Ran out of memory in FSX PMDG

[lewblok 8]

I have been looking at all of the tweaks and fixes everybody recommends to repair and fix this problem.  For someone who is not computer savvy, it is all greek to me.  I can go into cfg and do some tweaks, but there are so many.  Last night flying from kdfw to kord and doing an instrument approach and boom ran out of memory after a long flight.  Is there some way a layman like me can tweak my computer so the VAS is not a problem.  I have been reading posts from 7 years ago with this same sort of problem.  I find it hard to believe that a fix has not been ""invented yet"" to get rid of the downloaded scenery etc. that was loaded at the start of the flight.  I have built a new computer just for FSX and thought I had a dream machine, but alas it is not working out that way.  My system is as follows:

ie7 4790 K with HYPER 212 cooler

gigabyte 297X Gaming G1 MOB

EVGA 780 video card with fans 3 GB GDD5R GE FORCE 780 Ti

16 gig ram memory

1TB SSD Samsung

750 W power source

Windows 7 64 bit

Mega Scenery Earth at kdfw to Oklahoma border about 50 miles

FSRecorder

FS2CREW

PMDG 737-800

FSX Gold 

Running 3 monitors with different resolutions

My FSX runs great except for this happening.  If I set frame rate to 30-40 instead of unlimited will that help with the OOM problem? "" Thanks"" for any responses and please in language me and anyone else can understand. 

 

 

Lewis Block

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

There is no magic fix since FSX is a 32 bit program, but there are things you can do to reduce your memory consumption and I'll list a few that will help. As a full disclosure, I've run the NGX and T7 since they were both released and never had an OOM and I run a WIDE variety of addon sceneries and texture enhancements.

 

1. Use either 1024 or 512 sized DXT cloud textures, not 32 bit and not 2048 or 4096. Using the DXT versions in 1024 or 512 resolution will save a lot of memory, especially when your flying in very dense, cloudy weather. Also along those lines, use similar water texture settings of 1024 or 512 DXT compressions.

 

2. If you use a lot of photoscenery, disable areas that are not going to be used during your flight. Better yet, just leave areas enabled for the departure and arrival states or cities. Some people like to disable airports as well, but that usually doesn't make as much of a difference since they usually only render 10 to 15 miles in circumference from them.

 

3. Use the PMDG performance manager to select lower resolution VC models and textures.

 

4. Use less dense autogen settings. The max I use is Very Dense or sometimes just dense.

 

5. If you have addon sceneries besides FSDT and Flightbeam airports, have a look in the texture folders of those sceneries and if they are using textures that are 32 bit or DXT textures and/or larger than 1024 in size, consider resizing the larger textures to 1024 DXT with mip maps. Lots of work but helps enormously. This has single handedly made the biggest difference for me as some developers use a lot of 4096 and 2048 sized textures in their airports, some even have 32 bit textures which consume tons of memory at 1024 or larger.

 

6. In the PMDG manuals they have suggestions as well to reduce memory consumption and OOM'S.

 

7. Lastly, if you use FTX Vector or UTX, go into their respective UI ' and turn off some features like secondary roads, washes, and things like that that you'll never notice from 35,000 feet in an airliner.

 

Those are most of the things I do and have served me well since 2008 avoiding OOM'S completely. I have FSDT KORD and KDFW, as well as photoscenery for both Dallas and Chicago and have flown the NGX and T7 between both probably over 60 times and never had an issue.

 

Also one other thing to consider, although I don't use it, is to run in DX10 preview mode and use the payware DX10 fixer. Many users have reported lower memory use and reduced OOM'S using that combo. I've never considered it since I never had a problem to start with, but a lot of users swear by it.

 

You could also consider FSX Steam Edition as many have report it managing memory better as well. Again, I've never tries it since FSX boxed works for me, but it's another alternative and PMDG NGX and T7 have compatible installers for it.

 

 

Hope this helps,

 

Sean Campbell

[mbunjes 1]

I have almost exactly the same computer specs as you and also a ton of addons. After experiencing an oom almost every flight the one thing that fixed it for good was indeed  DX10 preview mode and Steve's fixer.

[pcubine 143]

I find it hard to believe that a fix has not been ""invented yet"" to get rid of the downloaded scenery etc. that was loaded at the start of the flight.

Unfortunately that is an issue with FSX and has nothing to do with PMDG. There is no one to fix this specific issue since the team that developed FSX is out of buisness. All you can do is try different settings as cmpbellsjc has suggested.

[CaptKornDog 282]

Yep, reel the settings back based on the type of flying you do.

[Tabs 2,790]

Check out the section in the 777 manual starting at page 31.

[skysurfer 76]

I have almost exactly the same computer specs as you and also a ton of addons. After experiencing an oom almost every flight the one thing that fixed it for good was indeed  DX10 preview mode and Steve's fixer.

 

I would agree, that was the only fix for me too. 

[lewblok 8]

Thanks everyone for the responses, I will do some work on re-adjusting.

 

Lewis Block