Still having performance issues (With clouds)

[757FO 143]

Hey guys,

Since upgrading to 2.2, prepar3d has been running very sluggish on my rig. I thought that my GTX680 was responsible for getting low performance. But it seems that the moment I load a weather theme (or use ASN in an area with rain, overcast, etc.) I get major degradation in frame rates and/or pause every couple of seconds.

I would think that with that kind of hw I would have been ok:

 

Upgraded GTX 680 to an ASUS GTX780TI

CPU is i7- 3770K @ 4.1 Ghz

16GB RAM

All BIOS upgraded to latest.

 

To eliminate any OS Issues, I re-installed Win7 64, Prepar3D, etc.

 

I am using the default config, runs OK, but as soon as I try adding shadows and moving the sliders to the right, I am getting performance degradation. For shadows, I use very low settings (min shadows settings for all 3)

 

I looked at most tweaks posted by my fellow simmers, but nothing seems to help. Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance!

John.

[spirit_66 2]

With clouds and shadows you should adjust your settings very careful. Maybe you will reduce in ASN the amount of cloud layers and some other settings. You have to find the right balance.

Spirit

[nudata 10]

This is an LM effort to allow people with limited hardware to experience SOME advanced features. Clouds and the shadows are touchy subjects. The area involved, the resolution of the clouds (REX, etc) and the personality of the flyer are all in the mix. With my setup I can enjoy "some" clouds over Iceland (demo). But if I use real weather It becomes potluck. So, I am on the hairy edge but still able to see "what I am missing" with the proper environment and settings.

 

The best I can do on my next hardware purchase is an eBay 680 video card but for me that will be (hopefully) a big step. In the meantime I believe I am getting a "flying" experience that is noticeably better than FSX which recently fell victim to the delete key.

[757FO 143]

Thanks for the feedback! I am just surprised that with a 780 I need to dial down the settings that much. I also tested without ASN (I already had reduced settings there), using the stormy weather theme and still get major FPS dips / pause every few seconds.

John

[vgbaron 3,586]

It is not an ASN issue. I have Dual 780's in SLI and get the same with or without ASN. The resolution of the cloud sets and the cloud shadows are key. You really have to balance that load. Turning off cloud shadows in anything except scattered clouds is a big plus.

 

Vic

[757FO 143]

thanks Vic, yes agreed, never implied ASN was the issue as I get performance hit with the default weather theme. It is a shame that even with high end GPUs we have to turn thnings down. I really love these cloud shadows, hard to turn it off

John

[vgbaron 3,586]

Didn't mean to imply that John - came out wrong. Sorry.

LOL - I know what you mean. I've gotten into the habit of keeping a GPU uasge meter open during flight - when they both start to go over 55% I will get some FPS degrading. Of course you don 't need shadows in a heavy overcast! 

 

They are so great looking in scattered to moderate coverage though.

 

In a conversation with Wes Bard he said that they are continuing to push the envelope both hardware and software wise.

The GOOD thing about all of this is that upgrading GPU's every now and then is a heckuva lot better that mobo/cpu & memory!!  Cheaper too.

 

Vic

[spirit_66 2]

Monitor your GPU about loading, heat etc. and think about OC your CPU.

Spirit

[RWFeldman 159]

 

 

and think about OC your CPU.

 

You think their going to grab that much more by going above 4.1 ghz ?

[spirit_66 2]

You think their going to grab that much more by going above 4.1 ghz ?

Why not? A try doesn't cost anything. The GPU can also still OC a bit.

Spirit

[vgbaron 3,586]

Altho the cloud issue is GPU related, when the GPU gets slammed it tries to steal cycles from the CPU which usually results is FPS drop and choppy action. So increaseing the clock can help but it won't solve the problem. Bigger and better video cards (yet to be manufactured) or balancing the sliders.

 

Vic

[757FO 143]

I have been playing with settings (CPU already OC'd and OC GPU via GPU Tweak Utility, dialed back sliders, autogen normal, etc.). It is mostly OK, except under overcast, where I suppose I can turn off cloud shadows.

 

Today I installed FTX Global, started a flight with ASN (broken clouds, etc), it looked amazing .. unfortunately I hit an OOM after a while... I thought this had been addressed with 2.2 :( I am feeling no luck with P3D lately

John

[vp49p3 216]

Sometimes I find myself using lower display settings at both ends of my flight, but higher settings when in the air.  Switching settings back and forth isn't great, but if you save you profiles they can be loaded quickly and I rarely get an OOM. 

[McDaniel 48]

Make sure you dont have any AA by nvidia Inspector set....as example sparse grid supersampling absolutly kills performance with clouds....

I just found out about this...since then I have the smoothest experience ever in FS hystory... :-)