but I could afford to keep them with Mytraffic running as my FPS would have run under 10fps and for me, smooth flying is a priority as well as getting rid of Orbit, Pacifica, etc aircrafts.....At least I see more or less the real ones at the real places know !Just I question for future, I have never found a good EBBR scenery, do you know a valuable one by any chance ? This is sad to miss such a great airport.Regards Patrick

[Guest]

I have one from a belgian site. Their Antwerp and other airports are very good, too. I don't know how to attach a link, but this is the adress: http://www.fscb.be/be_scenery.html

[yellow5 0]

There are many things you can do to improve the FPS. It takes a super computer to be able to run FS on the highest settings. But for the rest of us we have to make some sort of comprimise so that we can get good FPS. Here is what I have done on my modest computer.Turn the ATC down to 30-50%. Terrain textures and aircraft on max. Mesh is around 80. The clouds are around 25-35. This way it just renders the clouds around you not far off in the distance. Turn down VC to low when possible. CS727 and the MAAM B-25 you can have the gauges on low and they still look pretty good. Keep the scenery to normal or dense. Autogen is on normal. Dynamic scenery is on normal. Adjusting your sound volumes seem to make a difference. I have turned off antialiasing and let the card do the work. Adjusting these parameters seems to make a lot of difference. Every computer is different. Start turning things off that you can live with out then go from there. I have the effects on high and the water on detail only. In the scenery library I have turned the cache up to about 2000. That is because I have that much HD space to spare. This seems to help a bit.Good luck. I hope you are not too discouraged by your FPS. When you get to airports and congested cities you are going to take a drastic hit, no matter what. But by having logical settings, it won't be so bad. You may not get to 30FPS but it should be acceptable.

[Guest seev_39]

Hi PatrickGenerally your computer is doing fine, but here are things you could do for no money at all or a little investment;1. Delete all start-up programs you don't need (run MSconfig). You don't risk anything as long as you know what you delete. For instence, I saw a big improvement after deleting MS Office from my start-up programs.2. Add a sound card if your mother-board is running your sound. A seperate sound card will improve performance by 5% and more.3. Play with ALL sliders until you get the best FPS you can.4. This one is hard; avoid lousy downloads. Many simmers feel they have to try EVERYTHING new on the market. Don't do this because many add-ons don't add much to the game and only give you a hard time in regard to frame rate and other trouble.5. Change visibility to a more realistic distance, such as 5 or 10 NM. I even prefere 3-5 NM. After all, how many clear days a year you have with a visibilty of 40 NM, and more, over the Alps?6. If you run LAGO's FSSE, like myself, shut down the scenery before approach and return to it after landing.7. Disconnect you modem if you are playing off-line.Those are some suggestions I just remember. Hope it helps you.Seev

[Guest]

Seev,Many thanks for your comments. Just need some precision on some points, if you have time for that:1)Is that any place where we can have an advice on which one to delete ? I am quite affraid to do that.2)I got an Audigny sound card and I have reduced sound quality to normal (50%) to save FPS.5)I will try to change visibility to 30NM. I am currently at 90NM.6)Have FSSE like you. Will check your suggestion.Just had two more points:- Are you aware of min/max settings for virtual memory. It seems to bring good results for old computers, but is this really accurate for modern one. Should I not leave the system manage the cache size ?- Have you tried to download the latest drivers for Direct X 9.0(a) and the latest Nvidia one for the graphic card (I get a TI4400 geo4).Would appreciate to share your experience on this one, if any.Many thanks for your timeHave a nice day.Patrick Geneva

[Guest seev_39]

Hi Patrick,Couldn't find any place which tells you exactly what can be deleted from the start-up programs. I deleted only programs I know what they do. But if you want to investigate this matter further you can go to MS support. They have articles on every thing.I don't know what can be done with virtual memory. In the old days (DOS) MS had a program for saving memory, called MEM.. something, maybe this can help if you are still on a WIN-xx o/s.Generally, after installation I DON'T update drivers. I found the updatings are causing more trouble than gain. Maybe I am wrong in that attitude but that's the way I found best for me. I prefere to build a new machine every 3 years with all the new goodies availeble. True, it cost a little more. But upgrading you old horse with a new saddle does not make the beast run faster.Another thing crossed my mind. "Keep your house clean" at all times, I mean do regularly computer maintnance, things like disk defragmenting once a month or so. Also install an anti virus program.Seev

[Guest]

Seev,A last question, i hope, I defraf my C drive every week and it helps but what about HD cleaning ?When I start the process, after analyze I got a list of files that the system propose to delete, mainly temp files, can I delete them without risk? I was just wondering that those temp files contain information on your settings, key assignments, etc.Any suggestion ?Patrick

[Emile 28]

Hi Patrick,the best for EBBR is at :http://www.zzrworld.com/fshc/index2.htmlcheck download; Robert Buysen ; EBBR V32 versions are available the "heavy" and the "light", and I must say the heavy is good but really heavyHave fun.Robert did also make EBAWEmileEBBR

[Guest seev_39]

Your are welcomed Patrick,Yes, you can delete the temp files.You can also delete the internet temp files. Go to Tool/Internet Options/Delete Files - O.K.Seev

[Emile 28]

Hello,1/ What process to stop? I use EndItAll 2http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1935,00.asphttp://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,697,00.aspit works (also for XP !!)2/ Vid driver : there a many solutions....a/ Rivatuner (www.guru3D.com) to change the settings, I did that including o'clocking, you need to know all the functions available in the vid driverb/ I did now use the "modified" drivers to be found on :www.omegacorner.com its simple and it works !Hope it helpsEmileEBBRHope it helps

[Guest]

Many thanks Emile. Will take the light version, but at least we got something decent for EBBR now. It was a shame to fly through all those ap sceneries and having BRU with the default airport.Thanks againPatrick

[Guest Tim W]

As far as virtual memory goes, the rule of thumb is to enter a min and max setting of twice your RAM, I have 512mb and set a min and max of 1024. It's debatable whether it makes any large improvement but you can always change it back if you like.I did that the other day and installed the latest Omega Nvidia 43.45 drivers and installed Direct X 9.0a and I must say my system is a lot smoother that it was before. Obviously the rates do drop after a long useage and using aircraft like the CS727 at a high detail addon airport but my system is a lot older and less powerful than yours.However I can see frame rates of 15+ using that a/c at a busy airport. What really matters is the fluidity for me. AMD XP1700+Nvidia GF3 T1-200 (Omega 43.45 drivers)Audigy sound card512mv RAMThere are also 2 views on the FPS lock, some say that locking it to 20 helps, some say that unlimited is better, try it and see. Also yes, cut out anything you can in MSCONFIG so it's not loaded, End it all works too. Another tip, Always run FS2002 from a fresh boot up. That really does help, as does regular defraging. Also reduce your max vis to about 20 miles. You can rarely see 90 miles these days anyway due to haze and the lower the vis, the better the sim runs.Best thing is to experiment and see what happens, just obviously don't try everything at once as you'll never know what causing the difference.Bear in mind as well that to get the benefit of some changes you may have to restart FS2002. Just keep playing with it, and don't get to fixated on frame rates, look for smoothness, thats far more important than getting sucked into the frame rate issue.Good luckregardsTim

[Guest]

Many thanks for your time and advice Tim.That's great. Will try that as I priviledge smoothness as well.dn