Performance v. Graphics

[mick1]

I've poured thru many posts on the site here from folks seeking to make FSX run faster at higher graphics levels and many of the responses suggest tweaking the computer. But,....before I even attempt to start changing things under the hood...

I was wondering if someone could explain the actual settings screen(s) and how it affects FSX' running. (Yes, I know the higher the settings, the more strain it puts on running the sim and certain settings cause more slow-down that others.) Specifically, I'm wondering things like:

On the Aircraft Settings screen: Does it do any good to set level of detail radius low with texture resolution high? How do mesh resolution and complexity relate, and does it make sense for one to be set higher than the other? I see these setting on this screen and I try randomly tweaking them without really know what I'm looking for it to do or what it should look like.

Are there things like, "If mesh resolution is set at "X", then detail radius should be around "Y."

I would like to have SOME traffic, so I'm not flying around like the last person on the planet.

I'm not explaining this real well, I know,...but hopefully you get the idea of what I'm looking for.

Thanks,

Mick