Hello!I'm getting really bad results from using FS9 with my new computer. Especially when I'm using payware addons. Even small addon packages. For example, I bought the package ESSA/ESGG/ESMS from Swedflight which was really really great in FS2002 and with my old computer, showing acceptable frame rates. Now, when I'm approaching any of the airports beginning to see the runways, buildings etc the computer starts to load/work like a freak. The computer sort of starts to "build" building by building. It all takes about 8-15 seconds when my frame rates drop to 2-4 and the computer "builds" up the whole airport and FS2004 freezes. After that it's all ok again. But then after landing when sitting in the cockpit looking to the left or right depending where the airport is situated, it all happens again. It takes like 10 sec and FS2004 freezes for about 10 sec. I've got all sliders and graphics set to 50% in the sim and even simple clouds. Anyone else got the same problem? Can anyone please help me?My specs:P4 3.0 Ghz1024 RAMRadeOn 9800 ProThanks,Tomas

Hi Thomas,Not really sure how much help I can be, freezing that long sounds pretty serious.New computer? Make sure you have the latest BIOS installed. If this is a really new type of motherboard you may need to report problems to the manufacturer so they can discover problems and work on making a newer BIOS to cure the problems. List some more detailed info about your system specs including video card driver version. What sound card are you using and what driver version for it? This could be a sound issue, especially if you are using an onboard soundcard. With that much ram try turning up your AGP aperture in the BIOS to 256. Try and make sure you have AGP 4x/8x enabled. Maybe try disabling/enabling 'fast writes'. Try disabling H/T(Hyperthreading) in the BIOS. Try and make sure your new system and/or the videocard isn't starting to overheat. Defrag the volume that you have FS2004 installed onto. Turn off all unecessary services and make sure nothing is starting up in the background that is grabbing the system resources for ten seconds or so. You might want to make sure it's not something from the internet by disabling your internet connection one time while you run sim. Are you using Real World weather or a weather addon? What version of FSUIPC do you have installed? Some addons install an older version over the top of the newer version that you installed. Check it by looking at the 'properties' of the FSUIPC.dll file in the Modules folder. Check out my thread which I feel is a short dossier on MSFS perfomance here...http://forums.simflight.com/viewtopic.php?t=11354Good luck,Jim

Hi Jim!Thanks for helping me. I'm not sure I know what you mean with setting the BIOS. I can't say I know what BIOS is...? I've tried several settings in my videocard. Currently I'm running it with the settings 4X and 8X. I'm not connected to the internet while flying and I've got nothing running in the background. Yesterday I downloaded the new FSUIPC 3.08 but no luck. I've also tried all the latest drivers for the videocard and no luck. I read somewhere on this forum that there's a problem with the RadeOn 9800 card. Could it be a video card driver problem? It's really strange since my computer is really powerful and still I get frame rates around 16-19 at London, Heathrow with all sliders to 50%.Tomas

Hello Again Thomas,It doubt it's a video card problem unless the card is starting to overheat, or has some bad memory module on it(doubtful but possible). The Radeon rocks for FS9. You should be able to get better performance. I have most of my sliders full right, not all though, and I get 24 FPS most of the time, not always though. But I sure don't have any stutters or temporary freezes. What resolution are you running FS9 at? Are you using AA(Anti-Aliasing a.k.a. FSAA Full Scene Anti-Aliasing) and/or AF(Anisotropic Filtering)? This shouldn't be a problem really. I run 1600x1200 resolution with 4x AA and 16x AF. You should disable AA in on the Hardware Tab in the Display settings of FS9 and enable it in your Video cards driver to use it though...Desktop 'Properties' --> 'Settings' --> 'Advanced Button' --> 'Direct3D Tab' --> Uncheck 'Application Preference'I recommend disabling VSynch, although some others may say differently.Also check out the 'Troubleshoot Tab' while you're there and make sure the Hardware slider is full right if you haven't already. I also have 'Enable Write Combining' checked. Then check out the 'SMARTGART Tab'. On there you should be able to try out enabling/disabling 'Fast Writes' and make sure you are using either 4x/8x AGP which you already said you were. If you are using 8x try 4x.Also make sure in the Hardware Tab in the Display settings of FS9 that you have 'Transform a Lighting'(T&L) checked. Mip-Map slider should be at 4.BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. It is very low level instructions for devices that are in your computer allowing it to boot up. Usually to get into your system's BIOS you press(tap) the 'Delete' button while your system is rebooting. It is different with some systems, it might be the F8, F10, or F12 key, maybe even the Esc or some other key. Find out how to get into your BIOS, then find out what version of it you have installed. See if it's the latest one available for your system(having the latest BIOS can be important). When you get in there make sure Video Card BIOS Shadowing is turned off(yes, the video card has it's own BIOS too). If you find an option somehwere in your system BIOS that says USWC(Write Combining). I do use that myself and recommend enabling it. Make sure 'Primary VGA BIOS' is set to APG(not PCI). Enable 'Delay(ed) Transaction'. This option will be no problem as long as all your devices are 2.1 PCI compliant, as most all devices anymore are. As I said, turn up the AGP Aperture setting to 256 and you may want to try disabling H/T(Hyperthreading). Disabling Hyperthreading shouldn't be necessary though unless you are using the RealityXP 530XP GPS addon. Make sure you have the latest 'chipset' drivers installed for your system in the OS. Try visiting the motherboard manufacturer's(or system manufacturer's) website to find these drivers and get info on how to get to the BIOS. Download the motherboard manual usually available in PDF format.You didn't mention what Sound Card you have and are using and it's driver version. Please try to find out!Ok Thomas, are you beginning to get the feeling of the enormous complexity of a computer system and FS9? :-laugh1 Heck, I don't even know that I covered the area that may be your problem at all, hehe. It could be something very simple. Hopefully this will get you started though and others will chime in with further suggestions.Sincerely,JimAbout USWC from http://www.facompanion.com/bios.htmNotes - This tweak involves setting the mode of video memory cache to USWC or Uncachable Speculative Write Combining. Enabling this feature will greatly improve video speed.An excerpt from an ASUS motherboard manual on Video Memory Cache Mode. USWC (Un-cachable, speculative write combining) is a new cache technology for the video memory of the processor. It can greatly improve the display speed by caching the display data. You must set this to UC (un-cachable) if your display card cannot support this feature; otherwise your system may not boot. Configuration options (UC) (USWC)The Video Memory Cache Mode is usually found in the "Chip Configuration Menu"While this little trick does help to use your ram more aggressively, it also has a side effect. It causes spontaneous reboots of the system when the ram is very near or maxed out. I wouldn

Ohh, geez! It looks, eh, a bit complicated, I agree. I'll print out your reply and start working on my computer when I get home tonight. It would be great if I could get your email and get back to you with results in a couple of days. I'm really greatful for your help. Thanks!Tomas

Thomas,If you looked at the thread I refered you too about my short dossier on performance, it strongly suggests that you rename the file 'default.xml' in the folder H:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesFlight Simulator 9AutogenRename it to something like default.xml.orig (discovered by testing done by JimmiG, thank you JimmiG).At the very least I would recommend using the file 'fs9xml.zip' that's in the Avsim library.To let you know, I would probably get similar framerates to yours at Heathrow, BUT, a lot of my sliders are full right and I'm using MyTraffic2004 with AI traffic set at 100%. I do sometimes get slightly lower framerates than your reported 16-19 at highly detailed third party addon airports such as those from www.simflyers.net(with static objects installed). But I do not get much in the way of stuttering and I sure don't get any freezes that last for several seconds. I hope you can eventually discover what the hold-up is on your system.Jim

Jim,even at smaller not so busy airports I notice when looking left or right from the cockpit some computer activity. FS9 doesn't freeze but at first look all my AI aircrafts are all grey, then I can hear the computer loading for about 2-3 seconds and after that the aircraft textures shows. And when using Opensky's 747:s and when I press "s" for spot view, my 747 is all grey for 3-4 seconds, the computer loads and then my textures are shown.Tomas

Hi,Ok, couple more things(whew!). Find out if there is a driver for you monitor, usually a .inf file. Should be able to find it at the manufacturers website. If you can't find one then you'll just be using the 'Plug and Play' monitor driver built into WinXP. Look at the manual for your monitor and find out what resolution and refresh rate is recommended for it. After installing the driver and finding the recommended resolution and refresh rate set it here...Desktop 'Properties' --> 'Settings' --> 'Advanced Button' --> 'Adapter Tab' --> 'List All Modes' buttonMake sure you have DirectX 9.0b installed. You can get it at the download section of www.microsoft.com Then run DxDiag...'Start' button --> 'Run' --> (type in) DxDiag --> Click 'OK' buttonGo through all the Tabs and make sure no problems are found. Run the tests. Go to...'More Help Tab' --> 'Override Button' --> Click the 'Override Value bullet' --> (type in) the Refresh rate you selected in 'List All Modes'And Thomas, I appreciate the Thanks. You are welcome! My e-mail address is [email protected] (Linux Rocks!)I just hope this all somehow helps. Like I said, I'm hoping others will chime in because I wouldn't doubt if it's something I haven't even touched on yet! But, all these tweaks/settings I'm giving are good for you to go ahead and set. They shouldn't hurt and should help. But whether something I've touched on is the cure to your woes is another matter.Cheerio Mate!Jim

Hi AGAIN!(hehe!)Ok, from that last post(and I thought about mentioning this one before but hadn't), I want you to have a look at a certain WinXP setting. I doubt it is set on System Cache, but it's worth having a look at nonetheless.Start out by Right-Clicking on 'My Computer'(or double click on 'System' in the Control Panel).'Adavanced Tab' --> 'Performance Settings' button --> 'Adavanced Tab' --> 'Memory Usage'Which bullet is checked? System Cache? Or Programs? It should be 'Programs' or you will have problems.Jim

Hi again, Jim!Ok, well I'm gonna do a lot of research tonight, that's for sure. Thanks for all help! Do you have an email addres I can reach you at when I'm all done "researching"? Phuuh...Tomas

Howdy,Yes, as I typed in one of the earlier posts...And Thomas, I appreciate the Thanks. You are welcome! My e-mail address is [email protected] (Linux Rocks!)....It also sounds like you need to turn up that AGP Aperture setting in the BIOS.Have you done any tweaks to your 'FS9.cfg' file?Jim

Hi again, Jim!What do you mean if I've done any tweaks to my FS9.cfg? The only edit I've done in the FS9.cfg was that I changed something called Multi Texture Bandwidth from 40 to 200.Tomas

Hi Jim,Great post! Thank You very much.I'm suffering exactly the same effects like Thomas wrote in one of his last post (about the aircrafts remaining grey for some seconds).Airport textures popping up one by one till they are all here, then looking back and the same popping up begin again for 3 or 4 seconds...During an approach, this makes the sim stuttering as long as the textures of the Apt and the AI/ACs are beeing rendered. etc..etc...I will take a look at your hints and give a feedback on this thread.My specs:Dell Dimension 8300 / 3.06 Ghz Intel P4 , 2 GB DDR RAM, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Videocard w/Catalyst 3.6 Driver, Creative Audigy2 Soundcard, 210 GB HD, WinXP Pro SP1

Hi Jean-Claude!So I'm not the only one...? It's so frustrating! Have you heard anything about the RadeOn 9800 and it's drivers? The 3.8 driver should be out soon.Tomas

Hello Guys,Yes Thomas, that is what I mean by tweaks to your FS9.cfg file. Playing with that parameter should be ok.Jean-Claude, my understanding of the parameter Thomas has stated that he changed in his FS9.cfg file may help with objects popping into view suddenly, but setting it too high may cause some stuttering to occur in some situations from what I have heard, such as when you are turning. Maybe someone with more knowledge about the setting can give more insight. But I don't think turning up the figure will help with textures showing up quicker. What both you guys are reporting about the textures taking time to show up is something I would think that someone less RAM than you guys have would experience. The textures on my plane(and nearby AI planes) take a little bit to show up when I'm using Anti-Aliasing and go to spot plane view, about three-quarters of a second(maybe less). In other words, not too big a deal, and it doesn't happen at all if I'm not using AA. Different systems perform differently but I'm thinking you guys should be able to figure out how to get better performance with the systems you have. Make sure you guys get and install the latest chipset drivers for your systems! Try to do all my suggestions if you can. ;)One other setting is I forgot to mention earlier, is that once you get your desktop resolution and refresh settings all set, set FS9 to use the same resolution. And when in your BIOS I recommend making sure memory speed is set to 'Detect by SPD'(Serial Presence Detect), unless you know for a fact that your RAM does not contain the SPD feature. I believe this is usually the default setting but it doesn't hurt to check.I also tweak(edit) some of the parameters in my FS9.cfg. Here is the revlevent portion of it in case you are interested in seeing them...The {SOUND} section is courtesy of FFX/SGA other than I figured out to use a 4 for my 5.1 speaker setup.{SOUND}SOUND=1SOUND_FADER1=0.500000SOUND_FADER2=0.460000SOUND_FADER3=0.620000SOUND_FADER4=0.800000SOUND_FADER5=0.810000SOUND_FADER6=1.000000SOUND_QUALITY=2Channels=4 <-- use a 2 here if you only have 2 speakers, I have a 5.1 speaker setup.SamplesPerSec=44100BitsPerSample=16{DISPLAY.Device.RADEON 9700 PRO.0}Mode=1600x1200x32TriLinear=1RenderToTexture=0{DISPLAY}UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=24TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=120{TERRAIN}TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=85.000000TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=200.000000TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=20TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=4TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.900000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=8.000000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4If you are using the FSSound.dll(it goes into your 'Modules' folder) get the FS2004 beta version here and do not put FSSound.dll=1 in the {OldModules} section of your FS9.cfg(if you have it that is). I have been using this version for quite some time and it seems to work A-OK... ftp://fssound.hn.org/FSSound/v1.6/FSSound160beta1.zipI have also done several tweaks to my WinXP, but I think I have given enough tweaks to concern yourselves with for a bit. For now I am only going to wish you guys continued good luck on your quest for the holy perfomance grail and hope some other suggestions come into this thread! :)Yours,JimTower, I need clearance Clarence. Roger Victor what's your vector?