I get quite reasonable framerates on my machine -- I seem to be able to even max out my autogen or clouds or AI without too many problems -- well, maybe not all together!! :)BUT -- the BIGGEST FPS killer seems to me to be those downtown buildings in certain areas. I must do some more experimenting with this. I remember in FS2002 that whenever I downloaded an addon non-GMAX designed airport scenery addon , they all seemed to kill FPS -- but Gmax designed airports were kinder.Any thoughts?Thanks Barry

I've suspected the downtown buildings as well as being the biggest non-weather hit on fps.... A great example is Houston, where the downtown buildings are much more detailed than those in FS2002...Also, airport buildings generally have more detail than FS2002...In spite of that I still get fps above the mid-teens in the most congested areas as long as I use: AI designed aircraft, Chris's high performance clouds, all applicable Autogen tweaks, and limit my resolution....I'm quite happy flying over a realistic looking BOB (Bank One Ballpark, Phoenix) while sacrificing a few frames vs. a generic ballpark...What's really fascinating is what a small (if any) hit taxiway signs cause. I wrote a bgl which removes all of 'em, all over the planet. The fps difference couldn't even be measured... It's a much better sim with them in there, IMHO....I also should throw out a reminder on 2-d cockpits. If a 2-d cockpit seems to hit performance, try removing any overhead parts of the panel you don't need. It seems if I keep 2-d panels isolated to the bottom half of the screen and call up the overhead panels only when I need 'em, I don't have any 2-d panel performance hit...-John

disregard!

Agreed Bazza! But you don't have any tall buildings up there!Wink!Peter Sydney Australia