Bufferpools and Highmemfix?

[cattz 0]

Would someone please explain to me what these two things do and how they should be used as far as DX10 is concerned?

 

Also which .cfg bit should I be looking at? I assume it's in users\AppData\Roaming etc. where there are two fsx bits. One is 'fsx' type CFG File and the other is 'fsx.CFG' type document . Again thanks for help.

(Win 7 64bit)

[Paul J 349]

Hi Cattz; I can do this for you, mate - but later this evening, as it's too much detail for the time I have right at this minute. (We have my wife's 96-year-old mother in a home some 300km away,and it's been "determined that she needs a visit"........) Duty comes first..

 

Yes - put them both in. FSX uses fsx.cfg, and it should be in your

 

" C:\Users\[your username here]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX\ " .

 

Make sure your "Tools->Folder Options->Views->Show hidden files and folders" is checked. You should have only one copy of the fsx.cfg, but it's also copied into a couple of other (duplicated) folders, dependent upon which version of Windows you have.

[FlyAndFight 37]

The FSX.cfg is the one to keep. The .txt version is written whenever there's a problem with your FSX running. You can delete that one without a problem.

[cattz 0]

Thank you. I'll wait till Paul has explained why or if etc. I need to add this stuff. Quite right Paul; Duty first. (FS a very close second :lol: )

[Jim Young 2,356]

Would someone please explain to me what these two things do and how they should be used as far as DX10 is concerned?

 

The two settings have nothing to do with DX10. These are tweaks used for FSX in general. Here is a link to two good explanations - http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19432. What Paul is trying to do is find the best tweaks and best fsx settings for the optimum experience using DX10. They are not mandatory settings. I just rebuilt my fsx.cfg and removed every tweak. My DX10 is running great!

 

Best regards,

Jim

[cattz 0]

Thanks Jim, So adding those lines is not helping DX10 at all then. I changed the LOD_RADIUS to 6.5 which helped with autogen 'popping up' but that resets it'self back to 4.5 each time ( I think there is a fix for that somewhere) but that is not connected with DX10 particularly.

With the exception of a few animated models at dawn/dusk/night not showing textures, even with ACX, my DX10 is running very smooth ( far nicer than DX9) even with my old video card. I have found if I run it for a long time - over an hour or so - then sometimes the whole screen just turns black; no CDT but I have to start over. I think that is my GPU just getting overdone :huh:

[Paul J 349]

I would suggest that both BufferPools(=1) and HIGHMEMFIX=1 be inserted into the DX10 fsx.cfg

 

HIGHMEMFIX=1 is a parameter which was (apparently) inadvertently missed when FSX was being developed.

Wlth the move from XP to Vista (FSX being co-incident) came a new graphics driver standard - Windows Display Driver Model - WDDM1.0, it's major functionality being 1). the ability for the GPU to access memory larger than 512MB of video memory; 2). to allow graphics memory paging to system ram and to disk.

A deeper explanation can be found here. FSX will encounter "odd" intermittent hangs and crashes without this, and so it should always be used.

BufferPools is an option, as (as Jim has discovered) FSX - DX10 will run equally well, or better than FSX-DX9 without it, however - if it's used, along with the other two or three tweaks - FSX can consistently handle very much heavier loads with it included.

 

So - for the best performing FSX experience - the fsx.cfg should be - delete the old one, let FSX build a new one with DSX Preview ticked, other selections made as per the pinned "How-To" at the top of this forum, close FSX and then open up the new fsx.cfg.

 

Add these new lines and change the lines noted in red:-

 

 

[bufferPools]

BufferPools=1

PoolSize=10485760

RejectThreshold=524288

 

[Display]

TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=90

 

[Main]

FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.1

 

[scenery]

MAX_ASYNC_BATCHING_JOBS=3

 

This one below is quite optional, but I've found that the AG slider at full right will make scenery look too dense, and will hold back the ability to use higher cloud or traffic settings. Setting the AG slider at 4 (Dense?) will give a "look" similar to that of DX9, while letting you use more of "this or that".

 

[Terrain]

 

TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=907

TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=1376

 

All aother settings, like shadows, bloom LOD, etc., can be adjusted once these are set. If you have a wide screen don't forget the

 

[Display]

WideViewAspect=True

 

and, under the [Display.Device xxxxxxx].. you will need.

 

 

Anisotropic=1

AntiAlias=1

 

Cheers,

[cattz 0]

Thanks very much Paul - great help.

(Hope your Mother- in- law was OK)

[Paul J 349]

Hhahah! Good Morning/Afternoon Cattz! Yes - she's fine, but today she won't remember who came to visit yesterday, as a slight stroke has taken her short-term memory.

Thanks for asking.

 

As far as an explanation of BufferPools goes, I am no expert here, but certainly understand the concept, and it's application here, as it's widely used in the server config settings when using large databases, such as Oracle.

I have only seen two others publish their knowledge of the current operation i.e. FSX with high-end GPU's and high-end processors - ******* Altove, (Bojote) who peeled it out of the dark, and our Stevejp, who did an excellent exploration here of vertex buffer operation. For an in-depth explanation - the MS Developer site has this similar explanation.

Either BP=1 or 0 may be used, but I think that the better setting is using "1" with a Reject Threshold, as even with 4.9 gig and a 580 - I am able to use a greater load set this way.

 

I have to say, though - the addition of all five of these "tweaks" - the only noticeable difference is the ability to add higher levels of shadowing, bloom weather and traffic and stay at 30 for a consistently longer period.. It's hard to put this into words: I tested using Vancouver downtown: with the bare cfg - as per Jim - I could do several circuits with some loss of fps, but mostly stayed at 29-30. All scenery still looked very good, some stuttering as it got down to upper teens and low 20's. Adding these mods above gave a much more solid and reliable 29-30. But... this was at Vancouver. We don't all fly at Vancouver, and the low-end setting still gives superb performance at 90% of all the PNW/CRM and NRM areas that I fly in - better than FSX-DX9.

Only at Seattle and Vancouver did I need those five - so - to quote Jim's post #5 above "Paul is trying to do is find the best tweaks and best fsx settings for the optimum experience using DX10." I think I'm there.

Only two settings: 1). basic fsx.cfg, will work quite well, and 2). setup using the five tweaks here. The setting I recommend is let FSX create a new cfg, set it up per the "How-To", add these five or so tweaks, and then go - fly. You will still find places that are too heavy, but most areas allow a significantly higher and better experience than with DX9.

 

Hope this helps some more!

 

pj