I built a new workstation PC specifically for doing development work on FS9 using Windows XP to avoid all the issues with using FS9 and various FS9 addons with Windows 7. This has proven to work great except for one nagging issue. It seems that the latest ATI drivers for their 6900 series graphics cards when used with Windows XP do not apply any of the 3D settings such as anti aliasing to FS9 when run in window mode. In full screen mode the images and frame rates are outstanding, but in window mode the images have a bad case of the jaggies. Apparently this is a known problem that has been corrected on the latest drivers for Windows 7 and 8, but not for Windows XP.
Has anyone that uses an ATI 6900 series or other newer ATI graphics card with FS9 and Windows XP developed and/or found a workaround for this issue? I have searched high and low and the only workaround I can find is to backtrack to an outdated set of drivers from before this issue existed, which I really don't want to do.
Firebird wrote:Sorry Mike, I have no experience of ATI cards.
Steve,
This ATI 6950 card works great with FS9 and Windows XP Pro in full screen mode, but doesn't work at all in windows mode. I think this is probably caused by ATI no longer seeing the need to update the drivers for Windows XP as aggressively as they do those for Vista and Windows 7. Unfortunately this windows mode issue forces me to do a lot of my FS9 AI FDE development work with ugly looking AI aircraft, but it is what it is. Someday I might just bite the bullet and also install Windows 7 or 8 in a dual boot configuration on this workstation PC.
The FlightSim PC with Windows 7 Pro that I built last winter just for flying also has an ATI 6950 and it works great in both full screen and windows mode. This allows me to un-dock the panel window and drag it down into a lower 24" touchscreen monitor and have a great full window view of the outside world in my upper 27" monitor.
