FSX.CFG Tweak Review: HIGHMEMFIX

FSX. There are very few fsx.cfg tweaks that I actually recommend. The reason for this is simple; most effective tweaks have a downside that often counteracts any positive benefits. In my last article, I talked about Bufferpools and my experiences with this tweak. If you read the article, you will remember my final consensus was to forget the Bufferpool tweak as the good did not outweigh the bad. This time around, let’s take a look at Highmemfix, a tweak that I highly suggest for all users.

The read the first part of my tweaking series regarding bufferpools - click here

Now before getting into Highmemfix, I must say this regarding performance tweaks. Performance tweaks have always been a double edged sword when it comes to FSX. Many users swear by tweaks such as Bufferpools, Texture_Bandwidth_Mult, AffinityMask, and Fiber_Frame_Time_Fraction. Accordingly, I will address these popular tweaks throughout my tweaking review series. Today however, I would like to focus on a tweak that has nothing to do with performance and everything to do with stability and texture loading.

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Highmemfix

Perhaps the only tweak I recommend for all users is Highmemfix. Now in reality, this is less of a tweak and more of a general fix. In essence, this change to the fsx.cfg file allows FSX to better/properly handle texture addressing modes when using high levels of video memory. Users who experience texture loading problems including the dreaded black squares may benefit from this change, especially when using more sophisticated aircraft over longer flights. This tweak has also been known to help with disappearing objects in demanding video memory situations.

The reason I highly recommend this tweak is because there are no negative effects, at least from my personal experience. I have heard of users having the odd problem when using ENB, however, I have never experience this anomaly myself. In my opinion, the Highmemfix line should be added to everyone’s fsx.cfg file. Best case scenario you experience better texture loading and more stability in demanding video memory situations, worst case you notice nothing.

Highmemfix must be added manually to the fsx.cfg file as shown below:

[GRAPHICS]
HIGHMEMFIX=1
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Now we haven’t solved the world’s problems with Highmemfix, but perhaps we have made your FSX just a little bit better. Next article will be back to the popular performance tweaks, stay tuned.