an AA mode that's worth a try

[Superpilotv2 2]

I´ve tested this new mode now for about an hour and it looks quite good. Not that I see any big differences to the default one I uesd but the frames are smoother. Even in the low tens which I got on departure from Portland-Hillsboro with the Turbine duke and PNW the sim was somehow smooth and usable. So it loooks very compromising. The negative thing I also noticed is that this mode uses much memory (600+ out of my 896 MB) and arround 30% GPU usage. Thanks for sharing this tweak.

[Tabs 2,790]

Very interesting mode. I tried it last night on my system. I have a 520TI OC 1 GB VCard. It worked very well. I monitored the change in video card memory and GPU usage. The vc memory usage went up a little (780MB or so max usage). However, the GPU usage jumped from a max of 65 to 70% to 94%. The CPU usage dropped from a max of ~80% to ~60%. The flights were smoother and the CPU temperatures were down considerably (Max of 78C down to Max of 58C). I will do some longer flights tonight and this weekend and report back. By the way, I am running the system hard:Scenery = MaxedAutogen = extra dense or MaxedOrbx PNW sceneryFrame rates are locked using the antilag bat at 30 FPSAnyway, this could be a very nice way to move some of the processor load from the CPU to GPU.Danny

The GPU load is going up because AA is performed solely in the GPU, the CPU isn't involved at all. I'm not sure why you'd be seeing a drop in CPU usage - the CPU has to be doing the same work regardless of the AA setting. It sends the geometry (vertices) to the card and then the card applies all the AA in post-processing. I'd bet this is probably just the normal variance you'd expect from not being able to run 100% precisely the same operations CPU-wise in each test run. 16XCSAA is roughly equivalent to 4X multisampling as far as GPU-load and then the 2X SSAA is rendering the entire image at twice the resolution internally to create the AA map - that's a pretty substantial increase in raw pixel throughput vs. what 8xS or 8xSQ does. It does look really good though - maybe this is a reason to look at 2GB+ cards eventually.

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

It does look really good though - maybe this is a reason to look at 2GB+ cards eventually.

Two screen shots with this AA setting:1. The new Baron - does it look gorgeous or what?2. Oops, this is where my 1GB card reaches its limits...

[bigmike 24]

Hi folks,I experimented a bit with NVidia Inspector and found a mode that's not very common but has an astonishing effect on visual quality.It's called "AA_MODE_METHOD_SUPERVCAA_64X_4v12" and it's definitely worth a try over the common 8SQ. It's soooooo smooth, I love it!

Fantastic find----thank you very much!Michael

[Superpilotv2 2]

Two screen shots with this AA setting:1. The new Baron - does it look gorgeous or what?2. Oops, this is where my 1GB card reaches its limits...

Hey Bert, looks really good and crisp clear. No edges os similar things. Mine doesn´t look that good although I´ve appiled this setting. Some edges and jagged lines. Not the way the Turbine Duke should be flown. So could you be so nice and post your inspector settings so that I can test them?

[dazz 69]

Once again, is it just me or this mode doesn't work in windowed mode and the preview?

[Valcor 9]

I'm running it in maximized windowed mode with no problems.

[dazz 69]

I'm running it in maximized windowed mode with no problems.

ok, thanks Dave. What driver version please? Mine's 266.58

[Illegitimi non carborundum 4]

Bert:"Anyone know what the best Transparency Supersampling is with this?I'm using 4X without bad effects - but wonder if there is a better match.."I tried all of the TS modes and for me the 'OFF/Multisampling" was the best option as the "multisampling" component seemed to eliminate the "swimming" VCs better than the other TS settings.RegardsPeterH

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

I tried all of the TS modes and for me the 'OFF/Multisampling" was the best option as the "multisampling" component seemed to eliminate the "swimming" VCs better than the other TS settings.RegardsPeterH

Thanks, Peter - I'll run with that.

[B747400F 0]

Just thinking here, shouldn't you now change your bufferpool setting if this is going to eat up more gpu?

[Valcor 9]

ok, thanks Dave. What driver version please? Mine's 266.58

I'm using the same driver Dan. Windows 7 if that should matter. I don't use bufferpools so I can't attest to whether it effects the stability of that tweak.

[paulb 1,287]

Just thinking here, shouldn't you now change your bufferpool setting if this is going to eat up more gpu?

Apparently it does not work well with the BP=0 tweak. I use the reject threshold tweak and have mine set at 262144. It works fine for me using that tweak - overall frame rate is unchanged, but shimmering is almost completely gone!CheersPaul

[dazz 69]

Yikes! I can't for the life of me get this mode to work in windowed mode. Here's how my preview screen looks like (64X_4v12 above, 8xSQ below)I've tried 3 different drivers, deleting my FSX.CFG and different Inspector settings but no joy. It looks very good in full screen though, but I mainly fly in windowed mode and this is a bummer It takes it's toll on frames, slightly more than 8xSQ, but still good. I can see the FPS hit in windowed mode even though it looks like there's little to no AA being applied

[Christopher Low 5,353]

To be perfectly honest, that picture of the Baron looks too clear. The impression I get from it is that the Baron is a separate photo image that has been superimposed on the background. In other words, it looks less realistic to me than a slightly softened, imperfect AA image.