...by updating some chipset drivers. this is where i found them for my chipset:http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/cs-009241.htmthe one that seems to have made the difference was the agp controlleri can't guarantee you will see improvement. actually, you could even see performance decrease or a total lockup, especially if you install the wrong set. please do your researchmy "heavy" test scenario registers 15 fps average where it had 11 before. at this level the difference is very noticeable, whether it is to be taken in absolute (4 fps) or relative (36%) terms

how do i know what my chipset is for my agp controller?

>how do i know what my chipset is for my agp controller?Here's how I can find that on my system...Control Panel --> System --> Device Manager --> (expand) System DevicesMine is an 'Intel 82875P Processor to AGP Controller'.Not sure what the leading '82' means, but I already knew what my system specs are and what chipset it has, and it's normally just referred to as an 'Intel 875P Chipset'. Hope that helps.JimSystem Specs:Intel P4 3.4C(C = Northwood Core with Hyperthreading) on Asus P4C800-E Deluxe(Intel 875P + ICH5R Chipset), Zalman 7000a-Cu HS/Fan, Enermax EG651P-VE 550W PSU, 2 GB Mushkin eXtreme Performance(2-2-2) Dual Channel PC3200 RAM, Samsung 214T MultiSync 21" Digital LCD Monitor, Sapphire Radeon X800XT PE AGP Videocard with Catalyst v6.11 Driver, DirectX 9.0c, Creative Audigy2 Platinum Soundcard with Driver version 02.09.0016, Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speakers, Western Digital 250 GB w/8 MB Cache 7200 RPM Parallel ATA HDD, WinXP Pro SP2, Norton SystemWorks and Personal Firewall 2006

I discovered the AGP controller driver for my mobo shortly after I installed FSX.My computer had always been plagued by a bizarre problem where if I installed graphics drivers newer than a certain version, then I would experience artifacts and lock ups in DirectX games. After installing the AGP controller driver, I was finally able to upgrade my graphics drivers for the first time in over a year. But even more surprising was what I read in the readme for the controller driver: installing the driver would enable my mobo to use 4x AGP acceleration...and imagine my surprise when I realized I was probably using 2x AGP for the past 4 years!And yes, I did gain a couple FPS afterwards :-).