Frame Rate Performance and Stutters

[RonC 0]

Hi Gang, I just recently upgraded to version 1.3 to install the new -800 & -900 Series aircraft. After installing my frame rates for the even the original series went down the tube and it stutters really bad. When I switch to other aircraft, such as the PSS Airbus and Captain Sim 727 the frame rates are great and no stutters. I also notice that when I turn off the NG panel thru the battery switch the frame rate increase dramatically and the stutters are gone. I really am at a loss for what to do. I uninstalled and re-installed but that did not work. I would have to suspect the gauges and I realize they do suck up a lot of resources but I did not have any problems with the orginal series. Any suggestions would be appreciated. My system is a Intel P-4 2.8Ghz w/ 1 Gig of ram and an ATI 9800 Pro 128.Thanks AgainRon C

[dfish 1]

Hi Ron,I've got a similar system and I'm getting 18-27fps depending on the scenery density. One strange thing on my system, when I choose spot view my fps go down to about 10, but if I hit ALT the fps jump back to 25. Strange. Have you tried new video drivers?Dave FisherCYYZP4 2.8 GB 478P 533 MHZ CPUP4P800S Asus Motherboard512 DDRGeforce Ti 4200/128Maxtor 80 Gig ATA 133 HDhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/ng_driver.jpg

[RonC 0]

Hi Dave, Yes, I have the latest drivers installed. What is perplexing is that the frame rates really arent the issue except that they average around 25 fps but then will dip into single digits. The stuttering is more of an issue. It like pulses every second, you can sync a clock with this thing. I'm thinking of blowing off FS and re-installing the whole enchilada (which I don't want to do). Another thing is I have no programs (TSR's) running in the background. Hmm. I'm sure we'll figure it out somehow. ThanksRon CIntel P-4 2.8 Gig1 GB PC3700 Dual Channel RamATI Radeon 9800 Pro128MB19" MonitorSB Live ValueForcefeedback StickIs it ever enough?http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/supporter.jpg

[Mats_J 2]

RonTry to disable the sound and see if you notice any difference!Cheers,

[Guest Nickman]

Actually performance is based upon graphics card and your CPU processor. The only main role RAM playes in MSFS is basically just faster loading. The CPU (processor) and graphics card do the rest. Your graphics card and processor looks good enough to handle it with fair performance.But one thing you may want to try is take out the clouds. I'm having a problem with only the 800/900 were it stutters badly if there are clouds. I can either make it clear weather or crank the cloud 3D down to about 50%. Try doing the same and see if it helps any since our processors are about the same speed (an AMD 2.2 ghz is about 2.8 ghz w/ Intel).Nick B.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg--AMD Athlon XP 3200+ @ 2.25 Ghz (405 mhz FSB)nVidia GeForce FX 52002 x 512 PC400

[Mats_J 2]

NickI guess you didn't intend to answer my post to the original posterBut if you did:I tend to disagree with you on this point. With some sound drivers and sounds and add-ons, sound seem to take up quite an amount of system resources.I've personally seen some pretty drastic performance boosts with disabeling the sound so this is a valid question, and a valid action to take when trying to tweak your system.You are right about the clouds. But that will grind the computer to a halt at least that's what's happened on my computer. Not give sudden stutters as was desribed by the original poster.Cheers,

[Guest Nickman]

It was just intended to anyone with a question about performance. But you're right, sound is a big issue with framerates. It's just a pain to set the sound to a lower level.But of course in my opinion I would rather decrease sound quality for better performance/image quality.Nick B.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg--AMD Athlon XP 3200+ @ 2.25 ghz (405 mhz FSB)nVidia GeForce FX 52002 x 512 PC400

[garydpoole 183]

Hi rayI'm glad you posted this issue as i've noticed the same problem - after installing the 800/900, i was 'pretty sure' that performance in 2d view had dropped by about 5fps, 3d view even more but wasn't 100% sure. After loading up pmdg's cold & dark flight (which is giving me another unrelated problem) i noticed fps had upped back to it's pre 800 installation value. However, like yourself, once the gauges are fired up, the performance drops off again.I find this slightly frustrating as i've read numerous forum posts regarding increased performance due to "reduced required texture memory and nearly 12000 fewer polygons for improved frame rates" - and all i see is a reduction in performance.I know this doesn't help solve your issue but at least it shows you're not alone !!!RegardsGary

[miguelpp 25]

Hi all.My experience is a bit different, fps are higher (4-6 fps up, Seattle 34R, 2D panel...) , but the take off roll, with the 2d panel view stutters a little compared to 600-700.Regards.Miquel Egea.

[oqvist 11]

No it

[alfou 0]

Same here for the stutters...every 1 or 2 sec....Thought it was a problem of my own, but I realise I'm not alone........but....don't solve the issue....RegardsAlain

[jjeffreys 12]

Same problem here 5-10FPS lower and stutters all over... oh well they will get it worked out they did the first time around right :)

[Guest fs3tofs9]

I'm also seeing a "pulsating" (close to periodic) type stutter that you described in another message in this thread, especially during the takeoff roll...about every 3/4 of a second. The stutters don't show up on my frame-rate counter. That is, the counter stays pretty constant at an acceptable frame-rate level, and does not drop when I get the stutter. When I switch back to default aircraft the problem goes away. My system is an AMD 64, 3200+ w/ 1 Gig of ram and an ATI Pro 128.I see it in the following test situation:737-800 virtual cockpit at O'hare, runway 27L for takeoff during winter (winter textures). Everything "to the right" except:Broken clouds (3-d = 70% and coverage = full) (using high-performance cloud texture replacement). Visibility = 60 miles, clouds visibilitn = 50.Ultimate Traffic (AI = 70%)Texture complexity = 70%Autogen = very dense?? (second to highest setting)No water textures (i.e., land and water effects = high)Gloabl aircraft quality = highNo aircraft shadows.Target framerate = 17 (I see approx. 10 fps during takeoff)Resolution = 1280 x 1024 (32-bit color). Global texture size = high (not 100%)Trilinear on and anti-aliasing unchecked (using ATI control panel setting).Roland F.

[RonC 0]

This is the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Before I installed this program I had over 5 gigs of space on this particular partition. Then I noticed that it started shrinking. Hmm! The next thing, XP notified me that this particular partition is completely full. Hmm! So I moved some non-essential programs to a different partion, which freed up a couple of gigs. So I fired FS back up chose the -900 then away I went. About 10 min into my flight It bogged down so bad that FS was rendered useless. So I closed it and guess what? I was out of space on this partition again. This is a 10 GB partition, what the (&^*&^ is going on here? So I then moved the complete FS9 folder to another partition then formatted the one that it was originally on. Moved every thing back, checed the partition, I now have 5GB of free space. So I thought I would do a little experiment. I fired up FS to a non PMDG aircraft. I went with the PSS Airbus A320, after about ten minutes of flying I minimized FS checked the partition and no change what so ever. I closed the session and started a new one with the PMDG -900. As soon as I loaded this aircraft I noticed an unusual amount of activity on my HD. I then minimized FS to check the partition and It's now shrinking. After going back in I decided to pushback. It stuttered really bad in one second pulses. I looked at the HD LED and it's pulsing every second. I minimized again and looked at the partition and it's almosted gone again. Switched planes and it was smooth as silk and there was very little if any HD activity. Something in this program is filling up my HD and I have no idea why. I'm going to forward this thread to PMDG support and hopefully they can take a look at it. In the mean time I will remove this program re-install the old version until a solution if figured out. If this is whats happening to you then we need to let them know as well. Ron CIntel P-4 2.8 Gig1 GB PC3700 Dual Channel RamATI Radeon 9800 Pro128MB19" MonitorSB Live ValueForcefeedback StickIs it ever enough?http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/supporter.jpg

[Guest fs3tofs9]

I found out that I had a big problem -- I had neglected to install my AGP mini-port drivers for my none-Intel chipset when I was building the system. It made a huge difference in framerate. Everything is much smoother now due to massively better (+10) framerate but I though I still noticed some stuttering. I'll have to re-evaluate.