How do I know what my actual frame rates are when flying? I keep reading about folks saying there frame rates going up or down by X amount, is it on the screen somewhere and I'm just missing it? Right now I have a GeForce 8500 GT video card and am thinking about upgrading to a BFG GeForce GT 220 because of stuttering problems at bigger airports, especially at night, (Miami, ATL. Etc.)Would the stuttering be due to my frame rates dropping and would a faster video card help? I have my frame rates set to unlimited, but I do not see a difference between say 20, 40 or unlimited. I also have UTX USA, with intersection night lights turned on (other night lights turned off) and Vech. traffic at 15% Thanks for any help!

Hitting Shift + Z three times will cycle through the display of a heap of flight data such as altitude, airspeed and frame rates. Getting a more powerful graphics adapter may help your frame rates but you'll probably need to upgrade your CPU to make a big difference.

Mike's right. FSX is CPU limited and getting a faster graphics card won't make much difference.Cheers,Noel.

Thanks for the help in seeing the Frame rates! Gives me some place to start.This is what I have nowAMD Athlan 64x2 dual core 6000+ 3.00GHZ2 GB ramOS Vista 32 bit500 GB hard driveGE Force 8500 GT video cardFSX AccelerationUTXIs my processor just not powerfull enough to stop the stuttering or would adding more Ram and a newer Video card help, I have both GTX, and My Traffic 2010, on the way, should get here in a few days. I guess what I am asking is do I have what it takes to run MT2010, GTX and UTX if I add ram and new video card or do I need to start hinting to my wife about a faster computer (or a new motherboard) for Christmas!

FS (9 or X ... 8 or 7 ...) wants MORE and MORE MORE MORE CPU power.with a VISTA or win7 OS more memory can help some, but with little 'return on investment'.you also see similar 'low returns' on getting the 'fastest and latest release' GPU.get a faster CPU, and if you are willing to 'risk it', a good MBO for overclocking. the latest intel 'i-' series quad cores are getting good reports for much better FSX performance.no system is yet able to run FSX 'maxed out' ... but the community is getting closer.--

I'd have to add that the 8500 is garbage for gaming. I believe the 220 is in the same boat. Get yourself a good 260 card and I can guarantee you will see an increase. Of'course a new CPU wouldn't hurt but you are def holding your system back more with the 8500.

And here is yet another opinion...Yes, FS needs the best CPU you can get. However, I think your GPU is underpowered for your processor. I would go for the best video card you can. I like my 260 , but it takes up a lot of space. 9800gt is good. Something with at least 512mb. If you get a 260, than you will be ready to get a quad next.Bob

And here is yet another opinion...Yes, FS needs the best CPU you can get. However, I think your GPU is underpowered for your processor. I would go for the best video card you can. I like my 260 , but it takes up a lot of space. 9800gt is good. Something with at least 512mb. If you get a 260, than you will be ready to get a quad next.Bob

Bob-funny you should mention that.I just upgraded my computer from a dual processor to a :http://www.live.intelus.webcollage.net/server/costco/intelus-showcase/standalone?wccgsite=costco' target="_blank">Intel

Yes, FS needs the best CPU you can get. However, I think your GPU is underpowered for your processor. I would go for the best video card you can. I like my 260 , but it takes up a lot of space. 9800gt is good. Something with at least 512mb. If you get a 260, than you will be ready to get a quad next.

This is sound advice. I have a AMD 6000 but an 8800GT video card. That 8500GT is fairly low end. You should see an improvement with even a 9800gt, but I'd recommend a GTX260 or 275

Don't forget things like turning down water to High 1x and shut off bloom.You might also experiment with full screen vs. windowed mode, and DX9 vs. DX10.Jeff ShylukSenior Staff ReviwerAVSIM

I decided I'd put my two year old 8800 gt card in and try it.Suddenly I was/am getting average fps of 40-50 -sometimes well over 100 and in the worst case scenerio (like new york) 18-20 briefly.

It seems like this is the Bug that Aerosoft guy talked about over at fsBreak. There

There

Thanks for the help in seeing the Frame rates! Gives me some place to start.This is what I have nowAMD Athlan 64x2 dual core 6000+ 3.00GHZ2 GB ramOS Vista 32 bit500 GB hard driveGE Force 8500 GT video cardFSX AccelerationUTXIs my processor just not powerfull enough to stop the stuttering or would adding more Ram and a newer Video card help, I have both GTX, and My Traffic 2010, on the way, should get here in a few days. I guess what I am asking is do I have what it takes to run MT2010, GTX and UTX if I add ram and new video card or do I need to start hinting to my wife about a faster computer (or a new motherboard) for Christmas!

Thank you all for all the great advice!!!I think what I will do is get a GTX 260 card and hope for the best when I install GTX and My Traffic 2010, right now my frame rates in large airports and cities is 6 to 8 and in smaller towns around 16 to 20, I sure do want to improve that!!

Be sure to verify that your existing power supply will be up to the task :(

You'll want do your homework before you buy. The GTX 260 is a pretty big card as I recall, so you'll want to make sure you've got room in your bay. It's a PCIe slot too, so you'll need a suitable MOBO.