Hey guys, Im still very new to the forum and was unsure where to put this topic. Well here is my issue.... The new PC is as follows:GIGABYTE MOBO : GA-EP43-DS3LXFX GPU: XFX radeon HD4890 Xtreme 1gbCORSAIR PSU: HX750WGSKILL RAM: GSKILL TRIDENT 4gbINTEL CPU: Q9550CPU COOLER: Xigmatek Dark KnightMonitor: Viewsonic 24"O/S : Windows 7 x64ok so my graphics card came with Tom Clancy HAWX, which is a very graphical demanding game, and running it maxed out, at 1900x1020 (or something around that. max res) i get well over 60fps! In it automatically locks the frames at 60?! So playing HAWX, everything is a delight, stunning visuals, smooth gameplay and at a constant locked 60 - no issues.For some reason when i put FS2004 on it, it didnt look so good...Flytampa Dubai and PMDG 737 (no ai or any other addon) gave me 60 frames -dont forget its locked, when i was up in the air and nothing around me, however when there was a building in the way/distance the frames fall to about 30...and when im on the ground at the beginning of the runway, in 2d cockpit i get around 25-35 frames, and it is very jerky and not smooth.however in the cessna, everything is perfect, but still abit jerky....ive had this problem on my old rig and the new rig was to remove this problem so im quite ######... ( granted the new rig's performance is better but not significantly) At one stage of my old rig i could run everything full ai in OMDB in the pmdg 747 and the sim ran perfect, not the highest frames but very smooth....so i was just wondering if you trust gurus out there know anything on how to help me it would be very very much appriciated!What i dont understand is how can it run HAWX sooo damn well but struggle with FS...* note : also noticed frames go down drastically when gauges are in the view.I just want my sim to run smoothly!! THANKS GUYS - really desperate!

Hey guys, Im still very new to the forum and was unsure where to put this topic. Well here is my issue.... The new PC is as follows:GIGABYTE MOBO : GA-EP43-DS3LXFX GPU: XFX radeon HD4890 Xtreme 1gbCORSAIR PSU: HX750WGSKILL RAM: GSKILL TRIDENT 4gbINTEL CPU: Q9550CPU COOLER: Xigmatek Dark KnightMonitor: Viewsonic 24"O/S : Windows 7 x64ok so my graphics card came with Tom Clancy HAWX, which is a very graphical demanding game, and running it maxed out, at 1900x1020 (or something around that. max res) i get well over 60fps! In it automatically locks the frames at 60?! So playing HAWX, everything is a delight, stunning visuals, smooth gameplay and at a constant locked 60 - no issues.For some reason when i put FS2004 on it, it didnt look so good...Flytampa Dubai and PMDG 737 (no ai or any other addon) gave me 60 frames -dont forget its locked, when i was up in the air and nothing around me, however when there was a building in the way/distance the frames fall to about 30...and when im on the ground at the beginning of the runway, in 2d cockpit i get around 25-35 frames, and it is very jerky and not smooth.however in the cessna, everything is perfect, but still abit jerky....ive had this problem on my old rig and the new rig was to remove this problem so im quite ######... ( granted the new rig's performance is better but not significantly) At one stage of my old rig i could run everything full ai in OMDB in the pmdg 747 and the sim ran perfect, not the highest frames but very smooth....so i was just wondering if you trust gurus out there know anything on how to help me it would be very very much appriciated!What i dont understand is how can it run HAWX sooo damn well but struggle with FS...* note : also noticed frames go down drastically when gauges are in the view.I just want my sim to run smoothly!! THANKS GUYS - really desperate!

Lock your FPS to a lower number. Try 40, then 38, 36, 34, 32... Every system has its own sweet spot. Look at my sig below and I lock at 34 because 32 micro-stutters, and 36, 38 and 40 micro0stutter but 34 is just right lol...Cheers,-Paul

Lock your FPS to a lower number. Try 40, then 38, 36, 34, 32... Every system has its own sweet spot. Look at my sig below and I lock at 34 because 32 micro-stutters, and 36, 38 and 40 micro0stutter but 34 is just right lol...Cheers,-Paul

Thanks Paul, Ill try it out.It just seems abit strange that such a powerful system can only run FS at such low frames :( Ive never had this problems on my old setup which was waay less powerful and probably getting more frames than 30... but ill try it thanks again~

DON'T CHASE FRAMERATE! look at how smooth the virtual world looks. solve the stutters and don't look at the number.my computer (just over a year old now), likes 30FPS locked. it runs a stable and understood OS - winXP 32bit.make sure you have installed sp1 for FS9. slowing framerates sounds like the old FS9.0 memory leak.look at the 'hacks' to the FS9.cfg file. new hardware IS NOT UNDERSTOOD by the FS9 installer. there are a good number of tweeks that will help FS better use modern video cards.make sure you turn off antivirus.don't look at other game performance. FS uses more CPU in different ways than any other game. HAWK has a narrowly defined frame a reference ... FS simulates THE WORLD.understand the win7 may behave differently ... not everything is fully understood.understand the FS9 is a winXP 32bit program. how a 64bit two generation removed OS will treat the game will take some time to understand.--

DON'T CHASE FRAMERATE! look at how smooth the virtual world looks. solve the stutters and don't look at the number.my computer (just over a year old now), likes 30FPS locked. it runs a stable and understood OS - winXP 32bit.make sure you have installed sp1 for FS9. slowing framerates sounds like the old FS9.0 memory leak.look at the 'hacks' to the FS9.cfg file. new hardware IS NOT UNDERSTOOD by the FS9 installer. there are a good number of tweeks that will help FS better use modern video cards.make sure you turn off antivirus.don't look at other game performance. FS uses more CPU in different ways than any other game. HAWK has a narrowly defined frame a reference ... FS simulates THE WORLD.understand the win7 may behave differently ... not everything is fully understood.understand the FS9 is a winXP 32bit program. how a 64bit two generation removed OS will treat the game will take some time to understand.thanks Scoob! i forgot to add the FS update, and i will limit the frames to suit a smooth world. - thanks alot, ill get back to you with any news,im sure FS is reading the proper hardware as it is a completely new computer (new case and everything) so everything is fresh.--

Umm... i've tried all these things, i locked my frames from everything from 40 - 30 and nothing.... ive installed the update, tried tweaking with Atitraytools... Nick's CFG tweaks...i've had this same problem with my old system, so i really dont know :( I really want to solve this problem.... any other ideas?

Just goes to show - Latest ain't always greatest.Remember FS is itself nearly six years old.

Show us your FS9.cfg file.

Show us your FS9.cfg file.

Here you go...[PANELS]IMAGE_QUALITY=1UNITS_OF_MEASURE=0QUICKTIPS=1PANEL_MASKING=1PANEL_STRETCHING=1[Weather]WindshieldPrecipitationEffects=1MinGustTime=10MaxGustTime=500MinGustRampSpeed=1MaxGustRampSpeed=200MinVarTime=5MaxVarTime=50MinVarRampSpeed=10MaxVarRampSpeed=75TurbulenceScale=1.000000DefaultVisibility=0DynWx_MedianDewPointSpread=10.000000DynWx_ProbCloudFormForMedianDewPoint=0.000500DynWx_MaxDewPointSpread=50.000000DynWx_ProbCloudFormForMaxDewPoint=0.000125DynWx_ProbCloudFormForMinDewPoint=0.100000DynWx_DryTempLapsePer1000Meters=9.000000DynWx_ProbCloudFormForDryTempLapse=0.000500DynWx_MoistTempLapsePer1000Meters=3.300000DynWx_ProbCloudFormForMoistTempLapse=0.040000DynWx_MaxProbCloudChangePerMinute=0.040000DynWx_MultiplierForDynamicWeatherLevelMild=0.500000DynWx_MultiplierForDynamicWeatherLevelNormal=1.000000DynWx_MultiplierForDynamicWeatherLevelHigh=3.000000DynWx_MultiplierForDynamicWeatherLevelExtreme=10.000000DynWx_TempChangePercentageForOvercastClouds=0.750000DynWx_TempChangePercentageForMinDewPoint=0.700000DynWx_MaxTempChangePerMinute=0.060000WeatherServerAddress=fs2k.zone.comWeatherServerPort=80WeatherGraphDataInDialog=0DynamicWeather=2LOADWEATHER=1MAX_UNLIMITED_VIS=241401CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=83D_CLOUD_PERCENT=100DETAILED_CLOUDS=1CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=7CloudsImpostorRingRadius=128000.000000[iNTERNATIONAL]ASLAT=2ASLON=0MEASURE=0[MISC]COM_RATE=7LOG_TIME=0FOREIGN_TRANSLATOR=0LOG_FILE=[sTARTUP]DEMO=0LOADSIM=1LOADWINDOW=1SHOW_OPENING_SCREEN=1STARTUP_DEMO=[GRAPHICS]FULL_SCREEN=1PERFORMANCE_MODE=0DEF_PERF_MODE=7TEXT_SCROLL=1AUTO_LOD=0DETAIL_TEXTURE=1WATER_EFFECTS=2TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_MAP=1TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_OBJECTS=1EFFECTS_QUALITY=1GROUND_SHADOWS=0SMOOTH_VIEW=1IMAGE_SMOOTHING=1TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=256COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1LANDING_LIGHTS=1IMAGE_QUALITY=0TEXTURE_BLDG=1TEXTURE_GND=1TEXTURE_WATER=1AIRCRAFT_TEXTURE=2SEE_SELF=1TEXTURE_QUALITY=3LOD_TARGET_FPS=21NUM_LIGHTS=8[REALISM]INDASPD=0PFactor=0.000000Torque=0.000000GyroEffect=0.000000CrashTolerance=0.000000General=0.000000UnlimitedFuel=TrueTrueAirspeed=FalseAutoCoord=FalseRealMixture=FalseStressDamage=FalseGEffect=FalseManualLights=FalseGyroDrift=FalseCrashWithDyn=FalseCrashDetection=0[CONTROLS]KBDAIL=64KBDELEV=64KBDRUD=64PAN_RATE=400[uSERINTERFACE]MAP_ORIENTATION=2PAUSE_ON_LOST_FOCUS=1PROMPT_ON_EXIT=1SelectFlightLevel=0SelectFlightTitle=0PageID=3OpenATCOnCreate=0SITUATION=[sOUND]SOUND=1SOUND_FADER1=0.500000SOUND_FADER2=0.100000SOUND_FADER3=0.300000SOUND_FADER4=0.800000SOUND_FADER5=0.500000SOUND_FADER6=0.800000SOUND_QUALITY=0[DISPLAY.Device.ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series .0]Mode=1920x1080x32TriLinear=1[DISPLAY]UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=800[TERRAIN]TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=21TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=3TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.500000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=9.000000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4[sCENERY]IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=3DYNAMIC_SCENERY=0DYN_SCN_DENSITY=3DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1SUNGLARE=1LENSFLARE=0[AIRtoCONTAINER]SIM1=Cessna Skylane 182R RGSIM2=Learjet 45SIM3=Schweizer 2-32 SailplaneSIM4=Sopwith CamelSIM5=Extra 300SSIM6=Boeing 737-400[APL]CACHE_WAV_FILES=1[TrafficManager]TrafficDensity=40IFROnly=0EnableAirline=1EnableGeneralAviation=1[AContain]ShowLabels=1ShowUserLabel=0ShowLabelManufacturer=1ShowLabelModel=1ShowLabelTailNumber=0ShowLabelDistance=1ShowLabelAltitude=1ShowLabelAirline=0ShowLabelAirlineAndFlightNumber=0ShowLabelFlightPlan=0ShowLabelContainerId=0ShowLabelAirspeed=0ShowLabelHeading=0LabelDelay=1000LabelColor=FFFF0000[sLEW]MaxLateralRate=40000.000000MaxVerticalRate=1000.000000MaxPitchRate=360.000000MaxBankRate=360.000000MaxHeadingRate=360.000000[VirtualCopilot]VirtualCopilotActive=1[MULTIPLAYER]ALWAYS_SHOW_INITIAL_DIALOG=1SESSION_NAME=My SessionPLAYER_NAME=Unnamed PilotGUARANTEED_MESSAGES=0MAX_PLAYERS=8MAX_OBSERVERS=0TICKS_PER_SYNC=90PACKETS_PER_SEC=4COLLISION_SECS=2FOLLOWING_MULTIPLIER=5ALLOW_PLANE_MODEL_SEND=0ALLOW_PLANE_MODEL_RECEIVE=0ALLOW_TEXTURE_SEND=0ALLOW_TEXTURE_RECEIVE=0MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE=100MAX_SEGMENTS_PER_SEC=1CONNECTION_TYPE=0PROTOCOL_SELECTION=0ALLOW_DESCRIPTIVE_SEND=1ALLOW_DESCRIPTIVE_RECEIVE=1AUTOPILOT_LOCK=0DISTANCE_DISPLAY=0ADF_TRACK=0ALLOW_NAME_TAG_DISPLAY=1CLIENT_CONNECT_USE_CUSTOM_PORT=0CLIENT_CONNECT_PORT=23456CLIENT_HOST_USE_CUSTOM_PORT=0CLIENT_HOST_PORT=23456HOST_CONNECT_USE_CUSTOM_PORT=0HOST_CONNECT_PORT=23456[sIM]SYSCLOCK=1[ATC]AutoOpenAirTrafficWindow=1UsePilotVoice=1ShowATCText=1PilotVoice=1[MAIN]Location=632,250,1288,788HideMenuNormal=0HideMenuFullscreen=1Maximized=0[FACILITIES]COUNTRY=STATE=CITY=GTL_BUTTON=6225[KEYBOARD_MAIN]SELECT_1=49,8SELECT_2=50,8SELECT_3=51,8SELECT_4=52,8MINUS=189,8PLUS=187,8ZOOM_1X=8,8SOUND_TOGGLE=81,8ENGINE=69,8SIM_RATE=82,8XPNDR=84,8SLEW_TOGGLE=89,8EGT=85,8SMOKE_TOGGLE=73,8STROBES_TOGGLE=79,8PAUSE_TOGGLE=80,8PAUSE_TOGGLE#1=19,8ATC=192,8ATC#1=145,8ADF=65,8VIEW_MODE=83,8HEADING_GYRO_SET=68,8DME=70,8GEAR_TOGGLE=71,8ANTI_ICE_TOGGLE=72,8JET_STARTER=74,8JOYSTICK_CALIBRATE=75,10ALL_LIGHTS_TOGGLE=76,8SITUATION_SAVE=186,8VIEW_WINDOW_TO_FRONT=222,8AP_MASTER=90,8FREQUENCY_SWAP=88,8COM_RADIO=67,8VOR_OBS=86,8BAROMETRIC=66,8NAV_RADIO=78,8MAGNETO=77,8BRAKES=190,8SPOILERS_TOGGLE=191,8SITUATION_RESET=186,10FLAPS_UP=116,8THROTTLE_FULL=115,8THROTTLE_INCR_SMALL=114,8THROTTLE_DECR=113,8FLAPS_DOWN=119,8THROTTLE_CUT=112,8VIEW=111,8ELEV_TRIM_DN=36,8ELEV_DOWN=38,8INCREASE_THROTTLE=33,8AILERONS_LEFT=37,8CENTER_AILER_RUDDER=12,8AILERONS_RIGHT=39,8ELEV_TRIM_UP=35,8ELEV_UP=40,8DECREASE_THROTTLE=34,8VIEW_FORWARD=38,41VIEW_FORWARD_RIGHT=33,41VIEW_RIGHT=39,41VIEW_REAR_RIGHT=34,41VIEW_REAR=40,41VIEW_REAR_LEFT=35,41VIEW_LEFT=37,41VIEW_FORWARD_LEFT=36,41VIEW_DOWN=12,41RUDDER_LEFT=45,8RUDDER_RIGHT=135,8BRAKES_LEFT=122,8BRAKES_RIGHT=123,8AP_ATT_HOLD=84,10AP_LOC_HOLD=79,10AP_APR_HOLD=65,10AP_HDG_HOLD=72,10AP_ALT_HOLD=90,10AP_WING_LEVELER=86,10AP_BC_HOLD=66,10AP_NAV1_HOLD=78,10EXIT=67,10ABORT=3,10READOUTS_FLIGHT=90,9PANEL_TOGGLE=219,9VIEW_MODE_REV=83,9PANEL_LIGHTS_TOGGLE=76,9LANDING_LIGHTS_TOGGLE=76,10PARKING_BRAKES=190,10MINUS_SHIFT=189,9PLUS_SHIFT=187,9FLAPS_INCR=118,8FLAPS_DECR=117,8PROP_PITCH_LO=115,10PROP_PITCH_INCR_SMALL=114,10PROP_PITCH_DECR=113,10PROP_PITCH_HI=112,10MIXTURE_RICH=115,11MIXTURE_INCR_SMALL=114,11MIXTURE_DECR=113,11MIXTURE_LEAN=112,11SCRIPT_EVENT_1=219,10SCRIPT_EVENT_2=221,10YAW_DAMPER_TOGGLE=68,10CENTER_NT361_CHECK=57,11CLOSE_VIEW=221,8NEW_VIEW=219,8NEW_MAP=221,9NEXT_VIEW=9,10PREV_VIEW=9,11VIEW_TYPE=83,10VIEW_TYPE_REV=83,11RADIO_VOR1_IDENT_TOGGLE=49,10RADIO_VOR2_IDENT_TOGGLE=50,10RADIO_DME1_IDENT_TOGGLE=52,10RADIO_ADF_IDENT_TOGGLE=53,10GEAR_PUMP=71,10SPOILERS_ARM_TOGGLE=191,9PITOT_HEAT_TOGGLE=72,9AP_AIRSPEED_HOLD=82,10AUTO_THROTTLE_ARM=82,9AUTO_THROTTLE_TO_GA=71,11LANDING_LIGHT_UP=38,11LANDING_LIGHT_DOWN=40,11LANDING_LIGHT_LEFT=37,11LANDING_LIGHT_RIGHT=39,11LANDING_LIGHT_HOME=12,11PAN_RESET=46,9KNEEBOARD_VIEW=121,8MP_PLAYER_CYCLE=84,11MP_PLAYER_SNAP=70,11MP_GO_OBSERVER=79,11MP_CHAT=221,11MP_ACTIVATE_CHAT=13,8PANEL_1=49,9PANEL_2=50,9PANEL_3=51,9PANEL_4=52,9PANEL_5=53,9PANEL_6=54,9PANEL_7=55,9PANEL_8=56,9PANEL_9=57,9AP_MACH_HOLD=77,10VIEW_FORWARD_UP=38,42VIEW_FORWARD_RIGHT_UP=33,42VIEW_REAR_RIGHT_UP=34,42VIEW_REAR_UP=40,42VIEW_REAR_LEFT_UP=35,42VIEW_FORWARD_LEFT_UP=36,42VIEW_UP=12,42INVOKE_HELP=191,10INVOKE_HELP#1=191,11TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_LABELS=76,11ENGINE_AUTO_START=69,10INC_COWL_FLAPS=86,11DEC_COWL_FLAPS=67,11USER_INTERRUPT=27,8AILERON_TRIM_LEFT=37,10AILERON_TRIM_RIGHT=39,10RUDDER_TRIM_LEFT=45,10RUDDER_TRIM_RIGHT=135,10TOGGLE_FLIGHT_DIRECTOR=70,10TOGGLE_AFTERBURNER=115,9TOGGLE_MASTER_BATTERY_ALTERNATOR=77,9TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_EXIT=69,9PANEL_HUD_TOGGLE=87,8SNAP_TO_PANEL=45,41MARKER_SOUND_TOGGLE=51,10TOGGLE_WATER_RUDDER=87,9TOGGLE_PUSHBACK=80,9KEY_CHASE_VIEW_NEXT=87,10KEY_CHASE_VIEW_PREV=87,11HEADING_BUG_SELECT=72,11ALTITUDE_BUG_SELECT=90,11CHASE_VIEW_TOGGLE=81,10EYEPOINT_UP=13,9EYEPOINT_DOWN=8,9EYEPOINT_RIGHT=13,11EYEPOINT_LEFT=8,11EYEPOINT_FORWARD=8,10EYEPOINT_BACK=13,10EYEPOINT_RESET=32,8AIRSPEED_BUG_SELECT=82,11TOGGLE_TAILWHEEL_LOCK=71,9ROTOR_BRAKE=66,9ROTOR_CLUTCH_SWITCH_TOGGLE=190,9ROTOR_GOV_SWITCH_TOGGLE=188,9VIRTUAL_COPILOT_TOGGLE=88,11VIRTUAL_COPILOT_ACTION=88,10[KEYBOARD_SLEW]SLEW_TOGGLE=89,8SLEW_ALTIT_UP_FAST=115,8SLEW_ALTIT_UP_SLOW=114,8SLEW_ALTIT_FREEZE=113,8SLEW_ALTIT_DN_FAST=112,8SLEW_ALTIT_PLUS=81,8SLEW_ALTIT_MINUS=65,8SLEW_PITCH_DN_FAST=119,8SLEW_PITCH_DN_SLOW=118,8SLEW_PITCH_FREEZE=117,8SLEW_PITCH_UP_FAST=116,8SLEW_PITCH_PLUS=57,8SLEW_PITCH_MINUS=48,8READOUTS_SLEW=90,9SLEW_BANK_MINUS=36,8SLEW_AHEAD_PLUS=38,8SLEW_BANK_PLUS=33,8SLEW_LEFT=37,8SLEW_FREEZE=12,8SLEW_RIGHT=39,8SLEW_HEADING_MINUS=35,8SLEW_AHEAD_MINUS=40,8SLEW_HEADING_PLUS=34,8SLEW_RESET=32,8TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_LABELS=76,11EYEPOINT_UP=13,9EYEPOINT_DOWN=8,9EYEPOINT_RIGHT=13,11EYEPOINT_LEFT=8,11EYEPOINT_FORWARD=8,10EYEPOINT_BACK=13,10

fs9 will not run smoothly never going below 60fps with add-ons...nothing you can do about it. It's old software and will not use the lastest hardware 100%. That's just the way it is. Search various tweaks to get it to where you like it, but don't expect a lot of fps all the time.

Dear Lamborghini,[DISPLAY]UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=800You said you have limited your FPS to 40. You must have in FS9.cfgUPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=40Your TBM is way too high, you MUST limit it at its default TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40 to 100 maximumTBM at 400 (or 800 in your case) is reserved for 2/3 years ago machines.Hope this helps :-)Pierre N

Dear Lamborghini,[DISPLAY]UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=800You said you have limited your FPS to 40. You must have in FS9.cfgUPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=40Your TBM is way too high, you MUST limit it at its default TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40 to 100 maximumTBM at 400 (or 800 in your case) is reserved for 2/3 years ago machines.Hope this helps :-)Pierre N

It can be 100s of different things as stutters are very hard to pinpoint. I suggest seraching the many threads there are on stutters and seeing if anything fixes it. Also, if you've messed around with fs9, I suggest you start fresh with a new install (maybe a windows format too) and do one thing at a time.

Couple things to try:Try unlocking the framerate. On my system, I find less stutters and smoother flying with the framelock @ unlimited but with vsync on limiting me to 60fps. I also use Activesky 6.5 for real weather generation, but I always limit it to 30 miles visibility. Mostly, I do this becuase I just find I like the way it looks better, but it also helps with the framerates...A big, detailed airport will always hit the framerates. i've got an AMD X2 5600+ 2.8ghz with a 512meg ATI 4850 and 3 gigs of ram. At an add-on like FlyTampa Hong Kong or Princess Juliana, I see 30-35 fps flying right around the airport. As soon as I move away from the airport my frames peg at 60fps and pretty much stay there regardless of what the scenery is. But near the airport itself, back to 35fps.

Couple things to try:Try unlocking the framerate. On my system, I find less stutters and smoother flying with the framelock @ unlimited but with vsync on limiting me to 60fps. I also use Activesky 6.5 for real weather generation, but I always limit it to 30 miles visibility. Mostly, I do this becuase I just find I like the way it looks better, but it also helps with the framerates...A big, detailed airport will always hit the framerates. i've got an AMD X2 5600+ 2.8ghz with a 512meg ATI 4850 and 3 gigs of ram. At an add-on like FlyTampa Hong Kong or Princess Juliana, I see 30-35 fps flying right around the airport. As soon as I move away from the airport my frames peg at 60fps and pretty much stay there regardless of what the scenery is. But near the airport itself, back to 35fps.

I agree. For FS9 unlock your frame rates. It works better. FSX is a different platform so those telling you about frame rates with the system you have may not use FS9 as their primary FS. Your system can run unlimited with everything to the right, mip=8 everything 8, extended terrain, activeSky 6.5 set at 256x256 etc..Carl Perry