Strange pauses in FS

[FLEX1978 373]

Hi,FS9 has started to act strange on a new PC I have built. My specs Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663)HIS ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express)Now I built this to run FS9 only and for the first couple of days the frames never drop below 50 (but I locked them at 30) even at Aerosoft London heathrow everything maxed Full AA and AF and running the PMDG 747F. However the last few days it seems to have become jerky. Now the frames will jump from 30 to 11 for a split second and back again, as a test I will go into spot view and just rotate around the aircraft using the hat switch, the sim is silky smooth but then slows down and speeds up again like there is an invisible barrier. Checking filemon has not helped and I have changed drivers, Virual memory settings, system restore and checked the BIOS and declocked the processor to no AVAIL. A video would help show my problem but I have no idea how to make one or where to uploasd. Could someone help.Also If I undock the displays to a Second monitor the problem gets a Lot worse. Thanks Rob

[Kimchoc 1]

You could go to FRAPS, get the free version, make a video and put it on Youtube.Other than that, keep reading. There are many threads here with "pauses" and "stutters". Should be something in there to help..There is NO magic bullet.

[FLEX1978 373]

Thanks, I will try that when I get home. Rob

[arthurplum 0]

Just a thought, I had similar problems with my new build, spec's below.Isolated the problem to the detailed clouds setting.Switched to simple clouds and frames stay locked at 30 with pmdg and detailed addon airports.It would appear that detailed 3d clouds with high AA and screen resolutions, can cause some systems a lot of grief.Hope this helps.As a footnote FS9 absoluteley screams on this new rig, after upgrading from a P4 system.Never imagined the pleasure I'd get landing the level-dat Heathrow chock full of AI and all as smooth as butter. All the best garry uk.E6750 at 2.662Gb Geil High performance memoryPNY 8600GTS GraphicsAsus P5K MbCorsair HX620w psu

[FLEX1978 373]

Hi Gary, Thank you for the tip, my old machine could handle full clouds with active sky graphics without any problems. I dont seem to have any problems with Framerates, right now I am doing tests with the aircaft parked at Flytampa Seattle everything maxed and the frames are around 50FPS. I decided to backup my old Fs9 and install again but I have the same problem :( high FPS but a strange jerking motion every few seconds and it gets a lot worse when I try to move displays to another monitor. A week ago I flew Heathrow -Boston and back on this machine without a hitch... I cant see whats changed since then :( Rob

[Ray Proudfoot 8,956]

Hi Rob,I'm watching this thread with interest because I am planning a new system using many of the components you chose.If FS9 was running fine a few days ago and since then you have installed no additional software then it is indeed a strange problem.Perhaps you could take a screenshot of the Processes and Performance screens in Task Manager with FS9 running. I use FSAutoStart to kill non-essential apps and services because even with that amount of muscle you don't want unnecessary programs running.Try setting the frame rate limiter to unlimited. Try also switching to a default aircraft just in case the PMDG747 is doing something.That fact that performance suffers when a second window is opened suggests a driver issue. Have you tried the Omega drivers assuming they're compatible with the 3870X2? They can be found here http://www.omegadrivers.net/Cheers,

[FLEX1978 373]

Hi, This is really strange, the simple cloud option partialy fixed the problem despite having good frames with detailed clouds. I have been having a think and looking at my active sky weather logs, it was clear departing Heathrow and arriving at Boston, so maybe thats why I didnt notice any problems. This brings up a whole new issue, why should I have to turn of detailed clouds after a major upgrade and why are the frame rates so high despite the jerking motion? Also I have tried various drivers, and nothing is running in the background, this new machine is part of a 4 pc network so it is completley clean running FS9 only.Rob

[Ray Proudfoot 8,956]

It sounds increasingly like a graphics driver issue. Control weather manually. Set clear skies and fly around a bit. Is it okay? If so then set a single layer of light cumulus and test again.Work your way up to full overcast or maybe some cumulo-nimbus which is the worst for performance. Once you've established clouds are responsible ask the question on the Hi-Fi forum as their experts may have some ideas.

[january 19]

Rob- FWIW: you mention- "gets a lot worse when I try to move displays to another monitor." I have no idea why, but my triple mon setup is super sensitive to where the mouse cursor is placed.When placed on either secondary mon, the arrow on a popup or view will drop FPS by 15-30% while the arrow is visible. When it disappears FPS goes back to normal. The PCI #3 mon is worst case compared to the AGP mon #2.If the arrow is placed on an unoccupied portion of desktop, same drop in FPS but now the arrow does not disappear and FPS remains low until arrow is shifted. I routinely move arrow back to main view after doing something on #2 or 3.Also have a look at a recent post on the PC/Mac Hardware Forum re "Hardware Accel Slider?" Retarding Hdwe Accel on mons #2&3 was a miracle cure for my stutters/jerks.Alex Reid