frame rates

[janar737 0]

This is a next attempt to get the attention of PMDG experts to get help to solve the problem of very low framerates after undocking of panels to extra monitors in a multiple monitoir setupWhy do you keep so silent, is there a real problem ???Thanks in advance for any helpSee you, Jan

[G7USL 117]

Jan,With all due respect to you, I simply can't understand why you expect a valued software supplier to answer display problems?When I bought FS9, I didn't see anything on the box regarding how many monitors FS9 was intended for, nor do PMDG have any liability for guaranteeing their software will run on systems other than single monitors.They 'do' specify what the minimum system requirements are for running a particular program and if it doesn't work, they will do their damness to make it work and have been successful with their 'Queen'.I am no computer expert, I haven't even had the pleasure of going through an 'IT' course but, I do know that the more hardware you burden your P.C. with the slower it's going to perform. That's not rocket science is it?I hope that someone on PMDG does have the answer your looking for but, the tone that you are now using is hardly the way to attract an reasonable answer.If you want to run multiple monitors, you should accept the limitations.Best of luck?Dave T. .........On the Devon Riviera and active 'FlightSim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

[Guest JoeInCT]

Not sure if this will help. I posted a message about low frame rates and got a reply that made sense. He said that if you use the "shift 1" "shift 2" etc to call up different views instead of the view switch panel, it will overlay the screen and the previous view will still be "underneath." In other words, it is possible that you have windows underneath (not visible) that are eating up processor time and killing your frame rates depending on how you configure your views. Not sure this will help but thought it might be worth mentioning.

[janar737 0]

Hi DaveThanks for your replyHowever I think that things are a bit more complicated.Using multiple monitors with FS is maybe not the standard, but it is so wdespread that you cannot 'ignore' itAlso PMDG had these multiple monitor users in mind while developing the 'Queen', otherwise they should not have added an option for the panelswitcher "To allow undockable overhead panel (MULTI-MONOTOR users ONLY)" . If you then see the resulting 10 fps as Rick describes in his message in this thread, with a PC of almost twice the systen requirements and only the overhead panel undocked to a second monitor, then I thnk that generates questions that 'cry' for an answer.And for my setup, given the result with other planes, I expect, also with the Queen, to get some 'two-figure' fpsSee you, Janhttp://home.wxs.nl/~jarkest/home.html

[janar737 0]

Still strugglig with the low framerates after undocking some panels to other monitors.In that respect can anybody give advice on the following:I do not use/need the exterior views with its hundreds of moving parts.Therefore the question is it possible to load the PMDG 744 (panels, sound, model.cfg etc) without the files ralated to the exterior views and if so will it improve the framerates ?Thanks in advance for any replySee you, Jan

[janar737 0]

Did some further investigation in my struggle with the low framerates after undocking and enlarging panels to extra monitors and found something I want to share and hopefully get some answers to the questions that came up.After starting FS I load the PMDG744 and start loading and undocking a number of panels. As I have a very small main FS window of only about 320x80 pixels, also the undocked panels are at the beginning rather small. In this situation with a main FS window and 7 undocked very small panels I still have a framerate of 19.9 (limit set to 20).Can I conlude from this the the load from the gauges itself is not the problem?The 'trouble' starts when I go enlarging these panels. It looks like there is a direct relation between the total screen area these panels use and the framerate drop. If I enlarge one panel to a full screen area of 1280x1024 the fps goes to about 16, After filling up 3 monitors (almost independent of the panels I use for that) it is down to 10-12 fps and, as mentioned earlier in this thread, if I fill-up all my 5 panel monitors I get only 6 fpsI tried the same this morning with the PMDG 737NG, F1 ATR72 and PSS A320 and none of these show this drop of framerate while enlarging panels to fill my monitors, they all keep the framerate very near (0.1 or 0.2) to the set limit of 20 fpsCan anybody explain why the panel dimension have such a large influence on the load with the PMDG744, while it does not matter much with most other planes? And of course I would be much happier if anybody had a solution, not only for me but for all other multiple monitor users having the same kind of problem.That brings also up my last questeion, are there multiple monitor users that NOT encounter this kind of problem with the PMDG744. If so please come in and tell us how you managed.See you, JanSystem spec A8N-SLI, AMD3500+, 1 GB RAM, 2PCI-Express video cards XFX Nvidia 6800GT and Matros Parhelia APVeFor more details see http://home.wxs.nl/~jarkest/home.html

[G7USL 117]

>>I tried the same this morning with the PMDG 737NG, F1 ATR72>and PSS A320 and none of these show this drop of framerate>while enlarging panels to fill my monitors, they all keep the>framerate very near (0.1 or 0.2) to the set limit of 20 fpsFor what it's worth Janar, I get higher fps with the 744 (with single monitor) then the 'NG's.Sorry I can't help you with your other problems but I will ask a chap in our group that flies with 8 monitors if he has any advice for you.Hang in there mate?Dave T. .........On the Devon Riviera and active 'FlightSim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

[Guest Erups]

>Can anybody explain why the panel dimension have such a large>influence on the load with the PMDG744, while it does not>matter much with most other planes?Just passing by, i do not own the 744 but your question intrigued me and your findings did the final touch.I think, from my experience in computers, that when you see performance vary with the dimension of the rendering area it has something to do with the graphic power required.Example: a simple bitmap draw command would be completed in almost the same time both in 320x200 and in 1600x1200.Given that graphic processing speed of modern video cards is high enough not to let you notice this difference (that is there anyway).But when you put in some intensive calculations (like filtering) the bigger the area the more intensive the calculations.And when a pixel needs some 16 cycles to be drawn (worst case scenario) rendering 3145728 pixels (2048x1536) can require a noticeable time.I repeat that all of this comes only from my general knowledge and your experience.But as i remember there were options, in the PMDG control panel, to smooth out graphics in the 744 (like for example the compass rose truly circular).All of these may be directdraw commands requiring big calcs.And the bigger you drawing area the more resources it needs.These new techniques have been adopted only recently, and not by every developer.The 737ng and the atr72 surely do not use them.>And of course I would be>much happier if anybody had a solution, not only for me but>for all other multiple monitor users having the same kind of>problem.You may try disabling the graphic options available in the PMDG control panel, but this is a wild guess.If the problem really resides in the complexity of the drawing algorithms there is not much you can do.Have you tried using only the 6800 for the panels and leaving out the parhelia?Maybe it's that one that can't cope...Only wild guesses i'm afraid.

[Guest robdebakker]

The 747-400F is released. It also contains an update for the earlier 747-400. Will this update increase the framerates?Thanks for an answer from PMDG support.Rob