Video card for Fly! II

[RandallR 446]

Tony and Roger,I use both SCSI and SATA (Serial ATA) on my work and home systems. SCSI is very expensive, but has the fastest through-put speeds (needed for applications like broadcast TV production, which is my main vocation).The great thing about SATA is it's as fast as SCSI in some applications, but inexpensive. Also, I should mention that I'm running RAID on my new home system with 2 SATA 120GB drives. I'm using performance RAID (not mirror), so I should be getting nearly twice the regular read/write speed. This may have something to do with my good Fly!II performance, though I still need to tweak the render.ini file some more.I should mention that my motherboard will not allow a combination of mirror/performance RAID. I have to set up one or the other, so I'm running a setup for performance. The danger in this is backup of data, which I have to do separately - no different than what I've had to do most of my computer life...

[Guest tonyc]

As Cpu speed increases, FLy2 frame rates increase also. This, however, does not reduce the "pauses" due to texture loading. In fact, the higher the frame rates, the more pronounced the pauses appear. I say "appear", because I am trying to make the case for not upgrading. There are two modes in which FLY2 performance can be seen: the first, when FLY2 is not loading textures; the second mode, is when Fly2 is loading textures. For the first mode, a fast cpu and a good video card produce overall higher frame rates and more vivid colors. For the second mode, cpu speed does not matter much. The loading is faster but so is the frequency of pauses. The hard drive speed and the cache will affect the duration of the pauses during loading. I do believe that large video ram does make some difference, but cannot prove it definitively. If you want to test this theory, simply play with the high res and low res scenery distance radii settings in the option menu. When sitting at the airport, a high medium scenery radius setting will create very low frame rates and long pauses. There 's a point in these two settings in which pauses can be (almost)totally eliminated. Simply place the aircraft in the "outside" view mode so that aircraft and scenery are loaded as the aircraft spins around.tony

[KenWood 5]

I'm no real guru with a computer either, Roger... ;-) I just know that WinXP runs my Fly!II setup quite well, and my older nVidia card does the job nicely enough for me. Matter of fact, you can set a "compatibility" switch in the icon properties to select Win95, 98 etc. to help certain programs run at near optimum. I have Fly!II set to Win98 compatibility. Should give a go at seeing how well it does under native WinXP... maybe some day... naw... why fix somethin' that isn't broken?? :-hahNot sure if my computer would run Win98SE, as it was built and supplied with XP Home Ed., but I know my older computer ran Win98SE with an AMD chip. That bugger is still going strong. Only problems I've had with that system is the Power supply unit went (whilst under warranty), and so did the original video card (also under warranty - good thing I got a three yr one then!). Gateway gave me a TI4200 card for that older system, which was terrific as that computer had come with an older card.Looks like Tony and Randall have everything covered for you in answers and guidance. I'm so behind the times now, it isn't funny! My current rig is only two yrs old, but way outdated from what I've read here this evening! All I really want right now is a new, larger HDD. I'll have to investigate the SATA HDD Randall was talking about, and will wonder if my current system can handle it or not. SCSI drives are - as Randall says - fastest with through-put - equating to faster texture loading, which theoretically should reduce the pause effect. But they are expensive here, and most likely twice that down under!Looking forward to hearing what you decide to go with!Cheers!Ken Wood :-sun1http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/bannernewkw.jpgGateway 700X; Intel P4 2.4GHz; 512MB RAM; NVIDIA Ti4200 4X AGP 128MB; SB Audigy; Thrustmaster TopGun Fox 2 Pro Shock

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day Macflyer,>I cannot see why you shouldn

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day Randall,Ahh Thanks for the SATA explanation. I assume that SATA2 is simply a revised version. I can see now why you are getting really good Fly!II performance. I have not kept up with all the latest developments in computers. I haven't a clue about "Raid". Here in Sydney, Raid is a household Flyspray :-) Why would you want to spray that on your computer ? :-lolI'll do a bit of research with Google.I just want to build a system that will run Fly! II fast and smooth.Cheers,Roger

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day Everyone,Thanks to all who posted. If I've learned anything it is that I have a lot to learn about computers. Since I'm retired, time is no problem, and I'm going to have heaps of fun pestering the shops. Thanks for your help.Cheers,Roger

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

Randal and Tony,>looks like you are doing your homework....All it takes is a bit of my time ...and Google :-)http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/define...m=Raid&x=21&y=7Randall a great explanation of Raid. You know it already I can tell from your previous post but it explains things well to me. I will have to get a second drive and check that the motherboard I get supports Raid. I'd be quite happy just using performance mode (which is probably the only mode the home PC motherboards support. I don't mind backing up to a DVD. Thanks both of you for your help; really interesting stuff.Cheers,Roger

[RandallR 446]

Thanks for the link - indeed, a good explanation. I'm using an Intel motherboard/Intel RAID controller and software.

[Guest Loke]

Hi guys, back with my old forum name ;-)Got to kick in here as I have used all MS operating systems since the first DOS.Win98SE was nice for a while, but still had too many bugs and I think it was too unstable. So I went for Win2000, and am still glad I got it...not having crap like internet validation. Had win2000 stable for a couple of years, then I went for WinXP Home. Reluctantly...since MS said I could only have 7 validations (if memory serves), before having to call them. And that is what happened...after 7 reinstalls I had to call MS Norway. No problem, got my validation, and explained I needed to install quite often, as I often upgrade my computer. Funny...I have reinstalled lots of times since then, and only have to validate on the net, no more calls :-)OK this was a little sidestep regarding validation. My experience with XP is only positive, it`s the best OS I ever had. I really like it. Stable, and running everything from Doom95 to FSX. I might be wrong here, but on my computer WinXP ran Fly II faster than Win98...after my usual performance tunings after the install. Another thing to mention, WinXP and Win2000 is more or less the same kernel after install of the servicepacks, so in that regard Win2000 may be an option for those not wanting to validate over the net.Currently I am not using Fly II no more, because of the low screen resolution and lack of scenery, but checking out Flightgear and X-Plane as alternatives to FS9 and FSX, which leads to another thought: Windows Vista. When I heard about the agressive license policy for this OS...I immediately decided to *never* buy it. I will happily continue using WinXP for many years to come.If one day I am forced to buy Vista...I still won`t. I will also stop all MS scenery development and beta related stuff at the same time. Flightgear looks promising, and runs on XP, Linux and MAC. So then I will keep FS/FSX on my old puter with XP, and buy a new computer for Linux or MAC, running Flightgear (or X-Plane if possible) as my sim there. Expensive solution maybe, but I am willing to *pay* for my principles:-swordLast, a word on SATA-2: Not faster yet, but it will beat IDE in time, if it haven`t done that already. I would never finally go for XP and not use the future stuff. I prefer SATA-2 instead of RAID since it`s simpler. And it would also be sensible to go straight for PCI express instead of AGP...in time AGP will be obsolete.Cheers,A.Thomsen

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day A.,Mate thanks for the post. You are welcome to post your opinion about Fly II but we will just have to agree to disagree :-)>Win98SE was nice for a while, but still had too many bugs and>I think it was too unstable.Again, I have been running Win98SE for a long time and haven't found or noticed any stability problems. I don't overclock my CPU or graphics card.>If one day I am forced to buy Vista...I still won`t. I will>also stop all MS scenery development and beta related stuff at>the same time. Flightgear looks promising, and runs on XP,>Linux and MAC. So then I will keep FS/FSX on my old puter with>XP, and buy a new computer for Linux or MAC, running>Flightgear (or X-Plane if possible) as my sim there. Expensive>solution maybe, but I am willing to *pay* for my>principles:-swordJust want you to think about this............. If you are FORCED to buy Vista..... Then you won't have XP !!!!!!!The only way Microsoft could force you buy Vista is to stop validating XP. Food for thought indeed. > I prefer>SATA-2 instead of RAID since it`s simpler.You've lost me on this. Isn't RAID on top of SATA2 I don't understand RAID to be a replacement for IDE or SATA2 ??It's back to Google for me :-)> And it would also>be sensible to go straight for PCI express instead of AGP...in>time AGP will be obsolete.I'm thinking of an PCI-Express graphic card but not for your reasoning. Purely because I think it might be faster. If it turns out AGP is faster I wouldn't hesitate to get an AGP card - obsolete or not. Like you I have no intentions of being drawn into the Vista mire.Enjoy FSX Cheers,Roger

[Guest Loke]

G`Day, Roger.Regarding Fly II...to Terrascene Norway is just a too big job, and the slicer has bugs that gives jagged edges between tiles when importing elevation data. Then there is the total lack of landclass and airport buildings. Making my country flyable would take years. So this is a thing I have given up for good. In FS9 I now got hi-rez scenery that are more or less to the meter; that`s why I also use FS9 as a 3D map, not flying at all :-)My understanding of RAID is this: Accessing two harddisks at the same time, in order to have faster access times, regardless if it`s IDE or SATA. The difference between IDE/SATA is that IDE is a paralell signal, SATA is serial. Anyway, I`m happy with my new SATA2 disk and are skipping RAID. If I want faster access times, I might buy a 10.000 rpm disk instead of the 7500 rpm I got now.I bought PCIe for two reasons; it`s a future slot, and I heard it would be faster than AGP. Just didn`t mention it in my previous post ;-)

[Guest rayzo]

hello!sorry for my bad english. i have a big fly!2 problem. after starting fly!2 and choose the graphik options, the screen flicker substantial. Only when i choose directx7 there is no flicker. but then, the frames and the graphik is very very bad.i have fly!2 version 2.5.240i use winxp sp2 with an ati x1600 graphik cardthank you for helping me!

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day,In the Fly! II/system folder is a file render.ini Open this file in notepad and change the linevertexIndexFormat=1tovertexIndexFormat=0Resave render.ini back to Fly! II/system and see if that helps.Cheers,Roger

[Guest Loke]

Hi all,This is not to be negative. Myself, a month ago, I tried starting Fly II with a new video card plus the latest Nvidia driver. My screen started flickering, and I tried to CTRL-ALT-DEL myself outta it. It didn`t work, so I shut off the computer. Starting up again I found out the boot sector of my harddisk was dead and had to reinstall everything. I suspect the graphics system of Fly II is a tiny bit outdated, and I`m *not* going to try this stunt once more. Might also be the Nvidia drivers (which I never trust fully)...but who am I to know. I prefer to stay on the safe side, and not try again:+ PS: I also tried the tips in here in order to get higher resolutions for Fly II but it never worked for me. If I am to run Fly II again, It will have to be on an old computer, with a 1024x768 CRT:-)

[Roger Mazengarb 0]

G'day Loke,>This is not to be negative.Mate there is nothing negative about posting in the forum that you have a problem. Indeed the whole purpose of the forum is help out each other if we can.> Myself, a month ago, I tried>starting Fly II with a new video card plus the latest Nvidia>driver. My screen started flickering, and I tried to>CTRL-ALT-DEL myself outta it. It didn`t work, so I shut off>the computer. Starting up again I found out the boot sector of>my harddisk was dead and had to reinstall everything. I>suspect the graphics system of Fly II is a tiny bit outdated,>and I`m *not* going to try this stunt once more. Might also be>the Nvidia drivers (which I never trust fully)...but who am I>to know. The problem of drivers and Fly! II was once addressed by Richard Harvey in this forum several years ago. Unfortunately all the old Fly! II posts were lost in an Avsim upgrade but the gist of his post was find a driver that works and STICK with it. Not to go chasing performance increases by updating a driver simply because it is a later version. Yes ; I have also had problems with nVidia drivers in the past and had to revert back to an older driver. (I don't trust them either :-lol ) I do seriously think your individual problem lies with your hardware/nVidia drivers.Yes Fly! II is a bit long in the tooth, but if treated with a bit of TLC it should still be able to run OK on current hardware. When you look at the changes in operating systems, Win98,Win98SE,Win2000,WinME,WinXP and WinXP+SP2 it's really a testament to Fly! II that it's still alive and kicking. Vista however will be the end of it. (unless the Fly! Legacy guys can work miracles)or Vista has a backwards compatiblity mode.>PS: I also tried the tips in here in order to get higher>resolutions for Fly II but it never worked for me. If I am to>run Fly II again, It will have to be on an old computer, with>a 1024x768 CRT:-) I suspect you are using an LCD monitor. You cannot have a resolution higher than the native resolution of the monitor (in most cases 1280 x 1024); but that is a limitation of the monitor NOT Fly! II. Sure if you want to run 1600 x 1200 then get a CRT monitor AND video card that will support the higher resolution.>I prefer to stay on the safe side, and not try again:+ I fuly understand your position - once bitten twice shy, but I would urge you to spend a cold winters night reformating your hard drive and doing a complete reinstallation of your OS , video driver and Fly! II. Once you get the sim working then load up all your other software. Fly! II is too good a sim to give up on.Thanks for posting your problems, I have taken heed and will proceed with my computer upgrade with caution. Sorry I can't give you the magic solution.Cheers,Roger