FS9 and RAM usage: Help!

[ematheson 18]

I've been using FS9 for years. I've heard plenty about how it's limited to only use 2 GB of RAM, about how it's old and how people used to get OOMs one in a while. I've kinda got the opposite problem - I'd LOVE it if my copy of FS9 would use more than 500 mBs of RAM!

I get nasty stutters when loading large textures - I suppose that's not terribly unexpected given the amount of data that needs to be loaded into memory. Sadly, every time I pan around, those textures get lost and need to be reloaded - there seems to be no residence time in the memory for such things. I think there must be something wrong, since this is a terrible issue and since FS9 has never been observed on my machine to use more than 600 MBs of RAM - with the typical value being somewhere less than 500 MBs used. I've considered that maybe this might be a symptom of overloading my graphical RAM, but my checks there show that I'm not using more of a quarter of my available graphics memory - if that. I've got a total of 1.5 GB graphical memory, and the typical value used there is around 256 MBs. In sum, I've got loads of RAM available that FS9 is theoretically supposed to use that it isn't using and that is causing stutters.

Does anyone have any ideas what I can do to make FS9 use the RAM that it is supposed to be able to use as a 32-bit program?

[Wobbie 929]

You would need a 64bit operating system. 

Very simplified, FS is a 32bit program. If your operating system is a 32bit operating system, it can ONLY address 4GB of RAM, including the ram of your graphics card. Simplified, if you have a 64bit operating system with 4GB+ of ram, the operating system will let the sim use up to 4GB of the RAM. The graphics card RAM is separate to that, so, 4GB for the sim as well as the 1.5GB of your graphics card.

Very simplified..

1. 32bit system with 4GB RAM & 1.5GB graphics card... 2.5GB usable RAM for the sim, less a bit of overhead

2. 64bit system with 4GB RAM & 1.5GB graphics card... 5.5GB usable RAM for the sim, less a bit of overhead

Note that, with a 64bit operating system, no matter how much RAM you have, a 32bit program like the sims cannot address more than 4GB.

 

As I say, this is very simplified, but should help in understanding.

 

P.S. make sure you also close all open programs & whatever is running in the background when running the sim.

 

Happy Landings,

Robin

[ematheson 18]

Understood - and that's part of the problem. I'm running a 64-bit operating system with 6 GB of RAM. Total system RAM usage is no more than half of that at any given time. Why does FS not take advantage of the remaining space, then?

[Appliance 51]

You need to make FS9 Large Address Aware.  Google it.

 

Also need to apply the 3Gb ... 4Gb patch.  Again Google it.

[ematheson 18]

I've done those things too (Large Address Aware, 3 or 4 Gbs patches)

[Hoochy 5]

Hi,

Stutters can be a symptom of a texture problem (Scenery, Aircraft or AI Aircraft)

(1) empty texture folders in Addon Scenery

(2) textures without Alpha channels (Aircraft & Scenery)

(3) large file sized scenery textures.

 

For problem 1 you can use an application called Remove Empty Directories (Link below)

http://www.jonasjohn.de/red.htm

 

For Problem 2 you can use dxtfixerx (in my experience its best to use this folder by folder as it can take ages if you run it against the entire FS directory. I just use it on addon scenery and aircraft folders.

 

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=187538&CatID=genutilsr

 

For Problem 3 I use Texture Doctor (Payware $9.95)

This allows you to convert .bmp files into DXT 1 or DXT 3. (DXT5 is FSX only).

http://www.flightsimtools.com/texture_doctor

 

Another couple of tips that I use.

 

In FSUIPC Visibility Tab you can reduce the distance you can see at high altitudes. I set max vis to 4000 and it gets rid of any cartoony terrain issues

 

I set my Terrain_Default_Radius in fs9.cfg to a high setting (need to check the number later and get back to you) but I think this sets the distance at which terrain is loaded.

 

You can still get some blurries / stutters when approaching an area with a big payware airport that will use lots of memory to load. What I have done to try and alleviate this is to use Scenery Config Editor to only load the airports that I am departing, arriving and maybe alternating to. To do this easily you must put each scenery area into a country group and a continent group. you can then easily disable (not delete) a continent in one click and reenable it later easily when needed. I have over 1,000 scenery folders and this realy helps to add, prioritise, enable, disable or delete them.

 

http://sourceforge.net/projects/fs-sceditor/

 

I also have my cloud settings as follows 0, 0, 90 (in FS settings menu)

 

My Texture sets are a mix of

Real Environment Pro V2 with Dutch Rural Landscape enabled

Zinerteks Ultimate Water,

Zinerteks Night Environment 2010

Zinerteks World Environment 2012 (Clouds Primarily)

(You can also use the freeware High definition Environment Clouds which are freeware)

Zinerteks Ultimate Airport Environment

Zinerteks Natural Tree Environment FS2004

Beetleprints Experience X for 3d Night Lighting (at Sparse or Normal Autogen levels)

TaxiSigns HD by Flightsim tools

Active Sky Evolution for Real Weather (Can cause a pause when loading new weather station data)

 

My setup is

Intel i7 @ 2.8ghz

8gb Ram

2 x 500gb HD

Nvdia GTX 550ti

Matrox Triplehead to Go (3 x 24" Dell monitors + 1 19")

 

I have limited my FPS to 26 and get this most of the time using the iFly 737 @ most airports and heavy weather. Drops to about 20 in really heavy scenery , cumulous clouds)

 

Hope that helps. If you already have tried these things then apologies for the long winded msg.

 

All the best, John

[ematheson 18]

Thanks all for your suggestions, but I've done all those things already...

[N60JBravo 26]

You can't  make FS use more RAM, it will call what it needs.

 

The only way to make FS use more RAM is to add more complex addons.

 

regards,

Joe

[Appliance 51]

What about reducing virtual memory?  :rolleyes:

[ematheson 18]

What about reducing virtual memory?  :rolleyes:

Would this force Windows to cache textures longer in the RAM and reduce the number of times it feels it needs to reload them? Or would this simply reduce the amount of RAM that Windows things that it has to work with?

Really, the issue at fault is the excessive reloading of textures that should be stored in the RAM...

[ematheson 18]

What about reducing virtual memory?  :rolleyes:

This seems to have reduced the problem, but the hangs are still there. I reduced my virtual memory from 8Gbs to 2Gbs - and found, somewhat unexpectedly, that textures now load faster and the hangs and stutters are less common and less severe. Sadly, they do still occur. I'm debating whether or not to further reduce my virtual memory - but I have read that it is never a good idea to entirely remove the page file...

[Appliance 51]

 

 

but I have read that it is never a good idea to entirely remove the page file...

 

Correct.  Windows likes to have a little space for reportage purposes. Half a Gb is more than ample.

[Appliance 51]

I've re-read your initial post ematheson and I wonder whether your FS9.cfg file includes the addon line :-

 

TextureMaxLoad=8 (varies between 3-12, your MMV)

 

shouldn't be confused with :-

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024

 

This addition speeds up texture loading in association with locked frame rates and helps smooth FS9 in general.

[ematheson 18]

 

I've re-read your initial post ematheson and I wonder whether your FS9.cfg file includes the addon line :-

 

TextureMaxLoad=8 (varies between 3-12, your MMV)

 

shouldn't be confused with :-

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024

 

This addition speeds up texture loading in association with locked frame rates and helps smooth FS9 in general.

 

No, it doesn't. What section should I add this one to? and what do you mean by MMV?

[Bert Pieke 3,240]

MMV = mileage may vary.. ^_^