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

My computer has recently begun suffering from horrible performance. Opening up a simple window can take 20 seconds. Clicking on the start menu frequently produces the flashlight icon for 10 seconds or more. Running FS9 is out of the question: takes several minutes to open (using FSAutostart) where it used to take only 1 or 2; frame rates are 0 to 1 with all sliders full left, no weather, no traffic, 800 x 600 resolution, etc. Even the default MS games (Hearts, etc) play like they're in slow motion. My system is getting up there in age- SONY VAIO RX-580 (no upgrades ever), nearly 3 years old. Specs: P4 1.8, 512mb PC133, Win XP Home, ASUS P4BLX motherboard (400 FSB), nVIDIA…

I have read a new discussion about agp aperture size and always had it on 128 mb.Just for the heck of it, I tried putting it all the way down to 32 mb.Guess what?fps increased by +/- 5 and ALL games, especially fs2004 and LOMAC run considerably more smooth.Had a discission with my brother who is an IT specialist, he sad it is impossible because all the agp aperture setting does is setting the amount of phisical memory to use when the video card runs out.Then he tried it anyway, and guess what - he was simply amazed!!!(Told me maybe a problem with reverse adressing in directX9.0c or windowsXP - or something - ).Actually, here is what i think, when you set the aperture size…

Hello,I am looking to replace my PC setup and would like some advice on the most suitable requirements for running FS9 and its features to its fullest potential.My current system is an Athlon tower with 2.2ghz processor, 256mb computer memory and 20gig HDD, Hope i am not running over old ground here but any opinions would bemuch appreciated Cheers., Dan

I'm trying to resurrect an AMD Duron 900mhz on an MSI K7T turbo version 3. Mostly want to use it for wideFS, development, vb.net programming. Using factory clock speed right now. Installed windows xp home sp2. BIOS updated to 2.35.Here's the problem that I'm having: I've got it connected to a 10mbit LAN via an intel 10/100 nic, also have a 3com that I've tried. Every so often, (maybe 10 minutes, maybe two days) the network connection dies. Really dies. I need to pull the nic, restart, reinstall the nic. Sometimes more than once, and it sometimes takes several tries to get connectivity back.I've tried some manual diagnostics as described on the microsoft website -…

Am getting a good deal on the Athlon 64 2800 + MSI Neo K8T800 MB + 768MB PC400 RAM. Any opinions on this product? Would it be better than a P4 3.0 at running FS2004?ThanksShez

Has anyone had any experience with the TrackIR device? Is there a review posted anwhere?Thanx in advanceDuck9s

I just returned from the convention in Denver and after attending the Microsoft presentation, decided that my computer needed some attention.I wanted to partition my hard drive and possibly add another hard drive for storage.I contacted my computer technician and told him what I wanted to do and he then suggested that if I was doing this for performance issues, that I should be purchasing a SCSI drive as that would be the best thing for performance issues relating to FS9.I asked him what the difference was between a normal IDE hard drive and the SCSI drive. He said I could purchase an 80 gig IDE hard drive for around $90. The SCSI hard drive would be 36 gig and would cost…

I decided to add a dedicated Hard Drive for MSFS to my system and will be installing this weekend. I have heard that if I partition it, I will get better performance. Any thoughts on this?

Hi all, those of you with these high end cards, are you able to set the weather sliders to 100% and get smooth flying?Thanks,Bill

Hi Guy'sI don't want to sound stupid, but have any of you noticed differences with the cat 4.9's over the 4.8's, I'm on the 4.8's right now and wondered if it was worth the whole thing again.thanksStevePS the rate there knocking these drivers out, we will be up-dating our drivers weekly soon, LoL

When I review replays the aircraft (especially complex models) do not appear to be "solid", textures tend to flicker at the boundary of various textures (see picture).If anyone could tell me what settings I can change to improve this situation. Apologies if this problem has been covered many times before but I can't seem to find any solutions.Regards,Steve

Hi everyone,what CPU can I upgrade to based on my system below? Dell claims 2.8 at max in their documentation, where the below Powerleap system scan claims 3.06. Who's right? Thanks,***************** Processor ****************System Manufacturer: Dell Computer CorporationSystem Model: DIM4500Chassis Type: Mini TowerChassis Serial Number: 80B3W11 Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Workstation Service Pack 1 (Build 2600)Number of Processors: 1Processor Name: Intel Pentium 4Specifcation: Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 2.40GHzCode Name: NorthwoodTrace Width: 0.13Clock Speed: 2392Clock Multipli…

I'm trying to configure FS9 to run on my system and I'm getting between 10-15 FPS locked on at 20 FPS. I should be able to get a better FPS since I have the following. Intel 865PERL MB, P4 3.0GHZ HT CPU, 1GIG Dual Channel DDR400 RAM, Nvida FX5700 Ultra with 256RAM using driver V61.77, DirectX 9.C installed. Windows XP Pro. Running 1024x768 32bit resoultion, all setting tabs set between medium high and high, aircraft, scenery, weather, etc. I would like to try 1280x1024 res but not sure if I can with a lost in FPS. I dont have all settings maxed out, and I thought for sure I would be OK with the above settings. I have tried turning things down and up, I may see a litt…

I got a bad crash last night while trying to overclock my system. The display froze, got corrupted and I had to reboot.After rebooting I looked at the icons on my desktop and many of them were visibly changed - replaced by some white/green smear (for example my "FS Water"). Clicking on them worked fine - just the appearance was strange. After playing with them I managed to revive them to the original shape by using "change icon" option. But there is one item still wrong. I guess the typical symbol for shortcuts is the tiny curly black arrow in a white box. Well, on my system it got replaced by a strange looking "flag" - with white/green bands. How can I change it? Also I …

I recently upgraded to an XP 3000+ system and afterwards noticed that the new puter does not have a gameport. I had been using my USB CH yoke along with my analog pedals on my old rig. Is there a way I can set my pedals to work through the 25 pin printer port? Or maybe the 9 pin parallel port? How about a gemport to USB adaptor? In this case are my pedals recognized as a USB device? Sorry for the trouble.Mauricio

Has anyone tried it yet with FS9 with a 9800 Pro?

One time after I selected my aircraft and click ok the screen blacked out and my computer crashed. I had to reboot my computer. I tried to recreate the problem but can't. I'm using the 61.77 drivers and have an Enermax 431 watt power supply. I don't know if my power supply is good enough for the PNY 6800 Ultra and I don't really want to buy a new one if the power supply is the problem.

Hi guys !some weeks ago i purchased me a new vid-card, the HIS Excalibur ATI X800XT 256mb IceQII.After trying severall drivers etc and trying to use some different setups etc i cant get rid of some jagged lines etc (seen on the blue stripe on the fuse in the shot)http://home.no.net/ossvense/Aer/1.jpgAnyone else got this or know what to do to get it away ?CheersStian

In the Oct. issue of PC Mag there was an article about a new box called the Tritton See2 that connects via USB 2.0 and is ..."the industry's first USB 2.0 to SVGA adapter. Desktop and notebook computer users can now connect an additional monitor, LCD or projector to a USB 2.0 port without having to install a secondary or dual-video card. It supports resolutions of 1024 by 768 (8, 16 bits), 800 by 600 (8, 16, 32 bits), and 640 by 480 (8, 16, 32 bits). The SEE2 is compatible with Windows 2000/XP systems with an available USB 2.0 port."If any of you advanced users would like to comment on the applicability to simming that would be appreciated.Thankswww.trittontechnologies.co…

This is a question more than a problem. I visibly see a color difference between full screen mode and windowed mode at night when I run FS9 on my ATI 9800 card. Dark gray colors appear greener than they need to be, with a distinct orientation towards the greens.I recently got a new weight-lifter style 16x9 monitor that will let me run at higher resolutions (and a trip to the chiropractor). Naturally, my first impulse was something is wrong with the monitor. However, I think the mamoth monitor just makes the effect more pronounced than on my LCD, but still looks a little green. The effect is slight mind you, but noticeable.The colors are perfectly normal in other appl…

I did more testing and experimenting with AGP aperture. Results:- at 32 I have best FPS, but textures load slowly, lots of blurries. No stutters, especially VC is much more fluid than with other settings.- at 512, FPS are slightly less, but textures load very quickly. Stutters in VC.At 256 and 512 I have a problem, though. With latest ATI drivers I cannot use the secondary monitor in FS2004 anymore. As soon as I drag a sub-panel across, I get a funny, yellow colored triangle on the sec. monitor. It's resolution switches to 800x600 - even settings inside FS change - and sometimes, computer freezes. Win XP report a problem with ATI drivers... Can't win all the time, eh? I g…

Please, does anybody know, why my FS2004 is ill? With the planes I can fly. But if I want to load a save flight, the FS "shut" down. And if I would end a flight the FS04 "shut" down. And so on. I have XP Professional with and without SP2 (It crashs with both...) and Force Feedback ProNVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200 with AGP8XMaxtor 6Y080L0Maxtor 92041U4A7N8X-XSoundBlaster LiveI have at the moment only the FS without additional sceneries. Only Planes from avsim etc. . The planes were OK with Windows 2000...I dont know about Computers, a friend makes it all for me, but he dont have the FS04 and doesnt know, why it crash. So: please could you help?And sorry for my bad englich... ;-)…

I'm sure the answer is obvious but I'd like to hear it from you pros for reassurance.I have a Maxtor 250Gb external one-button hard drive on order. Quite a leap from the 20G that came with my Dell.Is it feasible that I move all my FlightSim software over to it freeing my C drive for actual business, personal and data work.My intent is to uninstall from the C drive and reinstall FS2004 to the external drive along of course with all the components, add-ons, etc.This way the program will be run only from the Maxtor. Does that make sense and are there any contraindications to doing that?I'm not looking to spark a debate on one maker's hard drive vs another. Just to address th…

Whats the best drivers for FX5200 to work with FS2004??????

I would like to start flying online and would like to know what your views are on a good set of earphones with microphone...or just a microphone as I already have a pair of earphones.Thanks-Mikkel