Question for Nick, Mitch or Mike-----------

[brucets 94]

Greetings!I basically gave up on trying to improve FSX, however Nick's posts on XP streamlining have peaked my interest. Mitch then stirs the pot and gets it boiling, as usual, like no one else can! Now I'm interested again. Sort of--- that is.I have a dedicated FSX only (not online) 3 yr old Dell XPS Gen 4 * P-4 3.46 Ghz * 2 Gb ram * ATI X1950Pro 526Mb (thanks to Mitch's infectious enthusiasm!) * 2x 80Gb WDR 10,000rpm (OS on 1 and FSX all alone on 2) * XP Media Center Edition- SP2, DX 9.01c * Samsung 24" LCD at 1920x1200x32 * FSX + SP1 & SP2 (no Acceleration) * I do have the XP re-install disc that Dell sent with the system I have gone thru the FSX clean re-install including reformatting the HD several times now. Currently I have a number of freeware 3rd party ac installed, e.g. POSKY (some are FS9 that seem to work okay) along with a lot of freeware WOAI. No other add-ons. I have used the PCDecrapifier and I use Smart Start every time I fire up FSX. I have disabled error reporting, the screen saver, and system restore. I use XP Defrag multiple times daily on both drives, which, btw, are over 80% unused. I have tried most the posted FSX.config tweaks in various combinations and usually revert to the stock one. Currently I have TBM set at 60 and hideinfotext=1 inserted and that's it. I *fly* the heavies mostly from major airports. I can not use Autogen or more than 15% commercial traffic (and no other traffic). The other sliders are: * Unlimited Framerate* Trilinear* Anti-aliasing checked* Global Texture = Very High* High res cockpit* Landing lights illuminate Ground* AC shadows on ground* LOD = Large* Mesh Complexity = 70* Mesh Resolution = 76* Texture Resolution = 2m* Water = High 1X or Low 2X* Scenery Complexity = Extremely Dense* Weather = Detailed Clouds, coverage = Low* Airline traffic density = 15All other sliders/settings are far left/off.Although my graphics are generally quite good, I get significant stutters taxiing from gate at JFK, LGA, LAX, SFO etc with FPS about 9-15. Until I get to 10,000 or so AGL the terrain textures are fairly blurry and a bit jerky in Fixed Spot View. In Cockpit view it's fairly smooth once away from the gate.Overall I think my setup provides only a fair experience in FSX, but I would like to eliminate the stutters and slight blurries plus be able to use more features of FSX, and add some of the latest payware scenery addons. So my question is ----if I follow Nick's fabulous XP tweak guide do you think it will improve my situation significantly enough to warrant my venturing into uncharted waters. I would even buy O&O Defrag if it would really be that effective--- being that FSX has the drive all to itself. I am NOT a computer person, but I think I can get the job done. However, if I run into problems, like Mike (Cruachan) did, I am dead in the water, believe me!!! I couldn't begin to understand that discussion!Btw, I could post a video link, if it would be helpful, to demonstrate the graphics quality I'm getting with these settings.Thanks for any responses!!Bruce

[Guest Nick_N]

Bruce if that XP install disk is SP2, it includes SP2 as part of the clean install and that is what was used to install the system, the odds are you are good to go.HOWEVER.. the issue is a MICROSOFT problem, not O&O which dates back to SP2 and how older SP1(a) and SOME SP2 early disks did not have a proper update for ntfs.sys. This was changed a few months after the initial SP2 web update release.If that install disk is SP1, SP1a then I would not attempt it, especially if its a DellEither way, tweaking is "At your own risk"If you are looking for validation and a green light.. I am not going to give that but I can tell you if the install disk does include SP2 and it was made after December of 04, more than likely, you are fineMany who were bitten by that bug have found they had to slipstream a new SP2 disk with the current Sp2 installer and reload the system clean.. the ones that did this are quite happy. You only have to go through it once. After that, you are free of that MS bug.

[TRauppius 0]

Bruce,I can speak from my personal experience with Nick's tuning on my Dell 8300/P4 system. Unfortunately, I did not pay enough attention to the the Dell and SP1a caveats that Nick placed in his tuning threads. I ended-up trashing my SCSCI RAID 0 boot disk array. Nick tried to help me repair/recover but it was too late for my boot disk.I then followed Nick's advice to build a slipstreamed installer disk using the latest MS SP2 installer and modules merged into/overriding my older Dell install disk. The rebuild went fine and I followed the rest of the tuning process to a normal conclusion. Since the rebuild I have had no further problems with using the O&O 8.5 degfag program. I also did the nHancer thing for my 7600GT/256MB card.The resulting FSX performance is much improved, although I still have a little bit of trouble with with the nearby scenery textures fully sharpening when flying low and fast; but not bad at all compared to the blurries I had before. So yes, in my opinion Nick's tuning is worth the effort. Prior tweaking efforts, and I tried most of them, were not as effective as Nick's tuning recommendations.ToddDell 8300/XP Home/SP2/P4/3GHz/2GB/nVidia 7600GT/256MB/FSX-Accel with SP2/FS Genesis/Ultimate Traffic/Ultimate Terrain US and Eur/FEX/ASX weather engine until FEX update come out/GEXen.

[Guest fsxmissionguy]

Bruce,I think your attempt to run at higher than normal Scenery Complexity is probably the main cause for your troubles. Your machine is three years old, and you are attempting to use higher than normal settings? I think that is unrealistic (just my view, not attempting to bash you or anything since we have essentially the same machine.)In my view, your machine is always going to have issues at La Guardia and LAX. New York and Los Angeles are too complex for your machine. But there are other complex airports you should be able to use no problem - such as Las Vegas McCarran (owing to there being less of a city nearby). There are a multitude of other slightly less complex airports you can fly heavies out of with minimal stuttering and good frame rates.Add-on aircraft can also swipe frames, depending on the quality of the development.I'd recommend that you purchase Ground Environment X or a competing texture upgrade. This will allow you to run Autogen at the lower setting, but still get a fairly realistic look in city (and fantastic looks in the countryside). Here's a city shot in Las Vegas I just snapped quickly. I'm getting 22-24 FPS with no stuttering even though McCarran is in my view as well as the strip.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/186947.jpgGEX textures are improving the ground view here.I feel your pain. As soon as I can, I'm upgrading my main box to at least a dual-core so I can crank up the sliders in some of the more complex areas. Until then, I just have to accept that even the latest hardware out there can't handle places like Tokyo at higher than normal slider settings.I've attached a Settings Configuration file that I used to produce the screenshot. You might want to give it a try. I got 16-20 at LAX with this on a clear day.Cheers,Kevin

[brucets 94]

Gents Thanks for getting back!Nick & Todd - My XP re-installation DVD from Dell is dated 2004 with no mention of any service packs. As a result I believe I'll just cool my jets and live with my present setup untill FSXI is released. Once all you FS Gurus have it sorted out I'll buy a new computer. Thanks very much for your responses.Kevin -Yes, I do get better results at DEN, SLC, PHX, LAS and less complex airports. That is a terrific screen shot!!! Looks almost too real! Maybe I'll try a couple of the scenery add-ons like UTX GEX FEX and see what happens. I'll also look closely at your settings and see what what might help. Thanks a bunch!!Bruce

[Guest fsxmissionguy]

Bruce,If you change the filename of that attached .txt file to .cfg, you can load that Settings Configuration directly into FSX. Nothing unique about it, just paid some attention to things I don't really need when flying in Vegas (like 2x water), etc.Cheers,Kevin

[brucets 94]

Kevin -I did try a bunch of those settings, most of which I had tried frequently in the past 18 months. I have spent hundreds of hours testing various combinations of game and config tweaks/settings. I Played around with the sliders for another half day, all the time knowing what the results would be. I am pretty much convinced I am getting the best the system has to offer under each different scenario. Bottom line is I will need a new system at some point in the future. I'm just not going to spend the money until FS11 is a known, and fully understood, product.Thanks again for the suggestions!Bruce

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Hello Bruce!Bruce, with my Dell XPS Dimension (Generation 3) P4 3.4 GHz running a true ATI 1950 Pro (256 meg), with three megs of System RAM......I get performance that does not require me to upgrade my computer at this time.I can maintain a pretty steady 20-22 FPS in lock-down, but for my system, I get the smoothest response at unlimited.If you read my latest post about custom tailoring 'scenarios' to fly through, you can get even better performance from your rig.Because I now use different load factors for the differing types of flight and the phase of a flight; taxi, climb-out, cruise, approach, landing, and back to taxi, I don't really quote 'slider configs' anymore. My configs change DURING THE FLIGHT SESSION by the SAVE and LOAD config feature. It only takes about 20 seconds to load in any config...so it is a very powerful feature to use. I do suggest you take the 60 to 90 minutes or so, to set up all of the graphic and traffic configurations for the areas you fly, for the airports you frequent, and for the traffic you might see at a given altitude or geographical location. Remember, that FSX taxes the CPU by 'creating' your virtual world 100 miles in a circle around your X/Y position. Let that be a guide to what you might want to have MORE of on the graphic sliders, and to what might be dumb'ed down as not important, or what you would NOT VIEW at any time in your flight, given your terrain you are flying over....and at what altitude your flight is at.Cheers,MitchFrankly, since Nick's Tune-Up (I did buy the O&O special offer of both licences for v8.5 and V10) I have had stellar performance from my P4. I wouldn't jump back into FSX after the Tune-Up, I'd thrash back in, and make lots of waves! :) Come on in...the FSX water is just fine!Mitch

[brucets 94]

HI Mitch!!I do change FSX sliders in various stages of flight, but haven' tried using saved configs. I have read all your posts since Nick's XP tune-up arrived on the scene and have marveled at your results. I'll play around with it some more using your *saved config* idea and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestions!!Bruce