FMS question for the computer savvy here

[vax6335]

I'm trying to run FMS on this computer. It's got:
Win XP MCE
AMD Athlon 1.15 Ghz
256mb RAM
ATI Radeon 7000 64mb

I can start FMS just fine, but the screen stutters, and the FPS is rarely above 100. This makes it almost impossible to control a plane. I would think that the computer I have here is more than enough to run FMS. I've got Direct X 9 on here as well. Any help would be appreciated.

[chris1379]

100 fps is great. It's the stuttering that will crash you. Make sure you close all other programs. If you still have a problem you may need more memory. I ran FMS on a similar setup except with Windows 98 SE. Remember XP is a memory hog. 1GB or more is ideal for XP.

Chris

[Malc C]

256MB RAM is below spec for an XP machine, and it will be constantly using the "virtual memory" which is part of the hard drive as a temporay store. Without knowing the spec of the motherboard I would predict that it uses PC2700 spec DDR memory, and with todays prices you could fit a gig stick for around £50. If you can afford it bung 2 x 1GB DIMMs in it and you'll notice a hell of an improvement in speed and performance

[vax6335]

I had thought FMS would run fine off of 256, but I guess you're right XP probably won't. That sounds like a good fix, I'll try that and I bet it will work.
Thanks!
Andy

[alhakimov]

It's RAM, definitely upgrade to at least 512 (or more if possible) OS does not care about CPU especially when you have a good video card. my $.02

[IPFlyer]

Actually, your PC specs are far more than what MS asks for XP (Home). I've run FMS on similar systems easily.

[Malc C]

OK - *IF* you believe the bull***t on MS's web site

Here's What You Need to Use Windows XP Home Edition
•

PC with 300 megahertz (MHz) or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233-MHz minimum required;* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended
•

128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)

It will load XP but do FA else :)

I have 1.5GB DDR ram in my machine here, the only application running is Firefox and I have a hand full of services running in the background mainly because the machine's on a home network. Yet 500 MB is taken up by these services.

If the machine only had 256 MB it would already be using the hard disk as a virtual memory scratch pad to run the applications (XP tends to give priority to certain system services over applications).

Bottom line - add more memory !

[vax6335]

I hate to dig up this old thread, but I thought I'd give an update. I installed another gig of RAM, and now my specs are this:
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2
System Manufacturer: MSI
System Model: MS-6380
BIOS: Version 1.00
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) Processor, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.2GHz
Memory: 1280MB RAM
Page File: 260MB used, 1258MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

My Video Card is as follows:
Card name: RADEON 7000 SERIES
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RADEON 7000 Series AGP (0x5159)
DAC type: Internal DAC(350MHz)
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (85Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6614 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)

Even with the RAM increase I'm still getting stuttering. It seems to get a little better if I lower the resolution in FMS. My only idea now is that the CPU just isn't good enough. I ran the CPU moniter while playing FMS, and it was maxed the whole time. I wouldn't think FMS would be too much for a 1.2 ghz? Or maybe the 64mb card isn't enough?
Thanks for any help,
Andy

[ggunners]

Pick up a new video card. Even a cheap one will have more memory. FMS version 2 alpha 8.5 uses graphic card memory a lot. Every piece of the graphics gets loaded onto the card, background images, the landscape file, the 3D model and any and all image maps. That's why I still stick with the world.scn landscape file.

One other thing to check is whether you are running any other processes in the background on your computer that are grabbing CPU slices. Check the CPU loading when FMS is not running.

I've had problems with Microsoft Outlook interfering with streaming video before.

-- ggunners

[Malc C]

One thing we didn't look at was if the graphics is a seperate card or a chip on the moterboard and thus uses shared resorces. Personally I would purchase a cheap 128MB Nvidia based card to replace the ATI chipset based card.

[flyx]

you don't need that much to run FMS.

I ran it on intel III .5 gig , 256ram and a voodoo.

check the bios to see if the vedio card is set at 64 instead of 32 or something lower.
Try changing the display setting to 16bit instead of 32bit.

also check other vedio card setting to see if it's not conflicting.

Set Window to basic color...when you're running it.


Clean out cookies and possible start up program that you're not using or are awear of.


I had the same problem with Heli-X...It had crazy FPS (130-200)
Sometimes it'll shoot up to 300...then drops to 15 or stick.
It's not right. I sovled it by runing it at 16bit color.


Disconnect yourself from the net and trun off anit virus software.

When it sticks...do you notice the fan kicking on ?
makesure there's proper ventilation.

I solve the very same problem with the G4. I run it at 16 bit color
with only a 128mb vedio card.
It depends what backdrop images..it's barely notice able on
some sceneries.