As I am in mid flight between Detroit, Michigan, en route to Muskoka, Ontario, Canada in the HQ Grumman Goose, bound for a lake with a certain cottage waiting upon its shores......I am reflecting upon the last thirty days using FSX and enjoying flight simulation like I have NEVER had before. In having set up my final i-975/GTX 285 overclock configuration at 4.011 GHz running at 1.254 volts/ 65C at the max temp reached in this config.....it must be human nature in how quickly we adapt to the 'now'...the now being clear and pristine textures. The 'now' being stutter-free animation, whether you are pushing back from the gate, or moving out from the G.A. parking ramp; whether you are at the FL's, or are heading down towards a smooth touchdown upon the numbers from those very FL's.No matter what scenario, all--- at as near-to-world-true as FSX can dish out.It took the ensuing years since FS98, and many thousands of dollars, to get to where each firing up of the flight sim, is now a sheer pleasure for myself. No more tweaking/reading/tweaking/grumbling/and ultimate make-do dissatisfaction. No more. No more 'looking forward' to that time when technology will render what I wanted since flight simulation was introduced to me.Whether I need to ever upgrade again, only the future will tell. But it will not be an upgrade with the hope that THIS ONE will be the magic bullet to render clear, smooth, life-like flight simulation. I have achieved that in this i-975/GTX285 Dell 730x H2C system. Flight simulation for myself...has never garnered such pleasure and total satisfaction at the end of each user session, than the last month of my hobby.FSX has come alive, and what H*LL of a flight simulation it renders, if you have the system to RUN IT! Those systems are here, and now. You only need to avail yourself of one of them.To all...a most happy flight...and a great landing!Back to the 'Goose'...and that waiting virtual cottage, an hour or two away....Mitch'er

Until recently I would not have agreed with you. I was the biggest FSX skeptic going round.However since overclocking my 920 a month ago, I have finally had one month of FSX only, and that's heavies too, not GA lake flying. I don't see myself going back to FS9, but the investment in FS9 addons has more than paid for itself by now.I agree that the hardware is finally here now to let FSX stretch its legs.

Until recently I would not have agreed with you. I was the biggest FSX skeptic going round.However since overclocking my 920 a month ago, I have finally had one month of FSX only, and that's heavies too, not GA lake flying. I don't see myself going back to FS9, but the investment in FS9 addons has more than paid for itself by now.I agree that the hardware is finally here now to let FSX stretch its legs.

Flyhalf,Are you by any chance the same Flyhalf who made the video a while back called "End of an era"?If so I wanted to say that to this day I think its the best FS video I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of them? So thanks a lot for the great video.Do you still make FS videos or have a website that they are hosted on?I also agree with the rig in my sig, I have been enjoying FSX since last April with all types of aircraft everywhere.

Flyhalf,Are you by any chance the same Flyhalf who made the video a while back called "End of an era"?If so I wanted to say that to this day I think its the best FS video I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of them? So thanks a lot for the great video.

That is indeed me, Sir. Thank you very much. I don't make videos any more and most of them can be found on YouTube. I pulled my YT page down as a while back I predicted there would be copyright problems ahead relating to the usage of music on YT. This is starting to become evident now. So I got myself out of that risk area.I now do scenery design. I get much more satisfaction from making Gmax scenery. The plan is one day to have the video makers working for me!To put back on topic, I think FSX is now entering a Golden Age with hardware catching up now to demand.

...I am reflecting upon the last thirty days using FSX and enjoying flight simulation like I have NEVER had before. In having set up my final i-975/GTX 285 overclock configuration at 4.011 GHz running at 1.254 volts/ 65C at the max temp reached in this config..Mitch'er

I fullheartedly agree with your assessment and feelings. Simming has never been this smooth. I have even gone back on the 975 to stock speed (3.47 with turbo) because I see very little difference in performance. Where exactly do you need the 4.0 GHz overclock? I found that in flight I hit my fps limit of 60 pretty much everywhere, and at busy airports, where it matters, the OC to 4 GHz only makes 2-3 fps difference (say 26 to 29). SO I went back to stock, run it at 1.05 V and temperatures in the 30

MitchI recently bought pretty much the same spec computer (i975Extreme - GTX285), but not a Dell.I haven't tried overclocking (too much of a non-techie...), so I'm running the sim at the 'stock' clock speed, and although everything looks much better, I'm still getting stutters.So I'd be very interested to know what driver you've found to be the best, and any tweaks etc you've made to tune the sim to perfection.....Thanks,Toni.

what OS and card driver are you using?

Where exactly do you need the 4.0 GHz overclock? I found that in flight I hit my fps limit of 60 pretty much everywhere

Try Aerosoft or UK2000 Heathrow (EGLL) with UT2 or MyTrafficX at anything over 80% and see if you can get more than 20 fps everywhere on the airport.I have a Core i7-975 water cooled and overclocked to 4.50 GHz, with 6Gb of DDR3 memory at 2000 MHz 8-8-8-24, and an overclocked water-cooled GTX285, running Win7 64 RC. But frame rates at EGLL with anything remotely approaching reasonably traffic levels varies 12-22 fps depending which way you look. And that's in DX10 mode. In DX9 mode the frame rates are lower and EGLL stutters.Everywhere else, no problems. Even other very complex airports with max traffic.I had this system built specifically to "beat" EGLL, and it is now usable, but still only just!RegardsPete

MitchI recently bought pretty much the same spec computer (i975Extreme - GTX285), but not a Dell.I haven't tried overclocking (too much of a non-techie...), so I'm running the sim at the 'stock' clock speed, and although everything looks much better, I'm still getting stutters.So I'd be very interested to know what driver you've found to be the best, and any tweaks etc you've made to tune the sim to perfection.....Thanks,Toni.

I have now tweaked and found the best settings for FSX to be completely playable and good looking in all the scenarios I need (E6600@3,3/8800GTS 512MB).

Flyhalf,Are you by any chance the same Flyhalf who made the video a while back called "End of an era"?If so I wanted to say that to this day I think its the best FS video I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of them? So thanks a lot for the great video.

Wow! You are right, the "End of an Era" video is wonderful. I had never seen it before and went to YouTube to check it out. Very fun....Here is a quick link if others are interested. I highly recommend it.

That's awesome that you got things running so well but I've yet to see you post any screen shots - all I read is these weekly reportsHow bout posting some pics of your setup? Or posting some pics in-game in the SS forum?

I fullheartedly agree with your assessment and feelings. Simming has never been this smooth. I have even gone back on the 975 to stock speed (3.47 with turbo) because I see very little difference in performance. Where exactly do you need the 4.0 GHz overclock? I found that in flight I hit my fps limit of 60 pretty much everywhere, and at busy airports, where it matters, the OC to 4 GHz only makes 2-3 fps difference (say 26 to 29). SO I went back to stock, run it at 1.05 V and temperatures in the 30

That's awesome that you got things running so well but I've yet to see you post any screen shots - all I read is these weekly reportsHow bout posting some pics of your setup? Or posting some pics in-game in the SS forum?

Well...first off, and with all due respect, I don't believe that you really get 100 per cent in a picture rendering of what someone sees live on their screen. I have seen that already with other's posted pics. What I am saying, that is if one goes out and picks up an i-975/GTX285 based system, they will be thrilled beyond all measure. I don't believe that anyone besides myself that also has an i975/GTX285/Vista 64 bit system would find ANYTHING objectionable to my ramblings...or say in any way that I am overstating what you will enjoy upon ownership. I don't personally believe in the validity of pics...but in when others might also verify the statement of a user by adding to his/her i975/GTX285 experiences with their own.If I am exaggerating anything in the way of what performance from FSX, my system gives me....I am SURE that other i975/GTX 285'ers will post quickly that my posts are bunk. To date, no other owner has. There is a reason. You don't need pics. You only need to trust in many users that attest to this set up. That's my stance.I fly. I'll let others take pics to post, for they like doing it.Again...pictures-besides, what other i975/GTX 285 system owner has been taken back from what I honestly post? Nobody that I have seen! If so, please highlight the post and I will read with interest.Cheers,Mitch

MitchI recently bought pretty much the same spec computer (i975Extreme - GTX285), but not a Dell.I haven't tried overclocking (too much of a non-techie...), so I'm running the sim at the 'stock' clock speed, and although everything looks much better, I'm still getting stutters.So I'd be very interested to know what driver you've found to be the best, and any tweaks etc you've made to tune the sim to perfection.....Thanks,Toni.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Here is the recipe:I use nVidia's 182.5 driver suite for Vista 64 bit Ultimate--------------------------------------------------------Enter your BIOSFind in your BIOS where the TURBO MODE menu is. In mine, it is under Frequency/Voltage ControlHere are the settings you need to make:ADJUST CPU BClK (MHz) [ENABLED] Set to or make sure it is at the default of 133.0 MHzSPREAD SPECTRUM [DISABLED) This, enabled adds NOTHING to the performance of your CPU. It only is a feature to stop RF interference with surrounding equipment. It is required by statutes, and can be left DISABLED.ADJUST PCI FREQUENCY [AUTO]ADJUST PCI-E FREQUENCY [100]------------------------------------------------------INTEL TURBO MODE [ENABLED]1 CORE CPU TURBO MODE LIMIT Toni..either 27 for an overclock of 3.609 MHz, or 28 for an overclock of 3.743 (it will be 27 or 28 x 133) My BClK clock is actually by default, 133.7 Yours may be at 133.02 CORE CPU TURBO MODE LIMIT 27 OR 28, 29, OR 30. Do not go over 30 for BCIK clock set at AUTO.3 CORE CPU TURBO MODE LIMIT 27 OR 28, 29, OR 304 CORE CPU TURBO MODE LIMIT 27 OR 28, 29, OR 30IF YOU WANT MY FINAL 4.011 GHz TONI, YOU SET ALL CORES TO A BIN OF: 30 AND YOU WILL HAVE (30X133.7) AND YOUR 975 RUNNING AT 4.011 GHzYour clock might be 133.0 right on the money, and so will be a little less in GHz output. With the BCIK clock set to AUTO, you should be pulling no more than 65C for your core temps at around 1.254 volts when at 4.011 GHzTURBO MODE TDC LIMIT OVERRIDE [160]TURBO MODE TDP LIMIT OVERRIDE [180]Go into your OVER VOLTAGE CONTROL and set the following:DDR3 MEM VOLTAGE [AUTO]DYNAMIC CPU Vcore OFFSET [+80mv] (OR, you can just keep it to AUTO, as I have found out that works as well) See what runs best on your system.IOH VOLTAGE [1.10v]QPI AND Uncore VOLTAGE [DEFAULT]Toni, about your system memory: If you have 1066 MHz Tri-Channel, and a good memory cooling solution (fans, or onboard module heatsink, etc)Try these settings for drop-dead gorgeous display and performance! The following settings:QPI FREQUENCY [AUTO]MEMORY RATIO [10] This will give you a memory overclock of: 10x133 for 1330 MHz system memory speed. It ROCKS as this overclock. Smooth, scrolling scenery like you've never seen. :)The following timing settings will give you superb memory performance!:CL 7.0tRCD 7.0tRP 7.0tRAS 20tRFC 59 clocksCR 1T, or 2T if system seems flaky. 1T is good for INTEL based systems with FOUR OR LESS banks per channel. Newer memory modules mostly can run with a setting of 1T which gives you superior performance over 2T.That's the stew....put all the ingredients, along with your 975 into the 'pot'.... and enjoy FSX as on fire! :)

I have now tweaked and found the best settings for FSX to be completely playable and good looking in all the scenarios I need (E6600@3,3/8800GTS 512MB). But I sure can't wait to reach to point of excellence that you describe is possible with tech like i7@4ghz/GF285. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey there,These posts are only meant to say, that in my personal opinion as the poster, the technology has FINALLY been created to make FSX run like a champ. I made do with my Pent 4. 3.4 for YEARS with less-than-stellar FSX performance, and actually---but only in reality, let me get into the door and sit in the nose-bleed section. Now..it is right there in the Orchestra Pit! :)If you are satisfied with your present rig...then don't be in any hurry to replace it. You have right now, tech that made my Pent 4 look like a dinosaur. Enjoy. But...when you DO decide to upgrade, let me assure you that it will put such a smile on your kisser, than you have ever seen! If the money spent to upgrade was worth it...will be your private and personal judgement. For me, coming from my Pent. 4 3.4 GHz/ATI Radion 1950 Pro 256 Meg setup...was like being taken out of the 1840's, from off of a horse..and plopped down into a BMW sports car...and the person responsible asking me what do you think of THIS!? "Well...I guess that that ole horse will be well taken care of. Now..you say you need the keys put into the ignition to make this go? Can I have 'em? Oh, here's the halter, you can keep the horse...BYE!!!" Zooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo (i975/GTX285)oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom! Cheers!Mitch