SP1 & SP2 problem...

[Wii]

Just installed FSX SP1 and SP2 (I have the deluxe version of FSX) and I was told I would have much better performance, but it turns out I'm losing my framerate and slipping my sliders down to zero...the only thing that is high is my res. but even on a lower res. it says I am getting 30-300FPS and is steady at 100FPS but that is unbelievable because it jumps and stutters...the framerate seems more like it's bouncing inbetween 10-1FPS......any ideas on what's going on?
Vista HP.
FSX Deluxe SP1+SP2
Recently added hardware/software: 500w PSU (see hardware threads) and no new software...
It was all fine before I installed the SP2...tweaks? Anything?

[Milo1272]

I am certainly no expert, but reading a number of posts the past few weeks suggests you might consider updating your video driver . . . especially if you have a nvidia card.  

[garymbuska]

Indeed if you are using a Nvidia card you need to update the driver for it. Because Nvidia was so quick to release drivers thinking they would work with the new patches they soon found out they were wrong as a reault they have been updating drivers allmost on a daily basis as they struggle to work out all the bugs. After hanging SP2 I started geting weird looking scenery glitches once I updated my drivers they went away I also had noticed a frame rate drop but now it is back to wheere it was. The frame rates drop because the GPU is strugling to display the images properly but due to the drivers it has a problem getting them right so it slows down the display rate in a attempt to get them right. 8-)

[Wii]

I'll try updating the drivers, oh, one more thing, no matter what settings (medium low and lower) I get studders. With scenery though, black lines flash up from the autogen as I move the camera....

[Wii]

Nope, windows says my drivers are up to date.
The video card is the NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430.
Driver Version: 7.15.11.6222

PS: This may not be a huge issue if it's the video card because I am upgrading to the ATI Sapphire HD3850 256mb (or the 512mb) soon because this card sucks.

[Wingo]

I'm surprised you can still use FSX with that card To me it sounds like you are having a texture loading problem. After isntalling SP2 did you delete the FSX.cfg after installation and let FSX make a new one? If not then I suggest you do. Next I would be looking at the texture_bandwidth_multiplier. On your card I would keep it low, around 20-40. Basically, the higher that number the more textures the sim tries to load per frame. If you set it too high and you have a slow card it causes stutters because your card is basically choking on all the textures trying to be loaded.

[garymbuska]

Nope, windows says my drivers are up to date.
The video card is the NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430.
Driver Version: 7.15.11.6222

PS: This may not be a huge issue if it's the video card because I am upgrading to the ATI Sapphire HD3850 256mb (or the 512mb) soon because this card sucks.

The 6000 series of cards are a little old.Why not look at the 7000 series I love the one I have 7600 OC 512 MB. One of the things I like about this card is it is not a large card like the 7800 is trying to put a 7800 card into any case other than a full tower might not be possiable I had to squezze it between my hard drives and I have a mid tower with the huge fan cover and heat sink on this card trying to plug the power into it with the card in place is impossable. I had to unplug the ribbon cables and power from my hard drives  and then with the card in hand I pluged in the power supply  & then put it in the agp slot then I had to reconnect every thing without unplugging the power from the card. This was not a easy task as the space is very tight. This card would not fit in a smaller case it is just to big.
I wanted to see if there was any differance between the 7600 512 and the 7800 256 card. I stuck with the 7600 512. 8-)

[Wingo]

Gary - Both those cards are getting on in years too, and wont run FSX too well either.

Personally I would avoid nVidia at the moment, there are too many driver problems. I was looking into the ati HD3800 series and they look very decent for their price, and it doesn't show any errors that have plagued the nvidia series. On the same hand we are nearing the release of the next generation on DX10 cards at the moment so it may be worthwhile waiting to find out what is released.

[Wii]

I'm surprised you can still use FSX with that card To me it sounds like you are having a texture loading problem. After isntalling SP2 did you delete the FSX.cfg after installation and let FSX make a new one? If not then I suggest you do. Next I would be looking at the texture_bandwidth_multiplier. On your card I would keep it low, around 20-40. Basically, the higher that number the more textures the sim tries to load per frame. If you set it too high and you have a slow card it causes stutters because your card is basically choking on all the textures trying to be loaded.

I deleted the fsx.cfg and I go tmy framerate back and it runs much better than before.
Thanks so much!

[Wii]

Gary - Both those cards are getting on in years too, and wont run FSX too well either.

Personally I would avoid nVidia at the moment, there are too many driver problems. I was looking into the ati HD3800 series and they look very decent for their price, and it doesn't show any errors that have plagued the nvidia series. On the same hand we are nearing the release of the next generation on DX10 cards at the moment so it may be worthwhile waiting to find out what is released.

The HD3850 is looking great but it's big...I'll have to check how much room I have in there...
The 6150SE I have is integrated...horrible. I have 2 PCIE slots open but I CAN have 3 coz that dialup modem is just collecting dust...

[Wingo]

No probs! Glad to help.