Hi
I was constantly fiddling around with the settings inside FSX to find the balance between nice looking, and not getting the "out of memory error".
Using the process explorer I was constantly getting very close to the magic 4GB usage, and even with everything on low settings, I would use around 3.5 - 3.9 GB
What pussled me was that without the rift I could run with everything maxed out, and getting pretty solid framerate. I wondered, did the rift really have such and impact? Framerate I could accept , but why the memory usage?
I then turned my attention to the fly-inside settings and turned my setting down from "high" to "standard" with antialiasing at ultra. Just at that point I realised that my settings all the time had been at high. Suddenly my memory usage dropped to 2.1 GB, and I had framerates of +50 (timewarp always a solid 75/76).
I can now run FSX with ALL settings at MAX (only AI traffic, is set somewhat lower). Memory usage is jyst shy of 3GB only now on all sceneries.
YES , there is a drawback.
it does some impact on the readabillity of the instruments on the dash, but for purely VFR experience, the scenery is absolutely stunning this way.
So if you're gonna fly around in a small GA aircraft and want to enjoy the scenery, go for "standard" setting, max everything out in FSX and enjoy.
If you are gonna fly IFR in 30.000 feet, go for high and and turn all the FSX setting down.
System
Intel i7 - 4.0 ghz 16gb ram
Geforce GTX 760 2gb