FSX SP1:Intel news

[PhilTaylor 45]

I just blogged about the Intel PR and provided a bit more detail on what it means here http://blogs.msdn.com/ptaylor/archive/2007...ntel-quote.aspxThis collects and consolidates the information I have replied to several threads with as well as provides a bit of specific details as to what our multi-core support really means.

[SAPilot 213]

Thanks PhilVery good news .. patiently waiting .. the efforts from the ACES team appreciated."I can see an upgrade coming this end .. but will wait for SP1 to see how things work out .."RegardsRobert-------------------------------------Asus A8N-VMAMD Athlon 64 3000+XFX Nvidia Geforce 6800 XT PCI-E [256]2Gb DDR400 RAMCH products Yoke and USB Pedals

[Guest MauiHawk]

Thanks for the news.Does the 20% estimate apply to dual-core specifically, or will dual core be above and beyond 20%?

[PhilTaylor 45]

20% regardless of number of cores. And I am being purposely conservative here.

[irocx 292]

Can anyone give an idea about how long it might take after a service pack release for updated/patched retail versions of FSX to begin hitting the store shelves?Thanks.Regards, KendallDell 8400 3.2 GHZ H.T.800 FSB/2MB L22 GB 533 DDR2X800XT 256MB/Catalyst driver - 6.10's6x AA/16x HQ A/FDiamond Xtreme/Logitech X-530'sDual Monitor: Dell 2405/1905CH Yoke/Pedals

[PhilTaylor 45]

There are no plans at this time to update the box contents.

[irocx 292]

Well then, looks like it's time to make a purchase and prepare for a downlowd. Thanks again to Phil and the other members of Aces for taking the time to keep us well informed.Regards, KendallDell 8400 3.2 GHZ H.T.800 FSB/2MB L22 GB 533 DDR2X800XT 256MB/Catalyst driver - 6.10's6x AA/16x HQ A/FDiamond Xtreme/Logitech X-530'sDual Monitor: Dell 2405/1905CH Yoke/Pedals

[Toys_R_Us 0]

This is great news indeed. I might have to break into my 6 month old unopened FSX box and do the deed after investing in a new machine. I have no problem with that, if I have something that works reasonably well for the new money invested. I suppose I would go all the way, which comes in at about $2900 with the new quad-core processor 6800, DX-10/648, 2 gigs, and Vista Premium, plus a good array of other add-ons. (I just priced it out.)But I am going to wait for the pudding first. That's where they say the proof is, if I remember right.Bob (Las Cruces, NM)

[PhilTaylor 45]

That is fair.Even if we run into Beta2 issues, we arent that far out that waiting a while should kill anyone.Really :-)

[Bigmack 26]

Will this new SP1 take advantage of high end video cards by taking the load from the CPU and allowing the GPU to do its thing?? Or is there some special instructions that must be issued telling the CPU to of load choirs to the GPU??Bill M

[PhilTaylor 45]

Some of the optimizations in SP1 include reducing the Draw and SetTexture cards. We were issuing way too many Draw and SetTexture calls, SP1 is close to a 40% reduction in both.So yes, taking those optimizations is aimed at enabling the app to scale better on GPUs.

[tf51d 284]

Phil! This is great news!! I have been one of the lucky ones, that with my configuration I been able to get a (I won't say great, because I'm able to get double with FS9) decent quality to performance ratio, at least with non complex aircraft. The only example of a high detailed model from FS9, which in that sim, was comparative in performance to a PMDG or LDS detailed aircraft is the Captain Sim 757. In FSX it cuts performance pretty much in half! So my question is this, realizing your reluctance to commit past the 20 percent performance boost target you mentioned (Stating that was a conservative estimate is an encouraging sign), do you now feel confident, with at least a high end system and video card, that FSX will now have the much needed headroom in performance to support PMDG, LDS, or CS level of detail?Thank You

[Guest rapsta]

Very good news. Hope SP will be out end of the month. But further testing is much better than a buggy SP ;-) You

[RelaxX 11]

Hi Phil,Thanks for the good news.My system achieves fairly good frame rates with good settings and tweaks. My challenge is rather stuttering of FSX in irregular intervals. When it happens the frame rate drops from locked 30 fps to 5 or 10 FPS for a short period of time.You informed that you address the stutter as well. How is the progress here?

[Guest GA Flyer]

"Aces Studio participated with a quote about our improved multi-core support in SP1"From what I get, this is all new territory for developers (making apps that support multi-core). I'm very glad to see ACEs being part of this new technology and in a way leading it! I'm also very happy after reading your blog Phil. Very promising! Not only for FSX but the future.My only comment is that I hope ACEs can in some way work with (a workshop?) addon developers to assist them in how they too can develop multi-core apps so that they whole community benefits.Thanks for keeping us informed.