I just put in the change of texture_max_load line in fsx.cfg to 4096 (suggested by PMDG) vs. the default of 1024 and wow! things look better and even the sky is better..is this true??!? It has no effect on performance either right?

I think it will effect your texture load time, as in when you switch views and such, you may see a grey model for a second or two.I think that would be it. I changed mine to 2048 from 1024, and didn't notice anything different.

Textures have must greater detail and the FPS is not reduced it just eats up more memory. If you run a 32-bit OS you could get an OOM.