HI Folks I just bought a Radeon 5600 Pro, replacing my NVidia mx440. Part of the reason for doing this was to get water reflections. YET I SEE NONE! Just as before, the water effects slider won't stay in "high" setting. Can this be true? (Otherwise I'm running at pretty high settings with fps around 12-15) I'm using OceanFX textures, but this shouldn't mean anything, right?I know very little about graphics cards, but I do believe I uninstalled the old NVidia drivers correctly (using add/remove). Is it possibble that some old NVidia stuff is preventing me from getting water reflections? (Btw. please don't tell me to reformat my comp., it's loaded with time consuming installations, etc.!)Furthermore, I'm getting really bad flashing menues, as many posts have discussed. I currently have 3.2 drivers installed (came with card), should I install the newest drivers 3.9, or older drivers? The ATI site mentioned the issue, but not for 9600, is there even a fix for 9600 pro at this time?Finally, if you know of any must-do 9600 tweaks, I'd be happy to hear about them.I hope this is not going over to much stuff already discussed.Hope to hear some good news, as I REALLY want reflections...Thanks in advance folks,Halfdan AbrahamsenMy system (marginal I guess):Club Radeon 9600 proAthlon 1700 (Underclocked to 1100 mhz, because of the stupid KT7 motherboard with VIA chipset. Anyone knows a fix?)256 mb pc ram300 Watt powerFROM FS.9.CFG:[DISPLAY.Device.RADEON 9600 PRO.0]Mode=1280x1024x32TriLinear=1AntiAlias=1[DISPLAY]UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=17TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40[TERRAIN]TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=68.000000TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=19TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=7TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=0TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=0.000000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=0.000000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=0FROM DISPLAY.CFG: (9600 pro is not specifically mentioned, does this matter?)////;----------------------------------------------------------------------; NVIDIA Drivers on Win2K/XP;----------------------------------------------------------------------[nv4_disp.dll]Disable=1//PanelAsTexture=0AntiAlias=0[nv4_disp.dll.1]MinDriverRev=5.13.01.1241Disable=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000322:nvdisp.drv]PanelAsTexture=0[000010DE:00000322:nvdisp.drv.1]MinDriverRev=4.14.1.4420PanelAsTexture=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 on 2k/xp;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000322:nv4_disp.dll]PanelAsTexture=0[000010DE:00000322:nv4_disp.dll.1]MinDriverRev=6.14.0010.4420PanelAsTexture=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; NVIDIA GeForce Quadra FX on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000308:nvdisp.drv]PanelAsTexture=0[000010DE:00000308:nvdisp.drv.1]MinDriverRev=4.14.1.4420PanelAsTexture=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; NVIDIA GeForce Quadra FX on 2k/xp;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000308:nv4_disp.dll]PanelAsTexture=0[000010DE:00000308:nv4_disp.dll.1]MinDriverRev=6.14.0010.4420PanelAsTexture=2//////////;----------------------------------------------------------------------; Geforce2 Go on 9x/ME;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000112:nvdd32.dll]TnL=0[000010DE:00000112:nvdd32.dll.1]MinDriverRev=4.13.1.2963TnL=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; Geforce2 Quadra on 9x/ME;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000113:nvdd32.dll]Disable=1[000010DE:00000113:nvdd32.dll.1]MinDriverRev=4.14.1.4345Disable=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; GeForce2 MX on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000110:nvdd32.dll]TnL=0[000010DE:00000110:nvdd32.dll.1]MinDriverRev=4.13.1.3082TnL=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; GeForce2 256 on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000100:nvdd32.dll]TnL=0[000010DE:00000100:nvdd32.dll.1]MinDriverRev=4.13.1.3082TnL=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; GeForce2 MX DDR on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000111:nvdd32.dll]TnL=0[000010DE:00000111:nvdd32.dll.1]MinDriverRev=4.13.1.3082TnL=2 ////////;----------------------------------------------------------------------; Nvidia TNT2/TNT2 Pro on Windows XP;----------------------------------------------------------------------[000010DE:00000028:nv4_disp.dll]RenderToTexture=0;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI All-in Wonder 128 Pro AGP on Win9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00005446:ati2draa.drv]Disable=1;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Xpert 128 on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00005245:ati3draa.dll]RenderToTexture=0;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Rage Mobility Drivers for 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004C4D:atid32ab.dll]Disable=1;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Rage Mobility Drivers for Win2K;----------------------------------------------------------------------[ati2dvai.dll]Disable=1[ati2dvai.dll.1]MinDriverRev=5.12.1.1060Disable=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Rage Mobility for Xp;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004C4d:ati2drab.dll]Disable=1;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon Mobility for Xp;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004C59:08140104:ati2dvag.dll]Disable=1[00001002:00004C59:B11B0E11:ati2dvag.dll]RenderToTexture=0;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Rage Fury Pro;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00005046:00041002:ati3draa.dll]TextureAGP=0;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Rage Fury Maxx on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00005046:ati3drau.dll]RenderToTexture=0 ;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI XPERT 98 on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004742:atid32ae.dll]Disable=1;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon Win2k/XP;----------------------------------------------------------------------[ati2dvag.dll]Disable=1PanelAsTexture=0AntiAlias=0[ati2dvag.dll.1]MinDriverRev=5.13.01.3102Disable=2[ati2dvag.dll.2]MinDriverRev=6.14.0001.6307PanelAsTexture=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon DDR Win2k/XP;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00005144:ati2dvag.dll]RenderToTexture=0[00001002:00005144:ati2dvag.dll.1]MinDriverRev=6.14.0010.6343RenderToTexture=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon Win9X;----------------------------------------------------------------------[ati3d2ag.dll]Disable=1PanelAsTexture=0[ati3d2ag.dll.1]MinDriverRev=4.13.01.3102Disable=2[ati3d2ag.dll.2]MinDriverRev=4.14.0001.9088PanelAsTexture=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon 8500;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:0000514C]TableFog=0;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon 8500 on 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:0000514C:ati3d2ag.dll]AntiAlias=0Disable=1[00001002:0000514C:ati3d2ag.dll.1]MinDriverRev=4.13.1.3161Disable=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon 8500 DV;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004242]TableFog=0;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon Mobility 9000;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004C66]TableFog=0;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon FireGL;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00005148]ExpFog=0UseShaders=0;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 2k/XP;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004E44:ati2dvag.dll]Disable=1[00001002:00004E44:ati2dvag.dll.1]MinDriverRev=6.14.0001.6307Disable=2;----------------------------------------------------------------------; ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 9x;----------------------------------------------------------------------[00001002:00004E44:ati2drag.drv]Disable=1[00001002:00004E44:ati2drag.drv.1]MinDriverRev=4.14.0001.9088Disable=2

Well first of all get new drivers - yours are REALLY old (in terms of hardware drivers)!As for the underclocked CPU - are you sure you can't change the bus speed in the bios, or per jumper? I dunno, if it really doesn't work, get a new one, you'll learn about your computer building it in ;).-Daniel

Not sure about the vid card but the CPU is because your FSB, The Front Side Bus (FSB) seems to be set at 100 MHz instead of 133 MHz. There should be either a jumper or a setting in your bios to change it. It should be listed in the manual. I had the same problem with my 1700 once and that was the fix.

HI againthank you for the replys..About my BIOS: I change busspeed to 133/133 mhz in BIOS. Comp runs fine except it crashes ALL 3D applications. This is a longstanding problem, (VIA forums are filled with this prob.) I

Ensure that your system has DX9 installed. Upgrade your drivers to CAT 3.4 minimum...I KNOW that CAT 3.4's will give reflections as I used them for a long time (Radeon 9700) until the CAT 3.10 beta DNA driver came out (DNA driver is a 'tweaked' driver made by a different person....you'll also see refrences to Omega drivers for Radeon cards; they are good, 'tweaked' drivers too). For more Radeon/driver info I suggest you try the forums at Rage3d.com - they are an invaluable source of knowledge....amongst all the bickering, of course ;) Your 9600 is fully DX9 compliant and so should give water reflections, etc. I trust you have downloaded the water ugrades to get the effects you want, 'cause they are not by default in FS9.....do you see proper reflective surfaces on aircraft that offer the effect? If you do, then there's no reason that you won't get that reflective water with the texture upgrades available here at Avsim.Good luck :)

Hi thereThanks for the info! I have DX9 installed and downloaded CAT 3.9 drivers, haven

If you go to simviation.com and check out the forums there, you'll find a long thread whereby some fellow (don't recall the thread name...sorry, but you can't miss it!!) has mixed a couple of the new texture sets together with OceanFX and has got a superb, selectable water effect that does NOT impact on frame-rates.Your 9600 should display that with no problems if you follow his instructions (I do have a copy of those saved which I can post if you need it).As for the CAT 3.9's....I believe that they have fixed the flashing, and corrupted html menus in the game; the modded DNA 3.10's certainly have. They also made things smoother for me, especially when there's a lot going on, such as at busy airports - it no longer chugs and stutters....which is nice ;)

Hi againThanks for the tips, again.I just installed the new catalyst drivers (3.10), AHHH, so nice, the flashing menues are all gone, and I do think the whole shebang runs a bit smoother. One down.BUT I still get no water efx. I do get aircraft reflections just fine, but I also had those on my previous card.Yeah, I saw the thread, installed the various water sets according to it. The water an ground effects sliders still won't work. If I set the water effects to "high" the slieder above goes to "ground effects only" just as when I was using the Gforce 4 MX440. I tried changing this using FSConfigurator, and by doing it manually in the FS9.cfg, yet when I restart the sim, nope, still won't work...Any suggestions ?Thanks again,Halfdan

Halfdan, that slider is supposed to go back when the one beneath is mooved to maximum. It's mentioned in the readme.rtf in the main FS folder and is NOT a problem with your system.I think what you need to do is delete/rename the FS9.cfg file and force FS to re-recognise the new card when it automatically builds a new FS.cfg on startup. This resets everythingto default and loses any customised key asignments, so the other way is to simply go into the FS9.cfg and delete the section for your drivers. Then re-boot the sim. You also need to ensure you have DirectX9.0b installed, not just 9.0 or 9.0a.Before you do all this, sugegst you fix that 60mhz refresh rate problem though.Hope this helpsAllcott

Hi AllcottThanks for the info!I'll try removing my cfg (keeping backup for assignments).OK, I'll check for DX version, although I'm sure I got the newest.On the long thread about WaterFX I did see some folks changing the sliders with good results, but I did think up till now that they could both be coaxed to high setting. Thats a relief anyway.I was just playing around with refresh vs. resolution and I found that at lower resolutions I could get a higher refresh rate. (I use 1280 x 1024 on desktop as well as FS). At the high resolution there seems to be no option available for higher refresh. Could this be my monitor that is simply not "serious" enough? (It's a KM-777, 17 inch crt)Thanks for your tips, I'll try them out-halfdan

Hi againI tried rebuilding cfg, didn't do the job on missing water rflx.I'm running DX 9.0b.Otherwise, with the 3.10 runs very smooth now, nice.Thanks, halfdan