With following hardware, software, display card settings and fsx.CFG tweaks, I am generally getting :
- 39-47 FPS (20-30 FPS in heavy urban areas; ALL with 3rd party scenery installed)
- No Stutter (well, virtually)
- Very Sharp Image
- Very High Anti-Alias Quality
Hardware:
ASUS P6X58D-E | i7 930 @ 4.0G | 12GB DDR3 1600
ASUS Matrix HD5870 @ 970MHz / 5000MHz | Dell 3007 @ 2560 x 1600
2 x Corsair Nova 128 GB SSD — One for Windows & One for FSX | 1TB WD SATA3 HDD for Add-on Sceneries
iPad with iGMapHD
Software (Exclude Sceneries):
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | FSX Acceleration
Active Sky Evolution | Real Environment X Overdrive
Flight 1 GEX Europe & North America | Ultimate Terrain X – Alaska, Canada, Europe, USA | FS Discover
Scenery Tech Asia, Europe, Indo Pacific, North America, South America Landclass
Display Card Settings:
AMD Catalyst version 11.5 | ATI Tray Tools version 1.6.9.1486
Anti-Aliasing: 8X (Wide-tent) | Anisotropic Filtering: 16X | Tessellation: Off
Catalyst AI: Quality | Mipmap Detail Level: High Quality | Vertical Refresh: Always Off
Anti-Aliasing Mode: Adaptive Multi-sample AA | OpenGL Settings: Triple buffering
See also AMD Radeon Setting
fsx.CFG Tweaks:
FSX TIMES 
Hello again, Tom.
I just got a new machine and will be emulating some of your build decisions, specifically, use of different disks for scenery etc. Above you list: SSD1 = OS, SSD2 = FSX, HDD1 = sceneries.
I now have 2x128GB SSD (RAID0) for OS, 1x512GB SSD for FSX, 1x1TB HDD (only 5400rpm) for sceneries. I have various large external (7200rpm) drives available too.
In post ’57: Safest Approach to Install Addons’, you show a screen shot with your drive allocations (at that time). Are those addition drives actually logical shares to one of the three main drives? Are they simply to allow easy management of e.g. addons, or are there performance gains etc?
Any insight would be great before I start the re-installation on the new machine!
Keep up the fabulous work, buddy.
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Hi Dean,
Those drives are mostly physical. I got one 128GB SSD for system, one 256GB SSD for FSX, one 256GB SSD for P3D.
I also have one 1TB Hybrid HDD partitioned into three for storing some of the less visited sceneries, FS Global Mesh and flight simulation tools and utilities. These sceneries, Mesh and tools are common for both FSX and P3D in general.
Your 1TB 5400rpm HDD seems a bit weak to me in your setup. A faster hard drive would load scenery faster in the background which subsequently enhances overall perfomance.
Regarding external drives (even USB 3.0), I wouldn’t suggest them for flight simulation system usages. Their I/O throughputs are in some ways limited.
One more thing, avoid installing too much other programs onto your new system. I know it is difficult.
Tom
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Hi Tom – that makes sense with some of your other posts now – thanks.
Yes – the 1TB was to be 7200rpm according to the salesman on the ‘phone…. I need to sort that out….I think I’ll be swapping that out very soon…
Thanks for the heads up re external / flight sim usage. Not installing much else? – I hear you! When we stop travelling, I will probably buy a dedicated box (or two) to put in the SimSamurai sim enclosure I will build around the metal main instrument panel I had fabricated – which I have filled up with Saitek goodness! Would you believe I never got to try it out before emigrating to Australia in February?! I will share pictures once I get reunited with my possessions!
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Sometimes we do crazy thing. For example, five years ago I bought my current house just the next day I sold my last one. Not only the decision was made in just one day but also the house is in a suburban area where I only visited once or twice a year during public holidays. Looks like the whole thing was destinated. Wish you have a good start in Australia.
As long as there are differences between our hardware, my certain posts, as you said, might not make sense. Glad to hear that you finally catch up. ;)
Actually, I’ve been planning to rebuild my cockpit with newly purhcased hardware, such as another radio panel, headset, etc but still haven’t decided which is the best way of using my desk space.
I also bought a new 1TB SSD to replace my current Hybrid HDD for storing sceneries and meshes, etc. That should enhance background scenery loading etc.
Tom
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Hey Tom,
What keyboard is that?
And what yoke is it? I had a CH Yoke but didn’t like the pitch control (flimsy, didn’t return to center easily). I need something for the PMDG 777.
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Saitek Yoke and a regular keyboard from Logitech/Microsoft. Tom
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Tom,
I just upgraded my fsx from Win7 to Win8 and all looks ok except I have lost all my CH controllers i.e. Yoke/Throttle/pedals.
Have you ugraded to Win8 or planning to anytime soon?
In setting do you know how to get your controllers? it now says only mouse yoke.
Thanks
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Hi Richard, I haven’t upgraded to Win8 yet. Yes, I have plan to do it.
Regarding your problem, have you checked CH’s website or Forum? Or you could try reinstalling all CH’s drivers. Tom
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Tom,
I checked CH’s website/Forum but nothing on Win8. I just registered in the forum and will post this question there. The CH’drivers are installed directly by Win7/Win8, CH does not provide any drivers directly.
A solution I found online is to reinstall FSX in Win8.
My first install of Win8 did not have FSX (uninstalled it firtst to make room for Win8). When I tried to install FSX afetr Win8 it will not let me, I was getting Windows installer error and Microsoft support could not help. So I downgraded back to Win7 installed FSX and upgraded to Win8 and then FSX was Ok except I do not have my CH controllers.
Now I do not want to uninstall FSX and reinstall for fear I will get the previous error :-(.
This is my delimma but I am confident I will resolve it. Others claim FSX works ok for them in Win8 but I do not know they use CH controllers.
Thanks
Richard
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Thanks for the update, Richard. It’s true that our hardware are different. Win8 is something I am going to upgrade or to install on a new computer. Look forward to hearing from you further on how you solve your problem.
Tom
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Tom, I’m in the process of tweaking my fsx.cfg as I’m currently having issues with an add-on aircraft corrupting textures after a certain amount of time.
I notice you have ForceFullScreenVSync=1 in your config but have vertical refresh off in Catalyst. Shouldn’t that be On?
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Hi Jettrebel, you are reading my a year old post. I have updated my best setting in Post 130 and 131, which states that I have put the vertical refresh to on in Catalyst. Tom
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Hi Tom, I have a question. My FPS just suck. I have put in most if not all of your ideas and tweaks and have changed my AMD settings as well. But nothing seems to change. I just read another post from you that FIPS should not be connected until “after” FSX is started. Is that right? I have Saitek and GoFlight…mostly GoFlight and they are connected through two powered hubs (17 FIPS in all and four monitors) and the hubs are plugged into the pc at all times. So, my question is should they be unplugged and plugged in only after FSX is actually started up. I have never seen this idea before and if so can you give a short explanation as to why and will this improve FPS by doing this or not?
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Hi Rickie,
The main purpose of plugging in the FIPs after FSX is loaded is to get the FIPs to startup in the correct order of what you set. If you don’t do this, the FIPs will call up the gauges randomly. Saitek has no idea about this and they just said there is no way to startup gauges in preset order.
Regarding your FPS, there is no easy answer. I would suggest you to read my Post 87 to 89 and then 93 about how I retuned my system.
Tom
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Tom,
What is your latest AMD Catalyst setup for your Radeon graphics card.
I am using Catalyst 12.3 but my screen is a bit jittery.
Thanks
Richard
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Hi Richard, I am using 12.3 as well with the same settings as previous versions. I don’t see any odds on my system.
If 12.3 is not good for your system, maybe restore it to previous version.
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Hi tom i would like to get hold of a set of gauge files could you oblige please it would be
appreciated budgiebaron
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Hi Budgiebaron, subscribing to my blog first is the only requirement in order to get downloads or files I am sharing. Please do so and I will email you my gauge set once I get notice of your subscription. Tom
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Hi Tom I had two identical SATA Hard Drive, i just wondering how to install FSX plus all
addon such Aircrafts utx, gex, scenery tech, rex, orbx, ut 2, active sky x, and addon airport.
with window 7, and other programs for window.
vinny
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Hi Vinny,
When you install FSX, it will ask you where to install it. You can then instruct to install FSX onto the 2nd drive. Now all other addons will be able to install onto this drive. Tom
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Hi Tom , thanks to answer my first post ; I think my subscription is OK now …
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Thanks for susbcribing, Fred.
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Tom, What is that small monitor you are using for the moving map display?
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Hi Dale, The moving map is running on Apple’s iPad which is 9.7-inch.
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Tom,
Do you know of an FSX addon I can buy, that will give me very realistic scenery?
Thanks
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Where do you prefer, Richard?
Flytampa’s HK Kai Tak is a very good one. New York City and Madeira from Aerosoft are another two. All these three addons cover a wide city or surrounding areas besides the airports. Actually these two companies produces some high quality sceneries that in general don’t require a very high-performance PCs.
Orbx’s NA, NZ and AU are good addons no doubt but they don’t look very realistic — if that is what you want. Besides, most of their additional airports demand quite some PC power.
You can consider Horizon’s UK Photosceneries. They looks very realistic too except that you have fly at least 1500ft or above ground because they don’t have 3D objects.
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Why the switch to CH?
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Actually I got the CH Eclipse when it was released. I was attracted by its rudders and two trim wheels and other features integrated into one single case.
In terms of function-rich wise, it is quite good. However, as I mentioned that the yoke is very difficult to fit into my existing compartment because of its shape. So I was putting it aside until recently I figured out how to fit it into place.
For one major modification I made was removing all three sliders on top of its case since I have the TPM, and also I have two Saitek quadrants too.
After the modification, it is now possible to fit it under my desk.
No worry, Saitek Yoke is a good one and looks more realistic and professional-built than the CH one. I’m just a bit lazy these days and want to use a more compact setup — no rudder.
I will post a photo for my latest setup and status in a couple of weeks — just need some time to figure out a few more things.
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How did you get your Yoke and TPM to stay without those clamps! This is exactly what I want to do with mine and especially now with the soon to arrive Saitek Trim Wheel. It will be almost perfect positions. Great kit and post BTW.
Charles.
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Thank you Charles,
I am using screws to fix both Saitek Yoke and TPM in place. Not that difficult. Just need some careful markings and drilling works, which took me about two hours for completion.
BTW, I am switching to CH Eclipse Yoke. It is a lot more difficult to keep it in the same compartment due to its oval shape.
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Tom,
I figured out what the problem was, One of the graphic cards was faulty. I took it out and the spikes stopped. The only issue left is the tarmac stuttering but I think I can fix it.
Thanks
Richard
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Hi Richard, glad to hear that. Hope you can have the problem fixed soon. I’ve been playing a lot these days.
Tom
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Hi Tom,
The spikes are only from the Aircraft and not the surrounding scenery.
When I am in cockpit mode it still spikes around the windshield.
I will keep playing with it until it’s fixed and will keep you posted.
Thanks for helping
Richard
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You are welcome, Richard. I used both AMD and Nvidia cards and encountered some spikes from surroundings before but never experienced your case.
Could be hardware, as you suggest. But still, worth a try to reset everything to minimum and start to search for the cause.
Good Luck.
Tom
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Tom,
I updated my fsx.cfg with your updated version and also set Tessellation off.
I still got the spikes.
Thanks
Richard
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Hi Richard,
Saw your video. Are the spikes from your aircraft only? or they also come from surrounding scenery?
Is your computer system a new built? or any new hardware you just installed?
When did this problem happen?
Can you try disabling the Lens flare, Light Bloom, Aircraft Casts Shadows on Itself, Aircraft casts Shadows on the Ground from Display SETTINGS, and check if the problem still exists?
Also, have you tried running FSX with unmodified fsx.cfg (default setting without tweaks) and fresh ShaderCache, and check if the problem exists?
In your case, all I can suggest now is to run FSX from the minimum setting, and then add in changes bit by bit, in order to identify the cause of the spikes.
Not quite sure if it is the hardware or the software that messes up with something.
Best,
Tom
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Hi Richard,
Received your fsx.CFG. Your system is using a low res monitor. Also the setting isn’t very demanding to both the CPU and GPU.
Try if the modified fsx.CFG helps. I have marked some notes next to my changes.
Also, suggest you to delete your ShaderCache content (c:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\FSX) first so as to rebuild it before your next run with the modified fsx.CFG.
BTW, not sure about your Tessellation with AMD Optimized since I got obvious stutter with this option checked.
Let me know your result.
Best,
Tom
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Tom,
I need your help since you are using ATI cards for you FSX. I am having graphics issues with FSX related to texture spikes or flashes on my screen (Difficult to describe). Below is my setup
AMD Phenom 2 Black edition (6 cores)
ATI Radeon HD 5770 (2) in Crossfire (7.4 Win7 performance index)
Windows 7 x64
8GB Memory
Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5 mainboard.
Do you have any suggestions for me? I like your setup.
Thanks
Richard
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Hi Richard,
May I know your fsx.CFG setup? I’ll try what I can do. An email is sent to you.
Tom
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Hi Tom.
Like your set up! Its quite similar to mine and i notice that you have the same Saitek panels too.
My question is, do you use the Saitek software, Spad or something else? And have you had any problems with the panels? I have problems with the MFD and switch panel either not working at all with the default aircraft; they only seem to work if i first click my mouse on the screen and change the setting first, or in the case of the switch panel, i have to press the switch on, then off, then on again to work! Its really frustrating. I dont have the paid version of FSUIPC which some web forums have hinted may help, but i dont want to spend any more cash if its not going to work. How do you get on with yours? Can you offer any advice? Many thanks :-)
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Hi Steph,
I tried Spad but it didn’t like me so I only run Saitek with default drivers. No other addon. I am using the free version of FSUIPC as well.
Regarding the panels and switches, I don’t know how you set them up. But mine are connected to my PC via a powered 10-port USB hub. The additional power source for the USB hub is important in order to drive the MFDs and switches to work effectively. Without the external power source, I encounter similar problems you described. If you are using a USB hub without a power adapter, you may need one.
Also, I found that if I leave the saitek gears connected to the PC all the time, then, when the PC is powered up, my Yoke is prone to get off-position issue and my other gears may act strangely, such as freezing MFDs, etc.
Therefore, I normally connect my saitek gears ONLY after the first flight is completely loaded up. I do it everytime I play FSX (especially after my PC is power up from off). After that, as long as the power of my PC is on, I can leave the saitek gears connected, close and start FSX repeatedly, without any problem.
But I will ensure to disconnect them when I turn off my PC. Or at least I will ensure they are disconnected before I run FSX after my PC is powered up the next time.
Another suggestion is:
Check the content of your DLL.XML and exe.xml under C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX directory. You may try deleting them and have FSX to rebuild them again. BUT remember to backup them first.
Also, there are similar saitek and FSUPIC entries inside fsx.CFG. You can check, delete and rebuild them again. But the same, backup first.
The last suggestion is:
Uninstall all saitek gears and drivers and reinstall them again. If you have any system cleaning tool, such as Windows 7 Manager or jv16 PowerTools. Use them to remove registry related to saitek after the uninstallation. It helps to ensure your system is clean before you reinstall everything again.
Let me know if any of above works.
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Tom,
I have to say thank you one more time.
I did not expect responses so quickly, and I can tell that you know that you are knowledgeable, and more importantly, care about other people.
Just a few more thoughts. I have a slightly newer motherboard with PCIe 2.0 setting on a shelf, however, that would mean reinstalling Windows Vista and all of my programs, and I am lazy – haha.
I have a very good understanding of overclocking, unfortunately I am using an ancient cooler, that used to be top of the line, that I used on a socket 478 motherboard. A $5 adapter permitted me to use it on my four year old socket 775 motherboard. While gaming the QX9650 temperatures max out at around 58 degrees C this time of year. [By the way, I purchased my QX9650 from ebay and saved over $750.]
I do not like temperatures much above 60 degrees C with this generation of CPU because I want my CPU to last many years. In order for me to overclock it further and keep temperatures low would require a better cooler, unfortuneately, this would also require a new case, because mine is about 12 years old and not designed for large air coolers.
The stock speed for my QX9650 is 3GHz and I am currently running it at 3.33GHz. I have had it at 4GHz, however, temperatures are too high with my cooler.
The reason I have told you these things is because you seem to understand CPU overclocking or at least the advantages of overclocking. And, now, you more understand me and the position I am in with hardware.
As to enjoying FSX in its current configuration, I do, as long as I run it using DX9. I have limited funds, which keeps me from upgrading hardware, and my health is poor, which leaves me ill much of the time, and that is the reason I do not install a different motherboard in order to gain a few FPS – that will probably happen though, and reinstall all the software.
Also, thank you for the info about newer scenery add-ons, such as Blu Sky. I have not used FSX for quite a while and am just getting back into the simulator, and therefore appreciate your help.
Also, I have to say, I love your avatar.
I used to be a commercial pilot and have fond memories of flying. For personal flying I enjoyed light aircraft, and I flew during what I term the twilight of the “golden” days of days of aviation, when lots of GA aircraft were seemingly everywhere, many good people to talk to, and AV gas prices were well below $1 a gallon [U.S.].
I wonder how many people remember paying 65 cents per gallon of AV gas! I guess I am telling my age.
You have made day.
Dan
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Hi Dan, I hate reinstalling everything too. Even though I had image backups of my system from the very first install to a number of different stages, I still don’t want to do it since I still need to figure out what should be and what should not be kept. Regarding CPU cooler, you can consider H70 from Corsair. It’s a plug-n-play liquid cooler. Very easy to install and about USD100. Pretty good for average overclocking. My i7 930 is 2.8GHz and oc to 4G. Average temperature ranges from 50 to 55 degree C in summer and around 40 degree C in winter.
I am not a pilot. The photo I took was in a true-scale flight simulation machine. I was editor of Newsweek Chinese edition and before that, I was editor for some technical magazines. However, I am not really an expert in computer. I just like to research and explore things by myself. FSX is not just my favorite pastime but also something makes up for my dream.
Initially, I just created this blog to record what I’ve found about FSX for my own reference. Glad to share it with others who like FSX too.
Have a nice weekend.
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Tom,
Thank you again.
Note that my motherboard is four years old and uses PCIe 1.1, and therefore yields slightly less fps than a motherboard with PCIe 2.0 or higher.
My screen size is 32 inch, resolution 1360×768
In-game Display Settings:
Graphics:
Target frame rate: 30
Filtering: Anisotropic
Anti-aliasing: On
Global textures: Very High
Lens Flare: Advanced Animations – On
Scenery:
LOD Radius: Medium
Mesh complexity: 75
Mesh resolution: 10m
Texture Resolution: 60cm
Water: High 1.x
Land detail: On
Scenery complexity: Very dense
Autogen Density: Normal
Special effects detail: High
Weather:
Cloud draw: 70 mi/112km
Detailed clouds
Cloud coverage density: Medium
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Absolutely. As long as you are happy and enjoy it.
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Hello Tom,
Thank you for your reply.
I have a few add-on aircraft, and no other add-ons at the moment. I used to have add-on scenery for the world, USA, Canada, & Mexico by Abacus. I found that the world scenery was worse with Abacus than default FSX, so, I uninstalled FSX and reinstalled it a couple of years ago or so.
I have uninstalled a few aircraft that I do not use and am thinking of removing a few more, such as the Cessna 310, which has slightly better low altitude endurance than the Carenado C340 II.
Current screen load times are fairly fast, switching from the C340 to the Beech Baron [that came with FSX] takes about 2 seconds. Switching to the C340 takes about 15 seconds. This is with DX9.
The Carenado C340 II can use DX10. Under DX10 C340 load time actually drops to about 11 seconds.
As I write this I am taking 2 flights in the C340 to Cleveland Hopkins [KCLE], with a turn at SCOTZ intersection, in actual weather. Both GPS and radar were active in the aircraft [and radar works, many people complained about it not working, Carenado must have fixed this issue].
DX10:
At my local airport [KMNN], while setting on the runway FPS ranged from 8.5 to 22, and hovered mostly around 18 to 19 while in cockpit view. Part of the flight was IFR and FPS did not change while in the clouds, and averaged around 18 FPS. While in the cockpit, at KCLE, terminal frames per second ranged from ~ 6 to 16, and generally stayed around 10 fps, and choppy.
DX9:
At KMNN, while setting on the runway FPS at all times was a solid 30 [what I have it set to as target FPS]. In route fps sometimes dropped as low as 27, but was almost always at 30 fps. This time I ran into rain and thunderstorms, with lightning striks close to the aircraft – that made the approach more fun than the first flight. FPS at the most detailed portion of the terminal was between 15 and 17 fps, but still fluid. Less detailed portions of the terminal were 20+ fps.
DX9 viewing was very fluid both inside the cockpit and out, as opposed to DX10, which dropped frame rates from ~5 to 11 outside the cocpit, while airborne in the Cleveland area. DX9 had fps between 27 and 30 outside the cockpit in the same areas, while looking at the same things.
The biggest difference between DX10 and DX9 were DX10 displayed very nice taxiway and tarmac textures around the airport teminal.
Note: Other aircraft saw like fps reductions under DX10.
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You are right that Abacus’ addons aren’t good enough. I’ll fly in default as you do in that case. Actually there are a lot more high-quality addons now than a few years back. You should try them. They add more fun.
Not all are payware, many freeware are very good too. For example, Blu Sky Scenery offers pretty good photo-quality sceneries, if you don’t mind scrificing 3D objects. Netherlands 2000 is another good choice. You can find some information from my previous posts. Hope you like them.
BTW, what is the size of your monitor? Are you running with highest autogen and scenery complexity? Your FPS seems have rooms for improvement on your hardware system. Worth a try with some of the tips and tweaks described here if you haven’t done so. It won’t hurt as long as you make a backup of yours first.
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I recently purchased the Cessna C340 II by Carenado for FSX.
Many people have reported problems with speed reduction or chop during flight and long load times at the selection screen when changing from a plane to the C340 II. This is probably due in part to the massive texture count.
I do not have a problem running FSX, however, the C340 II can use DX10. When I turn on DX10 frame rates drop to the point that I do not use DX10.
My question is, will an SSD improve DX10 [or DX9] frame rate while using the C340 II?
My system has some old components, however, it still performs fairly well:
Motherboard: First [early] edition Gigabyte P35-DS3R, socket 775
CPU: QX9650 @ 3.33GHz
RAM: 8GB DDR2 [1333]
Video: AMD HD 6950
Hard Drives: 2 Western Digital 640GB [outer partition of 1st drive contains Windows Vista, outer portion of 2nd drive contains games and programs]
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Hi Dan, SSD won’t help a lot since FSX is really a CPU-intensive game. SSD can shorten FSX load up time (compared to WD HDDs you are using) but can’t bring improvement on performance. Moreover, if you have installed a lot of sceneries and aircrafts, FSX still takes a long time to load a flight. That’s why I use the Flying Zone approach, trying to slim addons as much as possible.
Using complicated aircraft sometimes is no difference from using high-detail scenery. It could kill framerate. But C340 II doesn’t have any bad-effect on my system. However, I only run FSX in DX9 since I don’t like DX10 which comes with a lot of cons. So I have no idea if there is a big framerate difference between DX9 and DX10 while flying with the C340 II. But I am sure that SSD won’t bring you extra FPS improvements in this way.
SSD, however, could minimize loading time for the selection screen. Also eliminating aircraft models seldom used from the system could improve loading time as well. For instance, I only have one C340 II on my system. For other aircrafts (either default or additional) I only leave those I like or required by the missions in the system. All remaining models are removed.
I was having a similar hardware system as you are now. By reducing autogen and scenery complexity, I had a more than acceptable performance.
Should you need to upgrade for FSX, CPU first, video and SSD second. Overclocking is also not a bad idea if you are comfortable with it.
No doubt, SSD can give you the instance “seeable” improvement in terms of speed. But still, it won’t give you extra FPS in FSX. It is just a storage device anyway.
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I have been using the Plextor 256SSD. Pricey but very fast.
1. System boots in about 20 seconds
2. FSX opens in about 10 seconds.
3. All loads are lightening fast.
HOWEVER, once you start flying, it really doesn’t help with FSX.
I have 2 systems, virtually identical which I use with WidevieW and FSUIPC4.
The NON SSD system is the front and side views and the SSD is the master with all the control inputs.
This is mainly a helicopter, so I have about 75 switches, 20 7segment displays, 20 rotary encoders, cyclic, collective and pedals, 5 LCDs for Panel and GPS and 5 for external views.
So I’d save my money (and am by waiting to get the SSD for system 2 until the price comes down.
System 1
256 SSD
1 x 1.5GB 10,000 RPM disks w/ 64mb cache
i7 on EVGA X58 Classified3 motherboard w/ SATA III interface
2- 9800 GTX 1gb overclocked display boards
1- 8800 GTX Display board
System 2
1 x 1.5GB 10,000 RPM disks w/ 64mb cache
i7 on EVGA X58 Classified3 motherboard w/ SATA III interface
1- 9800 GTX 1gb overclocked display boards
1- EVGA GeForce GTX 570 Superclocked
Monitors
62″ Sharp LCD (front view)
42″ Sharp LCD (right window)
3 HP 24″ Lower view, left window, upper view
2 Xerox 19″ (front panel) 1 is touch screen
2 7″ LCD
1 Mimo 7″ w/ touch screen
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Extraordinary!
You are exactly right that SSD won’t increase FPS in FSX. But if you have a lot of third-party sceneries installed, the beauty of SSD can be seen.
FSX can be a money-sucker once you are obsessed with it.
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Appreaciate for the work you have put into the article, this helps clear up some questions I had.
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Hello,
How did you get ASE and Rex working together?
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I installed REX right after Flight1’s Ulitmate Terrain X and Ground Environment X BUT before any scenery addons.
I only use REX to replace FSX’s default clouds, water and other textures.
If I need realtime weather, I will load up ASE first and then use the link in ASE to run FS.
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Hi there, anyway, thanks for the info!
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Hi tomtsui!!!
Great rig you have!!! I’m happy for you!!
Can i ask you soething? I read that you have 2 SSD drives (i know is redundant) and i’m looking to get some myself.
My question is: how’re you using them? Are you using them for FSX? Maybe as a cache drive in Windows?
Well i hope you could aanswer me!!
Cheers, Ignacio
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Hi Ignacio,
I use one of my SSDs for Win 7 and the other purely for FSX. Both of them are Corsair Nova 128G. I have to balance my computer for work and entertainment.
On the FSX SSD, besides FSX itself, I only install the most demanding and frequently played sceneries and addons, such as Orbz’s NA and AU sceneries, UTX, GEX, etc. Most of my other scenieries and addons are stored on another 7200rpm 1TB HDD. This hybrid setup still allows me to load and run FSX satisfactorily.
In addition to the use of SSD, I also created a number of different fsx.CFG and scenery.CFG pairs which cater for specific regions, for example North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, UK, etc. Therefore, I can customize the tweaks for the best result according to the requirements of all addons in each region. Although it takes a few more steps to switch from one region to another, this method can significantly reduce FSX load up time.
Sorry, it is in the middle of the night and I am tired but still working on a job project. Hope you understand what I am talking about. Haha.
Anyway, I will post some more notes about my customized setup later in my blog.
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