Stutter - Adaptive VSync could offer a solution

[Cruachan 705]

Hi everyone,

 

Following a recent driver update to 337.88 the stutters returned (they were present before, but now seemed much worse) and nothing I did seemed to alleviate the problem other than moving sliders to the left of their previous settings which I don't want to do!

 

I have spent the past couple of days researching the subject (.....again!) and discovered this very interesting and informative article which I felt many of you might like to read:

 

http://m.hardocp.com/article/2012/04/16/nvidia_adaptive_vsync_technology_review/#.U44jedq9KSN

 

As a result I have now enabled Adaptive VSync in the NVIDIA Control Panel under Global Settings and the results are unexpected and quite extraordinary! Not only am I seeing higher average frame rates generally, but the stuttering is now virtually non-existent Also, I can now activate HDR Lighting without noticeable impact on performance and the sim's visuals appear quite stunning!

 

There seems to be no reason not to enable Adaptive VSync under Global Settings as I would certainly want this great feature in all my Gaming Apps. Also, I have Prepar3D v1.4 installed as well as v2.2 and the NVIDIA Control Panel only lists one Prepar3D.exe.

 

I strongly encourage you to try it. You might be pleasantly surprised. No need to enable VSync or Triple Buffering in the sim - don't think it matters anyway as the NVidia Control Panel settings will override.

 

For reference, here are my other In-Sim settings which, for owners of more powerful GPUs than mine (GeForce GTX 580M x2 in SLI):

 

Prepar3D v2.2.10438.0 (Settings):

FXAA - OFF
MSAA - 4 samples
Anisotropic - 4x (try it, you may be pleasantly surprised - I know I was)
Texture Resolution - 2048x2048
VSync - OFF (ADAPTIVE set under Global Settings in NVIDIA Control Panel)
Triple Buffering - unchecked
Target frame rate - Unlimited

Level of detail radius - High
Tesselation Factor - High
Mesh resolution - 10m
Texture resolution - 15cm

Scenery complexity - Dense
Autogen vegetation density - Normal
Autogen building density - Dense
Water Detail - High
Reflections - User Vehicle
Special effects detail and distance - High

Landing lights, Lens flare and HDR Lighting - checked
Shadow Map Count - Medium
Enable Terrain to Receive Shadows - checked

Terrain and Shadow Cast Distance - 0m
Cloud Shadow Cast Distance - 0m (worth trying at 10,000m but does impact on frame rates)
Object Shadow Cast Distance - 6,000m
Internal, External vehicles - Cast and Receive

Cloud draw distance - 80 miles
Volumetric Fog - checked
Detailed clouds
Cloud coverage density - Medium

Airline traffic - 20%
General Aviation - 20%
Airport vehicle - low
Road vehicles - 15%
Ships and ferries - 50%
Leisure boats - 20%

 

Also, don't forget to configure your SOUND Settings under Windows Sound Devices (easily overlooked)

 

As I mentioned, I have 2xGTX 580Ms configured in SLI. I know this is not the recommended way to go at present, but I have other Apps which DO use SLI and I don't want to be continually enabling and disabling SLI as each time it involves a system reboot. I sincerely hope that NVIDIA won't be letting us down when it comes to creating an SLI driver profile for Prepar3D as I would dearly like to see both GPUs gainfully employed in P3D v2. At present I'm seeing the load on one is between 90-97% while the other is idling around 7-9%. What a waste of resources!

 

Hope some of you who are still battling with the stutters find this experience helpful.

 

MIke

 

Edit (1): One interesting observation - this seems to work even although my frame rates are rarely >60 and on those rare occasions when they do peak over 60 it is very brief. Mostly my frame rates are showing rapid fluctuations between 25 and 59fps. However, despite this, Adaptive VSync still has a positive effect in significantly reducing the stutters to the point of appearing to be virtually non-existent. Surprising, yes, but certainly very welcome.

 

Edit (2): It might be good practice, as I did, to delete Prepar3D.CFG and the Shaders folder and allow the sim to rebuild/recompile at the next run. In other words, give the sim a fresh start

[MarkW 1,490]

Interesting post.  I will give this a try but have a few questions.

 

1) Can this be done using Nvidia Inspector ?

 

2) Have you tried with FSX under Steve's DX10 ?

 

3) Please explain what you mean by configuring sound in Windows ?  This is a new one to me.

 

 

thanks,

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

" NVIDIA Control Panel only lists one Prepar3D.exe."

 

​Wouldn't this nullify Our NI settings ?

[Cruachan 705]

Interesting post. I will give this a try but have a few questions.

 

1) Can this be done using Nvidia Inspector ?

 

2) Have you tried with FSX under Steve's DX10 ?

 

3) Please explain what you mean by configuring sound in Windows ? This is a new one to me.

 

 

thanks,

Hi Mark,

 

1. I don't use NVIDIA Inspector. Never felt I needed to and many others have questioned it's value where Prepar3D v2.2 is concerned.

2. No, I don't have FSX installed on my Alienware M18x.

3. In P3D select Options > Sound and you will find 'Windows Sound Devices'. Better to select your own appropriate sound device hardware from the drop down menus rather than going with the default settings which are somewhat generic and presumably are implemented in software.

 

Mike

 

 

" NVIDIA Control Panel only lists one Prepar3D.exe."

 

​Wouldn't this nullify Our NI settings ?

Hi Richard,

 

I would respond by asking whether NI actually has much value where P3D is concerned? I know some have had variable success, but I have the impression that until NVIDIA help us out it's difficult if not impossible

to force many settings. I don't use NVIDIA Inspector and have found that my In-Sim settings achieve great image quality on my laptop's 18.4" 1920x1080x32 monitor screen.

 

Mike

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Thanks Mike - figured that I have it all taken care of in NI - thanks for the post

 

Have to check on the sound options  

[vonduck 99]

Hi there,

 

Great find! am going to try this now..

 

Just a quick one... what do you mean by

 

Also, don't forget to configure your SOUND Settings under Windows Sound Devices (easily overlooked)?

 

Where do i find this, looking for??

 

Cheers

 

Doug

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

"Also, don't forget to configure your SOUND Settings under Windows Sound Devices (easily overlooked)?"

 

In P3D menu in game if you have an addon sound card chosse its name in the menu instead of a default description

[Howiefly13 30]

I agree.  I followed the above advice and I did see improved performance with better graphics.

Thank you,

[MarkW 1,490]

FSX has the same thing with sound, mine was on "default" and I changed it to my Realtek sound card.

 

NI does have Adaptive VSync - Only issue is that I have it set to "Standard" and "1/2 Refresh Rate" so not sure if I move it to "adaptive" whether or not that means I need to then change it from 1/2 Refresh Rate to some other setting.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Mark NI has vertical sync tear control line has adaptive - not the vertical sync line I have that on use 3d application -  I am going to try the adaptive switch now and see what it does report back in a few mins

"vertical sync tear control line has adaptive - not the vertical sync line I have that on use 3d application"

 

Yup a keeper for me - noticed a slight problem with the propeller not spinning full animation when switching to spot view - this slight problem is now gone - I have also left on v-sync and triple buffering on in p3d menu seems better - great stuff Mike - thank you

 

Mark I see your not using P3D so not sure in your case - make the switch its awesome

[spirit_66 2]

Nice finding but I doubt that there's any difference in doing settings with control panel or nVidia Inspector, but the NI offers more options then the CP.

Spirit

[Cruachan 705]

FSX has the same thing with sound, mine was on "default" and I changed it to my Realtek sound card.

 

NI does have Adaptive VSync - Only issue is that I have it set to "Standard" and "1/2 Refresh Rate" so not sure if I move it to "adaptive" whether or not that means I need to then change it from 1/2 Refresh Rate to some other setting.

 

Hi Mark,

 

No, don't select the 1/2 refresh rate option as you don't want to throttle your frame rates. The article in my original post explains why. Adaptive VSync works differently. As to why I'm still seeing great results when my frame rates are <60, which they are 99.9999% of the time, I really don't know. My understanding is that Adaptive VSync should switch off when frame rates drop below your monitor's native refresh rate, yet somehow it still seems to be influencing performance for the better, at least that's my experience and I'm certainly not complaining!

 

If what I'm seeing is anything to go by I'm tempted to say we don't really need to use Nvidia Inspector anymore. I stopped using it a while back, although, to be fair, this was because I have both versions of P3D installed (v1.4 which I use with photoscenery and v2.2 with the various ORBX and PILOTS addons). Unfortunately both versions have the same name for the executable, Prepar3D.exe, but only one shows in the profile list of NI. This leads to confusion, at least it does for me, as to which installation I'm affecting when changes are made. The Graphic Settings available in P3D seem perfectly adequate. Also, I've found it unnecessary to enable triple buffering while Adaptive VSync is active. The VSync option in P3D is the standard VSync which has been around for years. Adaptive VSync is a relatively new development by NVIDIA and was first implemented in the 300 series of drivers. At first, I had the impression that you needed at least a 600 series GPU to take advantage of Adaptive VSync but, quite clearly, my experience confirms, as stated in the article, that this is not the case.

 

Regards,

Mike

[MarkW 1,490]

Thanks Mike, I will change that setting and see how it goes.

[vgbaron 3,486]

I noticed one thing using that Adaptive Vsync that, to me, is important. I run a 3770 at 4.7K and 2 gtx780's in SLI and I monitor the GPU usage. Using Adaptive

 

with unlimited fps I got consistent 60 - 75fps and the GPU usage was 70% each with the GPU clock at 1225

 

with 30fps set - I got 30fps - GPU usage dropped to 55% each - GPU clock 993

 

with 20fps - got 20fps - GPU usage about 35% - GPU clock 993

 

Since I see no difference between 20fps and 70fps it seems to me that the lowest FPS you can visually use will allow your GPU the most room.

 

I suggest that anyone setting up to get 60 - 70 fps is just wasting GPU power with no real benefit other than bragging rights.

 

Vic

[Cruachan 705]

I noticed one thing using that Adaptive Vsync that, to me, is important. I run a 3770 at 4.7K and 2 gtx780's in SLI and I monitor the GPU usage. Using Adaptive

 

with unlimited fps I got consistent 60 - 75fps and the GPU usage was 70% each with the GPU clock at 1225

 

with 30fps set - I got 30fps - GPU usage dropped to 55% each - GPU clock 993

 

with 20fps - got 20fps - GPU usage about 35% - GPU clock 993

 

Since I see no difference between 20fps and 70fps it seems to me that the lowest FPS you can visually use will allow your GPU the most room.

 

I suggest that anyone setting up to get 60 - 70 fps is just wasting GPU power with no real benefit other than bragging rights.

 

Vic

 

Hi Vic,

 

I understand where you are coming from, but I suggest, with respect, that you may be missing the point. For many of us it would appear that employing the Adaptive VSync switch is producing better performance as in smoother and less stuttery on screen image updating. The boost in frame rate is an unexpected, but welcome, bonus. This is likely to be a good thing for those of us who are not running with a mighty 780 and frame rates of 60 and above are but a dream. Also, if you refer again to the article, the intention behind the use of Adaptive VSync is to cap frame rates when they exceed the native refresh rate of your monitor. So, if your GPU is routinely achieving >60fps and your monitor is refreshing at 60Hz then Adaptive VSync will cap the frame rate at 60fps to prevent tearing.

 

I cannot explain why some folk, like me, who rarely see frame rates >60 are still seeing some benefit from using this switch. Nevertheless, it is occurring and I, for one, am very thankful for that

 

Regards,

Mike