FS2004 Slow frame rates

[sealrebr]

Hi,

I have just migrated to FS2004 from running FS2002 and I am having some frame rate issues.  

My spec is :

Dell Dimension 4600 3GHz Processor
512MB RAM
160 GB HDD
Nvidia GeForce FX5200
XP Pro

I could run FS2002 flat out and would see 30-60 FPS.  If I try and do a similar thing with FS2004 I see 15 FPS tops (Ultra High everything).  This seems a little strange seeing as my friend (who runs a Dell Inspiron 9100 Laptop!) gets 30-60 FPS (Ultra High everything).  He has a near identical spec, except that his laptop has 1GB memory an ATI mobility X700 graphics card.

In order to improve the performance of my machine, what would anybody recommend?  More memory (to start with

[asda_price]

I think that there is no doubt that both your RAM and video card should be upgraded.

However, I believe that Dells have locks on them preventing the upgrading of the system, so I think that you're gonna have to buy a new PC! I know that this is not what you wanted to hear, but I'm afraid it's true.

Yous should aim to get a PC with at least 1GB of RAM and a video card with at least 128MB of memory. I recommend the BFG GeForce 6800 GT.

There are plenty of bargains around, systems with triple your specs can be found for around

[eno]

Dells DO NOT have upgrade locks on them ..........  They even come with manuals on HOW TO UPGRADE.

[TacitBlue]

I have an Athlon 2600 processor, OC'd to 2.0 Ghtz. MX 440 vid card (128 mb). And 512 mb RAM.

I get 30 - 40 FPS, most of the time (all sliders maxed without anti-alaising). Once in a while it drops as low as 25. What Im getting at is that maybe it isnt your hardware. You should try turning off anti-alaising, it makes a big difference, and depending on where you fly, your scenery wont look much worse.

[carolina_ice]

Same here I always hear people with twice the machine of mine get half the framerates I dont know why I am a neat freak though I run tune up utilites everyday. have my systems down from 30 to 16 and defrag everyother day or so.  
But I have a 1.4 athlon xp
512 Ram
Fx 5200
intergrated sound
and I get about 35 to 40 frams as well.

[chomp_rock]

What are your graphics settings carolina? I can't imagine how you are getting framerates like that with those specs!

[legoalex2000]

Dells DO NOT have upgrade locks on them ..........  They even come with manuals on HOW TO UPGRADE.

WRONG! I have a dell 2400, and i cannot upgrade anything but RAM, PCI Slot Cards, and CD/DVD/Floppy

trust me, i looked into my computer (wanted to switch to an Athlon 64) and i couldn't touch the processor, it's blocked.

[carolina_ice]

I was so used to putting fx5200 I upgraded to 9800 pro.

[carolina_ice]

What makes this game so resource hungry, The requirments are 450 meg. processor 32 meg graphics card (64 recommended.) Yea right.

[LoneEagle]

What makes this game so resource hungry, The requirments are 450 meg. processor 32 meg graphics card (64 recommended.) Yea right.

That is with all sliders at min. and no clouds.

[sealrebr]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed.

As some additional infromation, I have a relatively clean build on my PC - it's only a couple of months old.  In addition, I have run msconfig and shut down any non-essential services and this still seems to make no difference !

I will probably try extra memory and see how I get on with this.

It is a strange one though....

[beaky]

   Offhand, it sounds like your problem is the same as mine: need more RAM (but I could be wrong).
Based on what I've heard, to run FS9 at max settings requires at least 1G RAM. MS's specs for system requirements is for bare-minimum settings.
  I also have 512 RAM and a 128 card, but my CPU is only a 1.2 GHz, and after messing around with it, I can run FS9 at a solid 24 fps (fast enough for me, although more would be nice) with it locked at 24. I've found that depending on the area I'm flying in, it varies. For example, cluttered scenery like NYC knocks it down to as low as 11 fps. Out in the boonies, or at night, when the system doesn't have so much to draw, it's always a solid 24. The complexity of the model affects it, too- some 3rd-party addons can hit fps rates pretty hard.
I've found antialiasing and trilinear mapping to not affect my framerates,  but I'd recommend keeping mipmapping and hardware-rendered lights at 4, maximum. My other graphics settings
are at about 70% average, with cloud rendering and sight distance at more like 20%.
I arrived at my current settings by starting at 100% everything, then backing things off one at a time, in order of least importance, until I got the compromise between looks and performance that I was seeking. Each time I'd reduce a parameter, if I saw no significant improvement, I'd leave it maxed...

[sealrebr]

Excellent, thanks for your help.  

I've now managed to average 25-30fps by basically knocking the weather down to minimum and leaving everything else on Ultra High.  It still looks ok but obviously I want to make use of the weather in the future !  Therefore, I think I'll invest in the extra memory.


Again, thanks to all who contributed.

[asda_price]

[quote]Dells DO NOT have upgrade locks on them ..........