Cloud/FPS problem?

I've always had this problem and I am wondering if it is just me. When flying "through" a cloud, do you normally get a FPS drop? I set my clouds on the lowest 3D settings possible and tried different cloud sets/resolutions and still get around 4-8 FPS when flying through a cloud. My most recent flight crashed because of it. Is it just me? Maybe my processor? Not the video card because I have tried different drivers etc.
Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 x2 2.51Ghz
3Gbs DDR2-667 RAM
320Gb HD
8800GT with 7.15.11.8048 drivers (Nick recommended, and they do work great!)
Any clue? It is really annoying because it happens in both FSX and FS9.
Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 x2 2.51Ghz
3Gbs DDR2-667 RAM
320Gb HD
8800GT with 7.15.11.8048 drivers (Nick recommended, and they do work great!)
Any clue? It is really annoying because it happens in both FSX and FS9.
