Guru expert needed

[Guest Alphahawk3]

I have posted twice now about a sound problem...it is not a sound problem. All sound devices are removed from computer and drivers are uninstalled. It is the generation of ATC speech being sent to the ATC display....and even if I turn off the ATC portion of the speech text log on the screen the stutter still comes when they respond to my acknowledgment or request....you can tell this as you wait a few seconds and since I have ATC text turned off I get the stutter followed immediately by the text waiting for me to select my reply options. Sometimes when I reply I get a stutter also. Keep in mind all sound is disabled...all that is happening is the sound request are being generated and sent so it has nothing to do with the sound it has to do with the ..I guess it would be a wave file created to make voice in ATC and why is this conflicting with my graphics card? Don't let the turning off of ATC text log confuse anyone...I wanted to see if it was the text log causing the problem...it is not...it is the asked and or returned audio type file being sent or asked. I hope this makes sense but I can't stress enough that it has nothing to to do with sound and only the generation of voice files to be sent to a sound device are causing my stutters...why would this be? It is a random thing but it will happen several times in a flight. I can force it to happen ...lets say if I am taxing and not moving straight ahead and am turning and ask for ATC then it will for sure stutter. When I am flying it may or may not stutter when flying a straight path but if I put it into a turn and ask for ATC or get an ATC message while in a turn you can count on a stutter. Also I can be flying and not using ATC for myslef...no ATC window up....just tuned to local tower listening to other aircraft and will sometimes get a stutter when ATC is talking to other aircraft. I have never had this problem in FSX or FS9...needless to say I am going nuts over this. Here I am..if I want to fly without ATC I can do so completely stutter free....and something pops up that causes stutters that in all my searching about I can't find a single other situation like this...and believe me I have searched forums and Googled until there is nothing left to read. I even set all sliders in FSX to to as low as they would go so as to free up all I could...no traffic...water...clouds...nothing....just a barren looking landscape and runway....still the same test results exactly. This happens at any airport I choose....big or small. I just can't see this being the graphics card as I get crisp sharp displays and stutter free with high settings....plus not text or graphics are being displayed...to me it has to be some conflict but I don't know how to find it..I need help. Regards

[sargeski 16]

Alphahawk3,How are your hardrives configured in your BIOS....RAID, AHCI or IDE?? If you have them configured for RAID or AHCI that could be part of your problem.

[Guest Alphahawk3]

Alphahawk3,How are your hardrives configured in your BIOS....RAID, AHCI or IDE?? If you have them configured for RAID or AHCI that could be part of your problem.

No..they are IDE...SATA. Thanks for trying to help though...can't seem to get a lot of feedback on this...I don't think it is a common problem.

[bobbyjack 61]

Alphahawk3Please post your specs,Bob

[Guest Alphahawk3]

Alphahawk3Please post your specs,Bob

i7 920..clocked to 3.6.... but set it back to default and same problem....6 gig DDR3 1600 Ram...9600GT Video card....two 7200RPM 500 gig HDD..one dedicated to FSX....Asus P6T Deluxe M/B...SoundMax on-board sound or Sound Blaster Audigy..as I like. Wireless keyboard and mouse. If I leave ATC off not a stutter in sight...unless I do a 4 foot drop flare out...in other words if I do a proper landing it is smooth as silk but if I flare out and am too high and drop I get a stutter...which I think is understandable. I can come in too hot and as long as the flare is good it is smooth and I can do a hard turn 600 feet ASl and not a stutter in sight...I just don't get it unless it is the GPU....whcih I admit is a bottle neck for this setup. I know I need a 260 or better. I have seen the 512meg of memory saturated at YMML...so that is no good. Food for thought. I re-installed all...checking it each step. It did not come in until I installed SP2 for FSX...so it is not any of my add-ons. I had SP2 on my old P4 and this never happened so I don't think that is the problem. Thanks for any advice. Regards

[sargeski 16]

Alphahawk3,Go to the following link and read the entire page on checking DPC latency. Download the DPC Latency Tool, Run FSX in windowed mode, fire up the DPC Latency Tool and let us know how your latency looks when FSX is running.http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

[Guest Alphahawk3]

Alphahawk3,Go to the following link and read the entire page on checking DPC latency. Download the DPC Latency Tool, Run FSX in windowed mode, fire up the DPC Latency Tool and let us know how your latency looks when FSX is running.http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

Now thats what I am talking about!! Thanks...this looks like it can tell me a lot. I will fly around and do my ATC calls and see what shows up...thanks a lot. I will report back...no matter my findings....I really appreciate the help. Regards

[Guest Alphahawk3]

Alphahawk3,Go to the following link and read the entire page on checking DPC latency. Download the DPC Latency Tool, Run FSX in windowed mode, fire up the DPC Latency Tool and let us know how your latency looks when FSX is running.http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

The highest it ran at was 862 micro seconds...not even into the yellow...and only for a spike. During several hours of flight the latency stayed at an average of betwen 60 and 80 micro seconds....very little according to the app. You could see the spike come when the hesitation would come when ATC would contact me...keep in mind this does not happen 100% of the time and it was worse in some places more than others. I suspect..but am not sure that my 9600GT just cannot handle the 920 CPU with FSX....but I could be way off base on why this happens. But it is not coming from sound card...drivers. But as all of us on budgets I will have to wait a while to prove my theory. I followed the guides from the web page and document and turned off sound...and other devices that I could disable and still work....it would still happen. I would also watch CPU usage while watching the Latency window and could not correlate it to the CPU struggling....on the ground sometimes when I get this the CPU is only at 26%. Of course I understand we are really talking about somethign other than a weak CPU. I sure appreciate your help in this. Will continue testing. Regards

[bobbyjack 61]

More questions.Have you followed the Affinity Mask thread in the FSX and Mobo forums? I have never found a cfg tweak that dose any good. I am playing with affinity mask, but have no solid results,yet.Do you lock fps? I have to lock around 26-30, or I get studders from anything that is loading.Have you tried to OC that 9600? Not a whole lot to be gained' but you never know.Bob

[Guest Alphahawk3]

More questions.Have you followed the Affinity Mask thread in the FSX and Mobo forums? I have never found a cfg tweak that dose any good. I am playing with affinity mask, but have no solid results,yet.Do you lock fps? I have to lock around 26-30, or I get studders from anything that is loading.Have you tried to OC that 9600? Not a whole lot to be gained' but you never know.Bob

Thanks for the reply Bob. The VC I have can't be clocked and Nick had said in one his post about what a minimum VC should be for a i7 920. My card would not fall into what his minimum spec would be for my ystem...but even at that this is a strange proibel...seing as i have smooth flight every where elses...just leave ATC off and the only stutter I get is from a pancke...bad landing I do on occasion. I do use the Affinity setting for 4 cores. It stopped my stutters in a turn. I have no other issues other than this ATC thing...and it is not there 100% of the time...I just don't like it....and the more I think about it it may have to do with Win SP3. On my old P4 I never had this and I had the settings on it cranked way higher than I should have but I had not stutters..there were just certain areas I could not fly in and certain add on planes I could not use...but nothing so simple as an ATC stutter...I guess it is not that simple....I seem to be the only one who has ever had it from all the reading I have done. I know I am becoming fixated on this thing...LOL Regards

[bobbyjack 61]

I haven't heard of SP3 causing any FSX problems, but anything is possible. I have oc'd my VC using the performance software from Nvidia. Even my old 7900gs. It helps in bencmarking,though hard to tell in FSX. I would be surprised if you couldn't push a 9600. My old MB was so cheep that I could not OC anything. You haven't mentioned locking frame rates.Bob

[Guest Alphahawk3]

I haven't heard of SP3 causing any FSX problems, but anything is possible. I have oc'd my VC using the performance software from Nvidia. Even my old 7900gs. It helps in bencmarking,though hard to tell in FSX. I would be surprised if you couldn't push a 9600. My old MB was so cheep that I could not OC anything. You haven't mentioned locking frame rates.Bob

Bob, Yeah locked Frame Rates...same...I can lock at 60 and get good smooth flight but keep it at 30. I have tried every tool I know of to clock this card but it always comes up and says not clockable...I know it runs hot...but when you read the reviews they all run hot....something about this card. What worries me what if it is not the card...where do I go then? Just finished a nice flight and only annoying thing was ATC stutters...I will keep searching and reading. Regards

[bobbyjack 61]

Well ,buddy, I don't know what to tell ya. I wish I had a magic bullet. I wish I could tell you that a new GPU would solve you problems. But here's what I think.I think your i7 is blowing past your 9600, big time. You might be happier with a 9800gtx. A 9800gt is much the same as a 8800gt. I have an 8800gt and while it is a good card, my new gtx 260 is even better. So while a 9800gtx is more expensive that an 9800gt, it is worth it. You've got a great CPU and MB, so match it with a great GPU. I see a 2,000 point difference between my 8800gt and my gtx 260 in 3dmark 06. With a better card, you can turn up scenery sliders, and that can improve performance, also. But I think you know all that.On board audio in newer MBs is really good. That's what I use, and no audio problems. I use a SC on my second computer because is has some great software that I use in my music editing.Try a wired keyboard and mouse. just so you can say you tried everything.Boy, do I understand budgets. Took me a year and a half to work up to what I have now.Come to think of it, there is a free latency tool called LtcyCfg2 that might control your Sound Blaster. My Audigy loads at 225, when you really want it at 64 or so. That might be really important.Anyway, That's what I think. What do you think?Bob

[Guest Alphahawk3]

Well ,buddy, I don't know what to tell ya. I wish I had a magic bullet. I wish I could tell you that a new GPU would solve you problems. But here's what I think.I think your i7 is blowing past your 9600, big time. You might be happier with a 9800gtx. A 9800gt is much the same as a 8800gt. I have an 8800gt and while it is a good card, my new gtx 260 is even better. So while a 9800gtx is more expensive that an 9800gt, it is worth it. You've got a great CPU and MB, so match it with a great GPU. I see a 2,000 point difference between my 8800gt and my gtx 260 in 3dmark 06. With a better card, you can turn up scenery sliders, and that can improve performance, also. But I think you know all that.On board audio in newer MBs is really good. That's what I use, and no audio problems. I use a SC on my second computer because is has some great software that I use in my music editing.Try a wired keyboard and mouse. just so you can say you tried everything.Boy, do I understand budgets. Took me a year and a half to work up to what I have now.Come to think of it, there is a free latency tool called LtcyCfg2 that might control your Sound Blaster. My Audigy loads at 225, when you really want it at 64 or so. That might be really important.Anyway, That's what I think. What do you think?Bob

Bob, I will try that tool. It seems in the last few days a few folks have started having troubles with Asus M/B on-board sound. Not the same problem I have but problems still the same. So I went to the Asus P6T Deluxe M/B forum...they have a forum for each board they make....and posts are starting to show up with reports of problems with on-board sound....all related to SoundMax...so we will see where that goes. If I find out the trouble I will post my find for all to see for future reference. Regards

[sargeski 16]

Alphahawk3,If your latency is staying below 1000 in FSX then I highly doubt what you are experiencing is in fact a latency issue. It sure would be nice if you could get your hands on a bit beefier video card for a little testing.