fair enough, but then that may be why Aces didn't set BP at 0 right?

True, setting BP to 0 is NOT something ACES intended us to do. Overclocking my i7 to 4.2 is not something Intel intended me to do.Unlocking a GTX 480 to 512 cores is not something nVidia intended us to do (but if you can you'll do it)All the above, are not meant to be tried by the general consumer, but by people who understand the consequences of doing so. I tried, with the BP=0 conclusions thread to provide as much information as possible, to allow 'general consumers' to do this, the same way you read 'overclocking guides' all over the internet.The people that had success with BP=0 read the information provided, understood it, and then applied it to enjoy a better performing FSX. However.... there are people who skip through guides, they only go to the 'settings' portion, apply them and then complain it doesn't work for them.. same as the guy who overclocks an i7 to 4.2 with HT On, default voltage and stock cooler and then complains his processor is not a 'good one'

Just time enough this morning for a quick test, not enough time for a comparison with a clean cfg.Computer tweaked as per NickN. CFG tweaked as per Bojote. FPS limiter set at 25, but in game FPS limiter also set to 25 as I neglected to reset to unlimited. So the limiter was limited, so to speak. Will redo the test with in game limter set to unlimited, as well as re-testing with a clean CFG.[JOBSCHEDULER]AffinityMask=14TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40TextureMaxLoad=9 //new tweakUPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=25UsePools=0 //new tweak, 0 off or 1 onRejectThreshold=102400 //new tweakVIRTUAL_COCKPIT_TEXTURES_SCALE=2.0 //new tweak[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280.0]Mode=1680x1050x32MipBias=6TriLinear=1ForceFullScreenVSync=1 //new tweakForceWindowedVSync=1 //new tweakHIGHMEMFIX=1 //new tweakSTALE_BUFFER_THRESHOLD=1024 //new tweakALLOW_SHADER_30=1 //new tweakAirlineDensity=30GADensity=30FreewayDensity=2ShipsAndFerriesDensity=20LeisureBoatsDensity=15IFROnly=0AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=2LOD_RADIUS=4.500000MESH_COMPLEXITY=100MESH_RESOLUTION=22TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=29AUTOGEN_DENSITY=3DETAIL_TEXTURE=1WATER_EFFECTS=6TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=3000 //2400 //4500max//TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=1600 //3000maxSWAP_WAIT_TIMEOUT=10 //new old tweakarea = ORBX free demo, flight from YMLT to the river and back, MS C-172.No texture flashing, no spikes, no pauses. Temporary black squares surrounding the runway lights, as per usual. Awsome visuals, smooth flying.

Temporary black squares surrounding the runway lights

You can avoid this be increasing TextureMaxLoad a bit more. Try 18, but if you see 'stutters' go back to 9 then.

I agree with everything you said Bojote. I guess my point is that to me it seems like a good testing principle for any tweak would be to see what effect it has without limiting the framerate in any way. Let the sim run wide open and if the tweak cuases it to crash or to mess up then perhaps the tweak needs to be assessed again. Personally, I prefer to have a bit of headroom at all times. I don't really want to run my system right on the bleeding edge of crashing all the time so I want to know where that edge actually is and then I can back off where necessary. Now obviously, I don't know what I'm talking about here. :) As I said, I don't have FSX. I'm not entirely certain what the specific point of the BP tweak is. I just read the stickied analyisis of it at the top of the forum and I still don't quite know. However, the instructions make it quite clear that its a "try at your own risk" tweak and I have no problem with that at all. If it works for people it works.

seems like a good testing principle for any tweak would be to see what effect it has without limiting the framerate in any way. Let the sim run wide open

Remember the following: GPU's lag at least 1 frame behind CPU's in terms of instruction processing. The CPU will (if you have the horse power) generate a huge ammount of frames, but you need to consider the GPU will need to 'render' each and everyone of them as well.If your CPU and GPU are not a good 'match' (say, for example your CPU is very fast but your GPU is not) then you could stall it. Think of this, as if you had a formula 1 car, speeding at 350km/h using REGULAR firestone tires.. you know what will happen right? after 300km/h those tires will blow up! as with any complex system, all indivudual components need some balance in order to perform efficiently.

Oh definitely. Thats the "hardware limit" I mentioned in my initial post in this thread. No matter what "artificial" limit you set in the sim, there is always a real limit determined by what your hardware is capable of maintaining. But in my experience with various rigs over the years, I've never had a mismatch in hardware that resulted in crashes or corruption. I've had occassions where I've had a more powerful cpu pushing a less powerful vidcard and vice versa and the result has always been poor framerates. Never crashes and corruption. I suppose under extreme circumstances where one or the other was monumentally more powerful that could happen but within reasonable parameters under normal circumstances I don't think it should. For me personally, it would bother me to know that I had the sim configured in a manner such that if I unlimited the framerate it would crash. Even if running it at 30fps would completely eliminate the crash, just knowing that it would crash without limiting it would bug me.

Thanks Bob, all you said held true with my setup.If I end up locking at 30 within FSX with vsync on, and I need to turn water to 2x high to minimize flashing,seems a similar result to where I use to get without BP=0.What tweak setup are you using? BP=0 or other, FSX to limit or unlimited/FPS limiter,how did adding a 480 change things for you?

I'm not using any bufferpool tweak and I limit my frames within FSX. Going from a GTX 280 to the GTX 480 is like night and day. I able to really turn the sliders up especially the autogen. You need to have the CPU power to feed the card though.

Turned off the BP=0 tweak , locked frames at 30 with vsync, all is well now with PNW and standard FSX areas.

I do not use any fsx.cfg tweaks except those that remove the red texts. You are better off deleting fsx.cfg and leaving it as ACES intended it to be.

True, but only as long as you fly FS as ACES intended you to. With default airplanes, generic AI traffic, etc. Loading complicated scenery like ORBX ontop of 100% AI and a complicated virtual cockpit of a PMDG 747X, and you will see exactly why people have turned to undocumented tweaks to help

True, but only as long as you fly FS as ACES intended you to. With default airplanes, generic AI traffic, etc. Loading complicated scenery like ORBX ontop of 100% AI and a complicated virtual cockpit of a PMDG 747X, and you will see exactly why people have turned to undocumented tweaks to help

Correct. For me flying a PMDG747X in dense areas with 10fps (non tweaked) is simply a fun-killer. I like the high resolution of the FSX, that is why I'm using it! Tweaks allow for faster performance. And correctly tweaked, means no glitches, spikes etc. I've yet to see a crash or a spike since I finished tweaking.Those tweaks though, REALLY NEED a clean machine, a really well tweaked windows, clean FSX and everything optimized. And you need latest hardware. I dare to say I'm quite a pro in that area, knowing what I'm doing.People, and I don't mean specific users now, mostly tweak without any or with very little knowledge, and thus make things only worse.

Correct. For me flying a PMDG747X in dense areas with 10fps (non tweaked) is simply a fun-killer. I like the high resolution of the FSX, that is why I'm using it! Tweaks allow for faster performance. And correctly tweaked, means no glitches, spikes etc. I've yet to see a crash or a spike since I finished tweaking.Those tweaks though, REALLY NEED a clean machine, a really well tweaked windows, clean FSX and everything optimized. And you need latest hardware. I dare to say I'm quite a pro in that area, knowing what I'm doing.People, and I don't mean specific users now, mostly tweak without any or with very little knowledge, and thus make things only worse.

I am really intrigued by this Word Not Allowed. I mean here is someone as experienced in the FSX forums as you are and Bejote echoing this, but on the other hand I myself amd others have had unstable FSX with these tweaks and add-ons and though I am Very good at wringing out the last drop of performance from any PC hardware (am good with over clocking high end Xtreme-machines), then I see a developer like Orbx chiming in with "don't tweak" leave as ACES inteded etc" as well as a few others like Ryan (Tabs) saying it is unstable

So please spill the beans, what is it that some of you know that the rest of us don't.You are saying that you can run high settings and add-ons without crashing with full settings, AI etc?

Honestly, I have no idea! I have my 15 years backing me up, tweaking and reinstalling each OS to its bones.I'm 31 now, started back when I was 13 on programming on the Spectrum ZX, got my first 486 when I was 14, after 1 week I asked my dad for Windows install floppies because I deleted *something* and since then I never stopped tweaking :(.No, I didn't say that - what are high settings? For which machine? I'm not using AI btw. But I tried AI (WOAI). Only thing it does for me, it lowers general FPS. No other problems. As I fly online, I don't need AI.And yes, it doesn't CRASH. Worst thing happening to me FPS gets low and FSX starts to stutter. But that is why I'm not installing (or buying) things like USCitiesX which cripple your performance to the bones, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.

Honestly, I have no idea! I have my 15 years backing me up (I'm 31 now, started back when I was 13 on programming on the Spectrum ZX, got my first 486 when I was 14, after 1 week I asked my dad for Windows install floppies because I deleted *something* and since then I never stopped tweaking :( ), tweaking and reinstalling each OS to its bones.No, I didn't say that - what are high settings? For which machine? I'm not using AI btw. But I tried AI (WOAI). Only thing it does for me, it lowers general FPS. No other problems. As I fly online, I don't need AI.

I have no ide what a spectrum zx is, I started on a 286 machine with DOS and FS4.0 if that relates somehow..Highsettings for me is a 24" monitor 1920x1200x32 with at least 8xs AA and 16xAF with dense settings in FX and most everything full tilt plus 80% my trafficX AI...most of these new tweaks just end up with a CTD when I fly with a complex aircraft and scenery. I have tried every combination suggested and more from three different forums. LIke OrbX said, use what ACEs programed is now working for me....but you sound so sure and I keep wishing for more...but not at the cost of stability.Thanks for the help!I7-920 at 4GHz 285GTX Win7-64

I have no ide what a spectrum zx is, I started on a 286 machine with DOS and FS4.0 if that relates somehow..Highsettings for me is a 24" monitor 1920x1200x32 with at least 8xs AA and 16xAF with dense settings in FX and most everything full tilt plus 80% my trafficX AI...most of these new tweaks just end up with a CTD when I fly with a complex aircraft and scenery. I have tried every combination suggested and more from three different forums. LIke OrbX said, use what ACEs programed is now working for me....but you sound so sure and I keep wishing for more...but not at the cost of stability.Thanks for the help!I7-920 at 4GHz 285GTX Win7-64

Yeah, I can relate to 286 :( Well, do you know what causes the CTD? CTD is not something that's happening out of the blue. Did you check Virtual Space of the FSX not crossing 4GB limit? Hint: Process Explorer?Usually, you can't cause a CTD just by overloading the system. By overloading you get graphical errors, very slow sim, stuttering etc. In my whole testing, I never got a CTD, EXCEPT when I forced FSX to cross the memory limits."At least 8xS" <- you can't run any higher on your machine, even 8xS is a really high setting. Is what I'm using too.For me, stability was ONLY the issue when GPU wasn't playing nice, and I would get those spikes etc. Either GPU would crash with the nvddm or something like that error, or I would get snow or so. But since I finished tweaking, I have a very stable sim (hours tested, many addon airports etc), and the only thing that happens is my sim stutters when FPS drops below 30 - which I try to avoid.I spent virtually 2 months now, maybe even longer, evenings and so many hours on testing, changing, testing... It's enough for me! :(And btw. I don't run 1920x1200 but 1600x1200 full screen with black bars on sides, because most of 2D panels are 4:3 ratio and don't have wide counterparts. I use VC only for viewing, not for actual system flying.

Yeah, I can relate to 286 :( Well, do you know what causes the CTD? CTD is not something that's happening out of the blue. Did you check Virtual Space of the FSX not crossing 4GB limit? Hint: Process Explorer?Usually, you can't cause a CTD just by overloading the system. By overloading you get graphical errors, very slow sim, stuttering etc. In my whole testing, I never got a CTD, EXCEPT when I forced FSX to cross the memory limits."At least 8xS" <- you can't run any higher on your machine, even 8xS is a really high setting. Is what I'm using too.For me, stability was ONLY the issue when GPU wasn't playing nice, and I would get those spikes etc. Either GPU would crash with the nvddm or something like that error, or I would get snow or so. But since I finished tweaking, I have a very stable sim (hours tested, many addon airports etc), and the only thing that happens is my sim stutters when FPS drops below 30 - which I try to avoid.I spent virtually 2 months now, maybe even longer, evenings and so many hours on testing, changing, testing... It's enough for me! :( And btw. I don't run 1920x1200 but 1600x1200 full screen with black bars on sides, because most of 2D panels are 4:3 ratio and don't have wide counterparts. I use VC only for viewing, not for actual system flying.

Ah, your screen res is a little low for me but do you mind posting your FSX cfg please?Thanks!