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Helldiver
September 15th, 2009, 09:32
I got an Intel 3 Gb CPU, 3 Gb of SDRAM, a EVGA o/c nVidia 8800 GT card and a 750 watt power supply. I 'm running FSX with Accelertion.
I use all the default settings and yet the default Piper Cub only gives me 4 FPS and the jaggies are all over the place. This is on a brand new installation of Windows XP with all the updates.
It just seems to me I should be getting something better than this with this setup.

kjb
September 15th, 2009, 10:33
You should be seeing a lot better results. What resolution are you running? What else (if anything) is running?

You might want to post your fsx.cfg file.

Helldiver
September 15th, 2009, 10:53
The resoution is 1024 x 768.
I don't know how to get the FSX.cfg file.

expat
September 15th, 2009, 11:22
That's a very similar spec to my 'puter and it flies most things in FSX smooth as silk/without breathing too hard. Hang in there Helldiver, lot's of folks here will help you to do the necessary tweaks. You will see a vast improvement afterwards, I am sure.

expat

Bjoern
September 15th, 2009, 11:31
I got an Intel 3 Gb CPU, 3 Gb of SDRAM

What 3Ghz CPU?

Pentium 4, Core2Duo, Core2Quad?

And 3Gb SD-Ram or DDR1 or DDR2 or DDR3 Ram?

Ferry_vO
September 15th, 2009, 11:49
I would suggest deleting the fsx.cfg and let FsX create a new one.
Worked for me last weekend when I got my new computer and reinstalled FsX.

Helldiver
September 15th, 2009, 11:53
It's a Pentium 4 and I don't know how to find FSX.cfg. It's brand new installation.

Daube
September 15th, 2009, 11:58
It's a Pentium 4 and I don't know how to find FSX.cfg. It's brand new installation.
If it's brand new, then it's certainely not a Pentium 4.
Pentium IV are very old CPUs that are not able to run FSX properly.

On WinXP, the FSX.cfg is in the folowing folder:
c:\documents and settings\your username\application data\microsoft\FSX.

The folder and the files are hidden files, so you must activate the display of the hidden files in the 'folder options' menu on the file explorer window.

ROB
September 15th, 2009, 12:02
I wouldn't expect too much from Pentium 4. Mine delivers me 15-20 PFS with all sliders on the left.

regards
ROB

gera
September 15th, 2009, 12:25
I wouldn't expect too much from Pentium 4. Mine delivers me 15-20 PFS with all sliders on the left.

regards
ROB

What????...with all on the left!!!!!! what do you see???.....are you joking????
not even the reds were so much on the left!!!!!!:pop4:...with all sliders there I get a blank screen and an invisible plane!!!!!!! at 600 FPS or PFS whatever!!!!:icon_lol::icon_lol:

hey_moe
September 15th, 2009, 12:43
HD I told you to get a 5.0 mega processor, 50 gig of memory, 5000 watt power supply, 2 1000.00 super duper video card and a 3 phase transformer in front of your house...what part of that don't ya get by now. BTW go here and do everything he suggests>>> http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=29041 we also have a good tweak forum too...Mike

Helldiver
September 15th, 2009, 12:59
It indicates that it is a Pentium (r) 4 CPU

Helldiver
September 15th, 2009, 13:04
I found the FSX.cfg but could not read it.

ROB
September 15th, 2009, 13:06
It indicates that it is a Pentium (r) 4 CPU

Yep, the same as mine. Sad story.

regards
ROB

cheezyflier
September 15th, 2009, 13:22
you have way more computer than i have, and i can run the default cub out of most reional or small airports and get 20 fps. that's where i have the sim locked. if you're not getting good performance somethin's wrong somewhere. fsx ought run like a sewing machine for you on that machine. one thing for sure, USE ALACRITY PC TO RUN FSX. it will make a huge difference in performance.

Helldiver
September 15th, 2009, 13:43
How do use ALACRITY PC ? Is it payware ?

Xilence
September 15th, 2009, 16:42
You don't have to read the FSX.CFG. You have to delete it, so FSX can make a fresh and new one for you restoring all the default settings.

However, if that doesn't fix anything for you, this is usually what I do if my pc is slower than expected. I am, for the record, by no means a computer expert so don't expect too much from this :engel016::

First of all, make sure you have the latest drivers for your hardware. It could be your driver is messed up somehow and a new update will clear those faults. After installing the drivers and rebooting, check your performance.

If that didn't help, you can check how much room your hard disk has left (by going to This Computer -> *rightmouseclick on hard drive* -> Properties. It should show you a diagram of your hard disk current spare room. If the hard disk has little room left, try clearing up some space. The more free space a hard drive has, the better the performance.

Next, download CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/) which is freeware, and let it scan your computer for junk. Check if the list the program brings up really can be deleted and if so, let it delete all the junk. Now Ccleaner also has registry scan, which I personally use more than often, but several technical forums advise not to if you don't know what you are deleting. Deleting blindly everything CCleaner comes up with could end up not being able to start your Windows anymore, so be cautious.

After removing all the junk you should defragment your hard disk. And reboot after that. Check your performance again.


My last resort is a clean boot. A clean boot simply means that you deactivate all the programs and services that are not microsoft-made on boot, meaning you will start only the programs and services you would have on a fresh Windows installation. This also means for example you're antivirus probably won't be running, or your firewall (if you use a non-default one), so again, be cautious, perhaps scan your pc in advance.

I copied this from Microsoft's Help and Support (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/en-us):

To manually start Windows XP with a clean boot, follow these steps:

Step 1: Start the System Configuration Utility

Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.

Step 2: Configure selective startup options

In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the General tab, and then click Selective Startup.
Click to clear the Process SYSTEM.INI File check box.
Click to clear the Process WIN.INI File check box.
Click to clear the Load Startup Items check box. Verify that Load System Services and Use Original BOOT.INI are checked.
Click the Services tab.
Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box.
Click Disable All, and then click OK.
When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

Step 3: Log on to Windows

If you are prompted, log on to Windows.
When you receive the following message, click to select the Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows start check box, and then click OK.


Notes

You have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows starts.
The System Configuration Utility is currently in Diagnostic or Selective Startup mode, causing this message to be displayed and the utility to run every time Windows starts.
Choose the Normal Startup mode on the General tab to start Windows normally and undo the changes you made using the System Configuration Utility.


Step 4: Optional step to disable features
If the clean boot fixed the error, you do not have to perform this step.

Important If your problem is not fixed and you do have to follow this step, it permanently removes all restore points from your computer. The System Restore feature uses restore points to restore your computer to an earlier state. If you remove the restore points, you can no longer restore Windows to an earlier state.

This step temporarily disables Microsoft features such as Plug and Play, networking, event logging, and error reporting.

Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.
Click the General tab, click to clear the Load System Services check box, and then click OK.
When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

If these steps helped you start your computer in a clean-boot state, you are finished. If these steps did not help, go to the “Next Steps” section. If you have to return your computer to a normal startup state, go to “Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state”.

Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state
After you used the clean boot to resolve your problem, you can follow these steps to configure Windows XP to start normally.

Click Start, and then click Run.
Type msconfig, and then click OK.
The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.
Click the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device drivers and services, and then click OK.
When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.


If that didn't work either I always get the pro's involved (close friends of mine at the university of delft =D), as I haven't a clue where to go next...

Lionheart
September 15th, 2009, 18:08
FSX really sucks on this machine


I was going to say, mine too, lol..

A bit late I guess.

:banghead:

harleyman
September 15th, 2009, 18:52
Windows reports many CPU's as pentiums...It reports all of my dual cores as Pentiums..But they are not..

I seriously doubt you have one in that rig HD...

Helldiver
September 15th, 2009, 19:33
Well, Xilence I have the latest driver as of last week. My 500 Gb disk drive has better than 250Gb to spare. Plus it's freshly defragged. I have Uniblue Power Suite 2009 which works better than CC Cleaner plus Spy Bot. So the machine is pretty clean.
I'm kind of reluctant to do a clean boot 'cause when I get into complicated instructions my stroke causes me to do the wrong thing.
However I will delete the FSX. cfg, although this is a new installation of FSX/Acceleration.

Javis
September 15th, 2009, 23:26
What about your Slider Settings, Bob?

Do you use Road Traffic ? If so set it to 0%. Also best to be sparce on other traffic stuff. If you haven't done so already set Scenery Complexity and Autogen Density to Normal. Don't use Ground Scenery Shadows and Light Bloom. Set Target Frame Rate to Unlimited.

You can get Alacrity PC for free here : http://alacritypc.kensalter.com/download.html

It disables unwanted programs running in the background.

Success!

Cheers,
Jan

Helldiver
September 16th, 2009, 01:27
I leave it to the default settings. There is no road traffic that I can see.
Thanks for Alacticy.

JT8D-9A
September 16th, 2009, 02:16
What is CPU-Z (http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php)reporting as your CPU and RAM?

cheezyflier
September 16th, 2009, 05:36
sorry i did not get back to you sooner. at least now you have the program.
it should give you a nice boost in performance. if you have any questions, they guy monitors his forum really closely. he's great.

Snuffy
September 16th, 2009, 05:43
Sometimes, having the latest drivers may not be the best option ... especially if your hardware is somewhat old and the manufacture doesn't support that hardware any more.

Best to roll back to drivers that specifically state they are for your hardware. Otherwise, new drivers may be trying to call routines, that your hardware doesn't know about.

Helldiver
September 16th, 2009, 06:05
I don't have CPU-Z but this is what Everest gives me:

txnetcop
September 16th, 2009, 06:36
Hey Bob is this the system your brother built?

Helldiver
September 16th, 2009, 06:57
No, that one is back to Montgomery, Alabama so my brother can find out what's the matter with it.
Tihis one started out to be an inexpensive eMachine It had three motherboards until a guy donated a great Gigabyte board. It's power supply was exchanged for a 650 watt. The memory was changed to Crucial 3 Gb. I put in a DVD R/W. Changed the case to a Cooler Master Elite. The only thing that was an eMachine is the CPU. Finally got rid of Windows Vista and put in Windows XP Professional and that's where I am today. It has never been what the one my brother built with the Zotac card

kjb
September 16th, 2009, 07:12
The processor is definitely on the low end. Anandtech has a processor comparison (http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=2). You might consider finding something faster that will fit your motherboard.

txnetcop
September 16th, 2009, 07:13
This is perplexing as the Pentium IV will run FSX pretty well. I have an old Pentium IV built three years ago that I just added a Zotac 8800GT to. I was using the Zotac on E8600 Core 2 Duo X-48 rig. The P4 only has 2GB of RAM but it runs FSX in mid twenties even with the B377 from A2A. You seem to have done everything that can be done and you did say that was a fresh load of FSX.

You might consider reinstalling it again. FSX is an odd bird, but when it's right it is awesome. After I bought FSX Gold I had no more problems with installs and I only defragged before installing Gold, then again after installing FSX and then last after installing Acceleration, it has worked without a hitch for almost a year.
Ted
By the way mine is a P4 820D which isn't known for it's speed.

Helldiver
September 16th, 2009, 07:20
I forgot, I also added a 500 Gb hard drive to keep the 250 Gb one company.
This all took place over 18 months.

Helldiver
September 16th, 2009, 07:33
My next step is to do it all again including cleaning out the nVidia driver and do the defrag as you describe it. It just has to run faster than 4 FPS with a evga o/c card.

Dain Arns
September 16th, 2009, 08:22
Just my two cents, HD. What nVidia drivers are you running? I have a 8600 GT. Every driver released by nVidia for the last 6 months have made FSX run horrible. I keep reverting back to 182.50 drivers that were released back in April. FSX runs silky smooth with that driver set no matter what I throw at it. :kilroy:

Cowboy1968
September 16th, 2009, 08:32
I didn't get the results with FSX that i liked tell i updated to a Core 2 processor

txnetcop
September 16th, 2009, 10:00
I didn't get the results with FSX that i liked tell i updated to a Core 2 processor


You have a point but as Helldiver has pointed out before, when you live on the small amount that Helldiver lives on, ya gotta make do with what you have. FSX does run better on the Penryn and Nehalem cores.
Ted

Henry
September 16th, 2009, 10:14
why does the ram say trial version?
H

txnetcop
September 16th, 2009, 11:01
It looks like Helldiver took the reading off of Everest Trial Version Ultimate so it does not read every module but says TRIAL VERSION unless ya pay up
Ted

Helldiver
September 16th, 2009, 11:18
Your right. I'm too cheap to pay for Everest.

Henry
September 17th, 2009, 06:03
Your right. I'm too cheap to pay for Everest.
i got mine for free there was a thread that Moe posted a link
a couple of months ago
on the everest web site, not the latest version but it is free
H

Henry
September 17th, 2009, 06:08
here
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=17640
H