FS9 and the new setup: I have FINALLY reached the Holy Land!

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Yes it did, very much. Thanks...I know about the FPS counter, just didn't know about how to grab a screen-shot. Thanks..will create a few and send 'em along. :))Cheers!Mitch R.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

I do use third-party quite a bit, mostly free-ware from off of AVSIM etc. I do not use Active Sky at this time.Cheers!Mitch R.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Tom, I'd be lying to say that I really can give a worthwhile opinion on the card, but I can say that the new standard; PCI-Express seems to be the cat's meow!You have 200 percent at least the bandwidth of AGP 8X and are running on 16 channels of input/output. What's not to like, huh? :)The XPS is a great machine indeed, but so is the 8400!!! I just looked at those spec's as well. I have ALWAYS put together my own systems, always from the M.B. up. What made me decide to go for an already-installed system such as Dell or Alienware? Well...actually, I'm really into hardware, and design. The Dell XPS Gen III system really impressed me! The Dell XPS rocks because of careful thought that went into thermal management. You have only to view the specs, and the way they built the chassis to know they planned this baby from the ground up. (Lord, I sound like a Dell commercial (sic!)) The 460 watt power unit is totally isolated from the main chassis by its own compartment which takes up the whole foot print of the base of the unit. It has its own dedicated fans that take care of that area. The CPU is shrouded and not only that, has a MASSIVE copper THERMAL TOWER. You have GOT to see this thing....MASSIVE! Even the drive bays have their own dedicated heat shrouds to better control the intake and out-take of cooling air. In a word, this system was planned in each phase of its make-up. I was so impressed, like the commercial goes, I bought the 'razor', lol.Was I a fool to put in an order? If you could only see the face-splitting smile this XPS induces every time I see XP Pro come up on the screen...and then the FPS numbers, the crispness of the graphics, etc. This is a solid, AWESOME system. You will be pleased too, no doubt.Trust me, if I thought it was garbage, you'd be seeing that too in a post, and quickly---as a warning to others......that isn't happening here! :)Let me know what you ended up buying, because we all learn from other's purchases and then their experiences with the new system. If you want, I will give you a totally detailed print of my system, so you can see what is working.Take care,Cheers!Mitch R.

[Guest aca_dia]

So how do you verify that Hyper Threading is on or off?! I built a new machine this summer with a 3.2 800FSB & Hyper Threading. I have never made any adjustment to activate or deactivate hyper threading.

[McDaniel 53]

Hi Mitchi am very happy for you and i hope you do enjoy it :-)its strange, on what small things we can have satisfaction, i started with the first simulator on good old Commodore 128, i think it was cold Acrojet (JamesBond plane) :-)Now we have almost everything but what will be in 10-20 Years? we will see!Its just nice to see how the simming is staying in the middle for some persons here, me too.... i have almost every dream reached in my life, i am a Pilot (just PPL but a Pilot :-)), i have a great job, i have a Z06 Corvette, i have almost everything what a man can dream off....i have i have i have i have........But there is always a big enjoyment when i can sit in front of my PC and having a nice flight! calling my beloved girlfriend to show her my newest plane, panel, scenery and she understands fully what this "hobby" means to me :-)life is just great!I hope for everyone just the best.....Man, today i am really sensitiv :-)GreetsMcDaniel

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

It will be a BIOS setup mask. Just enter your BIOS and activate the HYPER THREADING (if your BIOS does in fact support that feature).Mitch R.

[Guest randahard]

I have almost the exact same system with the exception of the hard drives. I'm not familiar with the omega drivers. Are these different from the catalyst drivers from ATI. And if so what kind of performance did you have with the catalyst drivers. I can't have everything maxed out without killing framerates. I typically fly out of simflyers and FlyTampa's airports with payware aircraft and I'm happy with 12FPS but have to pull some of the sliders back to get that. I also run ultimate traffic at 100%.

[Guest aca_dia]

Nevermind! I forgot its just a setting in the BIOS setup.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Yeah..it's not what you have out in the garage or den, but what you have on the COMPUTER DESK! Only spoken by a Flight Sim-Head.Life is grand, ain't it? LOLOLOLIt's good to have a sense of humor, too! ;)Cheers!Mitch R.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

I was most happy with the Dell-Tweaked Cat's that are on their website for download, but the latest OMEGA's (by reading the release notes) have been enhanced for those running 256 meg ATI cards. Until these drivers, the full use of the 256 megs onboard were not being realised.I don't run U.T., but have my system STUFFED with Project A.I.I have just uploaded a few screen-shots with the FPS counter clearly on. On the ground is where the rubber meets the road in a flight sim. I am getting great numbers landing, at taxi, and viewing the traffic at the airports. On my old system (Celeron 1.4) I could only maintain a steady 12-17 whilst on the ground. When I take off and at about 2,000 feet, this system now pop up to the eighties and climbs from there. It is quite amazing. I will upload flight shots that support my claims for this XPS.Cheers!Mitch R.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Here are few ground shots with healthy FPS figures.I have such fluid motion and now a fabulous sense of 'speed' when heading down the runway. A.I. planes are exactly the same, and now I enjoy their coming and going...of course, with a coffee in my hand, LOL.I hope that you enjoy the pics.Cheers!Mitch R.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

This one shows good detail. Even the rivets can be 'felt', lol.FS9 ROCKS!Mitch R.

[Mike T 218]

Hi Mitch:I hate to poop in your Cherios :-lol ...but....The frame rates you are getting with a default aircraft with default scenery sitting on the ground without moving is not by any means out of the norm for even a mid-high end system with an AGP 4x card. I think that what we REALLY want to see here is what us avid simmers are hoping for, ergo:New York dense scenery, at dusk, Simflyers KEWR or KJFK, final approach, lots of clouds and an airport FULL of aircraft at gates and taxiing in full view out of a complex add-on aircraft such as the PMDG 737, etc. On my system, listed below, I get between 14-20fps with everything in full view and about 20-27fps if I look in other directions...given the scenario I named above.The scenario that you have posted in the screenies (nice ones too) are typical of a default set up and the optimized AI (read low polygon) is a typical high FPS situation. And with my AGP 8x 9800 I am getting framerates between 45-100 in the same scenarios as you posted. So what does that mean?Now, with that mouthful said, IF you are still getting mid-thirties in the aforementioned CPU draining setup then I will pick up an X800 FIRST THING in the morning. Unfortunately, I am still not convinced that the CPU hungry FS9 will utilize the X800 like a Doom3 or Half-life would.Are you up for the challenge :-)Best regards and enjoy that X800.Mike T. :-wave

[Guest Edam]

n/t

[Guest Paragon]

I'm sorry, I don't doubt you or anything, but I see framerates in the 30's and 40' using default planes at default airports. This can be done on even the smallest setup.Edited: beaten by Mike T. :)