Bluescaster

Hi Davis, many thanks for your reply, as you say every little helps so I'll do that.Just a thought; as said they are in '64bit' mode at present - (the way the old set were) could that be why I'm getting a system re-set after using the flight Sim. program (FS9) for maybe 5 mins? By system re-set I mean the screen goes black and then the computer starts to reboot itself.... it then works fine for a few minutes and happens again. This doesn't seem to happen when NOT using a 'game' program. (FS9 or my son's SubSim ....just to check out it's not happening with just one program). I check my e-mails - and this site of course - no crashes (well not yet anyway). Everything seems fine until I run FS etc. I've got "PCAlert4" monitoring all sorts of stuff but nothing seems overheated or anything? A real puzzle to the amateur like me.I appreciate I'm probably monopolising your valuable time but any advice would be appreciated if you have any observations.Kind regards,Blue.

Hi Again Davis, I took your advice and am now operating with PC3200 "OCZ" DDR RAM 400. Platinum. (2 Gig matched CL2-2 etc.) having installed the modules this evening ;-)Now, I was wondering if you could advise me further. The Motherboard instructions tell me, (under the "Memory" chapter) that; "....the system supports 128-bit dual channel DDR when you install DDR modules on DIMM1 (purple slot) and DIMM3 (green slot), or DIMM2 (purple slot) and DIMM3 (green slot)".The slots are illustrated in the handbook. I have installed my new memory in slots 1 and 2 because they are the slots that housed the memory modules I removed. (Clearly these are NOT the slots to take advantage of "128-bit") Could you tell me please, is my memory installed to give best Flight Sim. performance or should I change the slots to take advantage of "128-bit". (I confess I don't really know what '128-bit' means, I suspect it's something to do with the speed data moves)Regards Blue.PS. I have a XP3200 CPU - new motherboard and fan. Thanks for your help in choosing the right components.

Thanks Davis, Makes perfect sense;-) I think.I think I've sourced the DIMMS - must just check back now I have this info. There's an online shop that had a bewildering array of 184 pin DIMMs..... now I know what to look for I can buy with confidence :-) Many thanks. Regards, Blue.

Hi Davis, Your advice is much appreciated and gratefully received - I sometimes feel I'm getting a little too old to keep up with all these terms; please bear with me. I understood your reply, except for the very last bit, "....get DIMMS which are rated with the tightest timings". Now I know DIMMS are; "Dual Inline Memory Modules", - they are the 184 Pin memory sticks right? But, "tightest timings?? .... I'm afraid I might not know a "Tight Timing" if it leapt up and bit me, sorry;-) Is it possible you could explain please? Most grateful.Thanks again for your time and knowledge. I do hope I'm not "over staying" my welcome with all these questions.Regards, Blue.

Hi once again, I'm sorry to be a bother once more however, would it be possible for you to give me a little advice on the memory sticks I require. As stated in my original post, I have 2X 512Meg RAM I intend replacing them with 2X 1Gig. I do not know the name of my current sticks but they are 184 pin and will in anycase be replaced.I'd like to get fast RAM but compatible with the motherboard. Again sorting through the array of numbers in the memory descriptions on the web I find myself a little confused. Do you have any advice on those to choose, or indeed those to avoid?Thanks once more.Regards, Blue.

Hi again, I am once more indebted to you for sharing your knowledge, I shall start searching immediately. Again my sincere thanks.Regards, Blue

Hi P. Many thanks for taking the trouble to reply to my query, and so quickly too. I'm most grateful.If I might impose with one more question, do I need to look for an "XP3200 CPU" with any particular description, (other than of course type A to fit my motherboard)? There are such an array of descriptive numbers and names and I would like to get the most appropriate one. It would be a waste of time and effort if I ended up with one too "fast" or indeed too "slow" for the motherboard - if that's possible of course.I would probably need to buy from the web as I think the XP3200 etc. are obsolete now. Hence the extra question.My thanks again.Regards Blue.

Hi All, It's sometime since I needed to visit for advice, but have been most grateful for help previously. I have an old system by todays standards but my FS9 setup runs pretty well and I have far better frame rates than many people posting here report on their machines. 'Frame rates' however are not everything and on occasion there is some jerkyness.I have a K7N2 motherboard with the nVidia nForce 2 chipset. It has an Athlon XP2700+ CPU (Socket A). With 1 Gig Ram (2 X 512Mg) The Graphics card is Asus Geforce 6800 LE. The monitor is CRT 19" Flatron - 1280X1024X32 resolution.I would like to change the CPU for the XP3200 (Socket A) and increase the RAM to 2Gig. to extend the life of my setup. My question is: Will my mother board chipset be compatible with the XP3200 CPU? The Motherboard user guide seems to suggest it will stating, "Supports Socket A (Socket - 462) for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP / Duron processors @ FSB 266/333/400 " & "Supports 600 MHz up to Athlon 3000+ processor or higher". I am no computer buff however and although I'm interestd in the subject and attempt to understand how my system works, I also appreciate that "a little knowledge is dangerous". In light of this,I'd appreciate some advice on my proposed alterations. The purpose of which is mainly for Flight Sim. (I don't use the machine for other gaming.)My thanks for reading this far at least.Regards, Blue.

Hi Nes, You're quite right - wonderful piece of modelling, I have all their Hurricanes - the IId, I think the most recent, and a really excellent piece of Kit!Regards, Blue

My Thanks to all for their advice. I did look at the Just Flight Demo but was frankly disappointed. The kindest thing to say is that there are better models out there.Enjoy what's left of the Hols. Happy New Year to all.Regards Blue.

Hi All, I've been reading another post and it prompted me to post this:There are several models of the venerable Spitfire out there for FS9 - payware models include; RealAir, JustFlight & Plane design to name but a few. With, naturally many freeware models. I have great admiration for the whole Spitfire story and find the RealAir model fantastic but I've not tried the other payware ones. Has anyone found any models to rival the RealAir Spitfire? Either Payware or Freeware? I include Freeware as a friend bought the JustFlight VC10 pack sometime ago and then found I had the David Maltby freeware version. The freeware model VC10 was by far, streets ahead of the payware item in this instance!:-)Observations would be appreciated as I have room for any Spit that can hold a candle to the RealAir model:-)Thanks for any help offered.Regards Blue

Hi Paul, I couldn't resist to throw in my penny's worth........ 'tis clear from all the posts the RealAir kites are great, so it looks like you'd be pushed to have any regrets - However, You just HAVE to a least TRY the Spit!! Do you not have a friend with one on his/her machine ...... if you try you'll buy.Good Luck picking,Regards Blue.

Hi All and thank goodness for AVSIM eh!! I've been having problems over the last two evenings (GMT) connecting to "Real Weather" on my FS9 sim. Like others posting here I have done recent updates including my Norton virus software. Naturally I assumed the problem was me not understanding some of the "settings" info. I think now that it may be elsewhere than my set up :-)I do hope all is well after this storm some of you speak of - good luck and happy holiday season.Regards, Blue

Mark, You're quite right my own countrymen also perform incredible feats of skill, discipline and courage as you point out; not only in those far off days of WWII but in many wars since. However it is never wrong to wonder at the bravery of todays young men and women when such evidence of their dedication is available.Most of my flying has been in peacetime - not that it hasn't had it's moments! and I DO know how difficult flying in these conditions can be..... how do they manage it day after day?Regards, Blue.

This was sent to me, it needs a caption ONLY because it's so difficult to believe you are seeing a real event - Military pilot picking up on a steep mountain slope from the top of a shack!! Probably someone who desparately needed the help of these skilled and courageous aircrew!I dont see the picture - perhaps I'm doing something wrong - sorryRegards Blue.Seems to be there :-)

Hi Stinger, Just while you're there go the whole hog and get the B25 as well! Go on treat yourself - it really is something else!!Good Luck Blue

Great Aircraft, Great Photos, Great Re-paint....... to say nothing of this GREAT forum.Regards, Blue.

Tributes well deserved without doubt!Regards Blue.

Edwin, Many thanks for taking trouble to reply in a way I could understand:-)In light of your answer it may provoke me to give it a bash!Many thanks. Keep up the good work.Regard, Blue

Hi Edwin, (Sorry to chip in Betel)..... just a quick question of my own but connected with your reply to Betel - is there a large performance hit in using two monitors? I've often wondered what the advantage is (other than not having to keep switching screens of course) ..... or if it's worth doing on an older set up.I get a great deal of information by just reading your answers to the postings here - even if I don't always understand the technical bits. Again, Thanks.Regards, Blue

Bill, I appreciate your taking the trouble to reply (and update) However, you should stay away from the screen when you can and rest your eyes;-)I hope ALL the medical problems will sort themselves out soon - until then - Good luck to you ALL.Regards, Blue

Mark, Sorry to hear Bill is still suffering with his eye problem - too much screen time obviously not a lot of help either. Wish him well and let him know to take care - the TBM can come anytime, safeguarding sight needs to be done now;-) Good luck.BTW - we already know how good your products are, so the customer base is secure when the release comes around.Regards Blue

Hi Alex, It is always pleasing to hear from someone actually using a particular piece of equipment. I have to say I'd like to have had that type of monitor available when I bought my CRT :-) Don't get me wrong - as said in earlier posts; I'm very pleased with the CRT and LCD wasn't really an option (I don't think) at the time - however the CRT does take up a lot more room than I can really spare on my desk. Thanks for sharing your experience.Regards Blue

Hi Dave/ Edwin & all, Just coming back re. the CRT/LCD and frame rates - as said this is 18 months ago and I've forgotten a fair bit having made my decision. However, I think the arguement went something along the lines that with LCD you are (were back then??? :-) ) stuck with the "native" or designed resolution - some of which was not compatible with running FS9 effectively and changing it (the LCD monitor) from it's "native" resolution impacted the frame rates quite a lot. Also, if not running at it's "native" res. the quality of the LCD image was adversly effected. I am aware that the higher the resolution, the greater it effects the frame rate. Edwin, I'm sure you know more about the technical side of this but this info. may help with decision making for those updating monitors.Regards, Blue

Andrew, I'm not sure this will be of help to you. However, you have a similar system to me (I have the 2700+ XP processor but the memory and mainboard are the same.) I have the nVidia 6800 card however.I'm pretty pleased with my set up - I recently wrote a post on the frame rates obtained and the settings I use on my system. It might help you to look at that post as you can at least compare where you are starting from.I'm no computer whiz but when setting up my system - going back some time now - I got a great deal of information from this site. I then experimented a lot with all the settings.Edwin gives very good advice (along with Jaap and the others) - and has helped me with things. One thing many people seem to forget is to ensure their system is OK to start with - before trying to set up FS9. I mean by this that it is not cluttered with things running in the back ground or that the computer is not bunged up with disused files and the like. "Spyware" in the system is another problem -or it wasfor me when I started learning to set up my system.I use three freeware programs I got off the internet. "RegCleaner", "CCleaner" and "Ad-aware". The first two help you to make sure all is cleared from the system that you don't need. As an example I had about 15 things running in the background when I stared - I now have just 5. I also had a huge pile of "Spyware" clogging things up.I also make sure I have ALL the latest drivers - Motherboard, BIOS and certainly the graphics card driver. I also always run an anti virus program ALL the time as I like to fly on-line.As I've said I don't know about Radeon cards as I don't have one but I found getting the right balance of Anti-aliasing, mipmapping, and antriscopic (not sure how to spell that one:-) )filtering took some time to stop a sort of shimmering of the scenery. You no doubt are aware that it is thought best to have you video card deal with the anti aliasing - rather than through the FS9 program.You probably have already read the "howtweak.zip" freeware (I'm not sure if that one will help ) - I've only just got it myself and not read it yet - I have read the articles "tandt12.zip" which is a list of tips on setting up the system. There are many of these on Avsim library, "tant2.zip" on upwards - always of use and I certainly learned a lot from them.As said Andrew, I'm no expert and am still trying to learn but some of these things helped me - I do hope they have been of some use.If I've got any of this wrong I'm sure one of the Computer Whiz people will correct me - I don't always know the technical names etc.Good luck and Regards Blue.