Thanks guys for all the great responses. When I say that I have my FSX sliders "maxed out", I don't mean that every slider is jammed to the right. I mean reasonably maxed out, as in Orbx recommendations plus aircraft ground shadows and water 2xhigh (something like that). The sim continues to run smoothly with frames locked at 30 and no studders. I flew from Chilliwack to Tipella (what a great little scenery!) again last night, and then from Felts to Bonners' Ferry to inspect the area prior to the new Orbx release of 65S, and everything was buttery smooth. Very happy. Now, I haven't loaded My Traffic X as yet and the skies seem nearly empty, even with Orbx AI NA traffic, so will probably install tonight. Anyway, the system seems to run FSX beautifully and the slightly lower FPS is just one of those little things that bugs me. Not worried about it, but will chase those few frames, nonetheless.
I know that FSX can only use about 4GB of memory due to its 32-bit limitations (wouldn't a 64-bit sim be nice?), but based upon Jeff's and Doug's recommendations, I want to try MemClean. "An ounce of prevention" you know.
Jeff: This processor is a beast, as you certainly know! I feel like I could run FSX, Photoshop, CAD, 30 Firefox tabs, and edit videos, all at the same time! I haven't tried anything like that, of course, but it can mult-task like nobody's business. It's a screamer! Love it!
Misty's again tonight!