i posted this but it didn't get through so i'll try again. in a nutshell here's my problem. i like smooth, stutter free performance and i get it even when downloading real weather with cloudy harsh conditions. at a price though, i have to run at 600x800 resolution and that limits me to the default aircraft. let me say again that i can fly without being concerned about any sort of bad weather. problem is i have a few addon aircraft that need to be run at 1024x768 resolution. they run fine but if i download real weather and the conditions are bad i take a framerate hit when looking out the side window. down in the lower teens and framerate is locked at 20. i hate to give up smooth and stutter free performance but i may have to in order to fly the addons that i have, which i want to. anyway, i'm just going over a bump in the road here and wondered how some of you live with lower framerates at certain times. guess i need to sacrifice one thing for another. william

Hi William,Faced with the same dilema, I did three things:1. Downloaded and installed Chris Willis's clouds2. Tweaked WinXP and the sim's config file I/A/W directions here at AVSIM and at www.blackviper.com3. Turned off the frame rate displayOf the three, I believe that the third did the most good. R-

Hi,At some point also, you may need to upgrade your computer.Edit: Also, pull back on cloud draw distance, sight distance, and cloud density.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

thanks ron and jim. hehehe, just upgraded not long ago. i am thinking about a better card though. ill check out that link jim. thanks, william

Upgraded to what?Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

I found that my biggest hitters on frame rates were AI aircraft and 3D clouds. I use Traffic 2004 for AI aircraft and RealScene 2004 for textures and landclass. I lowered the percentage of AI traffic to 55% and this gave me a smalll boost in frame rates. I then added Chris Wills Clouds and lowered by percentage of 3D clouds to 60% and saw a huge job in frame rate performance. The clouds still look good.I have a 2,4 Ghz processor, 128 video board and 512MB of RAM. I set my frame rate to hold at 30 FPS and once a clear the Seattle area I fly at 29.8 FPS all the time. As a test, I increased the FPS rate to 35, I was able to maintain a 34.8 rate. Both of the above rates were measured using realtime weather. My Seattle area frame rate, on average, is approxamately 18.5 FPS.

thanks for the replies fellas. just got back online after my HD crashed and had to get a new one installed along with EVERYTHING else. will try all of your suggestions. thanks! william