Pultacatt...8 or 9 FPS is relatively slow and while it may be flyable, it can not be very fluid - FPS of 20+ is needed for smoothness and this is where the adjustability of the various settings can help...also fsx.cfg tweaks and the reduced textures for clouds and trees - these last two files I personally have found to be vital for FSX playability on my rig.
And if you want the kicker - you really can't tell the difference in the clouds and trees- compared to the noticeable difference you see when you adjust he ingame texture and autogen / scenery detail sliders to the left.
For myself - I don't have a lot of horsepower either so I have to avoid the most extreme models and the most densely populated regions in FSX - I can't go near LAX or Tokyo among others and I can't use Nemeths Helo or A2A's 377 Strat - but that doesn't mean I don't have a good time.
When I first got FSX, even after tweaking and after the Sp1 and eventually Sp2, I could only fly a few default planes and only in island regions like St Maartens and the Aleutians- places that don't tax the rig like big government is about to do us...
Things are better now - but I like fluid framerates (25-30) if I can get 'em but I also like alot of trees and weather and mesh / terrain detail so I still have to watch where and what I fly -
The Aleutians and the Canary Islands - the Greek Isles and the Scottish Highlands and Islands are my friends in FSX...and the Northwest Territory in eastern Canada - the southern tip of Baja California, parts of the Midwest you get the idea :ernae: