Clouds kill my frames

[Ijineda]

I bought some extra 512 DDRRAM and a 256 MB ATI Radeon 9600 Pro today, and now im experiencing fps of 50-60 when flying with clear skies...but as soon I put in some weather, foggy and rainy for example, the frames drop down to 3!!!! yes 3 FPS!!!!

Sight distance is at minimum, as are the 3d-clouds. I really cant understand....

[beaky]

I bought some extra 512 DDRRAM and a 256 MB ATI Radeon 9600 Pro today, and now im experiencing fps of 50-60 when flying with clear skies...but as soon I put in some weather, foggy and rainy for example, the frames drop down to 3!!!! yes 3 FPS!!!!

Sight distance is at minimum, as are the 3d-clouds. I really cant understand....

Eek- that's nasty. Are you talking about real-world (downloaded) wx, or default scenarios? If it's real wx, try the "static" setting. If not, minimize the rate of change.
Only other things I can think of is that you have add-on cloud or sky programs that are  not working right with your setup, or perhaps you didn't quite set up your machine right when you upgraded the hardware...?

[Ijineda]

well probably it will need some time until i really can benifit from the upgrade...a lot of tweaking to do!

I use active sky 2004.5, but I cant see where I should change some eventually responsible settings. and I was flying some scenarios to test the new hardware.

[ATI_7500]

Try some low-res cloud textures. Every stock cloud has a filesize of 1,33 Mbytes. No surprise that your 9600pro is on its knees.

[Tweek]

I have a fairly low end system, so I get the same problem with heaps of clouds floating around. So, what I do (whilst keeping high res clouds) is either fly with few/scattered clouds (usually the Fair Weather theme) or with a visibilty of 10miles, which means you cannot see the sky either, giving the impression of overcast clouds. Of course, if you want precipitation, just use few clouds, with heavier rain/snow.

But as Heretic said, if you aren't so bothered about how good your clouds look, use low res textures.

[Fozzer]

The only use I've ever found for highly detailed clouds, is just to impress your Mates on the Screen-Shot Forum.... ...!

I just use a few high level, whispy, Cirrus clouds, with visibility set for 10-20 miles max.
Doesn't affect my frame rates at all... ...!

...Clear skies is even better...!!

Paul....avoiding the rain... ...!

Remember. In REAL flying, clouds are death traps... ...!

[Hai Perso Coyone?]

Wow...that's strange...clouds or no clouds...my sim is pretty much chugs out 40-50 and even 100FPS...It might be like Bj

[Hai Perso Coyone?]

The only use I've ever found for highly detailed clouds, is just to impress your Mates on the Screen-Shot Forum.... ...!

I just use a few high level, whispy, Cirrus clouds, with visibility set for 10-20 miles max.
Doesn't affect my frame rates at all... ...!

...Clear skies is even better...!!

Paul....avoiding the rain... ...!

Remember. In REAL flying, clouds are death traps... ...!

And don't forget the pee colored water Paul...

[Saitek]

Remember the good old table? It is ever so accurate. I had the Geforce FX5200 and got about 10-15 average of 12 frames a sec and then when I bought the Radeon 9600 XT I got about 20-35  with an average of about 22. Still low, but to me it was a very much desired double! This is with a few clouds. If I have a heavy cloud setting mine crashes to about 3 or 4 FPS too - but a totally clear sky can see me away in the 30's.




[quote]Wow...that's strange...clouds or no clouds...my sim is pretty much chugs out 40-50 and even 100FPS...It might be like Bj

[Ijineda]

thanx for the replies...and i just donwloaded the "half massive" cloud textures, and there IS an improvement..but I guess i can say goodbye to my dreams where I fly with 30 FPS everywhere and anytime.  :(

[Hai Perso Coyone?]

thanx for the replies...and i just donwloaded the "half massive" cloud textures, and there IS an improvement..but I guess i can say goodbye to my dreams where I fly with 30 FPS everywhere and anytime.  :(

No sweat Ijineda, try saving up for a new card...or even a new rig..though it might be teensy while, it'll well be worth it

[Saitek]

or just be like me and make do.

[garymbuska]

Saitek.
I am not sure where you found the info on frame rates by card type. But I can tell you I have the GX5200 256 ddr on a pentium 4 running at 2.8 gig with just under 1 gig ram no overclocking and can get in the middle to high 20's with the weather maxed out and a highly detailed aircraft at a detailed airport and all of the sliders are maxed out. On a clear day I hit the upper 30's for a frame rate.

[JBaymore]

I had a 9600 for a while.  It just didn;t "cut it".  Went to a 9800XT....... much better....but still not astounding.  A lot depends on the REST of the system.

best,

........john