My new system is a PIII 750E (133) Coppermine (not overclocked yet), on a ASUS P3C-E (i820 chipset) board (with 4x AGP). I purchased 256 megs of RAMBUS DRAM, 800mhz, ECC (cost $600 x 2). My VC is an ELSA GeForce DDR. I am using Windows 98SE, and Direct X7A.

I didn't realize that my original configuration had such limitations. The BX board is very limited to 100 mhz. And the PIII 500 is not nearly as fast as the coppermine processors. Also, the problems with Matrix G400 has been well documented.
Also, as you can imagine, RDRAM running at 800mhz instead of 133 or 100mhz, will make quite a considerable difference.

Intels new chipset, the i820, is worth investing in, even if one adds only a 550 Coppermine processor. The RDRAM is very expensive and some may want to wait. I didn't. The Elsa DDR speaks for itself.

Well the verdict is that FA18 runs SMOOTH AS SILK on my new system. I have never been interested in knowing the hard numbers so unfortunately I cannot provide any frame-per-second information. Just let me say that I was one of the biggest complainers about the graphic quality of JFA18. On my old system, at times it was like watching a slide show. Whenever getting close to the carrier on landing, the FR would slow down so much that it was unbearable. Now, the pavement just rushes up and smacks me in the face.

One reason I wanted to post this is because I have read many rumors that the framerate in JFA18 is not improving even with a killer system. Well, those rumors are not true. Right now, I am running at totally smooth frame-rates, with NO stutters or discernible slow-downs. I am seeing at least a 200% improvement.

The only conclusion is your old system must have had some major issues (however the faster CPU will help in F-18). The G400 is a good card, and should be pretty close to the GForce in F-18 due to F-18 being so bottlenecked in the CPU (I could be wrong on this as I have only relative data to draw upon).

Gambit21 and others who use the word "smooth."

my sys specs

Athlon k7 @800 mhz
256 megs of pc 133 ram
fic sd-11 mb
diamond tnt2U
Right now I am fill rate limited by the tnt2 If I was to purchase a geforce ddr I am sure the fps would jump to 30 or better on the runway.

100% correct <G>

... and to add fuel to the fire 10fps in JF-18 is not 10fps in F4.

one is 'smooth' enough to be tolerable the other(F4) stutters ad nauseum <G>

FAngs32,
currently sailing along at 744mhz on a bxrV2.
AND LOVING IT <GG>

Also, Dell is not "claiming" the RDRAM runs at a 800mhz speed, Intel, ASUS, and RAMBUS have DOCUMENTED that it runs at increments of 600, 700 or 800, depending on what you purchase.

You really don't have to wait to go to 800Mhz at a good price!
If you buy a P3 600E it will very readily overclock to 800Mhz by increasing the FSB to 133Mhz (6*133 = 798). You will need a good mobo like the ASUS P3V4X and some PC133 DIMMS. I'm running one at the moment with stock cooling and it hasn't locked or crashed once.

Smooth, stuttering, whatever is all relative. I'm telling you, it is amazing what you may think is serious stuttering, another may consider it smooth as silk. I have been there watching what I consider to be a slide show and hearing the person say, "Wow, just like a movie." I've also been on the other side where it is plenty smooth and the other says, "It is so choppy I can't play it."

Please understand I am not yanking your chain and I WANT to be wrong on this one, so any data you can provide would be a great help.

As far as the memory goes, saying it is running @800Mhz is misleading and a great marketing trick. RD400 Ram = PC100 Ram assuming everything is perfect. RD800 Ram offers 50% more bandwidth than PC133. This is because RDxxx ram is only 16 bits wide, whereas PC100 (133) Ram is 64 bits wide. RDRam is also has very high latency when compared to PC100, which hurts it even more.

I have run my own tests on various sims that show running a motherboard @133 Mhz only offers a 1-5% advantage than running it at 66mhz, assuming all else is equal. Some sims, however, respond well to faster memory (the best I've seen is a 1/2% increase in realized speed for ever 1% faster Mhz).

You're seeing a big improvement because your CPU is 50% faster than your old on and, perhaps, the DDR card is doing better than the G400. I have a DDR card and love it, and did have a G400. I never benched the two in F-18, but I didn't seem to see any improvement with the DDR. I bought the DDR because MPS has stated that B-17II will support it and I was upgrading from a Voodoo. I returned the G400 and purchased the DDR.

When I overclocked my system to 750MHZ, I was shocked to see at 640x480 with details maxed, that the average FPS on the deck was about 14FPS. Turning it up to the same details and 1024x768, results did not differ, and FPS were in between 14 and 15(it's hard to tell at 1024x768).

Maybe it is my system, but really I think it's Jane's trying to keep the sim looking good 2-3 years down the road. Remember F-15? Playable on a 200MMX, which was nearly the best system at the time, but definitely not up to T.V. speed. Even on a PII 400MHZ, using Flying Muffins nuke, FPS came to 1FPS when you flew into that black cloud the nuke made. Even now, my system has trouble coping with the nuke in F-15.

Maybe it's poor optimization, maybe my system isn't up to snuff I just think that the guys who created this sim packed it full of features maybe knowing that this maybe the last hard-core jet sim for a looong time. Feel the drought coming? So do I...

SG

Windows95 OSR2.5
DirectX7.0a
Athlon 550 o/c 700 1/2 cache
Microstar MS-6195 K7 Pro-64 clock gen
128MB SDRAM 7ns
ASUS V3400TV 16MB(5.08 Detonator drivers)
Turtle Beach Montego
Seagate Barracuda 10.2GB ATA66 7200RPM 512K(7.6ms access time)
Creative Labs PC-DVD 2X/20X

Damn! Beaten to the post again!

What I find interesting about the original posts and others like is that I only have a lowly AMDk62-450@500, v3-3000, 128mb Ram.

I've installed a proggy called PC Accelerator 4000 and now F18's campaign is playable. I've used it for the past week with no problems or lockups at al.

But my post is not about this proggy. Its about priorities. I payed a WHOPPING $24.95 for F18 through janes...and $50 for Flanker2. I guess our priorities are different as there is no way I will spend all that money just to get a game to run smoothly.

1. I don't have that much money.
2. I just don't see the point in spending so much for something that is only a game that cost 25 bucks.

I'm glad you guys are all enjoying your new systems. I bet they rock and F18 rocks with it. But once again in a few years time it will be the same crap with another sim we are all saying is too slow...THEN WE UPGRADE AGAIN. Its a cycle. We get these systems thinking how awesome it'll run F4...then it does run F4 great. Next thing you know...F18 comes out and our system is crap....forget that mess. cux it never changes. No matter what system we have the developers will make it crawl cuz of all the newr features we can put in....so we get a new system.

I'll wait til prices drop on some of those p3's to an affordable level for me...believe me which is pretty low.

How true! $25 for a game and $1000+ to upgrade the FPS. I think the Frame Rates are porked anyway in JF-18. Runs fine on my O/C Celery 366mhz to 562mhz.

I guess that some people are just looking for the Holy Grail, anyway, more power to them.

I think that Janes made a mistake in making the FPS available even though Fraps is available.

I am getting 10 to FPS with my system with no stuttering.

Oh Welllllll.

Obviously you are loaded man 256MB RIMM, my my my!!! If I were you, I would probably spend it on 1Geez CPU rather than RIMM.

I haven't tested fps when runing F/A 18, but it seem OK on my dear old P3 450, but I do have quite a size of RAM, 512MB.

Well, if you think it is well worth it, who can blame you. Good for you, mate and Carry on!!

As far as cost, this is my hobby -- computers. I used to be into stereos. I spent thousands of dollars on the best speakers, receiver, amp, etc., and then did the same thing in my car. Before that it was cars. I bought an 85 Corvette and tricked it out. After computers it may be something else. I recently started playing the Tenor Sax, and am currently looking for a vintage Selmer sax, which will cost me about $5,000.

The is something that makes my wife tremble. My next hobby is motorcycles. I want a Harley FATBOY motorcycle, and I'm going to be one of those weekend warrior dudes, who during the week wear suits, but during the weekends wear leather.

No problem really with what you want to spend YOUR money on. Its just my opinion about how much I'm willing to spend.

I figure that in a couple of months when P800 prices come down, I'll build a system about it. Or if I can summon the courage, around an Athlon. But until then I'm stuck with what I have.

BTW in JF-18 I get 8-15 FPS in the training missions. In some missions, going HUD-only jumps my rate from 10 to 20! In Falcon 4 I get about the same, maybe a little higher. I have yet to hit the campaign in either sim though, so I'm sure the numbers will take a big hit when I get there.

Somebody made a comment that Jane's should not have put the FPS counter in the game...well even though it's there, doesn't it feel like it was hidden? It's not in the list of commands anywhere, and when you do turn it on, it's hidden under the flaps indicator on the HUD and almost impossible to read.

Do you drive down the street and see someone with two jet-ski's being pulled behind a Cheep Cherokee and say "look at that self-indulgent person." Of course not.

What's your point SwampFox. That I have hobbies. Is there a middle-aged man that does not. Some have ski-boats, some have 4 wheeler ATV's, some have huge mobile homes. Big deal. Are you trying to perpetuate the typical, liberal "class-envy" debate. My point was not to brag. My point was to illustrate that this is fun, it's lighthearted, it's a hobby. People are taking it so seriously. Chill-out!

And let me say just for the record, and this comes straight from the heart. Who cares what you think. You can agree, not agree, flame, not flame, emulate, not emulate, follow, lead, or do whatever you want. I could not possibly care any less then I do right now. People on this forum take things too seriously. Regardless if you are playing Quake 3, or the most hard-core SIM, still it's a GAME. Treat it like that.

No this is not an issue to me. I too have dropped more into this pursuit than perhaps I should. I am very content with what I have and it works more than well here for me. My immediate reaction to one of your posts simply generated from you slamming a fellow simmer even to the point of suggesting he sounded like a liberal...as though that was some affliction, as copmared say, you. I was amazed how you reduced that person to a sterotype so quickly. Thats all, plain and simple.

As to opinions and views...well, that was the other matter. As I stated, I have read countless posts from you slamming this simulation. Now all is forgiven. Actually there is nothing wrong with this either. Perhaps other simmers that dis-like FA-18 for the performances issues will take heart and they too will up-grade and be won over. Sad, you weren't able to come to that conclusion and simply up-grade quietly huh?

No Cruise, I am not upset, jealous or mad about anything...just slightly amazed I guess. On to other business, this matter seems worked over well enough. For it still just a simulation, not worth going to battle over and raising cane about...right?

PS...coming "straight from the heart" I know you don't care what others think, you've demonstrated that significantly over time in this forum.

After some of those comments I'm sorry I mentioned my opinion. Cruise, it was never meant to slam you or to get others to do so. I'm sorry for the kinds of responses it has caused.

Let me also address one other issue. I DID have complaints about FA18 initially. Like many others. I disagree that I was the notorious complainer as you suggest. I resolved my problem. I will say that again. I resolved MY problem. My point of this post was to tell others that Frame-rate issues are OUR problems, not problems with the GAME itself. That's all.

Michael Baxter
1615D E. 8th St.
Stillwater, OK 74078