UPDATE: Rebooted and suddenly I can't get above 20 fps again, I'm at a loss

Ah, computers... don't you love them!?!?  ^_^

Removing NI is senseless and useless too!!! I put such activities in the category of "Voodoo".

Spirit

At this point I reverted back to 2.2. I have 2.2 on one drive and 2.3 on another. All things held mostly equal in getting a boost of about 8 fps with 2.2. Ironically going from 2.1 to 2.2 lost 5-7 at that time too

 

This is a bare bones test with minimal ftx/aersoft addons or an upgrade path.

 

I may experiment more later but this is my conclusion for now.

Another thing i've run into, is that something is killing my fps on a prepar3d restart.. if i close the app, doesnt matter if version 2.2 or version 2.3.. i lose around 7-8 fps after reopening.. nothing i've tried has brought the fps back up without a restart.. seems i only get one good session, then a reboot is needed (and sometimes even this doesnt help).. i have no other processes hogging anything either.

 

I've also tested and with version 2.3 at least, i never can hit above 61-68% gpu usage.

 

 

At this point i still get about 8-10 fps better performance with version 2.2 over 2.3 (with the restart glitch getting 23 fps with version 2.2 and 14 fps with 2.1 with my san fran test shot and about 30 fps with 2.2 after restart and 22 with 2.3)

Despite the lesser framerate, i must add, some initial tests that dont involve Aerosoft addon scenery (mainly FTX/orbx) are pretty smooth.. smoother than in v2.2, but still with some studdering.. more trial flights with some added weather would be interesting to compare to be sure however.  I also noticed some placement differences with objects in Seattle, like the Seattle Space Needle.. seem slightly adjusted with v2.3 (fsmark07)..

 

And the fsmark07 autopilot/gps path is still glitched and wont stay engaged in version 2.3, but works fine in 2.2, still investigating.

I wanted to share this batch file (syntax) I created.. its pretty simple, but sharing anyway.. For those that happen to have their prepar3D v2.2 and v2.3 on two separate harddrives..

 

this makes for an easy way to switch between the two for testing or for other purposes.  In my case I have my main install on V and the "old" one on U.. drive letters and volume names differ system to system.. i opened an admin command prompt and did a diskpart, list volumes to determine which volumes were which.  I also first backup the roaming config folder to a backup location, then i copy the backup of the one i'm switching into the roaming location (after i first delete the folder).. I also delete the local (shaders) before switching.. I do not backup/copy/delete the programdata scenery config files.. i leave those the same each time i switch, though perhaps those should be cleared out, except for the scenery.cfg, but i dont.. here is the syntax i use:

 

call this file prepar3Dv2.2.bat (in this case we are at v2.3, so backup the config files into the "Prepar3Dv2OLD2.3" folder first, then restore the Prepar3Dv2OLD2.2" config files etc.. I also label the each partition P3Dv2.2 and P3Dv2.3 so i can verify (the first time at least) that this all works with drive letter changes:

 

prepar3Dv2.2.bat (store anywhere):

--------------

c:

cd %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin

 

xcopy "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D V2\*.*" "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D

V2OLD2.3\" /y /e /q

 

rd "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D V2" /q /s

 

mkdir "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D V2"

 

xcopy "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D V2OLD2.2\*.*" "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D V2" /e /y 

 

cd %USERPROFILE%\AppData\local

rd "Lockheed Martin" /s /q

 

diskpart /s "d:\data\scripts\prepar3d\drivelettertoV22.txt"

 

--------------

 

I put the drivelettertoV22.txt (and drivelettertov23.txt) in the same folder as the batch file:

 

drivelettertov22.txt:

 

----------

select volume 2

remove letter = U

select volume 5

remove letter = V

 

 

select volume 5

assign letter = U

select volume 2

assign letter = V

-----------

 

 

Then do the reverse for the other batch file and the other diskpart text file.

In Windows 8.1 U1, i created shortcuts to these two batch files and pinned them to start.. easy to flip back and forth now.  I also set the advanced properties on each shortcut to auto run as admin, since diskpart will elevate anyway (if you have UAC on).

 

Happy flying

CPU/GPU use:

 

As i mentioned previously, in v2.3... my gpu usage so far doesnt seem to exceed 68% in the few flights i've tested.

 

As far as CPU use goes.. with my i7-4930k at 4.5ghz 1.36volts (from 3.4), with affinity set by exe to 1,3,5,7,8,9 and no affinitymask entry.. i'm maxing out at 46-48% from a few attempts.

 

It would be nice to squeeze out some more utilization on each if it were possible.

UPDATE:  appears the max load for gpu is more like 96-97% now.. previous tests might not have been as "intense" (this for san fran aerosoft combined with ftxg/v etc).  I'm also tweaking evga precision x software to be set to the max, around 106% (97% vs 96% in gpuz max load, not a huge difference % wise).  Cpu still averages 40% max though.

 

 

Cpu still averages 40% max though.

 

Check the real time usage on all cores. You will probably see one core maxed out at 100%.

With v2.3, I have found that I can increase MXAA from 4 to 8 and still get great fps.  :-)

Right now my latest issue are random dll crashes to desktop, usually on closing the program..

 

ntdll.dll and atc.dll for instance.

Check the real time usage on all cores. You will probably see one core maxed out at 100%.

I do notice this.. i try with either lasso or process explorer to verify its the prepar3d.exe but cant tell for sure, though it certainly has to be.

I had that issue with "joysticks" (ch pedals etc) not showing up in the controls menu of prepar3d v2.3.. and then consequently FSUIPC not detecting the joystick for calibration unless use controllers was checked (and with only mouse as an option)..

 

I found i had something messed up in the appdata\roaming folder (settings etc).. so i basically removed the whole folder, started fresh.. then i saw ch pedals/yoke as a controller option in p3d controls.. and when i unchecked it, fsuipc would then work for calibration.

 

I later moved files back in one by one (though initially i put the dll.xml file in there with only the fsuipc entry to test this issue).

 

In addition, my saitek panels needed a reinstall of spad for some reason. They all work again.