hey,fs2004 runs awsome on my PC, of course this is IF I do not fly with clouds in 3d mode. I get the usuall stuttering and such which has forced me to either fly with only clear skys OR go to the "simple clouds/2d" option. So why can I not get an overcast layer with the 2d clouds? I understand how the sim restricts 3d overcast clouds for performance, but this should not be the case with 2d clouds. My system:Gateway P4 2.531gig ddr ramGeForce mx440 128mbI have all my settings MAXED OUT with the exception of disabling ground shadows and toning down the water detail. With 3d clouds I tried everything, draw distance of 40 miles, and played with all the cloud sliders BUT no matter what I did, The stuttering was making it impossible to fly. Using 2d clouds the sim screams and runs flawlessly BUT no overcast!By the way, how do I tell if my vid card is AGP or PCI? Is it possible that I have a AGP card pluged into a PCI slot? If I need a new card what should I get, without breaking the bank. I would want something affordable that isnt going to require downloading tons of drivers and tinkering for hours.......... I am assuming that with my computer, all I might need is a better vid card to be able to fly with all settings maxed out and with 3d clouds... Thanks for your help guys!Drew

Any ideas?

No ideas on why a 2d overcast looks like 3/8ths scattered???

Hi Drew,If your card was PCI there's no way it would fit into an AGp slot and vice-versa. I'm asusming here but with 128MB ram, I would have to say your card is AGP.One thing that may help with your 3D cloud issue is to try turning down your AA to 2X. I'm still tweaking my system and I'm able to get 25 FPS with 3D clouds in both the 2D and virtual cockpit and that's in full screen mode, not windowed. If I go to sopt view or some of the side views, my frames drop to the low 10's and sometimes single digits but, I don't always fly looking to the left or right for extended periods of times so I can live with that. I took a flight today from LaGuardia to Boston as New York had some good weather to test out the 3D clouds and take-off and climb were flawless. Once I reached cruise altitude, I was getting a constant 25 fps. Landing in Boston was the same. Good performance all the way in.Here are some of my settings in case you want to try them out as well:WeatherSight Distance: 60miCloud Draw Distance: 603-D Cloud Percentage: 100Cloud Coverage Density:MaximumHardwareTarget Frame Rate: 25Display Resolution: 1600x1200x32Render to Texture: CheckedTnL: CheckedAntiAlias: NOT checkedFilter: BiliniarMip-Map: 4Hardware Rendered Lights: 8Global Max Texture: MassiveAgain, the key for me was to reduce my AA on my video card to 2x and to reduce my ansio filtering to 2:1. Your card may have a different way to represent the ansio but I would say the lower or mid range setting should help you out. No two systems are the same so my tweaks may not apply to your rig but it's worth a try!!Good Luck!!Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg

Thank you so much for the insight...The problem I have is when I disable AA in FS2004 and then go to the Nvidia settings to set it to 2x AA FS will not run, I get a completely black menu screen with only the 172 twirling around with massive stutters. I tried a few drivers to no avail, so for now its back to letting FS do my AA. Anyone else with this problem/have a work-around??? Also any insight on wether my card is PCI or AGP is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help!Drew

wether my card is PCI or AGPIt's AGP.http://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg