Flying in the Australian outback with Orbx scenery, I get 40-60 fps in the air, all sliders full to the right. But big cities it goes down to 9-15. Is this because the graphics engine is so ancient? Am I doing something wrong with my fsx.cfg settings to where its getting bogged down? I'd appreciate any help with getting better frames in big cities. I have an nvidia gtx580, i7 at 4ghz, 6gb ram, win7 64bit.

 

Do I need to raise my tbm number? its at 80

Or use bufferpools=0? gives me spikes in graphics when i use with unlimited frames.

Should I lock frames at 30?

 

Thanks!

 

David

I don't have a great system... used to be years ago.. lol.

 

I've had very smooth flights with the frame counter turned off. Also found that LOD_RADIUS=3.500000 helped alot with this and blurries. Frames set unlimited, external limiter set to 15

 

[JOBSCHEDULER]

AffinityMask=12

 

[bufferPools]

PoolSize=8388608

RejectThreshold=131072

UsePools=0

 

[GRAPHICS]

HIGHMEMFIX=1

SHADER_CACHE_VERSION=4676

ALLOW_SHADER_30=1

SHADER_CACHE_PRIMED_10=1693500740

SHADER_CACHE_PRIMED=1693500740

STALE_BUFFER_THRESHOLD=15

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=4096

AC_SELF_SHADOW=0

AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1

AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1

COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1

D3D10=0

EFFECTS_QUALITY=2

ForceFullScreenVSync=0

ForceWindowedVSync=0

GROUND_SHADOWS=0

IMAGE_QUALITY=0

LANDING_LIGHTS=1

NUM_LIGHTS=8

See_Self=1

TEXTURE_QUALITY=3

Text_Scroll=1

 

[Display]

TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40

TextureMaxLoad=12

TransitionTime=4.000000

UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0

WideViewAspect=True

ActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=0,28,140,64

ActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255

BLOOM_EFFECTS=0

ChangeTime=4.000000

InfoBrakesEnable=True

InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128

InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,255

InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128

InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,255

InfoOverspeedEnable=True

InfoParkingBrakesEnable=True

InfoPauseEnable=True

InfoSlewEnable=True

InfoStallEnable=True

InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0

InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,0,0

NonActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=24,33,87,64

NonActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255

SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1

 

[Main]

DisablePreload=0

FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=1.0

HideMenuFullscreen=1

HideMenuNormal=0

Location=324,121,1356,889,\\.\DISPLAY1

Maximized=2

SimObjectPaths.0=SimObjects\Airplanes

SimObjectPaths.1=SimObjects\Rotorcraft

SimObjectPaths.2=SimObjects\GroundVehicles

SimObjectPaths.3=SimObjects\Boats

SimObjectPaths.4=SimObjects\Animals

SimObjectPaths.5=SimObjects\Misc

SimObjectPaths.6=C:\FSX Addons\SimObjects\UT2 Aircraft

User Objects=Airplane, Helicopter

ProcSpeed=7755

PerfBucket=7

SimObjectPaths.7=SimObjects\UT2 Aircraft

 

[TERRAIN]

//TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=6000

//TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=6000

LOD_RADIUS=3.500000

AUTOGEN_DENSITY=4

MESH_COMPLEXITY=100

MESH_RESOLUTION=22

TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=29

DETAIL_TEXTURE=1

WATER_EFFECTS=6

SWAP_WAIT_TIMEOUT=2 // The number of frames the terrain engine will wait before loading new textures from MEMORY

 

[sCENERY]

DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1

IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=5

LENSFLARE=1

MAX_ASYNC_BATCHING_JOBS=1

SmallPartRejectRadius=4.0

If u are running your settings maxed out that is your whole problem. Back some settings off. Lock your frames at 30.

I don't have a great system... used to be years ago.. lol.

 

I've had very smooth flights with the frame counter turned off. Also found that LOD_RADIUS=3.500000 helped alot with this and blurries.

 

[bufferPools]

PoolSize=8388608

RejectThreshold=131072

UsePools=0

 

 

This doesn't make sense. You set a pool size but then say don't use pools?

 

If u are running your settings maxed out that is your whole problem. Back some settings off. Lock your frames at 30.

 

Which settings?

Oh, sorry. I still experiment with the BufferPools settings. Currently they are off.

Okay, makes sense. For a second I was confused.

Lock your external limiter at 15...? How does that work...

I get 40-60 fps in the air, all sliders full to the right. big cities down to 9-15. Is this because the graphics engine is so ancient?

Nvidia gtx580, i7 at 4ghz, 6gb ram, win7 64bit.

Do I need to raise my tbm number? its at 80

Or use bufferpools=0? gives me spikes in graphics when i use with unlimited frames.

Should I lock frames at 30?

 

Hi David: With 6 gig of ram, I'm assuming the i7 is a 920 - and clocking this one upwards is the answer to your problem. In order to get those frames up to say, 20 over the big cities, you're going to have to clock it up a notch or two. My 950 was good for 4.48 gig, and once I did that - FSX was almost there. The downside was she needed water cooling to keep it below 75C.

That being said - I'm sure you've been studying the tweaks that are around, and like me, we continue to see new fixes and opinions every day, and so this will just add to it. I said almost.. At 4.4 - even with the 580 - you're not going to get to Nirvana. You can come close, but it means that some of your settings need to be pulled.

 

Pulled from an earlier post - here's a sample setup, modified for your i7/580 with the garbage removed for some clarity. I use Ryan's mid-range Inspector settings, plus lock the os at 30, and fsx internally at 24. This gives me smooth under almost every condition. For the IFR.cfg I cut back detail, LOD and traffic, but add three layers of very dense cumulus overcast.

 

// VFR.cfg Mar 17, 2012

 

[GRAPHICS]

AC_SELF_SHADOW=0

AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1

AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=0

EFFECTS_QUALITY=2

GROUND_SHADOWS=0

HIGHMEMFIX=1 // prevents graphics artifacts

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024

TEXTURE_QUALITY=3

 

BufferPools]

PoolSize=0 // <--- You can use 'no buffer' because the proc can't overpower the 580.

 

[JOBSCHEDULER]

AffinityMask=14

 

[Display]

SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1

TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=196 // <--- The calculated TBM for the 580 with frame limit of 24, tml=3 and TML=1024

TextureMaxLoad=3 // 6 //30 // 30 ONLY when running 'unlimited' frames.

UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=24

 

[Main]

FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.18 <--- smoother. Default is 0.33

 

[Weather]

AdjustForMagVarInDialog=1

CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=6

CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=3

DETAILED_CLOUDS=1

 

[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580.0]

Mode=3840x1024x32 //<--- whatever yours is

TriLinear=1

 

[sCENERY]

DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1

IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=5 <--- Big impact, can make 4, with AG at 3

LENSFLARE=0

MAX_ASYNC_BATCHING_JOBS=2

 

[TrafficManager]

AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=0

AirlineDensity=30 // If flying tubeliner - if not - make it 0

FreewayDensity=10 - 14 max..

GADensity=30 // If flying GA -if not - make it 0

IFROnly=0

LeisureBoatsDensity=0

ShipsAndFerriesDensity=0

 

[TERRAIN]

AUTOGEN_DENSITY=4 <--- big impact, make 3 or 4, not 5

DETAIL_TEXTURE=1

LOD_RADIUS=3.500000

MAX_DETAIL_TEXTURE_LEVEL=21

MESH_COMPLEXITY=100

MESH_RESOLUTION=22

MIN_DETAIL_TEXTURE_LEVEL=21

SWAP_WAIT_TIMEOUT=2

TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=907

TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=1376

TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=28

WATER_EFFECTS=6 <--- stops cloud flashing.

 

I almost forgot... 1). tighten your memory timings, 2). that 580 is still king of the hill. There's only one or two newer cards that may be better.. :lol:

Last night I installed ORBX PNW. Did a flight from Victoria BC to Vancouver BC. Got nice FPS around 25-26 (limited at 26 in FSX) until I touched down at Vancouver Intl. Then the FPS went down to 9-10 and stayed there. I shut down and started a new flight AT Vancouver Intl. While on the gorund the FPS went back up into the 20s. Why would it drop and stay low at the end of a flight but remain high at the same airport at the start of the flight?

 

I'm running an i5 750 overclocked to 3.8 Ghz., 4Gb memory, ATI 5770 video, WS 1 Tb black hard drive, Win7 64-bit. My Cfg file is tweaked (mostly via Bojote's tweaks) and I am using shaders 3.0. I run the outside view on a 24 inch 1080p monitor and the 2D panels on a second 21 inch 1080p monitor. Also have CH Products yoke, pedals, throttle quad and Saitek switch panel, multipnale and radio panel.

 

BTW ... I find the FSX graphics (e.g., popping up trees and changing the shape of hills/mountains as they get closer) to be quite annoying. ORBX scenery is great but the way FSX renders it is awful. Seems to me that MS Flight does a much better job with scenery.

Last night I installed ORBX PNW. Did a flight from Victoria BC to Vancouver BC. Got nice FPS around 25-26 (limited at 26 in FSX) until I touched down at Vancouver Intl. Then the FPS went down to 9-10 and stayed there. I shut down and started a new flight AT Vancouver Intl. While on the gorund the FPS went back up into the 20s. Why would it drop and stay low at the end of a flight but remain high at the same airport at the start of the flight?

 

BTW ... I find the FSX graphics (e.g., popping up trees and changing the shape of hills/mountains as they get closer) to be quite annoying.

 

I'm no expert but my guess would be different traffic between the different Vancouver loadings.

 

Yeah, they had to set limits some where. Few settings help though.

LOD_RADIUS=4.500000 <-------set to 6.500000 or higher helps render out further in better detail.

SmallPartRejectRadius=4 <-------can be removed totally so that planes, vehicles don't magically popup

Did a flight from Victoria BC to Vancouver BC. Got nice FPS around 25-26 (limited at 26 in FSX) until I touched down at Vancouver Intl. Then the FPS went down to 9-10 and stayed there.

This will depend on the airport, AI, and some of your settings, ch. If, for e.g. you have say ten AI aircraft at their Gates, with two or three more going or coming causing jetways to move, plus - even low - airport traffic, then you'll have lower frames. This is true at most large airports.

 

I shut down and started a new flight AT Vancouver Intl. While on the gorund the FPS went back up into the 20s. Why would it drop and stay low at the end of a flight but remain high at the same airport at the start of the flight?

Shutting down and re-starting cleared your memory.

 

I'm running an i5 750 overclocked to 3.8 Ghz., 4Gb memory, ATI 5770 video, WS 1 Tb black hard drive, Win7 64-bit.

 

FSX is cpu bound. The graphics engine doesn't contribute much to frame count: if the proc is fast, then a low-end gpu will slow it down, and produce one set of problems. On the other hand - a fast gpu will take everything the proc can throw at it - but it won't necessarily - show high fps, and wil display other problems. 3.8 is marginal for FSX - even 4 gig will not be smooth without a lot of tweaking and reduced settings. You have both a low-speed proc and gpu, so you have to make compromises if you want smooth and even moderate fps - i.e. 22fps is pretty much minimum requirement to give a smooth display. You don't have much headroom to play with.

 

I find the FSX graphics (e.g., popping up trees and changing the shape of hills/mountains as they get closer) to be quite annoying. ORBX scenery is great but the way FSX renders it is awful. Seems to me that MS Flight does a much better job with scenery.

If you are running your OS on the large 1TB hard drive along with FSX - the above issues are compounded, as the drive needs to respond to the game as well as all of the other services and processes which are going on in the background. It may be annoying, but only a major change in your pc's architecture will fix your problems.

 

"Flight" has none, or little of the capability that FSX offers. This is like comparing a bicycle to a bus!

Thanks for the replies and suggestions:

 

I built this i5 750 machine a couple of years ago when that CPU was thought to be one of the best overclockers at that time. Not sure I want to do yet another "Major change in your pc's architecture". I love flying FSX but it can become a bit of a money pit for someone who is retired. I recently thought of going back to FS9 with some add-ons to make it look better but when I fired up my out-of-the box FS9 it looked "old" did not cut it for me.

 

Would moving FSX to a SSD make much of a difference?

If you've got sliders full to the right the first one you need to bring back is water.

 

Put your water at 2.low. Quality is still great, it's just less shiny (which is more realistic).

 

Also, road traffic. Set it at about 15. That will still give you plenty of traffic, especially if you have UTX.

 

Another FPS killer is airport vehicles. Set it on medium.

 

Even with the best systems, the above really need to be done. Everything else, max out to your hearts desire and start trading off from there. The above are the big ones though. I run pretty much everything else maxed with my i5 2500k system. I don't have shadows on though.

Thanks bonchie ... I do have water at 2low but my road traffic may be high and I have shadows on. Autogen is at dense. I'll keep tweaking,

I live on Vancouver Island, so fly to Vancouver all the time...

 

Yes, I have had the same experience of fps tanking when arriving at CYVR.

And can also reproduce that save/load flight recovery.

 

The key, I believe, is to keep you settings conservative enough so that

you do not experience the big fps drop.

 

Start with traffic. Try freeway traffic=0 and other traffic low.

Next Scenery complexity and Autogen. Try Autogen on Medium.

 

Weather. Try clear skies, or fair weather as a test.

 

Airplane complexity... try flying a simple airplane into YVR as a test.

 

Soon, you'll figure out what does the most damage to framerates.. and settle

on some settings that work for you.