Okay
So, turned off Speedstep and C1 stuff in BIOS. Getting massive frame rates using the in-game fps counter. In the mission Gauntlet, I am getting between 25fps on the landing pad in F3 view to around 140 if I look up at my heli and all that blue sky. Averages between 40 and 80 in the cockpit view.
So far - so fantastic. However, when I come across all the AA guns etc, the frame rate tanks into single figures and I usually end up a flaming wreck on the ground.
Sigh. Here's what I have done so far - Removed stereoscopic drivers, installed latest Beta drivers for vid card, turned frame buffer (?) down to 0, updated chipset drivers, removed excess USB items, changed items listed above in BIOS, defragged my hard disk and reinstalled BS into a different directory.
TBH, the only thing I think I can try is the chipset drivers, because they stubbornly refuse to update properly. I am running them as administrator, but they all still say (with one exception) 2006 as a driver date.
Sorry to keep banging on, but I love this sim immensely, but I cannot complete a mission as it stands. It is hard enough to control with my stupid antiquated joystick, without things turning into a slide show.