FS2000

Welcome to the FSBench Benchmark Test for Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2000!

The benchmarking procedure is used to test you system in a way that allows it to be compared with other systems from around the world. With these tests we try to set every variable in FS2k, so that everyone who runs these tests will have FS2k configured identically. This way you can compare "apples to apples" when comparing your results with those from other systems.

Start by downloading the file fsb-fs2k.zip from the FSBench site, then moving the *.FLT and *.WX files into your FS2000 Pilots directory. By default this will be in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2000\Pilots. If you have installed FS2000 into a different directory, you will have to locate your FS2000\pilots directory yourself.

Next, Print this document. There are many settings you will need to change as you perform the tests, and having a copy of this will be very convenient.

Start FS2000. Go to the default flight (unless you have changed it, you will be sitting on the south end of the Meigs runway in Chicago).

Go to Option/Settings/General and make sure the Flight Time box is checked. We need this to control the time-of-day of each flight you will load.

Go to Options/Settings/Display and set the following:
  Select the video driver you wish to use. Most machines will have only a single one listed here.
  Make sure that Enable Hardware Acceleration, Filter Texture Maps and MIP-Mapping are all selected.
  Select the resolution and color depth you with to test. We suggest that you test 1024x768x16 as the standard test, as it is a common mode of running FS2000. If you have a card with 8 MB of memory or less, you may not have an option for 1024x768, so select the largest setting that is displayed.

Select the Image Quality tab and set the following:
  Texture Graphics: 3
  Terrain Mesh Complexity: 50
  Terrain Texture Detect Distance: 50
  Land Class Complexity: Dense
  Maximum Unlimited Visibility: 120 mi
  Select all checkboxes except Dynamic Scenery. It should be off.
  Scenery Complexity: Extremely Dense.
Click the green checkmark.

In the File Menu, go to Select Flight and find the entry with the name FSB-FS2k-1. Select it and press the green checkmark. This will load the flight, weather, time of day, etc. You should be positioned outside the plane as it passes the Chicago skyline. This flight will start paused, so you should press the "p" key to unpause it. If your program asks for a CDROM to be inserted, make sure you do it. Do not cancel this operation, as you will not see Chicago but a flat field of grass. Don't mess with your joystick throttle after the flight has loaded.

Press the Alt-Enter key combination to enter the full-screen mode. This is necessary to ensure that you will be observing the program while running at the resolution setting you entered. If you run the program in a window, as many do, please make sure that you know the resolution of the window. For example, if my screen resolution is set at 1152x864, then the program is running at that resolution only when the program window is maximized. For this reason, it is far better to run in full-screen mode and be sure of the resolution settings.

The frame rate should be displayed in the upper-left-hand corner of the screen. If it is not, press Shift-Z until it is.

Observe the frame rate. After about 15 seconds, you will pass the John Hancock Building, a tall black building with sloping sides and two tall red-and-white radio masts on top. Note the frame rate as the propeller of the plane passes in front of the building. This frame rate is "FSB1". You are done with test 1.

To set up for test 2, we need to change the following Display settings (Options/Settings/Display/Image Quality):
  Land Complexity Class: Extremely Dense
  Maximum Unlimited Visibility: 60 mi

Now Select the next flight, FSB-FS2k-2. Again you will be on an ILS approach (under autopilot control) into SFO, so you won't need to fly the aircraft yourself. In the upper-right-hand side of the panel is the ILS Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) display, in nautical miles. It will slowly count down. Observe the frame rate when the DME displays 6.0 nm. This is "FSB2".

To set up for the last test, go to Options/Settings/Display/Image Quality and set the Overall Image Quality to 4.

Select the flight names FSB-FS2k-3. This is another ILS approach (into SEA-TAC 34R), this time in the B737. Again, watch the DME, located now in the upper-left-hand corner of the HSI (horizontal situation indicator) in the lower center of the panel. Observe the frame rate until the DME reads 7.0 nm. This is "FSB3". 

You are done with the tests! You can rerun them at a different resolution if you wish.

Now calculate your average frame rate, called "FSB", by adding FSB1 + FSB2 + FSB3 and dividing by 3.

Now go to http://avsim.com/fsbench, select the Report System link (in the left-hand frame), and enter your Report.

You're done!

Thank you for participating in the FSBench Benchmarking effort. Many simmers will look at your Report when they are shopping for new hardware, and many others will find they have some setup problems they should fix to make their system run like yours. So from FSBench and the flight sim community: THANK YOU!

Bruce Wilson
FSBench
http://avsim.com/fsbench
b.e.wilson@usa.net