NicolasCYOW

Yesterday, I task-switched (alt-tab) out of FS9, as I frequently do. When I tried to task-switch back in (which has never caused any issues), the picture wouldn't come on, and I could only hear the sound (and then I didn't sound totally right, but that's another story that's probably linked to the main problem). Pressing alt, the menus did show correctly, and if I did alt-enter from the (invisible) full window, it did switch to windowed mode. So, I did another alt-enter from windowed mode, but then the FPS was really, really low (like, 6 or less, and I've got mine limited at 24, and shift-z constantly shows a 23.8 or 23.9 rate, and my machine does run it higher, but I prefer having it limited); in addition, this was in the Level-D 767, and the FMC text was gone, too (and after toggling it off, it wouldn't come back on). All this is a first occurrence in six months of having my present computer. Any thoughts as to the cause (apart from drivers, which I'll now update)? Running FS9 on a 21.5 inch iMac (in Windows 7/Bootcamp), which otherwise runs pretty well. Thanks, Nicolas in CYOW

Hi,I'm trying to use ENBSeries - that light bloom effect - in FS9 but am getting terrible aliasing. Everything, from runway lines to user aircraft to AI aircraft to buildings, is all jagged. GPU's an 8800GTS, 320MB (no laughing!). Is this something that can be arranged by changing settings in the .ini file, or is it a known issue, or lost cause?Thanks,Nicolas

Uninstalled driver and reinstalled presumably newer version (didn't pay attention as to what version the old one was); works surprisingly better now. Getting more than reasonable FPS in FS9 (i.e. around 30, at which it's limited); FSX really is CPU-dependent, though, as it still won't go above 15 FPS. Looks ugly too, for some reason, compared to FS9.Nicolas in CYOW

Thanks guys for your replies; was ill the past few days so I didn't get a chance to reply until now. Regarding clouds, I am using ASv at 512x512, after all, but I don't think just that would be sufficient to bring my machine down to its knees. So I'll do run some more tests and perhaps eventually go with a new GPU as I suspect there are two culprits - card itself and video RAM.Regards,Nicolas in CYOW

All:I've had a 24-inch monitor for a few months now; I'm running an E6600 at 2.4GHz, 2 GB RAM and a 8800GTS with 320MB RAM. Needless to say, my machine struggles to run FS9 in native 1920x1200 - it can actually drop *below* 1 fps - such that it's just not worth it. So, what's the bottleneck? The GPU, the CPU or just the whole rig? Would getting *only* a new GPU make FS9 run smoothly (if so, how smoothly?) at native resolution? If so, what GPU - GTX275 any good?Looking forward to your thoughts.Nicolas in CYOW

Thanks! So the weak point would be the GPU, which is good news I guess. I'll try that.Nicolas

All:A few months ago, I got a 22-inch monitor as a gift, but of course my E6600, 2GB, 8800GTS 320MB system struggles to run FS9 in native resolution (1920x1200). It's not so bad at fairly simple airports when there are no clouds, but drops to single digits in complex weather or at detailed airports (I ran FS9 on a 17-inch, everything maxed out with very high framerates). So, is there light at the end of the tunnel? Could just upgrading my rig do the trick? If so, should I prioritize the GPU or the CPU (or RAM)? What new GPU or CPU should I go for?Thanks for your thoughts.Nicolas

After years of running FS9 on a 17-inch monitor, I now have a 24-inch monitor - needless to say, this stretches my two-year-old system (and presumably the GPU) to its limits such that FPS in FS9 is very, very low. My system is as follows: Core 2 Duo 6600, 2GB RAM, 8800GTS (320MB) - as you can see, I didn't buy this yesterday! Now, I suspect that the main bottleneck is the GPU, but I don't exclude the whole system itself as the culprit. Would changing to a 9800GTX be of any use without changing anything else? Or should I just throw my computer out the window and buy a whole new rig? Anybody have any thoughts?Thanks,NicolasCYOW

Thanks. I took the AA up a bit with not noticeable performance loss (yet). Nice weekend to you too.Nicolas in CYOW

Thanks a lot Davis; problem solved! I'm curious, however - is there any reason (apart from performance) why one shouldn't use a higher AA setting than the one you suggest?Thanks again,Nicolas in CYOW

In FS9, I'm noticing significant shimmering (and aliasing) of "distant" textures, and especially AI planes (not the default ones). Now, I know AI planes have a number of LODs, but I don't recall from my older system seeing AI planes flashing at low LODs.I suppose this is a driver issue (I'm running 158.22); any thoughts? Should I revert to earlier drivers?Thanks,Nicolas in CYOW

OK, problem solved (fingers crossed). I played with the settings and something happened (one symptom being that the aircraft selection window is now black, which wasn't the case before, but now there are also no in-game issues). Finally, FS is smooth and fun again.Nicolas in CYOW

Davis:I'm running XP, and running FS at 1280x1024 (same as desktop resolution). Since everyone and his dog is talking about nHancer, I guess I'm going to give it a try. But I wonder whether nHancer will make any difference...Thanks for the advice; I'll let you know how it turns out.Nicolas in CYOW

...but not when I use FS2004's in-game antialiasing, which makes everything looks much smoother. However, I believe that with my 8800GTS's 16x antialising, I wouldn't need FS2004's in-game antialiasing - if it's not on, then there's jaggies everywhere. And I read in every tweaking guide that FS2004's antialiasing should be turned off (which would give me jaggies). Any ideas? I'm running 158.22, by the way.Nicolas in CYOW

Thanks Davis, looking forward to actually measure performance in frames per second instead of seconds per frame!Nicolas in CYOW

So I, the most hesitant person in the world, went for it:CPU Intel Core 2 Duo Conroe E6600 2.4GHz FSB 1066, 4MB CPU Memory 2048 MB DDR II 800 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston) (1024 x 2) Mother Board ASUS P5N-E SLI Motherboard Hard Drive 1 Western Digital 320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA II Optical Drive 1 LG 18X DVD RW +- Dual Layer Video nVidia BFG 7950 GT OC 512MB, DVI, HDTV, PCI E Audio Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 24 Bit SB0570VP Network Card Onboard Network Card Case (NEW) NZXT Hush Case (silver) Power Supply 600 Watt Thermaltake Pure Power Supply W0129RU I'm so nervous, I wouldn't want to regret it. Hope this works well for FS9, and that it outperforms my current system (P4 2.4, 1GB RAM, GeForce 4 Ti4200) by a lot.Nicolas in CYOW

I'm getting a new system real soon, as indicated in another thread. While I've generally settled on the config (E6600, 2 GB RAM, etc.), I'm still undecided on the GPU, with the two contenders being the X1950XT and 7950GT (both at 512MB); note that I plan on using FS9 for the foreseeable future. If users of these cards could report on their experience (performance, image quality) and speculate on what I can expect in FS with these cards, that would be great!Thanks in advance!Nicolas in CYOW

Davis:Right now, my hardware is such that it's limited to 1280x1024 (which suits me, but doesn't fill me with joy), so, to be sure, I'll run it higher than that. Re: the 7950 (with which I've heard there's "shimmering" issues), I found a new place closer to home but that doesn't carry the 7950, but do carry the others I mentioned. But the benchmarks I've seen generally rate nVidias higher than ATIs in FS9 (and usually the opposite in other games which I don't play, so...). I suppose one could ask, say, 32 people about GPUs and get 32 different answers. It's all rather frustrating, really!Thanks,Nicolas in CYOW

Thanks guys. Regarding the July 22 planned price drop on Intel CPUs, I guess I'll wait - but on the other hand, prices drop constantly on everything, and new technology arrives on the market all the time, so one could wait forever.Now, I'm back to undecided on the GPU; anybody care to offer suggestions on alternative GPUs in the same price range as the 7950GT? What about the X1950XT? The X1950 Pro? The 7600? 256 or 512 MB? There's so much on offer, and so many "schools of thought", yet I can only have one GPU!Nicolas in CYOW

Thanks Davis. Nicolas in CYOW

I'm *this* close to buying a new system mainly for FS9 purposes - the P4 2.4/GeForce4 Ti 4200/512MB RAM combo isn't cutting it anymore (in fact, it has really never cut it with FS9, to the point where it's now impossible to use).I'm thinking about the following setup:# Intel Core 2 Duo Conroe E6600 2.4GHz FSB 1066, 4MB CPU# 2048MB DDR II 800 Memory 240 Pin# ASUS P5B Deluxe Mother Board w/ WiFi# eVGA GeForce 7950 GT KO 512MB DVI, HDTVplus HD, audio and all, but I'm more interested in comments on the above itemized list. Any comments on the CPU, and particularly the graphics card (open to suggestions here of course), would be appreciated. What could I expect in FS9 with such a system?Thanks,Nicolas in CYOW

Thanks. Shopping for a new computer is such a maze with such an incredible array of options. Re: the CPU, the thing is that between the 3800 and the 4000, the difference is only $40, so I guess I'll go for the 4000. And I've read (on Extremetech I think) that the dualcores are actually slightly slower on FS (which is my main concern at this point).I'm still comparing vidcards. I've read elsewhere on the forums that there are some flickering issues with the 6800GT. I'm also looking at the X800 or X850 from ATI, and at the 7800 (any model) from nVidia. Right now, I've read so much stuff, I don't know what to think about any of the cards I've been considering.Thanks again,Nicolas in CYOW

Thanks to all of you for the comments and suggestions. It definitely helps. I'm still wondering about the 6800 vs the 7800; in Canada, there's still a +/- $200 difference. In Canada, the 6800GT here is $330 and the 7800GT is more than $500. And given that I've read elsewhere on the forums that there were some driver issues (affecting FS) with the 7800, I'm a bit reluctant to go with that card. And Rhett, are you running other add-ons apart from ASV (i.e. LDS767, PMDG products, etc.)?Thanks again,Nicolas in CYOW

I am planning to buy a new system, main FS-relevant features being Athlon 4000, GeForce 6800GT, 1GB RAM (I have yet to decide on mobo).Given that I run AI and ActiveSky, will I finally get reasonable framerates (at least in the mid twenties)? What should I expect? Any suggestions? My current system is (don't laugh) a P4 2.4, GeForce Ti4200 and 512 MB RAM; FS brings it to its knees, like 2-3 FPS (perhaps even worse) in some situations. How much faster would the above-mentioned new system be compared to this one in FS?Thanks in advance.Nicolas in CYOW

Greetings all,I'm on the market for a new rig; comments are most welcome.Motherboard: We'll seeCPU: Athlon XP64 3800 or 4000 RAM: 1GB or 2GB (It seems in most games there's no difference)Graphics: Hesitating a lot.. ATI X850XT, nVidia 6800GT or 7800GTThe rest: Good enough...I know there's quite a bit of a price difference between the lower end of my choices (i.e. XP64 3800, 1GB and nVidia 6800GT) and the higher end (XP64 4000 and nVidia 7800GT), but I don't want to end up paying several hundred (Canadian!) dollars on a higher end rig that would only translate in 1 or 2 more FPS. For the GPU, my real hesitation is between the X850XT and the 7800GT; any ideas? I'm aiming for FPS in the mid-20s (at least) and for great image quality (running ASV, PMDG and LDS stuff, lots of AI and would like to run more advanced scenery). And, gentlemen, now's the time for me to upgrade... even my girlfriend thinks it's a good idea (Me: "I'd like to buy a PlayStation 3 when it comes out, it's three times less expensive than a new computer"; Her: "Yeah, but the PS3's three times more useless".)Thanks,Nicolas in CYOW