I'm new to Flaming Cliffs and having very poor fps. I'm not sure if it's my system or the game itself. Here are my system specs, any help is appreciated and any upgrade suggestions are welcome.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33 GHz
3Gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 Ram
Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS 512 Mb video memory

I would start thinking about a new system.......you could tweak, but your rig is clearly underpowered.

That's what I was thinking as well, I run LOMAC with no trouble at all but Flaming Cliffs 2 was a disater.

Welcome Bobcat,

What are we talking about here as far as FPS? Slideshow or bearable, but just not good (~30) FPS?

I've been running a single core (yes, single core!) AMD FX-57 with a NVIDIA 8800GT card and the computer itself is a whoppin' five years old and the graphics card at least 3 years old. I don't even remember half the specs, because they haven't been sold for years in stores and the memory is so outdated the type isn't even manufactured anymore.

Just flying around (non-combat), my FPS sits between 25-40 typically in FC2 at 1,000 AGL, in cockpit, half sky/half ground with almost all the graphics cranked to its max, including scenes (with lots of buildings and trees on the ground). I also run the sim at 1920x1080 resolution. I have no doubt this system would be brought to its knees in an intense combat arena or low level over a city, but for the most part it runs fairly smooth.

Based on the specs you posted, your system is better than mine aside from the graphics card. That being said, Frazer is right though... you'd be better off considering a new build instead of pumping money into your current machine.

If your system is healthy otherwise, search the ED boards for graphics tweaks that might help you run the sim better. I pulled up this post; give the 'MaxFPS' a try and lower your water textures. Those really kill your frame rates, even if there's no water in view since it's being rendered underneath the terrain regardless.

LD, single core?...........WTF?

Hey guys, took Lawndart's advise, tweaked some things and now we are running much smoother, not perfect much much better than it was. Thanks again.

Got some more tweaking information for you, check out the "DCS Black Shark Tweak Guide Alpha Version".
Although intended for DCS Blackshark, most of it is similar to LockOn FC2.

Either way, I would still start thinking of getting a new computer.