EFIS/EICAS displays and frame rates

[Guest ilh]

PMDG,Can anything be done about the big frame rate impact of the PFD, ND, and EICAS displays? They look great, but on my P3-933 they really kill the frame rates. I'm running at about 7-8fps at altitude in 2D-only model. If I comment out any one of the 3 in the panel.cfg, my frame rate jumps up to 12-13fps. With all 3 commented out, I can achieve my lock of 20fps and everything is very fluid. The thing is, I don't want to fly on standby instruments all the time.One thing of note: the EICAS display hurts the frame rate almost as much as the PFD and ND. The thing of interest here is that the display is relatively static, with only a few small details changing at a relatively slow rate. I would suggest only redrawing the parts of the display that change. I am guessing right now it is redrawing the entire gauge every time. (I do that kind of thing in my TCAS IVSI, and it can really help.) Even on the other displays, particularly the PFD, if the speed tape doesn't move by more than 0.2-0.5 pixels, don't redraw it. Same for ADI, same for VSI. I have a feeling that the great-looking displays could be coded without killing the frame rate so much. Are static parts of the displays (e.g., EICAS scales/labels) kept in an internal bitmap so they can be copied to the display rapidly rather than rerunning GDI/GDI+ code for them? I'd be happy to take this discussion offline with someone from PMDG if it is of interest.Unfortunately, frame rates are most likely to diminish my interest in flying this plane. I am scared to think what would happen to my frame rates when I tack on SquawkBox/VATSIM, FSMeteo, etc., because all that adds an overhead, and I already have no margin.Yeah, I know the answer is to get a faster machine...Lee Hetherington (KBED)

[Guest amerton]

Lee,There is an option in PMDG options to set nice frame rate targets on the PFD ND EICAS gauges. Did you try it out ?anthonyAnthony MertonPrecision Manuals Developmenthttp://www.precisionmanuals.com

[Guest ilh]

Anthony, almost from day 1 I've turned them all the way down to 5 and 2.After some more tuning, basically agressively turning off quality in my 45.x nVidia drivers, I've got 2D frame rate up to 10-13, at least at cruise. The visual quality degradation is very noticeable though in the scenery.I've also done some experiements in the default 737, making my TCAS IVSI as large as the NG LCDs, and I am getting some frame rate hit (17 from 20). Maybe I'm just screwed, but maybe I can live with 10-13. Not sure yet.Lee Hetherington (KBED)

[Guest technobie]

Hi Lee,I'm in the same boat (PIII 933, 1gig ram, ATI 9500 O/C'd) - I found that when flying at altitude from the 2D, I bounce around from 12 - 17 (where it is locked). On the ground at a busy airport, I get 7 - 10 fps. I deal with it for now, but I know your frustration. Don't have the $$ for a better machine right now, so I have to make due. I do notice the frame rate drop when in the 2D cockpit - and an immediate jump upwards when I look outside (left, right, diagonal). Might be stuck with that for awhile...not sure...