With tweaks it's better
 

Last night it was a mess , now with the config tweaks found here the fps are much improved. Still flying over land is a problem - which is kinda a big problem being the core of the sim ( lol ) but flying over water it's smooth and fast. My system is pretty dated too ( 8800GT , 4GB DDR , 2.8ghz )

My system is similar to yours, but none of the tweaks I've tried seem to have improved it. Which ones did you find to be effective?

What resolution? And is this with XP = DX9 or Win7 = DX10?

Ok , first of all I have the settings at 'Performance' in Nvidia control panel the rest i'll just copy and paste. Here is a video example of the fps ( allow for compression ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j0Cfe8ktKo

conf.ini

[window]
DepthBits =24
StencilBits=8
DrawIfNotFocused=0
SaveAspect=0
Render=D3D10_0
width=1280
height=720
ColourBits=32
FullScreen=1
ChangeScreenRes=1

[NET]
speed=100000
localPort=27015
serverName=My Server
serverDescription=IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover
serverInfo1=
serverInfo2=
serverInfo3=
serverInfo4=
VAC=1
maxPlayers=16
socksEnable=0
socksHost=
socksPort=1080
socksUser=
socksPwd=

[Console]
IP=20001
UseStartLog=1
WRAP=1
PAUSE=1
HISTORY=1024
HISTORYCMD=1024
PAGE=20
LOG=0
LOGTIME=0
LOAD=console.cmd
SAVE=console.cmd
LOGFILE=log.txt
LOGKEEP=0

[rts]
tickLen=30
ProcessAffinityMask=15
maxTimerTicksInRealTick=20
; 0 - not use, 1 - show cursor and not capture, 2 - not show cursor, and capture
mouseUse=2
; 0 - not use, 1 - use if hardware exist
joyUse=1
; 0 - not use, 1 - use if hardware exist
trackIRUse=1
DisableIME=0
culture=en-GB

[rts_mouse]
SensitivityX=1.0
SensitivityY=1.0
SensitivityZ=1.0
Invert=0
SwapButtons = 0

[rts_joystick]
FF=1

[core]
DynamicalLights=0 (default =1)
VisibilityDistance=2 (default =4)
ShadowMapSize=3 (default =5)
RandSeed = 0
TexQual=3
TexFlags.PolygonStipple=0
Shadows=1
SpecularLight=2
DiffuseLight=2
DynamicalLights=1
MeshDetail=2
LandShading=2
LandDetails=1
Sky=3
Forest=0
VisibilityDistance=3
LandGeom=2
DrawCollisions=1
Water=-1
Effects=2
EffFlags.Light=1
EffFlags.SpriteRender=0
Grass=-1
CordEffect=1
UseFog=0
UseLandCube=1
UseLandConnectedObject=1
LinearObjectManager=1
Roads=-1
Sun=1
Clouds=1
EffFlags.LightSpritesProj=1
ShadowMapSize=5
TexFlags.AsyncLoad=1
TexFlags.ShowTexture=0
SimpleMesh.SWTransform=0
SimpleMesh.QuadTreeClip=1
SimpleMesh.InstancingHW=1
EffFlags.LightContextSprites=1
CloudsFlags.Detailed=1
TexFlags.CreateHDR=1
Decals=1
EffFlags.SWLight=0
TexFlags.CockpitOnePass=0
MegaTexture=0
TexFlags.Reflection=0
RenderTargetQual=3
MSAA=4
MeshStatics=1
MeshStaticsDetail=1
SimpleMesh.QTNoCompose=0
MeshFirstLod=0
MeshShowLod=0
SpawnHumans=0
TexFlags.FastTransparency=1

[sound]
SoundUse=1
DebugSound=0
SoundEngine=1
Speakers=1
Placement=0
SoundFlags.reversestereo=0
RadioFlags.Enabled=1
RadioEngine=2
MusicVolume=14
ObjectVolume=7
MusState.takeoff=1
MusState.inflight=1
MusState.crash=1
MusFlags.play=1
MasterVolume=14
Attenuation=7
SoundMode=0
SamplingRate=0
NumChannels=2
SoundExt.occlusions=1
SoundFlags.hardware=1
SoundFlags.streams=1
SoundFlags.duplex=1
SoundExt.acoustics=1
SoundExt.volumefx=1
SoundFlags.voicemgr=1
SoundFlags.static=1
VoiceVolume=8
Channels=1
SoundFlags.bugscorrect=0
SoundExt.extrender=0
SoundSetupId=8
ActivationLevel=0.02
Preemphasis=0.8
RadioLatency=0.5
AGC=1
PTTMode=1
RadioFlags.PTTMode=0
RadioFlags.PlayClicks=1
ActLevel=9
MicLevel=10
SoundFlags.UseRadioChatter=0
SoundFlags.AutoActivation=0
SoundFlags.forceEAX1=0
speakers=1

I changed the resolution to 1280x720 , but run 8x FSAA. Also run model detail , decal , shadows and effects at High. The rest low or off.

machoo I have changed the ProcessAffinityMask=15 to 14 that allows windows to use core 0, leaving core 1,2,3 for CoD. Its posted elsewhere that it offers a small improvement.

@machoo

Below [core] you should not add those 3, they are already in the list (little lower) you only need to change the values.

I have similar specs, will try your config!
Thanks! ~S

What OS?
I'm running Win7 64bit.

I'm the same , win7 64bit. Also you can tweak the graphics from the windows control panel , then click 'hardware and sound' then 'nvidia control panel' Then click the 'Manage 3D settings' tab on the top left. Click on 'Program settings' then add the 'Launcher.exe' file from within the Cliffs of Dover install location. You can then do all kinds of enhancements.

I already set everything to performance..

Just a question are you using trackIR?

The framerates I get are just horrible..