odd... any clue as to why it'd be appearing like that?thanks for the answers btw!

Bill -Thanks for the analysis and the link to Memstatus. Unfortunately, it will be a few days before my preorder arrives and I can test it out on the full version of FSX.I do have a question though (that I haven't received an answer to in the hardware forum), regarding the requirement for 512MB of video memory....is there any way that an SLI configuration can be made to help out?I know, there have been several posts saying that SLI only gives a slight performance increase at higher resolutions, but in "The Officical Guide" to FSX (which I'm patiently reading while waiting for my preorder), put out by the ACES team (MS Game Studios), they recommend not only greater than 1 GB RAM (2-4GB), but TWO NVidia GTX 7800 512MB cards RUNNING IN SLI MODE. I'm confused that MS Game Studios would recommend using SLI mode for FSX in "The Official Guide" to FSX when all of the posts I've read see little benefit for SLI. I doubt that I would have the $ to spring right now for TWO 7800 GTX cards, given new DX10 cards on the horizon. But even before I buy one 7800 card to replace my current 6800 SLI setup (see my specs below), is their some way that I can configure my two 256MB GeForce 6800 cards to utilize their combined memory? I'm not much of a video card techie, but the "Official Guide" recommendation has me wondering......any thoughts appreciated.Basic System Specs: Dell XPS 600 Gen5 P4 650 3.4GHz (800FSB) w/HT 2MB Cache, 1 GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 667MHz, Dual 256MB PCI Expressx16 GeForce 6800 in SLI w/.9147 drivers 1280x1024/32/85Hz, 250GB Serial ATA HD (7200rpm) 72% free, SB Audigy 2 ZS, Windows XP Media Ed SP2, DirectX 9.0c, Viewsonic A95f 19in, CHProducts Yoke and Pedals, O&O Defrag (Name), PC Pitstop Optimize.

Don't know what you have done to that site Bill, but I get a blank page :-hmmmIf I just use www.nuclearplayground.com I get 'Domain Expired' :-(Using 3 different search engines I only get MemStatus v1 hits which don't seem to be the same program.Still your results give me food for thought for the inevitable upgrade ;-) which may not be as expensive as first thought :-)Thanks for the detailed analysis.

Can not download the memstatus program Anyone else have another link or was this a limited time download?

Thanks for the test. Great help. As I am in the process of spec out a new system. I make sure to have at least 2GB of main memory and a 512MB of video card. Will a E6600 mated with a 7900GTX be able to handle FSX well? I am only looking for a minimum of 20fps or above.

>Don't know what you have done to that site Bill, but I get a>blank page :-hmmm>>If I just use www.nuclearplayground.com I get 'Domain Expired'>:-(>>Using 3 different search engines I only get MemStatus v1 hits>which don't seem to be the same program.Funny, I just went the and downloaded it (for the fourth time). I've attached it here for you and anyone else who grabs it before it gets auto-purged in a few days.Oddly enough though, Google.com doesn't index this site (or file!), but http://ask.com has it as the first hit! ;)

>I'm confused that MS Game Studios would recommend using SLI>mode for FSX in "The Official Guide" to FSX when all of the>posts I've read see little benefit for SLI.Are you absolutely sure that the "Official Guide" was written by anyone at ACES? I know most of them and I sure don't recall anyone taking blame, er... I mean "credit" for the book.In any case, unless you have a driving need for SLI for something else, I wouldn't spend any money of it. Also, if you have any plans for Vista + FSX DX10, save your pennies for the second generation DX10 cards to come to market. ;)I'm goine tomorrow to see what's available thats (a) faster than my current Radeon ATI X700 Pro PCIe and (:( has at least 512MB...

I bet you'll be fine, I have an E6600 with a radeon x1900xt, 2gb of system ram and 256 vid ram...I run sliders full right except traffic only partail, autogen on 2clicks lower than full right, and no sun bloom.I average 12, often hitting 15 to 16. And the sim is really very enjoyable, even at 11-13, I get no stutters, making the control quite pleasant.Bob Bernstein

Thanks for the attachment Bill.Even using the link from ask.com I still get a blank page, maybe it doesn't like Opra or Firefox as a browser.

Bill -Sorry, I guess I just assumed that a Microsoft sponsored book called "The Official Guide" to FSX would have to be at least cleared by the ACES team who developed the game. The credits list Bart Farkas of Prima Games as the author, with Microsoft credits being:Sandy Ting - Director of Business Development....also: Kevin Browne, Shawn Firminger, Shane Kim, Carol Marshall, and Edward Ventura (no titles given for these MS people), but I assumed they worked on the develpment of FSX,plus: MS Games Studios Legal Team: Don McGowan, etc And the disclaimers include the statement...."the publisher (MS) makes no warranty....as to the accuracy, effectiveness, or completeness of the material of this book......"So who knows who in the Microsoft development team worked on this book and the recommendations.Still, since many simmers have SLI capability, it would be nice for tdragger, or someone from the ACES team, to address this recommendation in the "official guide" to use an SLI setup.And also, I found the book to be a nice description of the FSX aircraft and missions, which is about as close as it appears I will get to FSX for a few days due to my "preorder backorder."Apologize if this question sidetracked the intended direction of your thread....but I intended it to be address other ways of meeting the 512 video ram memory requirement.....Steve J.KHEF

Lol, it does as you can move sliders to the right and still get crappy fps and yet get that ground as the Megascenery when it hasn't loaded yet.Leo

Well. I am shoting for 20fps though. Aside from a 512MB GPU card, I am planning to overclock the e6600 to 4.5GHz with this cooler. http://www.directron.com/phasecool.html

After my test. I think my frame rate problem is due to the speed of the video card. I am using a BFG 6800GT 256MB on an AGP bus. I am building a new system C2D and 2GB of ram, will going to a 7900GT 512MB kick the FR to above 15?http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/158955.jpg

This is an extremely interesting subject right now. Just what are the requirements for anyone wanting to run FS X? Do we need a dual core with 2 GB RAM, and an advanced video card with 512 MB (or better!)?There are a lot of claims being made and it has gotten somewhat confusing.A while ago, Katy Pluta pointed out a free memory monitoring utility (thanks, Katy!), and while I am certainly not the first to use it, I do believe that my screenshots where what led Bill to try it out. Since he makes no mention of my results, that are radically different from his, I hope he will not mind if I make them known to everybody else.First, I do not have a dual core, nor 2 GB RAM, not even 1 GB, nor an advanced graphics card.My system is AMD 3000+ XP (2.17 GHZ) in a cheap e-machines box (unknown

Resolutions might not have an impact on framerates, but they have an influence regarding 'consumed' GPU-RAM. As far as I would dare to judge, it makes a difference whether your max-mem load is 170, 200 or 250MB on a 256MB card. If you can control this, you more or less control FSX! :-) Kind regards Jaap