For a non-tweaker like me, to obtain the best 3D performance and FPS, do you recommend that I activate Anti-aliasing on FSX, or will I get higher FPS by unchecking Anti-aliasing on FSX and setting Anti-aliasing on the nVidia driver 3D settings?If it's better (for FPS) to set Anti-aliasing on the driver, what settings do you recommend?http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/168020.jpgThank youKerkeDell XPS 410Intel

I don't know if you have the whql drivers or the 101.41 beta which I am using but after messing around with various setting I found by selecting 1) 3d settings 2)Manage 3d settings 3)Program settings tab that there is a setting for Ms Flight Simulator fsx. I used that and got better results than when I was messing around both in performance and looks. I know it sounds too easy but it worked well here-also using Vista Ultimate.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

Geofa, I'm using the default nVidia drivers that came with my Vista Ultimate, mostly because I'm not sure I know how to install the latest Beta drivers and I'm afraid I may break my brand new machine if something goes wrong during a video driver update. The default driver does not have a FSX option under "Program Settings"...I'm not too much of a tweaker ;-)But I just wonder if by un-checking Anti-aliasing in the FSX Graphic option tab and selecting "Use my preference emphasizing: Quality" on the driver 3D setting, my FSX FPS will be any better.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/168021.jpg

The drivers that came with Vista are terrible-they were blurry and jerky on my end.You can get the latest certified drivers (non beta) here-I would give them a try (I assume you are using 32 bit Vista):http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_100.65.htmlhttp://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

Thanks again Geofa, the instructions for installing the nVidia certified drivers read..."Before installing new drivers make sure you uninstall all NVIDIA display drivers from the Windows Control Panel. Browse to the Start Menu > Windows Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and search for "NVIDIA Windows Display Drivers" or "NVIDIA Display Drivers" and select remove."Question: After I select 'remove' to uninstall the current driver, do I 'reboot' the computer and then install the new driver when the machine re-starts? Or can I just 'remove' the current driver as the instructios say and proceed to install the new driver without rebooting the machine?

I'd unintall-but from my recollection when you bootup vista will ask if you want to search for a better driver. At that point I'd click no-and then install the new driver.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

Geofa..I don't see a difference in the Nvidia Program Settings from the ones you manually set in that driver area. I notice that if I change the settings on the tab before that, Global Settings, that the "named tab" in Program Settings for FSX changes as well! Are you saying that the Program settings for FSX are already set to ideal settings for the sim, and by highlighting it the settings change to what Nvidia or Microsoft have pre-programmed for the sim?I,too, have the Beta drivers, but I wonder if the WHOL drivers (100.65) for Vista, work any better or worse. Have you tried them before the Betas we are both using?I'm curious about all this because I'm in the tweaking stage for FSX and Vista right now, and every day I try to make a small change in search of the Holy Grail of settings before the FSX update comes out.

Geofa - followup question:When using the FSX Profile in the nVidia drivers, what were your "in-game" AA/AS texture filtering settings? I'm adding more notes to my FSX/Vista pile. :)Thanks,-Greg

I have everything clicked to the max "on"-e.g. aa, atisotropic and pretty much all the graphics settings to the max except autogen , water, and traffic. Only thing off is bloom.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

"Are you saying that the Program settings for FSX are already set to ideal settings for the sim, and by highlighting it the settings change to what Nvidia or Microsoft have pre-programmed for the sim?"I am assuming so as I got the best results by selecting this setting.Most noticed on my machine is the textures are clearer and don't blurr-when I was manually setting I could get neither."I wonder if the WHOL drivers (100.65) for Vista, work any better or worse"They were worse not only in performance and stability on my rig-but you might want to give them a try.If you nose around the nvidia board-they are still trying to get the drivers right. I am pretty happy with the new betas but I am sure they still have a ways to go...http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

Thanks for responding, Geofa.However, try this. Change the settings in the Global tab area, and see if the Program Setting (that's supposed to be pre-set) changes with your Global setting. If it does, then the Program setting didn't have pre-set parameters...right?

I'll take a look a little later today and report back....http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

I just took the settings it recommended and manually did it. I am not sure this is functinal yet-at lest in the beta. All I know is I got better results with these setting than any I could come up but if you come up with something better let me know!http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

Geofa,Good discussion. Maybe not functional in the Beta yet. I would love to have specific recommended FSX settings in the Manage 3D settings of the Nvidia Card. It seems though, that when I change the Globals, the Program changes or says that it's the same as Global.I think we're close, though, to getting optimal settings for the card and Vista in a short time when non-beta drivers, FSX patch, and Vista all come together.I have the sim controlling AA and Anisotropic settings. I just don't know how to set the other settings in the card. I'm experimenting every day with the same plane, same airport, and similar weather to try to find the best settings. I'm also setting the frames to Unlimited.

Geofa,I think you're misunderstanding the purpose of that menu and the FSX entry in the Nvidia driver.Here's how it actually works:Nvidia cards use profiles to make automatic settings changes when a particular game is run. There is a "Global" profile that is always active - ie, if you set forced 4X AA in the global profile, any game you run will have 4X AA forced on by the driver as a default. I use the global profile only to set the "High Quality" mode and to set the LOD Bias to "Clamp" (both settings that relate to how the card processes anisotropic filtering.)So, in addition to that global profile, there are application specific profiles, which is what you were looking at when you found that FSX entry in the driver's menu. These aren't a list of recommended settings for the game, but rather a place where you can order certain settings to take effect only when that specific game is loaded. The driver detects that game's exe being loaded and changes settings on the fly as it loads.There is a much easier way to manage these profiles than the clunky driver interface - it's called nHancer - download it at www.nhancer.com.For FSX, I use the following settings on my 7800GTX:Global Profile:Everything set to Application or default exceptOptimizations tab:Texture filtering - High QualityNegative LOD Bias - ClampFSX Profile:AA - Multisampling, 4X, Enhance in-game AA setting, Gamma Correction, and Super Transparancy AAAF - 16XSo... what happens here is that the card always has those global settings active, but then when you run FSX, the new AA and AF settings get applied and override what the global profile has set for those particular areas. I have different AA and AF settings for most of my games that are all engaged via these profiles here. If there isn't a profile listed, you can just create a new one there in nHancer.