This just goes to show how CPU bound FSX is. I just recently picked up two Evga GeForce 8800GTX KO ACS3 video cards and have been testing SLI with about six different games/sims. The only application that has not shown any performance increase with dual GPU is FSX. Even at very high resolution with AA and AF cranked all the way up an 8800GTX will not even flinch in single GPU mode (SLI disabled). One thing that has not been mentioned is the fact that DirectX 10 will change this. DirectX 10 is more than just pretty eye candy, it will finally change the way the video card is utilized. As it stands right now even your latest first person shooter games (which are not CPU bound) are not fully taking advantage of the video cards capability. DirectX 10 will delegate the work load between the GPU and CPU in a lot more efficient manner than we have seen in the past. Here

I'm not too enthusiastic about hitching my cart to the DX10 hype. Will it really be that much better? Will ACES even bother taking full advantage of it? Clearly FSX takes a different approach than FPS games and ACES has a knack for under utilizing new technolgy.

>>We may not like it but that doesn't mean it isn't true. FS-X>is not well adapted to the mainstream market.>Exactly what I have said many times. The very market that Microsoft wanted to attract with FSX (Joe Average), will not be able to run the sim very well.On the other hand, those of us who do all the mods, can get a $1,000 computer to run FSX very well and look much better than FS2004. But Joe Average won't know how to do that.Therein lies the problem...Let's hope the SP1 will help out in this regard...for all our sakes...we NEED Joe Average to get into flight simming.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

>That different approach is the same approach we have seen with>every FS release. It

Yup:"That different approach is the same approach we have seen with every FS release. It

In the past Intel/AMD have been using bigger hammers to smash the stones. Now they're using more hammers while it seems FSX is going along with the bigger hammer philosophy. Unfortunately it seems that while everyone else is supposed to catch up to FSX, the roles have been flipped and everyone is waiting for FS to catch up to us.

>In the past Intel/AMD have been using bigger hammers to smash>the stones. Now they're using more hammers while it seems FSX>is going along with the bigger hammer philosophy. >Unfortunately it seems that while everyone else is supposed to>catch up to FSX, the roles have been flipped and everyone is>waiting for FS to catch up to us.I haven't seen a better statement recently than this regarding FSX

Yeah, pretty unique and true statement. Thing is - most of us - the "sim" community - weren't even looking for most of the the "goodies" in FSTen. They've given us great weather - it's almost as good as Active Sky; they've given us great graphics, but graphics that could have been done the way lots of addons are done - i.e. with the option of choosing 512 x 512, DXT textures instead of 32-bit, etc.,: they've given us the best flight dynamics yet!But instead of giving us "proper" ATC - they gave us medalions; instead of coding for dual-core - they gave us a ton of adventures! Instead of doing due diligence in testing, and testing again - they gave us three levels of water that few folks can use: and road vehicles: and water vehicles. . . . . I like what we've got, but it's only the base coat, and I can't find a store that will sell me the many colors of top coat that I need to make my picture complete. Regards,

Eye candy sells to the masses. We're not the masses.

Yet, we're the only ones besides the developers that really care about FS. The casual gamer audience MS is trying to reach will play it for a couple of weeks then forget about it. You can't blow anything up then it's not going to hold their attention. And of course how is a casual gamer who doesn't really care about FS going to understand Ace's performance philosophy/mantra? Regular gamers are shocked to find out that even the best system today can't run FSX at max settings. I think ACES tried too hard to get an audience that doesn't care about flight simulator to get interested in it.

> Regular gamers are shocked to find out>that even the best system today can't run FSX at max settings.> I think ACES tried too hard to get an audience that doesn't>care about flight simulator to get interested in it. Yes, and as I have said in other threads, it is my opinion that if your goal is to attract the casual user crowd, then you had better put as job #1, solid performance on today's average hardware.To build the app for future hardware, seems to me to be not compatible with the goal of attracting the casual user crowd. You can't have both.I think the FS user base can and will grow over time, but I think trying to make a sim that is "all things to all people" is not so easy a task.I feel like a combination of patches, updates, and raw hardware are going to lessen the problem over time, so I am not too worried about it. Flowers will still bloom and the sun will still rise.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

Hi,I don't even think Fs needs to try to attract people who don't like flightsimming. I mean John Madden doesn't ever dumb it down and even though I'm no NFL genius his commentary is always great (even if I don't understand it). Personally I think they should just make the best sim that they (the developers) want to fly and not bother thinking if we like it or not.That's my opinion anyway!(?)P.

Hello, To the above statement. I think that is just arrogant as can be. If you want your product to sale you better make it like Burger King (We'll Make It Your Way). Cause you can bet there are some hungry developers out there that would love to chew on some Whopper butt. Besides how complicated can a madden game get? What you have a 100yrd field to play with and a whole world in FS. Another thing I appreciate about this community a mass majority of folks do have flight time and or own their own planes. So I can really appreciate the strive for perfection and the real deal. When I was 17 and first started flying. If I had this kinda technology then I would probably be flying Commercial I have learned alot from this community 3rd party add-on's and the Sim. Due to health complications I can not recieve a medical so my real flying day's are basically over. So the sim Is all I have. Those striving for Realism, Icing, Weather Wet & Dry runways please continue!!! Because this is the closest I am gonna get to flying these day's and I appreciate it. Besides get to view the world from the comfort of your own personal plane in the comfort of your own home ;)' Technology is advancing why shouldn't we advance to the level of it and beyond what tomorrow may bring. Happy Simming, Josh