If you have heavy AI traffic and poor performance - especially if you get stutters - check your parking with the TrafficToolBox SDK Explorer Tool.Open it and then go back to FS, open the map and change your aircraft heading by one degree. Click OK and ALT-Tab back to the Explorer tool.Watch for aircraft being "Initialized" but then disappear.This is a sure sign that some airport in the active AI zone does not have enough parking for the aircraft assigned.Another hint is if your sim stops loading momentarily at 90%, 95% or 98% traffic.AI traffic at KEWR, KLGA, KHPN and many other airports within 100 nm of KJFK can have a big negative impact on your sim performance. Yes the polygons are not in the visual zone, but the aircraft to take a toll on processor performance.Another point - I used to fly with the sliders "MAXED" but I've found that using a predefined display setting gives a 5-10% boost in FPS.Lastly - the configuration / fragmentation of your virtual memory / swap file can have one of the heaviest negative impacts on FS performance. The MS articles referenced above have some great tips.

"Fluid gameplay", exactly! That's all I want. I don't even care if I don't get more than 20 frames-per-second, what I want is "fluidity". I want a solid framerate where ever I fly, be it over my hometown of Cassville, MO in the middle of the night or LAX on the busiest day, I want nice, fluid movement. No stutters, no jumps and lags, just butter smooth.I know this isn't the hardware forum, but on topic: which is likely to get me that fabled fluidity? CPU (currently 2.4GHz OC'd to 2.8), GPU (currently GeForce 6600GT AGP with some mild overclocking), or RAM (currently 768MB PC2700, mobo can support 4GB unbuffered / unregistered PC3200)?Thanks all in advance! (Allcot where are you?!? :D HELP! :D)-JeremyThe Ozark DogfighterHappy Flying!Pilot-The friction locks are causing the throttle levers to stick.Mechanic- Umm, that's what they're there for...

Unlimited is the frame rate setting that works for my extremely fast setup.Setting it to any number creates jerky movement and stutters. Unlimited seems to work for faster machines.Plus, even Microsoft agrees:Method 4: Adjust target frame rate to unlimitedIf the frame rate is limited to a specific number, it does not spend any more resources than the resources that are required to render the selected frame rate.To adjust the frame rate so that the computer can use all the resources, follow these steps:1. Start Flight Simulator 2004.2. Click Settings.3. Click Display.4. On the Hardware tab, move the target frame rate to Unlimited.5. Click OK, and then test the settings.

Ultimate Traffic is a huge frame rate hog with its high poly aircraft. If you have the time, replace the aircraft with those from AI Aardvark. They are very frame rate friendly.PS-Its a pain in the buttocks.Scott

"I've several times your performance on a machine that's maybe half as powerful as yours (2.4GHz CPU, 128MB videocard of an older generation, etc. etc.)."....glad to see I'm still not alone :) Not sure about the 'several times your performance' bit though. I think that's being a tad optimistic to say the least ;)MikeP4 2.4GHz (400FSB), 1Gig PC2100 DDR Crucial, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB (Omega 2.6.53 / Catalyst 5.7), SB Audigy (5.12.0001.0443), Hyundai ImageQuest Q17 17" TFT LCD 20ms Monitor (1280x1024x32), Gigabyte GA-8IRXP MoBo, Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 (160GB) + IBM Deskstar 120GXP UDMA100 (40 GB), Ultra-Quiet PSU 400W, Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse, WinXP Home (SP2), DirectX 9.0c, AGP Aperture = 128MB

>Unlimited is the frame rate setting that works for my>extremely fast setup.>>Setting it to any number creates jerky movement and stutters.>Unlimited seems to work for faster machines.>>Plus, even Microsoft agrees:>>Method 4: Adjust target frame rate to unlimited>If the frame rate is limited to a specific number, it does not>spend any more resources than the resources that are required>to render the selected frame rate.>>To adjust the frame rate so that the computer can use all the>resources, follow these steps:>1. Start Flight Simulator 2004.>2. Click Settings.>3. Click Display.>4. On the Hardware tab, move the target frame rate to>Unlimited.>5. Click OK, and then test the settings.This is not what the Microsoft Rep at the Avsim Convention told me a couple of weeks ago. In fact, he said just about the opposite. He said to look at your frame rates as you fly around, and see how low they frequently dip. Let's say, you see them often dip down to 22 as you fly around. He then said to lock your frame rate to 22. This will give the smoothest performance on FS9. I have mine set this way, and it works great.

I would try deactivating all scenery outside of your flight area, ni particular, any addon airports (aside from ones you might need to visit.)If you see any difference, try turning them back on one at a time. Also, google for a util called ntfilemon. This util will log all file accesses. You can then look through the log and see if there are any folders coninualkky being accessed that don't look right. For example, I had a KSTL airport scenery that kept being called. I understand that may be due to addon library files which aren't coded to a particular area.I don't think it would cause as much trouble as the OP is having, but might be worth a try.scott s..

>Unlimited is the frame rate setting that works for my>extremely fast setup.Before I get into the rest of your post, let me point out something I should obviously have said before - just about every system is an individual so what works for one might not work for another :) Ultimately whatever setting works for person X is the best setting for them - my original advice in this thread was based on the premise that the original poster had overestimated their computer's capabilities for running FS2004, and needed to get things into perspective.>Plus, even Microsoft agrees:>>Method 4: Adjust target frame rate to unlimited>If the frame rate is limited to a specific number, it does not>spend any more resources than the resources that are required>to render the selected frame rate.>>To adjust the frame rate so that the computer can use all the>resources, follow these steps:>1. Start Flight Simulator 2004.>2. Click Settings.>3. Click Display.>4. On the Hardware tab, move the target frame rate to>Unlimited.>5. Click OK, and then test the settings.To you it might sound like setting the FPS slider to unlimited "unleashes the full potential of your computer" (and as I said, it might work in your case which is great), but personally I understand the above text a bit differently. Limiting the FPS to some arbitrary number doesn't mean that you're "only using 20%" of your graphics card's full potential or anything like that. Your graphics card could very well be working full-time even at a 20 FPS setting, but the idea is that if it CAN achieve the FPS limit with less work, it won't do more work than what's required and will hence let the rest of the system take a breather.This, in turn, makes it easier for the rest of the system to cope with the game's demands, when the graphics card isn't constantly demanding more data than would really be required for smooth operation (30+ FPS in FS2004's case, since it's a "slow" game).Just a thought.

>>PS-Its a pain in the buttocks.>I started the process some time ago, but quit when the sheer magnitude hit me :-( I do wantthose frames though - I WISH there were an easier way...regards,Markhttp://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a319/markrey/lds1.jpgXPHomeSP2/FS9.1/3.2HT/1GIG/X700pro256

I tend to work on airline by airline - slowly at times, though in some cases like the recent complete release of the AIA MD-87 with all current repaints - that went into my AI world very quickly.

You are right, one must tweak, cut visuals etc to have "ok" frame rates. The engine needs a major overhaul. My system is not a low end system yet there is no big difference over my old 3200+ Nvidia 5700 Ultra! This is not the case for all other games that I own though. Funny when I fly over the areas I have purchased scenery for (Alaska Cin/California VFR) my frame rates DOUBLE. How can it looks so much better and be faster than the ugly default textures? Hopefully they will do something about this performance issue. [h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]AMD 64 4000+|ASUS K8V DELUXE|SAPPHIRE ATI X800XT PE|MUNCHKIN 3200|80 gig SATA|DELL 1905FP 19" LCD|TRACKir PRO|PFC JEPPESEN MOONY YOKE|

Thats just great, At the support pages for FS2004 Microsoft tells us to set the slider to unlimited, and at Avsim conference they tell us to do the opposite, no wonder everybody is confused about this :D .OHN

> Funny when I fly over the areas I have purchased scenery for>(Alaska Cin/California VFR) my frame rates DOUBLE. How can it>looks so much better and be faster than the ugly default>textures? Hopefully they will do something about this>performance issue. Do Alaska Cin and California VFR have autogen?If not that might explain the difference.T

> My system is not a low end system yet there is no big difference > over my old 3200+ Nvidia 5700 Ultra! Thats what I am talking about. The increase in performance is only marginal compared to my other system. I was expecting alot better.Thanks though to all for the suggestions, it did make a difference. And as far as I can tell, setting the FPS limit to unlimited did improve the FPS.John.

Same for me...