"Bottom line - this is probably a good service for those who either don't know how or don't want to experiment with things themselves.".....or are simply fed up being continually distracted away from enjoying what the sim has to offer.In fact, all you inveterate fiddlers and tweakers can rest assured in the knowledge that FS-GS do ensure, to a large extent, that you can have both your cake and eat it as well. ;)Mike

Well I am not surprised that they couldn

And I am also curious about the all settings to max? If you mip mapped objects in the game you don

>I understand that I could get attacked, flamed, whatever for>saying this, but this is MY honest opinion, and I would>appreciate that people accept that. No worries Mike, on the contrary! I'm very greatful for you having put things into perspective again. I even got slightly annoyed by some of the FS-GS users feeling free, to call our freeware knowledge base containing mucho baloney... Actually, it happened again (a little) in this thread: Quote: As a result of some of those tweaks that were completely wrong, my system was not performing properly. End quote. I wonder why folks can't be specific in case? Nevertheless, I'm also one of those who believe, services like these serve a justified purpose. Not everybody knows how to set up a decent FlyTendo. Including myself! Hehe. And FS9 is a tough piece of software sometimes... Bill(g), you look like a happy fellow simmer! I've also got an i845PE. Mine's the 'TE' (third edition?) and I'm totally happy. IMHO, it's the IAA which 'does' it. Unfortunately, the IAA isn't available for the non-ICH5-R i865 and 875 mainboards... I had an i65PE and exchanged it for the i845PE. Precisely because of this detail... No regrets whatsoever! It 'only' has 4xAGP, 'only' supports Northwoods, has no S-ATA and no dual-coco-chanel... Does it matter? No way, Jos

sounds like a service where he holds hands with people who dont really know what they are doing, some might like to think they know whats up by they dont. There have been so many people who have said he has done wonders for them. It just sounds like he coveres thigns a proficient/avid computer user should know.Its a good thing you spoke up about it.As far as virus checkers go. Ill make a suggestion now. Ive always hated having virus checkers installed on my machines, especially when they are scanning every file on my system when I access it. A solution I have found that works quite well for me is a web based virus scanner from trend micro. http://housecall.trendmicro.com/Keep your system up to date, run behind a firewall/router and your pretty safe. There is no need to have a full realtime virus scanner installed. All I have to do is remember to run housecall every once and a while.Another thing is spyware, run spybot, adaware all that stuff weeklyI dont really need anybody telling me how to keep my computer running smoothly. For people who have no clue on keeping their computer running well then he may have somthing for them

Hi, Jaap:"I even got slightly annoyed by some of the FS-GS users feeling free, to call our freeware knowledge base containing mucho baloney... Actually, it happened again (a little) in this thread: Quote: As a result of some of those tweaks that were completely wrong, my system was not performing properly. End quote. I wonder why folks can't be specific in case?"I am the guy who said that. It is true. There are posts, the most recent being this past week, that are absolutely, complete wrong. The poster obviously didn't have a clue about how the config file was working. He was simply quoting, as a "fact", an error that he had read earlier - the gospel according to "St. Poster". Just because someone posts here at AVSIM that, "If you kiss your left elbow, framerates will increase by 10," it is not necessarily true. (Don't try this one, Jaap. It is just an example.)I could give you the specifics about which you wonder, Jaap, but I won't. Ignorant "me" paid to learn about some of the horse manure that is spread around here by psuedo-experts, and its effects on MY system's performance. If you want "specifics", then you can pay your tuition, as well. Or, you can continue consulting "St. Poster" and continue your tweaking.I learned my lesson, and was willing to pay for it. I tweak no more. I am a happy camper. AND, I have learned to take everything that I read here with a grain of salt. (Except for Ken Salter, of course.)Also only slightly annoyed and with warmest regards,Wilson

Well you always have to use your common sense as with everything on what tweaks to apply and what ot to ;) taking backups and such.And this doesn

"So next time you all are going to buy a new computer build your own. Not only do you get a cheaper better performing computer but while reading up on everything you need to know you learn tons about how it works and it

>BIOS settings can have all the difference in theworld, as can mobo drivers, etc.. etc..now, now ... BIOS goes back to the age of the Dinosaurs. Any modern OS completeley circumvents the BIOS. The only thing that still matters somewhat is the POST (power on self test)It does matter to install the latest MoBo (esp Via) drivers ...

"now, now ... BIOS goes back to the age of the Dinosaurs. Any modern OS completeley circumvents the BIOS"Are you sure? ;)Dan.

well, any OS except MS's of course :-lol

Hi P

Yeah, I would agree with this, in the current climate, it is not possible to buy and build for the same price as a company like Dell.We have (at work) currently been buying Dell systems for the reason that the total of the components parts is more than the complete system, of course as soon as the Dell system comes in the door the HDD gets wiped and is setup to our spec ;)The only thing about buying and building is that you know exactly what components you are getting.Dan.

Hi Dan,"The main point I am trying to convey is that you dont necessarily need this service, it does nothing you cannot do on your own with a little bit of investigation, but again, if you are having performance issues, and can't solve them yourself, you can be happy in the knowledge that there is a service that can help."......I'm sure you are correct. Equally I am certain there must be an awful lot of knowledgeable simmers out there whose tweaking efforts are somewhat haphazard and random and these attempts can often lead to problems.For example, take the fs9.cfg file. This is a critical file and needs careful attention if you don't want to invite trouble. Modifying the file from within the sim is okay but the same cannot be said of some manual interventions made from outside the sim. For instance, when you update your graphics drivers it is not enough to simply change the entry to reflect the latest installed version. Instead, you should remove the existing fs9.cfg and allow FS9 to rebuild it. That way the efficiency with which FS9 scans the file is preserved. Repeated manual modifications of values, line additions/subtractions and subsequent overwrites can quickly lead to corruption and degradation in performance. The safest way is to make copies of the file with Ken Salter's excellent FS9 Configurator utility and make any changes using his program. Also, I have noted that if you remove a section and place it at the end of the text entries in FS9.cfg, FS9 will reposition it at the next run and the new position may not correspond with the old but performance appears to be preserved. In other words FS9 usually knows best!Mike

>I also believe there are a few shortfallings in his service.>>1) At no point during the service was I asked what version of>Direct X I was running.>2) At no point was I asked what motherboard I had, and whether>it had the latest drivers>3) At no point was I asked about BIOS settingsThis is surprising to me also. I know I can make changes to memory and AGP settings in BIOS that have a significant impact to sim performance. Thanks for stating your experience. It certainly does add a little balance to this topic.