JayDub

Todd,Thanks for the information re how detailed airports set up in FSX. At least I know it is not my system failing me. This may be too much of a step backwards for me. Will continue to do most of my "Heavy Iron " flying in FS9 as the ATC is virtually the same with no improvements in FSX and I always see FPS in the 25-35 range will all sliders maxed and full MyTraffic 2004 AI. Will use FSX for bush flying in the mountains as I get very good performance and visuals in those areas. The missions add something new to do..... No regrets, I will grow into FSX eventually. Maybe 3rd party developers can clean up the airports for me..... I also had hoped that the unrealistic green or tan boxes around smaller airports that don't blend in with the scenery could have been addressed, but is was not to be. As I indicated in another post. Purchased FSX Deluxe for 48.95 US and have spent more for that on a weekend round of golf. I'm sure I'll spend hundreds of hours messing around with it....... It was still worth the investment. JayDub

A good day to all,First attempt in years to upload some screen shots and hope I have done it correctly. In any case, I have noticed a drastic change in the quality of all the high detail airports in FSX. I have maxed out all of the sliders for visual detail quality and have taken shots of approaches at KLAX, KORD, KDEN, and KJFK. The FPS in FSX ran from 9-12 and the FS9 shots between 25-30. The FS9 airports are all very good looking with nice detail around the taxiways and runways. The FSX shots all show kind of a generic light green grass or light sand texture that in no way matches up to the realistic look of FS9. I have a very good AGP card in the ATI X850XT 256MB. Unless I have missed something which is very possible, the quality I was expecting is missing.Any suggestions, or am I one of the few seeing this....Many great new features in FSX, But it will take me some time, effort and new hardware to getting running to match the quality of my FS9 setup.JayDubHome builtAMD Athlon 64 3500+ 90nm Winchester CoreAbit AV8 - 3rd Eye VIA K8T800ATi X850XT 256MB AGP with ATi 6.60 DriversAntec 400W ATX 12V Power SupplyThermaltake A1172 CPU Heatsink1GB Corsair DDR 3200Windows XP Home Edition SP2

Ed,Give it some time and effort and you will not be disapointed. Also today purchased FSX Deluxe edition in the USA for 47.95 at Circuit City. I have payed more than that for a round of golf on the weekend and only ended up with another well over 100 score and sore feet.... I expect to get hundreds if not thousands of hours of fun out of this program. I also have a mid level system and after reading the posts for the last two weeks was expecting poor performance. Not so, right out of the box with no tweaks or modifications the sim is smooth at 1600 by 1200 res. Granted all AI turned off and water effects turned off, with autogen at sparce for the time being, but all other sliders maxed able to get reasonabel FPS in the hi teens in the KSEA area and 25 to 30 plus enroute.... Will start working on the FSX config file and other tweaks tomorrow but I am way ahead of where I was when FS9 came out and I now have that program running smooth as glass with everything maxed out.I also upgraded my ATi 9800 128MB to the Ati X850XT 256MB card and saw a very large performance boost in FS9. Remember.... You don't buy your children shoes that fit perfectly. You buy a pair larger than they need so the can grow into them.I have owned every version of MS flight simulator since the original Sublogic/Microsoft program that came out on a 128k 5 and 1/2 inch floppy disk. Each new version has raised the bar..........JayDubLian-Li Aluminum PC-60 CaseAMD Athlon 64 3500+ 90nm Winchester CoreAbit AV8 - 3rd Eye VIA K8T800ATi X850XT 256MB AGP with ATi 6.60 DriversAntec 400W ATX 12V Power SupplyThermaltake A1172 CPU Heatsink1GB Corsair DDR 3200Windows XP Home Edition SP2

PMDG 747 Queen of the Skies appears to be the problem. I have completely reinstalled FS9 3 times. In each case visibility works fine with all my other addons and scenery undil I install PMDG 747..... Then all control over visibility is lost and it stays at approx 40 miles vis regardless of settings. This I definitely don't understand... See ya all later at the PMDG forum .........JayDub

Hi Guys, I hate to say this but appears that the PMDG 747 Program may be the problem. Ater spending a full day and a half reinstalling and rebuilding all my scenery files I was able to get back full control of visibility and the original program intended.... However just as soon as I reinstalled the PMDG 747 the problem came right back. Uninstalling the PMDG program does not help. I need to uninstall FS9 and start all over ...... Still working on this and it could only be a coincidence, if it happens again I will jump to the PMDG forum for some help. JayDub

Jim, Thanks for your input, but I do not have nor have I ever had Active Sky installed....... A clean install gives me back the ability to control visibility in the normal way from lowest to unlimited, but in adding back my addon scenery and configs I lose it again. I now just need to find out what is causing the conflict..... But looks like I am slowly moving in the right direction.... Looks like I may have to Add each scenery back individually... Not fun as have around 270 scenerys in the addon folder..... ThanksJayDub

Hi Erkka84, Sorry you are having the same problem. But you may be onto something...... I just remembered that I replaced my ATI 9800 last month with a ATI X850XT AGP card and ATI 6.6 Drivers .... I don't know for sure but it's possible the visibility problems began back then and I didn't notice. Will probably try a full reinstallation next...... But obviously will not be giving up on this outstanding video card.....I also removed my fs9.cfg and let the system build a new one with no success....JayDub

Jim, Still no luck. Tried that earler. I am running FSUIPC ver 3.5 freeware that has been running for the last 18 months or so without problems. Clear wx and Default buttons seem to have no function.....JayDub

Hello, Sometime during the last two weeks I have lost all control over visibility in FS9. No matter what visibility I set it seems to stay at around 40 miles. If I set 1/8 mile vis the runway lights will come on but visibility stays around 40 miles. Even using the "Clear all weather" button has no impact. I Have checked advanced vis area and worked with different hight settings with no success. Have not added any new programs other that PMDG 747 which should not be a factor. Im not using any sky environmemt programs..... A reinstall would be a pain as my FS9 folder is around 30GB and even with my backed up folders want to try something easier first........ As always any help appreciated. JayDub

John, It appears that was the problem. I don't know how I missed that but I did....... Thanks alot for the help..... JayDub

Hi, This is day four with this outstanding simulation and I have so far been able to fiqure out most of my problems. However, I have not been able to get the LNAV switch to activate and couple to the autopilot. Have read the documentation and checked the boards for help but so far no joy.... I have loaded all the flight plan data in the FMC and it looks like all info is good. I am not using or setting up any VNAV or speeds in the FMS. I get a display of all the data correctly in the NAV display, Magenta line, all fixes on the route, green alt capture arc and the VOR data for the next fix its DME on top of the arc. But the LNAV button will not connect to the A/P. I have to set the heading to the next fix on the mode control panel..... I have tried resetting the IRS on the ground and that has caused partial loss of all my displays...... I fly the PMDG B737NG without this problem and wondering what I am missing ..... As alway any help appreciated.... Using the box edition v1.1JayDubLian-Li Aluminum PC-60 CaseAntec 400W ATX 12V Power SupplyAMD ATHLON 64 3500+ 90nm Winchester CoreAbit AV8 - 3rd Eye VIA K8T800 Thermaltake A1172 CPU HeatsinkATi X850XT 256MB AGP with ATi 6.60 Drivers1GB Corsair DDR 3200Windows XP Home Edition SP2

Pete, I Just received my CD Copy two days ago. I also wanted to wait for the boxed CD version as I've never liked paying for a download with no paper documentation. This is a great product, you will get two printed manuals, one operating manual and one for the FMS system. Additional manuals on the CD in pdf format. The CD is the latest V1.1 and no upgrades are necessary. Be prepaired for a long learning curve, this simulation is not for beginers. You will probably spend many hours just learning the basics. Well worth the rather high cost of the software for those wanting a very accurate simulation of a very complex aircraft and its systems.JayDub

Jaap,Good information and much appreciated. Have been running FS9 at 1600x1200 resolution for the last 2 years and will never be able to go back to less...... My AMD 64 3500+ should be ok for another year or so. Hopefully the match with the new ATI X850XP will be a good one................ Thanks again.JayDub

baksteen33 Now you have me confused big time. Not sure what point you are making. But in any case too late, bid for and won a new ATi X850 XT AGP card on eBay last night at a great price close to what I would have paid for the 850Pro.... These cards are almost impossible to find now that the rest of the world seems to have moved to PCIexpress. I can only hope it works out for me as will be staying with AGP for for quite awhile...... Many owner reviews indicate large performance boost from the Ati 9800pro to this card, and I had the lowly 9800 non pro version. Any more info you can provide appreciated. Even though I build this system myself from scratch, and have upgraded the mobo cpu twice. I have been known to make a mistake or two along the way. Hope this isn't one of them......... Thanks for replyJayDub

Hi,I realize that the upgrade question is relative to my system and the price of the upgrade. Currently my older Ati 9800 is providing good FPS and visuals once the textures load. I can get the card for around $210 US. I have to stay with AGP as my MoBo will not support PCI Express. I'm looking for faster load times for my MegaScenerys and hopefully some improvement in "the blurries". I have tweaked the fs9.cfg to minimize the blurrie effect but could use some additional improvement. As always any good increase in performance is a factor. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks.JayDubLian-Li Aluminum PC-60 CaseAntec 400W ATX 12V Power SupplyAMD ATHLON 64 3500+ 90nm Winchester CoreAbit AV8 - 3rd Eye VIA K8T800 Thermaltake A1172 CPU HeatsinkATi 9800 with Omega 5.60 Drivers1GB Corsair DDR 3200Windows XP SP2

Need a little help here,Unable to get the exterior textures to show up for any of the hangers in this fine collection. The interior colors and textures display but the exteriors are all grey. All the .bmps are loaded in the correct addon scenery rwy12 static objects texture folder and all else seems to work as far as display in the Rwy12 program. My other collections load fine. Have followed all install instructions and tried a few ideas of my own with no success. Any one with some suggestions ............. All the files seem to be in the correct folders. Any help appreciated.JayDub

Andrew, VFR Photographic Scenery USA is published by Horizon Simulation LTD in the U.K. and is very good. I have the San Francisco and Sacremento version and for day VFR it is outstanding. The only shortfall is that you have no good dusk or night textures as they are very generic and look pretty pretty bad..... The MegaScenery Series is by Aerosoft out of Austrialia and is also very good with the upside of also having outstanding dusk and night lighting textures that are very realistic. I currently have Megascenery Pacific NW, Southern California and the MegaCity title Dallas-Fort Worth.... Check out the websites for both and compare screenshots ....... Must have good vidio card and fast CPU to fully enjoy.... I have AMD 64 3500+ with ATI 9800 Pro....www.horizonsimulation.comwww.megascenery.comJayDub

Stan, A few days have passed since I last checked this post. In answer to your question concerning 3rd party sceneries. Nothing seems to slow this system down. I have almost every good freeware 3rd party airport loaded that is available. Also terrain mesh freeware for the whole USA and several in Europe...... Payware addons PMDG 737ng..... Capt Sim B727.... My Traffic 2004. I don't think any of the addon software either freeware or payware available today will have a bad impact on FPS..... Slowest I every see is around 24-25 everything maxed out but water which is at the halfway point. This is in high density airport and city areas. Also have all the best freeware custom textures loaded .... I plan to puchase MegaScenery Pacific North West when it becomes available as the first software I have added since the upgrade. I hope everyone who goes with this CPU is as happy as I am, I would not want anyone to be disappointed with the outcome of this upgrade based on my recommendation......JayDub

John, Just make sure the aircraft you are flying is "RVSM" capable if you are going to cruise at FL340 .... Just kidding .... The flight plan Graham provided is acurate and used by Delta daily ....JayDub

Betel,See system info below.... Don't panic if 3rd eye "Guru" clock shows some high temps. Abit and other hardware bulletin boards indicating BIOS temp reporting error problems on several makers of socket 939 MoBos. I see 63C under max CPU load with system being very stable. Others have reported seeing 70 to 75C under full load also without problems. JayDubLian-Li PC 60 Aluminum CaseAntec 400W ATX Power SupplyAMD Athlon 64 3500+ 90nm WinchesterAbit AV8 "3rd Eye" with VIA K8T800 Thermaltake heatsinkATI 9800 with 4.10 Drivers1GB Corsair DDR 3200PT 2x512 Windows XP Home SP2Creative Audigy XGamer 5.1ViewSonic19 Inch Flat Screen Saitek X36F/X35T Flight Control System

You will be very happy with your new system. On the 3rd upgrade of my system listed below. Went from AMD 1900+ to 2400+ to the same CPU you have ordered the AMD 64 3500+ ..... An outstanding jump in performance from the 2400+ to the 3500+. You will be able to max all your settings including AI and still see FPS 25-33 in high density airport areas and 100 plus enroute. I have found no advantage to limiting the FPS with this setup. Running at 1600x1200 with all kinds of freeware addons .... airports/terrain mesh/texture upgrades and aircraft. Payware addons .... MyTraffic 2004, Captain Sim 727 and PMDG 737NG.JayDubLian-Li PC 60 Aluminum CaseAntec 400W ATX Power SupplyAMD Athlon 64 3500+ 90nm WinchesterAbit AV8 3rd Eye with VIA chipset Thermaltake heatsinkATI 9800 with 4.10 Drivers1GB Corsair DDR 3200 Windows XP Home SP2 Creative Audigy XGamer 5.1ViewSonic19 Inch Flat Screen Saitek X36F/X35T Flight Control System

RH, and Clayton,PMDG 737NG VC on the 2400+ system probably in the low teens on takeoffs and approaches but had to limit AI to accomplish this and it was not very smooth. Enroute the FPS seemed much better. 737NG is much smoother now in all conditions.Heat issues.... Seems combo may not have been pre-tested as advertised. On initial boot up after I installed MoBo/CPU combo had beeps and automatic shutdowns. Sent the combo back to Monarch and they had same experience on the test bench. They pulled the Thermatake heatsink and reset the CPU in socket.... Reinstalled combo when shipped back to me a week later with no problems to this point. Will be watching the temps very closely for awhile. Bought the two year extended warrenty on the combo just in case..... Had VIA chipsets on my last two MoBos and was happy with them. Also liked the kind of cool "Guru 3rd Eye" clock system that ships with the board.....Board supposed to be easy overclocker thru the Abit software but don't plan to be going there until I feel left behind in race for more speed further down the road..... Another benefit is after all the upgrades to this original system I now have enough spare parts to build a full AMD 2400+ backup computer. Lacking only the case .... " My wife is just thrilled "....... JayDub

Re PMDG and VC question.....Have PMDG 737NG ..... Under the same test conditions listed in my first post the results are the following. 1600x1200.KLAX Rwy 7L takeoff ... PMDG 737NG ... 2D 21.0 FPS/VC 23.0 FPS Stock B737-400 ...... VC 38.0 FPSTakeoff roll is smooth in all condtions ..... And remember this is with all sliders maxed out including 100% AI with MyTraffic 2004.Cut back on the AI and the frames can be increased another 5 or 6 FPS.Any card better than my now midrange ATI 9800 128MB should see even better performance..............JayDub

RH,Purchased the pre-tested MOBO/CPU with a Thermaltake heatsink installed from Monarch Computers in Tucker GA. USA.... Also purchased the Corsair memory from them but now find it could have been found for a little less than I paid. You can select any motherboard/CPU combination you like off their website. Did the upgrade myself after the combo was shipped to me. Had to do it twice as had some heat issues with the original shipment and they Sent RMA for return of the item. Rebuilt the 2400+ for a week then reinstalled the 3500+ combo when it was returned to me. I reformatted the main drive and reinstalled Windows XP Home just to make sure I had a clean system. The VIA drivers I installed from CD and they are simply the latest VIA 4 in 1 drivers. AMD 64 drivers also included on the Abit install disk.... This CPU is outstanding I can't imagine how fast their 3800+ 4000+ or FX CPUs would run. In any case in FS2004 it would be overkill. With this setup you can run FS2004 without any compromises just max it out and let it rip. Have seen my first enroute FPS well above 100 FPS... Had to limit my AI to 40 percent airline only to get 20 FPS with my old setup. I am obviously pretty excited about the outcome of this upgrade and would recommend it to anyone.JayDub

To Anyone interested in this upgrade, Went from AMD 2400+ on Gigabyte GA 7VAX KT400 MOBO AND 1GB 2100 DDRmemory to ... AMD 64 3500+ 90nm Winchester core on Abit AV8 3rd Eye VIA K8T800 with 1GB Corsair DDR 3200...... The results are outstanding..... The following before/after test is set up at KLAX in FS2004. All sliders maxed except for water at the midrange, high cirrus day 30 miles vis, stock B737, 100% AI traffic both airline and G/A selected with MyTraffic 2004 installed. Res set at 1600x1200 ATi 9800 Radeon graphics card 4.10 drivers. Windows XP Home SP2.Takeoff runway 7L ... Before 13.0 FPS ... After 34.0 FPSApproach runway 25R .... 13.0 FPS ... 31.0 FPSSimulation runs as smooth as glass. FPS will not run under 25.0unless multi-level clouds set up. In flight sim heaven. This CPU is the "Sweet Spot". Sorry for lengthy post but thought others thinking about this type upgrade would be interested.......JayDub