Well -I renamed default.xml to default.bak. At the more rural airports, my FPS did shoot up. But, try this at KSEA.Sitting at KSEA with most everything maxed (sliders to the right), I only got about a 1-2 FPS increase.The detailed airports/cities are still a drain on FPS.JerryG

>Well ->>I renamed default.xml to default.bak. At the more rural>airports, my FPS did shoot up. But, try this at KSEA.>>Sitting at KSEA with most everything maxed (sliders to the>right), I only got about a 1-2 FPS increase.>>The detailed airports/cities are still a drain on FPS.>>JerryGThat's because big airports have more AC, airport traffic, etc. Turn those sliders down and get with the program ( sorry :) ).These tweaks are about finding a balance. You could, for instance, "save" settings for rural areas (high settings), small to medium airports/cities (medium settings), and large airports/cities (low settings). Then, load one of these saved configurations as appropriate.None of these tweaks in themselves will magically fix the FPS problems... but together with some experimentation will give you/us better "all-around" results! Try to think of FSX as an extremely demanding wife... with a fantastic figure. She can make you angree/frustrated... but just look at that figure!!!

Murray -Thanks. Don't get me wrong, I realize all the needing tweaking. I've been applying several of the tweaks mentioned in the forum.In the more rural areas, I can get 25 FPS on average. Sometimes, I've seen it as high as the high 30/low 40 FPS values. So, I can get very good results - but, it depends on where I fly.So, my "proving ground" in KSEA - because of it's combination of high detailed large airport, city (near the airport), water, etc. At KSEA, on takeoff roll, I get about 10 FPS. As soon as I'm over the runway, looking to the West, I get about 17 FPS, and North of the airport, I get about 20 FPS. Then, closer to downtown, I get dips.JerryG

> I get about 20 FPS. Then,>closer to downtown, I get dips.I realize this goes against the main simming 'philosophy' for many here but I realized long time ago that I would stay as far as possible from any 'detailed' large cities. I simply don't get enough of eye-candy in those spots to justify a significant FPS drops (or stutter). The "proving" grounds of KSEA - thanks but ... no thanks. ;)Michael J.

Hi Michael,I understand your perspective. Just to clarify, by KSEA being my "proving groud", I mean to adjust all the sliders, apply tweaks, etc. to obtain the highest possible FPS and smoothest flight depending upon the slider levels I apply. In other words, if a take-off from KSEA is smooth and has acceptable FPS values, then I know that I'll have good performance in most other areas of the world. I did a quick flight this morning from KSEA to KCLM (never been there in FS9 before - KCLM that is), and flying around/over the moutains West of KSEA, with Autogen turned to MAX (I wanted to see the trees on the mountains), I had a VERY pleasant flight - smooth and around 25 FPS - until landing at KCLM (then it went down to about 17 FPS, still smooth though). It was a great experience.JerryG