I am having a problem with FSX - which I have spent a good while trying to solve without any success. It is getting pretty annoying, so any help would be appreciated. It goes like this:Boot System, Open task manager and wait until everything "calms back down", launch FSX and load up flight. The frame rate then bounces between 5 & 20 constantly. Exit, reboot system, start as before and then the frame rate will then sit at 20+ ....Since using FSX I have started using AlacrityPC to start it up (which makes no difference) and then FSX_Frame_Limiter which also makes little difference. I have trimmed down everything that starts up, tried preventing AVG updating (or exclude FS directory) even gone through scheduled tasks and purged most of the stuff in there - all with no joy....I am at a bit of a loss now so any suggestions would be welcome !!G

A couple of things to try...Defragmenting your hard drive is always a favourite and usually improves things. You could also try getting hold of 'End It all', which is a little downloadable utility that can kill all your unecessary background apps and free up some RAM. It usually helps with RAM-hungry applications such as FSX.Al

Defragmenting your hard drive is always a favourite and usually improves things. You could also try getting hold of 'End It all', which is a little downloadable utility that can kill all your unecessary background apps and free up some RAM. It usually helps with RAM-hungry applications such as FSX.

Did the defrag already, and using Alacrity kills pretty much everything possible on the machine. Problem is that it is only the first time I boot & try it, on the reboot it works fine ... ... Which seems to rule out RAM & Fragmented files - Alacrity reports pretty much the same free RAM both times......

I am at a bit of a loss now so any suggestions would be welcome !!

1. Please post your system specs2. What video card driver version are you using3. What add-ons do you have going

1. Please post your system specs2. What video card driver version are you using3. What add-ons do you have going

1.AMD Athlon 64 3200, 1Gb RAM, Radeon HD3850 AGP, Soundblaster Audigy.2.Version: 8.5613.Add on wise - Eaglesoft CJ1 but it happens with any a/c.Looking at it I will give updating the video drivers a try and see if that makes any difference, although I have not really been looking in that direction, due to the fact that it runs great on a reboot !! ......... Also it doesn't matter if it is reboot from cold or just restart......G

I think you could use more RAM... FSX might be calling on virtual memory, which would cause you some wild fluctuations in frame rate. Also, what operating system are you using? What service packs are installed for FSX and your OS? Keeping the service packs up to date will help. You can experiment with locking your frame rate versus keeping it unlocked (although you probably did that with the Frame Limiter), and using windowed mode versus full screen mode. Where you fly will make a difference - stay away from New York! Turn your water slider down to 1X High if you are flying near water. Turn off bloom. Turn down your traffic sliders. Those could help, but I think you are short on RAM. Jeff ShylukSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

1.AMD Athlon 64 3200, 1Gb RAM, Radeon HD3850 AGP, Soundblaster Audigy.

You probably already know this, but your system specs are marginal for FSX.You have a similar machine (a little lower spec) to what I ran FSX on 2.5 years ago, when FSX first came out. You are going to have to make compromises to get enjoyable results. I overclocked mine to the gills (2.2 stock up to 2.6 ghz, tweaked mem timings), framelocked at 22, and ran a faster vid card (7800GT) and more ram (2gb) and I was STILL ONLY on the bottom end of acceptable.Regarding the frame rate flunctuations, since you have a single-core cpu, have you experimented with FIBER_FRAME_FRACTION? Are you running FSX, FSX SP1, or FSX SP2?Have you considered replacing that machine? You can spend very little money and have a machine that is much, much faster than what you have. An old machine such as an E6600, 8800GT, and 2 gb of bargain bin ram will net you much better results in FSX. A bargain rig with an E8400, 8800GT, and 2gb mem would put you in an even better place!

Have you considered replacing that machine? You can spend very little money and have a machine that is much, much faster than what you have. An old machine such as an E6600, 8800GT, and 2 gb of bargain bin ram will net you much better results in FSX. A bargain rig with an E8400, 8800GT, and 2gb mem would put you in an even better place!

At the moment a new machine is out of the question - I am torn between saving towards a new machine, and throwing more RAM at the current one.....GPS: As per your other question FSX SP2 !!

At the moment a new machine is out of the question - I am torn between saving towards a new machine, and throwing more RAM at the current one.....GPS: As per your other question FSX SP2 !!

GazGet the extra RAM and you may be ok. I run a Athlon 3500+ with 2GB RAM and an ATI Sapphire X800 video card. The extra RAM made a big difference to me when I started with FSX.Of course, I still have to compromise with settings. I run with autogen off and no traffic. Everything else is medium to high and I get very good frames. The lack of traffic would be unacceptable to many people but I'm not bothered, and I prefer the way the FSX world looks without autogen.As autogen and AI traffic are the biggest framerate killers, it means I can enjoy the rest of what FSX offers. Heathrow's a bit quiet though... :( Hopefully, I'll be upgrading in the near future, but I've been amazed at how well I can run FSX on my 'ancient' 6 year old PC. Best of luckIan

At the moment a new machine is out of the question - I am torn between saving towards a new machine, and throwing more RAM at the current one.....GPS: As per your other question FSX SP2 !!

My opinion on the matter is, don't throw any more money at the 3200+ rig. Yes you can get the extra gig of ram, but you'll still be dogged by frame rate issues anywhere except rural areas. I just dont think its useful to throw money at it.Save for a new machine.

Mace is right, although RAM usually doesn't cost a lot, and you can install it yourself. Jeff ShylukSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

Of course, I still have to compromise with settings. I run with autogen off and no traffic. Everything else is medium to high and I get very good frames. The lack of traffic would be unacceptable to many people but I'm not bothered, and I prefer the way the FSX world looks without autogen.As autogen and AI traffic are the biggest framerate killers, it means I can enjoy the rest of what FSX offers. Heathrow's a bit quiet though... :(

I must admit that I missed the traffic at the start, but I can live without it until I get a better machine - still using Autogen, which doesn't appear to cause the problem I am having (since the frame rate will fluctuate with or without it). As things stand I think I will be living with having to reboot when the problem rears it's evil little head .. .. .. when it is running fine I am getting 20-30 FPS with graphics settings over halfway and Autogen a couple of notches from the top. Thinking about it, it seems a shame to buy RAM to then junk it when I finally upgrade the machine !!G