What should I do?

[p63]

Hi,
I recently purchased the standard version of FSX, however, although my system seems to exceed the requirements on the back of the box, the only way i can fly, is to have all graphic options on the lowest possible, and even after an almost 10 minute start up, the main menu sticks and takes a long time to register each option I make, the flight itself sticks alot and looks even worse than the fs2002 professional version that I have been using up until now.

I'm not sure how to upload images, but basically the aircraft are very fuzzy and the ground looks like a green and brown carpet and still the computer finds it very demanding :-/

My specs:
Windows XP Professional - 256MB
2.4GHz Intel Pentium 4
80GB Hard Drive

I'm not sure exactly which graphic card I have, but it is relatively new and a major upgrade to what my pc originally came with.

Do you think my problem lies with memory - should I buy more?

[Daube]

Your computer is too old an not powerfull enough.
Basically, your long loading time and your bad texture quality are both consequences of the lack of memory (RAM), both on the motherboard and on the video card.
FSX is very very very heavy on the ressources. I suggest you read the FAQ, you will find some tweak to improve the performance, but don't expect a miracle.

EDIT: I forgot to answer your question
FSX would need a minimum of 1 Gb of RAM. And this is really the minimum, I have 1 Gb of RAM and I can tell you that the loading times are still long (like almost 1 full minute to load the game from the menu), and when I go around, the loading of the surrounding scenery cause a lot of disk access.
Users here and there report that 2 Gb of RAM is a lot more confortable.

However, this would not be enough, since your video card is certainely too old as well, just like your CPU is not powerfull enough (I have a 3,2 Ghz and still I can't use the AI traffic, on roads etc...)

I would suggest you to wait a little bit more, save some money and then buy a whole new PC, with the latest possible video card and at least 2 Gb of RAM.

... Or you can enjoy FS9, that is still beautifull.

[p63]

Hi,
Thanks very much for your responce - I think I'll wait and get a new PC!

Thanks again!