PatP

Hello all,I've decided I'm going for the ultimate flight sim setup, and a big part of that obviously is figuring out the best display format, and consequently the best gpu or gpu setup.I like the look of a triple monitor format, especially after seeing some of the flight sim chair/cockpits I'd use it with. But I have seen on forums that some don't like having three screens, and/or they find having so many displays is taxing on the frames.If I do end up going with three displays, which is the best gpu(s) that could allow for optimum performance in such a setup. I guess the question to ask is.. nvidia sli, or a single radeon with eyefinity, say, a 6970? According to Nickn's setup and tweak guide, he doesn't advise using amd/ati cards with fsx. But I won't go off one source, and i really want to avoid spending over 7 or 800 just for two nvidia cards.Or... should i scratch the whole triple monitor idea and get one big 32 inch display.I would loove some feedback on this one, thanks!Pat

Yes but can that change the startup situation in the simulator itself to a certain view?

Sounds great! thanks for the guide. I actually already have a headset, I don't know how one could use online ATC without it.2 more questions..How is the density of Vatsim in terms of users at airports at one time, in essence, how many users could be online? I'd rather not be the only one using ATC departing an airport at any one time.Also, how does VATSIM function compared to real world operations, like SIDS and STARS? Do you have to fly these procedures on your own? May be a stupid question but I'd like to be sure there is an element of realism beyond just talking to actual controllers.Pat

This may seem an odd question, but if you consider realism it may seem appropriate..I'm wondering if there's a way using the ezdok camera addon to change the starting situation in the sim to a preset camera, such as one placed in a terminal facing the plane parked at the gate. To launch a flight and be at a virtual gate inside the airport would be reeally fantastic. It may be a stretch, but even to incorporate a looped sound file of inside a real terminal would take it to the next level.Hopefully someone sees where I'm coming from.Pat

Thank you bruce for the extensive response! I don't have time atm to dive into all that code, but I'll be sure to play around with the cfg in the next few days.What if I have a sound set which isn't as straightforward, ie TSS where the files aren't simply a bunch of internal sounds mirrored by a bunch of external sounds with the "x" in front of them. How would I go about adjusting these?Pat

Ahhh ok I see. You really can use any software, they'll all have traffic, just not the same.I also saw something on the VATSIM site that helped me:"FSInn displays the traffic around your aircraft in the liveries, you have placed on your system. So, if you have a large number of AI-aircraft sets, you are able to see the aircrafts in their original liveries (because your ai-collection has it on board)."So I guess that does it. I probably should just go step by step for signing up, installing and setting up. There is an option to just spectate on my first session, no? I'd like to get a feel for it first, never done online ATC before :D

Yes a little bit haha.Sorry to be a pain but I still don't quite understand, is there AI traffic when using VATSIM? and what traffic is used, as in, what addon or plugin.All I want to know is if I'm flying that I don't have an empty world and airports around me, and that I could have some real airlines :) not that default FSX crap

Bruce, so you're saying it is possible by editing the sound file? I actually tried changing some filenames around to do this before, but didn't want to touch the sound.cfg.Do you think you could possibly share your sound.cfg, the one or ones you have edited with me? If not could you explain what you did in order to replicate the internal sounds in the cfg. It looks mighty confusing to me. I also have some TSS sound sets which would be better, have you adjusted one of these?Pat

I think a lot of us can agree that wing views are an essential part of boosting realism in FSX. But what I've noticed is that often, almost always, wing views will be placed so that it sounds like you're sitting right on the wing rather than inside the cabin looking out.Also, wings generally aren't rendered in the virtual cockpit view of addons like PMDG and Captain Sim. Thus you can use something like EZDok to place cameras, but they will be outside the airplane.So I wanted to see if there was a way to either make wings appear in VC mode, or a better idea would be to adjust the sound in fsx or sound set so that i could hear interior sounds in a wing view. Is there some cfg I can edit to allow this? I really am not outside the plane too much anyway, so I dont mind.Pat

WELP I guess there really isn't a problem after all,wrb I took you're advice before you even posted it, reduced the water slider and noticed a huuge jump in frames, in context of course.^Actually, I also just installed UT2 and I have no problems *knock on wood* running at 100% density, hitting 30 while taxiing around the airport with the PMDG 747 :) ... WOWCan someone tell me why this is so? Adjusting traffic, autogen, or anything else doesn't really have a noticeable effect, but lowering water settings does. Seems kinda weird to me..On another note, concerning hardware, I have a 40GB SSD on which I run Windows, and I've noticed it fragments a lot really easily, like currently 4000 files and a GB of fragments. Is it bad to continually defrag it using, say, Ultimate Defrag? I've heard doing this can damage or shorten the life of the SSD, is there another way to clean it up?Pat

well to get back on topic, I played around with a few things in the cfg and in ntune but it didn't seem to change the anything.however, once i installed fsdt jfk, i noticed a decent jump in frames. odd? not at all. i havent installed any ai traffic addons yet, and the default traffic isnt rendered at gates in fsdt sceneries. therefore, it must be simply the traffic thats slowing me down. as i said before, im getting outstanding results everywhere else, 30+ even 40 consistently even over manhattan. at a scenery like flytampa tampa, default traffic was placed at gates and my computer was brought to its knees. but then again, that scenery can be too much, anyone have optimum settings for it? or should i just deselect all the optional features when I reinstall.the issue of various tweaks being used is irrelevant imo. if my frames are this good overall, maybe my system just isnt too fond of AI traffic. We'll see once I install UT2.. can anyone enlighten me as to its performance?my settings are completely maxed out btw, and i have tried dimming them down a little bit, but theres almost a pointlessly small performance gain that ill leave them at max.In reality, theres no such thing as having 30+ fps everywhere in fsx, although I'm close :D

Hi everyone,I have a new custom built system:i5-2500K oc'd to 4.8GHzP8P67 Pro Mobo8GB 1600mhz RAMZotac GeForce GTX 460 SE 1GB 500GB WD Caviar Blue 7200RPM driveAsetek Liquid CoolingWin7 x64I'm certain this setup is optimal for FSX, and don't get me wrong I'm getting super results.But if I'm sitting on 31R at JFK facing the city, I'm only getting just above 20 fps, dipping below that often for a split second.Mind you, I've tweaked with Bojote's service, and followed NickN's guide for cleaning up Win7 and installing FSX, but I feel I should be getting more?This is also a clean install, so I'm not sure if its gonna hold once the onslaught of addons come. If I'm just being picky or blatantly ungrateful then please tell me, but if anyone else sees some sort of inconsistency, would you maybe have an idea why this is so?Thank you,Pat

Hi all,I'm having trouble with the ever so relevant topic of having a small SSD dedicated to Windows and a larger HDD for data, programs and everything elseI've searched google and looked in all sorts of forums, but I still don't know..How do I get only Windows to be on the ssd, and put all other programs and files on the mechanical. Should I change the default installation drive for program files to the HDD by way of registry edit, although i heard it can be risky?Or is it just a matter of choosing a destination on the HDD when I install new programs (this is a brand new system so only Windows is installed.. on the ssd)I'm completely lost, if I install new programs (iTunes, Safari, Office, most importantly FSX) I thought it had to go in the program files, which would be on the solid state. Can I just install them in a random place on the HDD?Help would be MUCH appreciated, as my new system comes tomorrow. I'd like to know where to put stuff, not just FSX, before I screw up a brand new fresh install.Patrick

So if I want a comprehensive traffic network while I'm flying online, then I should sign up for IVAO not VATSIM? or is it something that IVAO provides that I can use with VATSIM.

So you're saying you can use UT2, but it gets in the way of the multiplayer traffic. If I download a traffic client, is it basically like its own traffic addon made specifically for online ATC such ie VATSIM? or does it use UT2's models.

Wow that high? I thought the max stable you could hit was 4.3 maybe 4.5. Obviously technology has almost caught up with FSX for the first time!I'm not too advanced when it comes to overclocking by myself, so would using the easy mode in the ASUS UEFI be adequate for optimally overclocking for fsx? Or should I utilize the advanced mode to make changes.If someone knows of a guide for tuning in the advanced mode, that would be appreciated. I don't want to go messing around in there on a brand new computer especially if I'm not exactly sure of what I'm doing.One more question, really sorry to be milking this thread: I'm looking at two LED monitors, HP and Dell, both about 22 inches with 5ms response time. I know the Dell is cheaper, but which one should I go for? I really can't distinguish although the HP looks much better.Thanks againPatrick

Thanks for the responses!Just another question..With my current configuration (obviously I don't have it yet) listed above, would my 750 watt PSU be adequate for overclocking my i5 to around 4, maybe 4.2 GHz, factoring in all other components also?Even a better question, what would be the max that I could overclock it to?Patrick

Ok, is there a plugin for connecting that you'd recommend, or that most pilots use?

Ah OK, so any AI traffic is not involved with how VATSIM operates. However, would I still be able to run a traffic addon at the same time? Or is that not usually done..

But I thought that the SSD was good for improving texture loading, like basically that blurries were nonexistent if you used one of these? If this is indeed true, then I definitely want to put it on there. And I thought with these addons, for the most part, you can choose where to install and therefore what drive a program goes on..Also, I don't mean to be a pain, but does anyone know of the notable addons which are installed in the FSX directory, other than Orbx?

Hi, I recently built a new system and included two drives in the build: one 40GB SSD and one 500GB 7200rpm mechanical drive.Obviously I'll be using the SSD for Windows 7 and FSX (this will probably hit max capacity, but I heard that its okay to fill up an SSD to the brim, true?)My question is, if I'm installing 40GB+ of additional addons, is it OK to install them on the other 500GB drive, or must it go on the same one as where FSX is installed? I don't know.And if I can fit some addons onto the SSD, would it be advisable to put ones with mesh or terrain such as GEX on it for the sake of texture loading? I'll put my specs just to see if they're adequate also: Asus P8P67 Pro Moboi5-2500K Sandy Bridge (stock @ 3.30GHz, but will overclock to 4.0~)8GB 1600mhz CorsairEVGA GTX 460 superclocked 768mhzAsetek Liquid Cooling750 Watt Corsair CMPSU-750TX2 drives as aforementioned^ Patrick

Hi I've been looking at VATSIM recently, thinking about signing up.Before I do so, I just wanted to get an idea of how it works; does it run in FSX multiplayer or free flight? More specifically, how does it deal with AI Traffic and traffic addons.Would VATSIM control planes from an addon such as Ultimate Traffic 2? Or does it run separately but along side it. I'm fairly new to the online ATC and am pretty clueless. Thanks in advancePatrick

To make a comparison, the PMDG 747 and Captain Sim 757 have VCs which are just as detailed as each other, but the CS has the ability to make the wings appear. Obivously there seems to be no problem with the polygon limit, and I do have some decent specs on my MacBook Pro.Also, I do use fsrecorder and walk&follow, but my aim is to simulate wingviews that are "inside" the aircraft.So would someone be able to tell me how to edit the mdl file for the PMDG to make the wings visible? I imagine it would involve some conversion.Patrick

I've noticed that many aircraft addons including Captain Sim have rendered both wings visible when in VC mode, allowing for wing views to made.Other addons, however, such as PMDG 747, have not portrayed the wings in VC. My question is, is there any way to adjust the model so that the wings become visible? And does it involve the PMDG mdl file?ThanksPatrick

I've recently reverted back to FS2004 from FSX, for many reasons, but thats not what this is about.It seems PMDG did not include wing views in their FS2004 model. I've heard that if using walk and follow,you can create wing views. How is this so? Because when inside the cabin and virtual cockpit, the wings aren't displayed if you look outside.Also, if it is possible to make wing views, is there any way to make it so that I don't have to hear the sounds fromoutside the plane, but rather from the inside?Thanks so muchPatrick Prendergast