Full Screen, Windowed Screen, and GFX settings

[Xyn_Air]

OK, this is going to be a sort of all-in-one thread full of questions.  Unfortunately, I was unable to determine which question most directly addresses the issues I am working, so I have bundled what I thought were most likely issues and questions altogether.

First, though, before anyone has to ask:

Everex IMPACT SERIES (Japanese make and model of computer)
AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3500+ @ 2.21 GHz
2.50 GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS w/ 512 MB

The monitor is just the generic 1280 x 1024 flat screen that came with the computer.

Now, I know this system is not going to run FSX at max quality, and that isn't my concern.  I just want to get the best performance possible from what I have.  And thus far, I have been fairly pleased.

The other day, the video card gave the computer a stop command in the middle of running FSX, so I decided to update the drivers (they were a year out of date).  After installing the new drivers, everything works fine, but . . .

Well, some things are a bit different.  For example, I get horribly rough edges on everything from planes (especially the poor planes) to buildings to trees if I now run FSX in full screen mode.  When I run it in windowed mode, everything is smooth once more.  In both modes I am using anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing.

These are my three questions:

1) Is there a problem with having my monitor at 1280x1024 and running FSX at 1280x1024(x32)?  I have tried a couple of other settings, but still suffer from jagged edges.  Yet, before the driver update, I could run FSX in full-screen mode with these aliasing issues.

2) Should I manipulate my graphics settings in the Nvidia control panel, within FSX, or in both?  Nvidia will allow you to override application settings with your own preferences as set in the Nvidia control panel.  I just have no clue if this is actually a good or bad things to do.

3) If I should choose to change my graphics settings in the Nvidia control panel to override my FSX settings, any recommendations?

Really, I would just like to get back to full-screen use without the terrible aliasing issues.  I am a bit perplexed why the new drivers have a problem that the old ones did not.  On the other hand, the new drivers seem a bit more stable, so I hate to rollback the drivers to the earlier version.

Help?

Thanks in advance,
Darrin

[Groundbound1]

Is the sim set to use the same resolution in full screen mode, as your desktop? It usually isn't. (I think the default is 800x600, in FS9 anyway)

[Xyn_Air]

Is the sim set to use the same resolution in full screen mode, as your desktop? It usually isn't. (I think the default is 800x600, in FS9 anyway)

Yes, FSX is set to use the same screen resolution as my monitor in full screen mode - 1280 x 1024.  This has worked before in FSX and also works in my other game applications.

I do know that some software is not optimized to work at higher resolutions (for example, FS9, I believe).  But, FSX can run at much higher resolutions than I am asking it to.

Also, in full screen mode, the application should be able to use the full resolution of the monitor (provided, of course, that the application supports or is optimized for that resolution).

However, you have given me an interesting idea.  Since I have installed the new drivers I have not gone back to check and see how FS9's performance is affected if at all.

Food for thought, anyway.  Thanks for responding!

Still 'thunking' about this one,
Darrin
:-/

[Groundbound1]

That is wierd. I hope you're able to staighten it out. :-?

[dharris]

Try the info found here.
http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_p ... ?TID=23910

Look down about half way on the page, I asked NickN about similar things and his help got me back on track and now my sim runs and looks great.   Hope this helps.

[Xyn_Air]

Try the info found here.
http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_p ... ?TID=23910

Look down about half way on the page, I asked NickN about similar things and his help got me back on track and now my sim runs and looks great.   Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tip.  I found the most useful link in NickN's post to redirect HERE.

It seems NickN does advise using the Nvidia controls to override the FSX settings for best performance.  Maybe when I have a free day or two I will try using the settings he advises to see what happens.  I am a little nervous about doing it, though, as I wonder how easily I can get back to where I was if I mess something up!

Anyway, thanks for the link!  There is a lot there to read and learn from!

Darrin

[Xyn_Air]

OK, now this little issue has gotten more bizarre.

I only get jaggies in full screen with the big jets.  With smaller aircraft (such as the Baron 58), FSX looks fine in both full screen and windowed mode.

What. The. Heck. Is. Going. On?

Also, I was wondering if other games (I only play two other games on this computer) could be changing things somehow without me knowing?

Also, I was wondering if the video card's performance could be changing without me doing anything?  In another thread earlier this year, I had mentioned how my graphics chipset had improved in its performance without me touching a thing.  Is my computer possessed, or is it normal for graphics cards and chipsets to alter in performance over time?

Verrah confused,
Darrin