Not getting the performance I expect, even with OC

[MDF86 123]

Hi All

 

I'm an absolute rookie when it comes to overclocking and all of that technical stuff, but I think I finally have a stable reliable overclock. The trouble is, I'm still not getting the performance I expect, and was wondering if you kind fellows would help me out.

 

I've read all of the hardware guides etc, I just don't know what to try next and everything you read seems to be challenged by something else you read etc, so I thought a bit of guidance from you experts would be the way forwards!

OK, so I have an i5 3570 which I've OC'd to 4.3Ghz, 8GB of RAM and a EVGA GTX670 FTW Signature II graphics card. I spent many weeks choosing the parts for my build (this was late last year) and so far am yet to get the performance out of them that I think they are capable of.

 

The main problems are low FPS (and "stutters") and blurry ground textures. I also have times where the sim will freeze for 4-5 seconds, almost like something is bottlenecking and it has to wait to catch up.

 

Starting with the FPS, I am lucky to get 20FPS whilst sat in the cockpit of the NGX at - for example - UK2000 Gatwick. But I have many add on airports and it's the same story at most of them. The take off sometimes becomes a bit of a slideshow at that speed, sometimes as low as 14-15FPS. I'm sure something is not right here...is it?!

 

With the blurry ground textures, this comes and goes, sometimes things look quite sharp, other times there are big delays in getting ground textures to "pop" into sharpness, especially when changing views etc.

 

Maybe my sliders are too high or my inspector settings are not good? I just don't know what to try next really and don't want to mess around with everything and make things worse.

 

My important FSX.cfg entries are:

 

[bUFFERPOOLS]
Usepools=0
[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=14

[DISPLAY]

TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=120
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=30

[Main]
FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.30

[GRAPHICS]
HIGHMEMFIX=1
TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=2048 ( I have 2048 clouds enabled through REX )

[TERRAIN]
LOD_RADIUS=4.500000

 

My inspector settings are as follows (on 306.97 driver):

 

 

 

And my in-game settings are as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone is able to offer me any guidance I would be very grateful.

 

Many thanks

Martin

[Aamir 2,907]

For one, your airline traffic density is MUCH too high, I fly with no AI and I still can't hit the magical 30FPS constant at a heavy addon airport w/ the NGX
Reduce that and then see.
Also, your Texture bandwidth mult, imo, is too high. I have mine at the default 40, I found that any higher, and I was loosing frames. I also didn't see any increase in performance with the Affinity Mask entry. Again, this is just my experience with my hardware, based off of testing last night with my new GTX780.
I have my 3770K clocked at 4.6, but I still can't do 30FPS constant in the NGX @ addon airports with REX, so the performance you're seeking doesn't exist, unfortunately.
Water effects has no great difference between High 2.x and Low 2.x if you're flying the NGX, so lower that down a little, save a few cpu cycles.
Another thing is your Fiber Frame Time Fraction is a little too high, favoring lesser FPS and a little higher texture quality. Reduce that to around 0.25 and then see.
Combine everything I said above, it should gain you 5 frames (I'd hope, but can't assure you).

In short: 

1. Get rid of AI

2. Lower your FFTF

3. Bring your TBM to the default of 40

4. Reduce your water settings to Low 2.X
5. Decrease Mesh Resolution (~85) and texture resolution (~15cm)
 

Have a standardized test, then report back

[_Jerra_ 8]

Hi, are these frame rates you're reporting with or without weather? Makes a big difference on my setup. In the ngx at ORBX Melbourne with overcast skies I sometimes suffer high teens, although admittedly my resolution is higher than yours (3840*1024). So dropping the cloud coverage may help.

 

Also, have you experimented with the FIBER FRAME TIME FRACTION? Mine is set at 0.10 and I recall tweaks to that making a noticeable difference.

 

Paul

[MDF86 123]

For one, your airline traffic density is MUCH too high, I fly with no AI and I still can't hit the magical 30FPS constant at a heavy addon airport w/ the NGX

Reduce that and then see.

Also, your Texture bandwidth mult, imo, is too high. I have mine at the default 40, I found that any higher, and I was loosing frames. I also didn't see any increase in performance with the Affinity Mask entry. Again, this is just my experience with my hardware, based off of testing last night with my new GTX780.

I have my 3770K clocked at 4.6, but I still can't do 30FPS constant in the NGX @ addon airports with REX, so the performance you're seeking doesn't exist, unfortunately.

Water effects has no great difference between High 2.x and Low 2.x if you're flying the NGX, so lower that down a little, save a few cpu cycles.

Another thing is your Fiber Frame Time Fraction is a little too high, favoring lesser FPS and a little higher texture quality. Reduce that to around 0.25 and then see.

Combine everything I said above, it should gain you 5 frames (I'd hope, but can't assure you).

 

In short:

1. Get rid of AI

2. Lower your FFTF

3. Bring your TBM to the default of 40

4. Reduce your water settings to Low 2.X

5. Decrease Mesh Resolution (~85) and texture resolution (~15cm)

 

Have a standardized test, then report back

Thanks for the tips, plenty to think about.

 

Though on the AI traffic front I use WOAI which I thought was very FPS friendly. At much below 40% I wasn't seeing much traffic at all.

Hi, are these frame rates you're reporting with or without weather? Makes a big difference on my setup. In the ngx at ORBX Melbourne with overcast skies I sometimes suffer high teens, although admittedly my resolution is higher than yours (3840*1024). So dropping the cloud coverage may help.

 

Also, have you experimented with the FIBER FRAME TIME FRACTION? Mine is set at 0.10 and I recall tweaks to that making a noticeable difference.

 

Paul

Paul

 

Yes I'm always using real world weather through active sky evolution, maybe I should test with clear skies, although I do like to simulate real world weather. Maybe I should try 1024 clouds too.

 

I will experiment with FFTF

[Jim Young 2,356]

Blurry ground textures indicate high settings somewhere in your configurations.  I would comment out (\\ in front of config entry) Bufferpools and see if that makes any difference.  BP does not work for all systems/GPU's.  It's my understanding it works best if you are flying low over autogen trees.  I have left BP entries out of my fsx.cfg and FSX does work better for me.

 

Remove Fiber Frame Time Fraction (the default .33 will run if this is not added to your config).  I agree with NickN that this should be removed for those with multi-core cpu's - http://www.simforums.com/forums/topic27540_post170479.html#170479.

 

Texture_Bandwidth_Multi should be no higher than 80.  120 is an option but I think too high.  It should be set above 100 for older computer systems only.  Modern systems should be no higher than 80.

 

Autogen I would return to Normal; Scenery complexity should be set to Extremely dense. 

 

I do not think UK2000 Gatwick is FPS friendly so, if you are getting 20 fps there, you should be happy.  Yesterday I flew into FS Dreamteam's Chicago O'Hare with real world AS2012 weather and in the PMDG 737 (Chicago is have major thunderstorms this weekend).  In the VC I was getting 7-8 fps on approach and landing.  In wingview I was getting 40 fps.  PMDG has a menu for lowering the resolution of their VC in the FMC.  I have not tried it but it might give you better FPS.  If you are not getting a CTD, then be happy. The line item entries I mentioned above that you should change might give you a few more frames.  (I might also mention that I have my LOD_Radius set to 6.5 and Texture_Max_Load set to 2048

 

I'm a firm hater of the Nvidia NI and all these fancy settings that some claim really makes fsx look great.  I have returned mine to the default settings and turned on AA and AF in FSX (hit the green Nvidia Icon and restore your settings to the default as set my Nvidia techs for FSX).  I really believe this provides a major performance improvement.  My graphics are crisp and clear.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Best regards,

Jim

[martin-w 3,235]

How does it run with no cfg tweaks whatsoever? Walk before you can run.

 

How does it run NOT at a highly detailed add-on airport? How does it run at let's say FSX default EGLL?

 

Highly detailed add-on airports can hammer frame rate, eliminate this as a variable and test again.

 

Are 2048 REX clouds really required?

[Kaboki 437]

I think you expect to much with the NGX, your settings are way to high....

Also see that you have Affinety mask at 14, I assume you have turned off hyperthreading?

And set that TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT back to default..

Also you could try experimenting with FFTF, but if you have Orbx I would not go lower than 0.20..          

[FlexibleFlier 4]

All good ideas and consistent with many forum comments.

 

AffinityMask=14 is probably too high; try =5.

 

You might also run the free configurator at http://www.venetubo.com/ for comparison; many of the results will be like the suggestions already mentioned. As always, back up your fsx.cfg first although the site saves a copy before overwriting. Although the changes are not highlighted in the ,cfg file, a list is provided with some other suggestions as well.

 

I don't have NGX so I don't know how much this could help. But I am a low-and-slow flier and did get about a 5-10FPS boost although I still get the occasional stutter. I guess I have to look elsewhere for that solution.

 

Good luck.

[Kaboki 437]

AffinityMask=14 is probably too high; try =5.

 

Affmask 14 is perfect if hyperthreading is disabled on a quad core, I wouldn't change that but he's welcome to try..I only fear that it's gonna get him into more trouble...

[MDF86 123]

Thanks all. The bottom line is it seems as if I am expecting too much (don't we all!)

 

I will do some further experimentation with your suggestions and report back!

[Kaboki 437]

 

 

Thanks all. The bottom line is it seems as if I am expecting too much (don't we all!)

 

Yeah, It's also a good idea to set up different settings profiles for different planes, that way you can enjoy more eyecandy when flying lighter aircrafts than the NGX. E.g when I fly GA Im able to enjoy max autogen settings and others settings also almost at max, but when flying NGX I have to use normal autogen. and lower other settings aswell..

[FlexibleFlier 4]

Affmask 14 is perfect if hyperthreading is disabled on a quad core, I wouldn't change that but he's welcome to try..I only fear that it's gonna get him into more trouble...

Good point.

 

As is clear from this thread, there are so many variables that it's almost impossible to pin any one setting down. I can only say that after accepting the http://www.venetubo.com/ configurator's recommendedations AffinityMask=5 worked better than =14 for me.

 

Tweaking can be the most time-consuming part of simming. Much as I'd like the best possible performance, after a while I tend to just fly. Or try to figure how much it would cost to have an array of Cray computers {LOL].

[Kaboki 437]

I can only say that after accepting the http://www.venetubo.com/ configurator's recommendedations AffinityMask=5 worked better than =14 for me.

 

hmm, I have only used Word Not Allowed's guide and Im very happy with the performance after following he's advices. But may actually try out this suggestion just to see what it does, I'll give it a shoot. I respect ******* just as much as Word Not Allowed so when he suggests that it can't be too bad, although I might have to change my other tweaks to get this one to fit...

[FlexibleFlier 4]

I respect ******* just as much as Word Not Allowed

So many components...so many settings...one size can never fit all. For better or worse, all this helps hold the FS(X) community together.

 

Cheers,

 

~Mike

[Kaboki 437]

Yes, all roads lead to Rome ^_^ and it doesn't matter wich one to follow as long as you get there..