FS2004 - WinXP v Win98 Experiment - result

Regarding the panel hit...Since I've always locked my fps in FS2002 at 25 (which was my "low" number, given my 2k2 slider settings), I never really bothered to see if the panel fps hit was truly something of FS2004 only. So, I set up the same scenario, and set fps to unlimited in both sims. I found two interesting things out. First using my default resolution, panel performance did cause a hit of about 15 pct...in BOTH sims. Having a fps lock of 25 kept the issue hidden in FS2002 (my numbers in FS2002 with my situation and the Cessna panel were 31/35. They were 22/25 in FS2004. Since FS2004 throws in more detail at my preferred settings (e.g. the taxiway signs and airport gas stations), my fps performance was low enough that I could "detect" a performance problem with panels.The second interesting thing--some resolutions seemed immune to the issue. Anything over 1024x767, and it was hard to detect any fps loss at all--although overall fps fell to about 19 for 1280x1024 in FS2004. One can also optimize panel performance with multipart panels. An example of that is a typical twin with a light panel or centerpost. If the centerpost or light panel can be closed by right clicking it, 2-d panel performance is much improved.-John