MD 11-System error and slow fps

[Guest johnopaulo]

Hello to everyone. I am what you call a 'newbie' to this forum but I have been using PMDG products in the past on older versions of FS. However, I have found with the new FSX and PMDG I have encountered my first issues. I Installed PMDG MD11 onto my FSX. To add, I have no other asddons on the system. In fact the PC that it is installed is only used for FSX. Specs:Intel Quad core Q6600Nvidia 8600 GTX ( Had 9800 istalled but it was no better, and in some cases poorer performance that the 8600)P5B Deluxe MoboThermaltake Water cooler system( average cpu temp runs ot 9c all the time)3gb installed Hard Drive (7200 rpm) 2Tb external hard drive 8gb ddr2 memoryWindows 7 (x64)All drivers are up to date. Sytem is defraged and cpu is running four cores on fsx. And all of this gives me only 25 fps with the PMDG loaded and only then with low to medium settings. Thats my first issue...I know FSX is cpu hungry, but I would have thought dedicating this pc to only one game would allow me some room for expansion.My second issue is that since loading MD 11 and the updates my FS freezes as I am taxiing after pushback. Every single time. In fact I think I should have invested in Ship Simulator as I have yet to see the ground from the air with this sim addon. I have nothing else on this computer so it cannot conflict with anything. FS Works perfectly with another add on aircraft I bought a while ago. It is just this darn PMDG MD 11 that is at the moment no better that that flying brick they call the space shuttle. I have reinstalled this 4 times and still the same think happens. Anyone got any ideas? Thank youPaul Marshall

[Turbine777 13]

Hi Paul, first I need to know if that's a typo or what in your specs."3gb installed Hard Drive (7200 rpm)" This is my main concern. If this is true, that is your main issue."2Tb external hard drive" Unless it's the new scsi or some type of external SSD I hope your not running FS off of it, and even then,,, maybe.Whether or not you have a dedicated comp or not for FSX doesn't matter much. What matters is the specs of it when it is running. A computer used for your every day use, internet, banking, photoshop, CAD, etc... doesn't have to be anything special. A game however, or even worse, a simulator is much more needy. Your specs for CPU/MB/Mmory aren't bad at all, even the video cards fine for FSX actually so the main thing I'm seeing is 25 fps is a miracle that your getting that if your drive is 3gb, and/or if your running it off of an external usb or firewire drive. That will explain your lockups for sure.If it was a typo on the drives, then 25 still is fine in FSX since it is equal to about 50+ in other games.

[aentwis 61]

You do not mention whether your Q6600 is overclocked or not. The standard clock of the Q6600 is not the highest, and FSX is CPbound... this is why you see little difference with the different GPUs you tried...Also, a thought: Do you have SP2 or FSX Acceleration installed?@Dan: It is unlikely that the 2Tb external drive is SSD, as they don't make them with that capacity yet... it is most likely a USB/FW/eSATA drive... I wish they did already make 2Tb SSDs - that would be warpspeed loading capabilities for everything that has ever been made for FSX to date :(Andrew

[Turbine777 13]

Trust me Andrew, I am very aware of every single SSD on the market. My point was to say external drive for gaming, no (Especially with FSX). The unless was just to give reason of possibly doing an external drive. Unless the drive is a form of SCSI or ESATA then it's crap, period and only good for using as a backup drive :(On the subject of SSD, it will be a very long time until I spend .01 on one, they too at the moment, are crap (ok for laptops, but still crap with a capitol C, hehe).

[aentwis 61]

Sorry, Dan, your post did strike me as odd... I had a feeling your comment was more tongue in cheek... :)I have not used an external drive for running anything like FS yet... steer clear of it... too many disk operations going on and too much potential for hard drive damage if the drive is not inside the case...SSDs have to come down in price before they are really viable for the massed market... Currently, WD raptors are the best drives for FS...Andrew

[Turbine777 13]

Haha, yeah it pretty much was tongue and cheek ;-)Your right about the external drive issues, but also, if the other drive is only 3gb, then chances are the page file alone will choke him out. SSD definitely needs to (and will) come down in $$$. My reason isn't so much on that as it is in the technical aspects of them. Like everything that's new, they release it so they are first to get one out and they are extremely limited to what they should do. Single access for instance due to their contol/write mechanism, yeah they are fast but not they way they're currently being released. I'll buy a western caviar over one right now, hehe.Edit: For Paul, 9c? That's pretty great. I have a liquid system one of the best coolers out there and don't get anywhere near that. I take it your only cooling you CPU with it aye?

[Guest johnopaulo]

Hi again and thank you for the fast response.Sorry about the typo It is 3TB installed SATA ( 2 X Seagate 1.5TB 7200 32MB) and i know the external drives dont matter as they are only firewire, although i get a slightly higher transfer rate that usb 2.0 ( thats another subject though). I have not overclocked this particular CPU as I have had little luck in doing so with this one. I have both SP1 and SP2 installed for FSX. My main concern is the fact as yet I have still to manage to get off the ground. It has become really annoying now after numerous clean reinstalls. Thanks in advace for your input folksPaul MarshallIn reply to TUrbine 777, yes I only cool the CPU with the water system. I have air fans for the the rest of the set upThanks Paul Marshall

[Turbine777 13]

Phew, sounds much better Paul :( I was a little worried there for a second but wanted to clairify that before we trouble shoot your install.Moving forward, when it crashes have you checked you Event logs? They can be useless but can also provide key issues that has helped many find a bug here and there, or corrupt install.It's good that you don't have addons, this way you'll be able to find the problem faster. If you built your current system I don't want to come off as insulting with these steps that you may have already done but to list them anyway...How does FSX run alone? Try a default aircraft and verify you have 0 issues, no lock ups and what is your average fps?You're not a newb since you seem to be a PMDG/FS9 veteran, but can you tell me this... do you notice when you first load up FSX at an airport that you start out with fine fps, then just sitting there your fps keeps sinking and sinking?Did you install it in the default location? Personally I avoid "Program Files" (Both folders) for any sim or game install with Win7 and Vista.I can list things all day, but we really need to see what your event logs say. You may also find that downloading and installing the latest .net framework and C++ runtime libraries may help. I recommend that a lot but at the moment it doesn't seem like your having those issues. I'll reply more after I hear back from you.

[Guest johnopaulo]

Hi Turbine 777, \thanks for the fast reply. I understand it could be anumber of things and something very difficult to pinpoint. Something you said about FPS dropping while at stand makes sense. I have never encountered this before but I noticed this happening yesterday and thought it weird. FSX runs smooth without PMDG added. With Wilco for example I get unlimited frames on maximum setting with numerous add ons. I installed it in both default and also a dedicated formatted drive all by itself. Hope this helps shed a little more light. ThanksPaul MarshallOh and to add I have installed FC++ 2008Paul Marshall

[Gary A 8]

Hi Turbine 777, \thanks for the fast reply. I understand it could be anumber of things and something very difficult to pinpoint. Something you said about FPS dropping while at stand makes sense. I have never encountered this before but I noticed this happening yesterday and thought it weird. FSX runs smooth without PMDG added. With Wilco for example I get unlimited frames on maximum setting with numerous add ons. I installed it in both default and also a dedicated formatted drive all by itself. Hope this helps shed a little more light. ThanksPaul MarshallOh and to add I have installed FC++ 2008Paul Marshall

Hi Paul, 1) can you make sure your Power Plan is set to High Performance please: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/774-p...lan-select.html 2) For giggles also ensure you have the latest version of FSUIPC installed version 4.57: http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html 3) I know it is not related but could you please make sure that crash detection in FSX is disabled.4) Ensure all MS updates applied.5) In FSX disable cockpit Tool Tips.6) Try running 182.5 vid driver. First uninstall existing driver, ensure Physics is disabled.7) Right click the FSX short-cut <properties> run compatibility for Vista.An unrelated side comment but 8GB RAM is useless for FSX, makes clocking a nightmare and generally degrades system performance. 4GB is the sweet spot (statement does not apply to Tripple Channel). It is always a difficult proposition to tell a man to take 4GB of RAM out of his system (a macho thing I think, we really do suffer from bigger is always better syndrome). Trust me I have a drawer full of RAM sticks that I cried over every one of them I removed from my system. I now only run 4GB.If still an issue post error log as Dan requested.

[Turbine777 13]

All I can suggest is to check the event logs and maybe run in windowed mode also. That way you keep Task manager open and check to see if there are any processes spiking the CPU or causing a memory lock (taking MUCH more memory than the app needs. ie taking 1GB for example).Keep in mind that FSX is very different then FS9 in the way that FPS is taken. FSX you can have smooth gameplay (excuse the term) with as low as 12fps. 25 fps running a simulation like a PMDG product in FSX to me is what I would about expect to see on your rig.Oh, of course make sure you do not have any virus scanners running. I'll be able to better help if you can post the event log errors.

[Guest johnopaulo]

Thanks to everyone who offered assistance to my problems. I will try out everything you have outlines. I will post pack event logs if nothing fixes the problem. Thank you again.Paul Marshall

[Guest sixfourty]

...On the subject of SSD, it will be a very long time until I spend .01 on one, they too at the moment, are crap (ok for laptops, but still crap with a capitol C, hehe).

I'd say they are vastly superior to normal mechanical drives in every way except for sequensial transfers and price. For sequensial transfers they are only marginally better than the best mechanical drives out there. Modern SSDs are quite mature and are ready for the consumer marked, especially for enthusiasts. For non enthusiasts they might still be a bit pricey, altho the performance difference is HUGE in some applications. Often much higher than if you get a new cpu, but probably not for FSX since FSX is highly dependant on processing power

[asanal 31]

Hi Paul, 1) can you make sure your Power Plan is set to High Performance please: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/774-p...lan-select.html 2) For giggles also ensure you have the latest version of FSUIPC installed version 4.57: http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html 3) I know it is not related but could you please make sure that crash detection in FSX is disabled.4) Ensure all MS updates applied.5) In FSX disable cockpit Tool Tips.6) Try running 182.5 vid driver. First uninstall existing driver, ensure Physics is disabled.7) Right click the FSX short-cut <properties> run compatibility for Vista.An unrelated side comment but 8GB RAM is useless for FSX, makes clocking a nightmare and generally degrades system performance. 4GB is the sweet spot (statement does not apply to Tripple Channel). It is always a difficult proposition to tell a man to take 4GB of RAM out of his system (a macho thing I think, we really do suffer from bigger is always better syndrome). Trust me I have a drawer full of RAM sticks that I cried over every one of them I removed from my system. I now only run 4GB.If still an issue post error log as Dan requested.

Gary,Item 7. Please see my FSX short-cut proporteis. "VISTA"is not listed. Am I in right file???THnaksSanal

[Gary A 8]

Gary,Item 7. Please see my FSX short-cut proporteis. "VISTA"is not listed. Am I in right file???THnaksSanal

You must be running W7 for the option to be there.