Hi there. Here's the thing...I read on couple places that locking frame rate at, say 20 is the best way to have constant and smooth frame rate. But what I discover is this : Locking frame rate and then fly over some...say "heavy" scenery could actually make things look worse! I test these things over New York and (with almost all settings up) this is the results.... With locking - 14 fps Without locking - 18 fps Small, but could be very useful !! So, my question is this: Why we should we lock it ? Yeah, I know cpu won't go high and low too much and he will always be a little late, trying to catch up..... but we won't always be flying over these "friendly" terrains which allow us this high frame rates ! New York is one of these places.... And thoughts..?? ______________________________________________

If you search you will find tons of threads all about this. In fact there is a thread on the front page right now about it.The general consensus on framelocking is, that there is no consensus. Some people unlock and love it. Some people can't run that way without blurries, and consequently they must lock.Really, there's not much else to say about it. You have to just test on your specific hardware config and go with what works for you.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

There's two things you have to try for yourself:Locked versus unlocked frame rateWindowed versus full screenThere seems to be no logic as to why one setup would work better than the other on similar computers. You just have to try them and see for yourself.Jeff ShylukAssistant Managing EditorSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

First - I search actually for similar topic but... couldn't find any ?? I type "locking frame rate", I think... but couldn't find any. Maybe they have some strange names ?? Anyway.... Second - I go for unlock. But I wondering maybe I don't know some "secret" some more experienced guys know - 'coz they keep advice to lock the d*mn frame rate. So I just keep wondering - why !? Sorry if this topic give you some bad mood.... :D It wasn't my intention. _______________________________________________

Nah nobody's mad at you for asking. If I tell you to search for the 50 other threads on the merits of lock vs. no lock, I do it out of love and kindness :) and a desire to help you find what helps you most.For FS2004, locking was generally more accepted--but even then there were those who got better results by not locking. But now, it is not so clear-cut. Now you are just going to have to see what works on your machine.You might search for the term 'lock' or 'framerate' and that might give info. But basically you just need to test for yourself because you can read old threads all night long but none of it may apply to your computer. You see what I'm saying?RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Try 'unlimited' and see FSX runs.

I for one am much happier with unlocked. No blurries, no stutters, higher FPS, no texture loading. To me it seems the whole locking thing is irrelevant, with the new texture loading on multiple cores and what not. It seems to be a misunderstood relic from single-core times.

yeah...hmmmFor me, locking gives me sharper textures on the flyalthough, locking also yields less FPS than unlimited heheSo do I want a few more FPS (usually 3-6), or clearer textures while buzzing the local Swiss villages in my F18??? :)

To lock,... OR not to lock That is the questionIt's like this... both I use unlimited when I am in a very heavy hitting urban areas and I lock @ 30 in bush or in low load areas.

With my system specs and FSX configuration I lock at 24 and never go below that. It's all relative to your own hardware and configuration settings though. I can't ever remember getting blurries either, even when I was on my old trusty (and now crusty) Athlon 64 LOL.

I definitely find its better when set to unlimited. I have a high spec machine Q6600 and when i lock it to 20FPS i get around 15FPS around the airport terminal with AI at 50%. I set the frame rate to unlimited and that jumps to 22FPS. No blurries or stutters noticed.

My system specs are in my reviews. When I upgraded from my 7600 to my 8800 graphics card, I found I got better results by fooling with frame locking.7600 worked best unlocked, 8800 works best locked at 24. Again, no matter what you personally think the best solution is, it won't matter to anyone else, as each sim pilot must try the settings out for themselves. Of course, the solution where you go back and forth bewteen locked and unlocked, I have to admit is quite creative...Jeff ShylukAssistant Managing EditorSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM