jackcnd

Agree with above, 4GHz 400x10 sounds nice but to hit it you'll need to max the CPU voltage and generate a lot of heat under load. I dropped back to 3.85 350x11, and was able to drop the voltage and heat, significantly.Makes visible no difference in FSX , enjoy your setup.

Keep the Ultra it's the close to, if not the best for FSX.The example you gave with the 747 will not be helped by any video card, as really nothing is happening in to stress even one GPU, just sitting on the runway.More CPU is what is needed, and in that case a lot more than we will probably see for some time :)

Hope it does, but won't the 256bit bus will hold it back at 1920x1200 with AA and AF turned up?

Had same issues here some time ago.I called Asus and they had me clear the CMOS by shutting down and removing the battery and moving a jumper back and forth I think.After that I rebooted set my overclock and its been perfect ever since.

Sam - If I make sure the FSX window does not touch the taskbar it runs fine, maximized window frame rate does fall off.

What happens if you install for DX9 then run DX10 preview?I know its not made for DX10 but do you have to uninstall it to run the dx10 preview, does it make DX10 water worse or just have no effect so you can leave it installed?

Don't have any sleep issues here use it all the time, still seen in control panel.Never tried 2nd video card with it.No blue screens, FSX runs fine in both windowed and full screen mode. Vista 32 using 1.77.41

I'd love to put a Ultra setup beside the GTX 280 to see (any) differences with a decently setup FSX environment.I'm at 1900x1200 I can't say enough about the 280 smoothness.It just works locked at 30 fps, VC or locked spot, panning slow or fast. I don't find a need for any more framerate in FSX, what I want is smoothness locked at 30. It runs DX10 water at high 2x with no problem.Nick - nice catch, typing error on my part last card was a 8800GTS SSC 640MB with 112 SP. No problems with that GTS SSC card for FSX, its one of the best. 8800GTX ... 768MB, 575MHz, 120SP, 378 bit bus8800GTS SSC 640MB, 576Mhz, 112SP, 320 bit bus8800GT ... 512MB, 600Mhz, 112SP, 256 bit busI don't run at low resolutions so how the GT performs there didn't matter. :) The GT is a nice low cost value card but once you up the AA/FF and resolution it falls back with its smaller memory and 256 bit bus. Also a noisier fan.The 320 bit bus with 640MB of memory on the SSC 640 gave a great FSX experience at 1900 x 1200. In Crysis the resolution needed to lowered to use AA on the SSC, the 280 solved that but the bonus I've noticed is the smooth performance of FSX too:)

Been flying with a GTX 280 for a few days now.Its just smooth as silk in FSX, with high setting of AA and AF.Been using FlyTampa's Hong Kong today.In DX10 mode with water at 2.x high, it locks 30fps and looks and runs great.I would recommend people to disregard Toms Hardware's comments about the 200 series and FSX.I came from a 8800 GTX 640MB SSC, thats sitting in its box now,which is a great FSX card too if anyone is looking for one.

WOW, just looked at some flytampa Hong Kong FSX screenshots.The thing is out of this world.I thought GEX was pretty good but this just raised the bar 10 feet :)This thread shows default FSX and then flyTampa shots:http://www.flytampa.org/forum/viewtopic.ph...der=asc&start=0

This HD texture 'freeware' is selling a lot of Mooneys :)I agree the default looks great too.Here's 4 images 1900x1200, first is the SD Mooney, then 3 HD ones.SDhttp://www.pbase.com/jackcnd/image/99681693/originalHDhttp://www.pbase.com/jackcnd/image/99681691/originalhttp://www.pbase.com/jackcnd/image/99681689/originalhttp://www.pbase.com/jackcnd/image/99681687/original

>>for me the 8800GTX overclocked (same as an ultra) is still the>best bang for the buck in MSFS... >Maybe best bang period, the 280 is fine but I can't say better than a 8800GTX / Ultra.Nick - does maxing the texture slider to 7cm help with GEX ground texture sharpness when flying, or would having it at 1m be the same?

Tom was getting over 80fps at 1900x1200 here, now its unplayable???Must have spilled his drink in the PC :)http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-gp...de,1928-10.html

Just seems wrong to say FSX is barely playable on the 4870 and the GTX280 lagged behind it????I don't know about the 4870 but the GTX280 handles FSX just fine with logical settings made.

Had a chance to use the GTX 280 system again, it does handle FSX very well, once the settings were tweaked.To sum things up...If anyone needs a 8800GTS SSC 640 let me know, I think I may upgrade to the 280 :)Water at 2.x High, settings pretty much maxed within reason.Ground shawdows off, would lock at 30fps just about anywhere.In NYC, 20-30fps, with auto gen 1 click short of max.With the new GTX 280 prices at $499 its one to consider,if you looking for a single card solution, for FSX ...AND... games like Crysis.For FSX alone, the 280 does seem smooth.I don't think framerates have droppedas Toms Hardware indicated. My 8800GTS 640MB SSC does well in FSX too,and same with 8800GTXs and Ultras. If yourrunning one of those and mostly just play FSX,you may want to see whats next...If anyone is intetested in my 8800GTS SSC let me know as seeing Crysis run at 1080P , with AA, I just may upgrade :)

Seen a GTX280 setup on a 1920x1200 monitor, the system had a quad CPU at 3.9GHz using Vista 64.The card itself is interesting, it downclocks from 600Mhz to 300Mhz in desktop use. Surprisingly, It ran about 15C cooler at idle compared to the 8800GTS. Fan noise compared lower at idle, and higher under load. Temps were good, ranged from 40C - 80C.First impression was it offered little improvements for FSX, but will try and take a 2nd look today...

Thanks for the post, been waiting to hear about the card!What drivers are you using for the card in Vista 64 ?Did your PSU have a 8 pin plug or did you use the adaptor?Did you check the 280 temps while playing FSX?What about noise level while playing?If you don't mind could you ... ;)post your frame rate range over NY City with target framerate set to unlimited using a maule?

If you want to upgrade for FSX its best to get :Intel Core 2 Duo CPU 3GHz+ like the e8400 or e8500and a Nvidia 8800/9800 Series GPUYour current CPU will hold back FSX even with a new video card.If you upgrade the system based on the items above you will see amazing improvements, but it will probably mean getting new DDR2 memory and a MB too.Good news is all the above can be have at a very low cost now, $700 or so.

I know someone who tried this and it seemed to work:1) Install FSX in Vista and update it to SP1,SP2, Acceleration to match your XP install.2) Rename the Vista install as FSXoriginal3) Move the XP install to Vista4) You then have to backup and update/copy the config files that are not in the main FSX directory, ie fsx.cfg etc.... Personally I'd just reinstall all to keep it clean but you can try the above I guess.

I tried the new driver in Vista 32 and it seems to stutter at times, compared 169.25?

Wow what a turn around!The nvnews forum link seems full of 280 overheating issues?Hope your able to compare framerates from your Ultra and the 280 with FSX.

Thanks, interesting.Be great if AVsim or another FS site would benchmark FSX.Tom's Hardware numbers mean little with his Max Details settings.I've built a few FSX systems of late, and I think once over 3Ghz dual core with a 8800GTX, little gains are left to be had in spending more.

>Conroe core 2 duo e6600 asus p5b-e with 4 gig of ddr2-800 ram>& 600 WATT Rosewell power supply..>It's sounds as your pretty new to o/cing as your not mentioning the key factors... CPU voltage, core temps and the effect on Prime95 runs.Probably best to search posts here and elsewhere, as many have outlined how they overclocked and what tools were used.Here's what I did:A) Buy and install a Extreme 120 cooler1) In the bios, manually set the PCIe bus to 1002) Manually set the memory voltage and timings to standard3) Set the CPU voltage under Intels limit4) Set the FSB manually to your default speed5) Slowly up the FSB until errors show in Prime 95 within 10 minutes, monitor temps keeping within limits.6) Either back off FSB or increase CPU voltage keeping well under Intels limts till errors disappear and temps are still safe.7) Improve memory timings if desired.The best thing I did before starting was to read, read , read about when others did to overclock with my MB.Good luck :)

It just works in FSX, you have may to change sensitivities.See: http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...ing_type=searchIgnore the misinformation at the top, but looks at jalt001 solution and others comments after.

Here's what I did for Vista 64 :)1) Install Vista 64 and updates2) Install any missing drivers, including video3) Install FSX, then Acceleration, other add ons.Works great.