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

Lately i've been having a problem, out of nowhere I will be flying in full-screen mode in VC view, and the graphics on the screen will start flickering, and get worse and worse until the screen goes black for a min, then the image comes back and it starts flickering again, until eventually FS just crashes to the desktop. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about shimmering textures or anything like the, the entire screen literally flickers out of control until it crashes.I have reinstalled FS, reinstalled the most current display drivers for my vid card, and tried every display setting imaginable within FS. Problem happens with all planes (default and addon) and in 2-D and …

I design Autogen scenery for use with the VFR Photographic scenery UK and just tried a tool for use with ATI cards (I use an X800 Pro) The tool takes away any hint of shimmer in Autogen and makes a big improvement all round in FS9 and other games. The link to the original poster of this tool is:-http://www.visualflight.co.uk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4455and the link to the discussion forum and download of the tool can be found here:-http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33821061No drop of fps in FS9 and the improvement in Autogen display is staggering - no more shimmer!Shep

Hi there,Lately, I have a very strange problem with my PC.My motherboard is an MSI NEO2 Platinum with the nVidia nForce3Ultra chipset, accomodating an AMD64 3200+ Venice and until a few hours ago, an ASUS VGA with the ATI Radeon 9600XT/128Mb.During the last 2 or 3 weeks (I have this configuration for about 2months now, you will remember the issues I had with the Gigabyte Mobo some time ago) the PC refuces to start or even boot. The MSI check LEDs indicate "VGA BIOS Initilization failure".Now... What's strange about it? If at this point I close the power and leave the PC alone and I try to start it in 1...2...3 hrs later or even the next day, it may startup normally. I …

Hijust after xmas this year im goin to upgrade to an ATHLON64 dual core.at the same time i going to need some memory and a motherboardhere we go then??1 is it worth upgrading to the dual core athlon's???2 what's the best memory..i'm using 1gb of ballistix memory, and it doesn't like athlon cpu's.i have to run it at 333mhz instead of 400,otherwise it starts CTD's..3 a good dual core mobo???4 vid card.i got powercolor x8oo pe 256mb.do i need to upgrade this??all suggestions are appreciated thanks steve

Is it also the best for the sim?Thank you.Jason

Well I am upgrading, but not quite the whole thing. My current config:AMD Athlon 2400+1G ram (PC3200)FX 5900 I can either upgrate the CPU or the Vcard. If I go with CPU I'll get AMD64 3500+, if Vcard, X800XL maybe. Which one of these two options will give me a bigger boost in FPS?Thank you.Jason

Hi,I'm looking for some advice.I currently have a pretty old system but it runs FS9 ok. I mean I'm used to it.I've lately been having some issues with my video card and I'd like to purchase a new one.I don't need to spend alot of money, I don't even need to get a big performance increase. I just want to see if it solves my problem.Anyway, I currently own an Nvidia FX5200 128M.I'd like to find something in the $100 dollar range if possible.Any recommendations?I am running Windows XP with 1G ram and an Athlon 1900 or something like this (THink it runs at 1.66GHZ)..Just upgraded to a newer hard drive.Again,I'm not looking for the fastest video card, just a good solid card th…

Hi all.Before I give up FS9, I will ask if anyone with a similar pc spec to the following is able to fly fs9 without problems.After over one hour with Microsoft they narrowed it down to graphic problems.My pc builder says it is a microsoft problem. Nvidia thinks Graphics.ASUS Possibly graphic or mobo.the cards have been checked in both slots and both cards work singly but still cause a problem.Problem is that when I run the mouse pointer over the instruments they do all kinds of strange things, the radio stack half disappears then pop up after been turned off, in spot view the plane will half disapear,and a lot more little anoying things. I am driving 200 miles to the sup…

Hello!Is there any shop in Germany comparable to the following store in the U.S.?http://www.hypersonic-pc.com/2001/systems-gaming.aspThanks.Tom

OK guys surely somebody has a good idea on this. I read all the press and I still can't decide. I seems I have been on a quest for years now looking for the elusive FPS. I currently have a P4 3.2 with a gig of memory and a gforce 6800gtoc. I figued I had finally reached the goal, but much to my suprise, I found my system slipping down to the old 3's 4's and 5's when in fairly heavy weather and traffic. I have added nothing to my system, just addon AC, Cap sim 707 F104, Flight one Baron, FSS Skymaster so on and so forth. Yet I listen to everybody on these forums, and it seems guys with similar systems run everything wide open with now prob.Searching for the perfect setup&g…

Hi all,I am considering an upgrade from my Athlon 2400+ to AMD64 3500, which means for me to buy a new mobo and CPU. I already have 1G of ram (PC3200) and I plan to continue using my Vcard, Nvidia 5900 128MB.My first question: Can I reinstall my Windows XP 32bit to the new system or do I need to get Windows 64bit? Also what's the deal with putting the same windows to a new machine? Can I still activate it?Second question: Is my upgrade plan a good one for the money?Third question: I think my power supply is 300W. Is a bigger supply (450W maybe) recommanded or needed for the 3500+?I keep my machine running clean, FSautostart, FS-GS tweak, defaul airports, 2Dcockpit only…

I'm running a P4 2.66 with 1 GB Ram and a BFG GeForce FX 5900 128 MB video card. I'm looking for a performance increase in FS9 to take me through at least another year on the same machine. I'm considering a BFG GeForce 6800GT Overclocked AGP card. Does anyone have experience with that card on a similar rig? If I do, should I expect a significant performance increase or would you advise waiting a year or so to upgrade my entire system?Thanks

Hi allTried the other forum with no luckcouple of days ago my ATC started to sound very SLOW and DEEP,like a MONSTER FROM the DEEP!!!very scary sounding..any ideas what could be causing this??ATC now sounds like what i would imagine the DEVIL sounds like..scares the #### out of my 9yr old daughter.ive tried rebuilding my FS9.cfg,but still the same..if i could maybe find out what files control the ATC ,i could try replacing them..heres my setupAthlon 350064 939Av8 abit mobo 9391gb ballistix mem running at 333( ctd's when i run at 400)Powercolor 256mb vid cardcoolermaster case with extra fans for memory and mobo thanks steve

Well, I decided to splurge on a new gaming system. While at the computer store looking at the pre-built desktops to run FS2004 and other programs I thought, heck I should build my very own Blazing Gaming System!So after gathering all the necessary parts to build my system, here is what I purchased! Let me know what you guys think! Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3500 with Hyper Threading Technology.MotherBoard - DFI Lan Party UT w/Nvidia Nforce & Nvidia SLI ReadyPower Supply - MadDog SurePower 500wGraphics Card - Nvidia Gforce 7800GT 256mbMemory - 1gig of DDR-SDRAMHard Drive - Hitachi 160gig 7200rpm SATAExternal Hard Drive - Western Digital 100gigSony DVD RW/R +/- Dual &am…

I did a search on this forum and the choices are absolutely mind boggling. I need to buy a video card and it has to be by Friday. My current system is a P4 3.0E, Asus P4P8X MB, 1GB 3200 DDR RAM. There are three choices that I'm looking at:1. BFG 6600GT2. ATI 9800PRO3. ATI X700I'm looking for the smoothest running card. Has anyone had any experiences with these cards. Pro's and Con's, results from a Flightsim user instead of "Doom" benchmark score.Any constructive feedback would be appreciated.

Hello All:Picked up a new Dell P4, 3Gig, 2Gig ram, Radeon X600se hypermem with 256M running WinXp sp2. Monitor is 24" wide hires LCD. Running the monitor at 1900 x 1200.Just installed FS2004 and SP1. Frames are low (about 15) and program response moving around menus is very slow. FS seems to run OK - just SLOW.Wondering if it is a hyperthreading settings problem, or something related to the X600 card.I'd sure appreciate any hints. Otherwise, the system runs great. I've tried running "enditall", but not much change. FS settings are "moderate" with antialiasing turned "on" in the program.THANKS!

I've always used the Windows defragger but I saw somewhere recently that there are better ones that can do the job faster. Does anyone have a recommendation? I am always concerned about free software having spyware. ThanksDavid

From Nvidia's official release notes for BETA 81.85 available here:http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_download...2bit_81.85.htmlIssues Resolved:"GeForce 6800 Ultra: Flight Simulator 2004 has scenery corruption when 3D clouds are not set at 100%"Might be worth a try for those that have the 6800 Ultra...Just passing on some info.Steve

HiI have some questions that will no doubt make you experienced hardware types groan :-)My motherboard recently melted on me, completely destroying it and taking some of my RAM with it. Anyway, I saw this as a golden opportunity for a long needed upgrade (new processor and RAM), but I'm no hardware expert and need some help.I've just been quoted for an AMD Sempron 3000+. First off, is this like an Athlon64 (which I think I've seen mentioned before)? Second, I think it has a clock speed of around 1.6ghz. I assume because it's 64 bit I'll get somewhere near 3ghz performance, right? How would this compare to a standard 32 bit 3 gig processor? Will FS run as if it's a 3 gig p…

Ok, I am now at a loss. I have had to re-install FS9, due to something going corrupt. No biggie, a bit of a project. I have it re-installed, I also have the lastest FS9 patch. Got AVS in, got AI Separation in, started the game, but i cannot adjust the display properties, I'm running a XP2500+, 1G PC3200, and a Sapphire 9800Pro. I did not have any troubles running it before the reinstall, but I do now. Do I need to reinstall this all over again? Or am I doing the noob thing and missing something very obvious? Thanks for the help.

Hi guys,pardon my ignorance on this matter but I cannot understand some things about my video card:1) I have a NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go 64M on my laptop.Which kind of video card is that? Is it good or not at all? I was not able to find it on the producer's website so therefore I cannot found the correct updated new driver version for it. So... how can I get the last version and which is it?. Mine is 4.7.1.6 2) Is it the direct X application related with the good working of the video card? How can I see if I need to do that? I have the version installed by FS9.3) How can I know if one video card is newer than another if an higher serial number (i.e. ATI 9800-9600) doesn't me…

Over time my FS9 has become somewhat slower and bogged down. Despite my efforts to keep things clean I think I may need to reinstall. Just wondering what is the best (i.e. fastest, easiest) way to do this.My plan is as follows:1. Save all scenery files in a separate folder.2. Delete/uninstall everything, defrag, regclean, etc.3. Reinstall FS9 + FS9 Patch4. Copy over saved scenery files.5. Install utilities (FSInn, FSUIPC, Autosave, Activesky, FSNAV)6. Install the few planes that I know I really want.Is this going to work, particularly the scenery?Is there a better way ?thanks for the help.Mark.

I have an Intel 875PBZ board and wanted to update the chipset drivers. I went to the intel site but the only thing I can seem to find is the utility that tells the computer how to properly configure the drivers. I cannot find the drivers themselves? Any help as to where to get them would be great.

When i load a flight plan and click fly now and its loading scenery it says " Scenery Read Error; Noexistent directory retry or ok. I installed it the same day and running everything from the hard drive and its in the default FS9 folder. Please help. Not to mention when i take off and see scenery from the air its like blocks of brown and green terrain absolutly no detail or mesh just like brown for dirt and mountains and green for the grass the same way when you have a slow machine and it loads detail slowly and at the distance you see blank scenery. Thats what i see I can only see the airports.Video card is working great with other software am I missing something here?Al…

Hey guys (and gals)!I just got a new computer, and I'm having problems. When I first ran FS with it, it got about 18-20 fps at KSEA with default scenery, default weather, add-on AI, etc in the Level-D 767. But now, I'm only getting 2-3 fps at KSEA under the same conditions, but in the default Cessna! In the 767, the frames are about the same. This is with all sliders on max. Everything was maxed out when I first started flying on the new computer as well.Here are the specs of the computer:Pentium D 840 overclocked to 3.52 GHz2GB DDR2 in dual-channel modeXFX GeForce 7800 GTX overclockedSATA 250GB DeskStar driveSoundBlaster Audigy 2 X-GamerAsus P5ND2-SLI deluxeWater Co…