System Hardware: PC | MOBO | RAM | CPU | HDD | SSD | PSU etc

Hey guys!I'm having a strange problem with FS9. When I perform a cold boot (power off start) and run FS9, my frame rates are cut in half and there is a lot of stuttering. After exiting FS9 and restarting the computer using XP's restart function (warm boot), everything runs fine - smooth as glass with high frame rates. Any ideas as to what could be causing this behavior? This started after I upgraded my processor and motherboard.Athlon FX 3700+ San DiegoAsus A8VeVGA 6800GS AGP 256bit 256MB DDR32 WD 80Gig HD's SATA RAID 01 Gig (4 x 256) Kingston ValueRamI don't have any other games on my system so I can't tell you if this affects anything other than flightsim.Thanks!Mat…

I thought I would see what the current thinking is on this subject. I am considering upgrading from the 128mb ATI 9800 Pro card. I will most likely be upgrading my entire system when FSX and Vista are established in about a year, but I would like a newer card for the interim period. My current system, as described below, is 3 years old and I am getting the 'itch'.I would really appreciate any suggestions as to which would be the preffered video card to purchase at this time.Thanks a lot,Howard

Hi guy`s l`ve just bought a AMD 3700 san deiago... with 1 gig mem and a PX7800gtx... with the amd with the tweaking what seeting sghould l try it at... in the bios l have it set at 220 also when l tweak it in the bios does it restart over and over again till it`s tweaked? Thanks guys.Paul

Hi people (I posted this in another thread before but I don't think it was easy to find!). I currently have a CRT and TFT connected to my PCIe card. I want to add a 3rd and possibly a 4th display and I am considering a PCI card.Q1) I already have an NVIDIA PCIe card, does this mean that I have to add another NVIDIA PCI card?Q2) If my PCI card does not have to be NVIDIA are there any performance advantages to the PCI card also being NVIDIA?Q3) Is it a wiser choice to have both of your graphics cards from the same manufacturer?Q4) I was under the impression that the more graphics memory the better. Does this also apply when you add a PCI card or can you create a bottleneck …

i downloaded pcilatency tool but this one shows atipro9800 secondary has a latency 0f 64, he doesn't shows me atipro9800 (primary). I am almost 100% sure that my ati is working correctly, i checked dxdiag was ok.but my configuration give me this if i go to properties:pci-bus1, device0,function 0can anybody help me, i am running fs9 1200*1600 res. and aa2x af8x having nice fps but a stutter every now and then, which i wanted to tackle with pcilatency tool (i use the latest version) RickPent 4 3.0 1024 ht/offasus p4c800hd 200gb 4 partitionsmaxtor 7200 rpmati 9800pro 256 cat 5.12 with cp21"IIyama crt19" relisys crtwin xp sp2 CH yoke + pedals+ dell laptop for a…

I'm having a very strange problem with my two joysticks (Logitech Attack3 and Genius MaxFighter F31U)in both FS2004 and CFS.Basically, both programs run perfectly when I'm using the keyboard but as soon as I plug in any of the joysticks, problems starts.In FS2004 I can't even take off because when I plug the joystick, brakes are applied the whole time (I can't release them.... not even with the keyboard).In CFS when I start a qucik figth, without even touching the joystick the plane starts to shoot all the time and I can't control the throttle (it will always come back to zero and my plane will stall).Doesn't matter what I do, this problem doesn't go away.It looks like wh…

Hi,I usually don't get tooooooo excited when new drivers come out because they are usually one let down after another. But in this case, the new drivers XG84.20v2 over at tweaksrus are a vast improvement on my system.Finally, Decent drivers for my Nvidia 6800 extreme card.

I'm usually very good about keeping WindowsXP current but this may be one update to forget. Got the new driver through Windows Update and when I ran FS2004 I had two problems: (1) frame rate which had been 20+ dropped to 4 fps and the program crashed/rebooted my PC everytime shortly after takeoff. The crash problem was fixed?? by disabling the AC97 driver but the fps issue remained.Downloaded an older version from the internet, 2003 or so vintage - overwrote newer files - enabled the driver - both problems resolved.

Short & to the point....I'm getting 20 fps most of the time in- flight, however, every 2 seconds, the video intermitently hesitates and then it goes back to being smooth again. It happens even when the screen fps is showing 19 or 20 fps. I've dumped the fs9.cfg file and rebooted setting all the sliders to the left, simple weather and evey other frame killer I can think of... but to no avail. Is my video card going on me? I have a 3 year old Dell 2.4 mhz with a 128meg ATI 9700 TX radeon graphics card & 1gig of ram. It never did this before and I'm wandering if anybody has any ideas as to what might be causing this situation!!Regards,jack

After 2 1/2 years, my old MSI 865PE Neo2 motherboard just kicked the bucket. I was going to replace it at the end of the year, but it looks like I won't be waiting that long anymore. I have a few questions for the all the hardware experts out there about what I should get (keep in mind that I am a nearly broke college student :) )With all of the more recent technology that is out, it doesnt make much sense to go buy another board with old tech that is being phased out in order to keep my P4 cpu and AGP 8x video card, so that means I will be replacing those as well. I was planning on trying out an AMD processor, because I have heard that they are better for gaming. And…

Hi everyone!Recently I got myself a new display, but after switching the screen res in FS9 from 1280x960 to 1600x1200, I realized that my GF FX5900XT is not sufficient for my requirements any more. Thus, I'm looking for an affordable AGP upgrade and I was happy to hear about the GF7800GS, as I won't have the money for a new MB along with a new CPU and new RAM (and of course a new VGA card). While I was already close to clicking the "buy now" button, I started wondering if the upgrade is really sensible in my case. What's your opinion? Here's my setup:AMD Athlon XP2800+2x 512 MB RAM2x WD Raptor 74 GB on S-ATANow: GF FX 5900 XTFuture (?): GF 7800 GSWould you think I should …

Hello everyone,How are all of you setting up your system with these large LCD monitors running 1600x1200 and 1920x1440, 4:3, Widescreen, etc? I have tried a 21" 4:3 LCD and at the native res of (1600x1200) which looked best, the Windows desktop fonts were just too small. At 1200x1024 it just looked blurry. Also, at 1600x1200, framerates were poor.Thanks,DaveP4 2.66 w/1 gig RAMATI 9800 proSony 21" CRT running at 1280x1024

Hello, I have a Saitek Graphite joystick that does not cooperate with my friggin computer. It will make a sound when it is accidentally disconnected and won't come back on for another day or so. All is NEEDED and Appreciated. Thnx.:-newbie

First let me say that I hope I am posting into the proper Forum, if not I apologize.Have used most of MSFS products with great success, however I am now running into system freeze up while running FS9. I have had this copy since it was first available but never have had this problem before. Upon Startup I use two different A/C, Default 182S and a D18, while using the 182, departing KOWD for KPSM or KORH everything is fine for approx 10 mins and the system just stops for about 40 seconds, and then restarts, again after 5 or 10 mins it will again stop, sometimes crashes to XP PRO Screensaver and then after maybe 15 seconds FS9 comes back on.Second problem, my logbook kee…

Hi Folks, Let me tell you about how to get a Gameport Flight Yoke for only $.99 (plus shipping). Look on EBay!! I mean, the CH Yoke may be excellent, but my financial advisor (wife) says that it is not in the budget. Plus, when I sold an item on Ebay it covered the cost of the yoke. Anywho, the yoke I got was a Selectronics PC Flight Yoke. I was only able to play with it for a few minutes after the USPS man dropped it off, since I had to work, but from what I can tell, all axes work correctly, even the throttle and rudder thumbwheels on the back of the handle! The right two buttons work, but not the left two. I assume this is a wiring issue and I plan to open er up a…

Other than Extremetech, I see very few tech sites that actually use Flight Simulator as one of their benchmarks for CPU performance. What popular benchmark test (or other game test)out their comes close to what I would expect from FS9? Very few people use FS because it is so CPU intensive....but that's what a real benchmark is for!Thanks.

....Also posted on Flightsim forum....I installed the XG84.12v2 the other day and on checking FS9 last night it seems my aircraft have become transparent! (see picture)...I can see right through them ! (see screenshot below).Thinking it maybe to do with the driver, I uninstalled and downloaded the 84.21 from NVidia site. Installed these and the same thing occurs. I am running a Gigabyte FX5600XT card, and their own current driver version for download for the card is v71.84. I have used updated drivers later than this from TweaksRUs and NVidia before and never noticed this phenomenom.Before I revert back to the v71.84s (which may not solve the problem if the cause is elsew…

Couple QuestionsIs windows firewall good enough protection?Is there a good free alternative? Is it safe to run without anitvirus if you are not downloading?Any help would be great. Thanks

I forgot the root/tree for by existing fs9.cfg file. Can anybody supply me with this info...I've become brain dead the last few days and can't remember where it is....Please excuse my ignorance..Regards,jack

So, I got FS9 loaded with basically all sliders maxed. LDS 767 & ASV running. My 1 gig of ram shows in the task manager as having only 90 megs left. When I change views the HD is running constantly. I guess that is the swap file working as the view loads very slowly. Task manager shows the swap file to be about 600 megs. It's neat. If I leave the task manager open as FS loads, you can see the swap file increase. Never had this swap file usage before. I will be putting in 2 gigs of ram in a month or two. I am getting about 14 FPSat Seattle with full AI and that's fine. I just want that swap file to no do anything and I beleive 2 gigs will do it. 200 bucks Ca…

I currently have the following system:Asus P4P800 DeluxeP4 2.80 Northwood, OC to 3.11GB Kingston DDR400 ValueRameVGA 6800GS 256MB 256-Bit DDR3 AGP2 WD 80GB SATA HDs - RAID 0I want to upgrade but since my video card is fairly new, I want to stay with an AGP motherboard. I'm looking at the ASUS A8V (AGP) with an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego. Will I notice a nice improvement in frames with the new motherboard and cpu? Or will I be flushing $290.00 down the drain? Thanks,Matt Zagoren

I use the CH Products Pro Pedals and have been having a chronic problem with any aircraft I am flying drifting to the left. This also occurs when taxiing (makes it very difficult to maintain center line). In fact, when I replay a flight and use an external view, the nosewheel is cocked to the left as the aircraft taxis. I am not using any software(drivers)with the pedals or control yoke. If I try to calibrate the pedals, the "bar" clearly shows the drift to the left.I have tried to get help from CH Products but they won't talk to me without showing them some proof of purchase which I don't have (lost during move to new house).BTW, I have been a flightsimmer for approx…

I just installed a Belkin powered USB hub. Now FS is slower than ever. As soon as I unplug the hub, it returns back to normal. Any ideas???Dave

If anyone has tried the new Geforce 7600gt with FS9, I would like to hear your impressions of that card. I am thinking of buying one in the near future and would like to hear some comments about it. Thank you.

This isint exactly FS related but pretty close. Here is the deal, I like to listen to Napster while controlling on Vatsim with ASRC. Napster only routes through the Default audio device defined by WinXP. ASRC's sounds (things that alert you if you have a private message or things) go through the default audio device by winxp also. I want the ASRC sounds to go through my USB headset. So basically is anyone aware of a program that changes the default audio device (emulating winxp) for specific programs. So I can fool Napster to think my soundcard is the default, and ASRC my headset.Thanks