I have recently built a new pc with an i5 6600k CPU, running at 4.2 GHz. I use the FSX Steam Edition. Currently my addons are:

 

- FS Global 2010

- FTX Global

- UTX Europe v2

- PMDG 737 NGX

- Active Sky Next

 

I have a very old GPU, a GTX 260. I made a test at Aerosoft Stockholm Arlanda airport, sitting at the runway, using the virtual cockpit, and I am not able to maintain the locked frame rate of 30 fps. No AI traffic is in use at all.

 

Even though the GPU usage shows around 50-60 %, is it still possible that my GPU is the problem here? Would i benefit from upgrading to a better GPU?

I think you would.  My system is olf, a Core2Quad running at 3.8 GHz.  My old video card was an Nvidia 8800GT with 512 MB VRAM.  I upgraded to a 560Ti with 1 MB VRAM and saw an improvement in FPS as well as smoother image rendering.

I think you would.  My system is olf, a Core2Quad running at 3.8 GHz.  My old video card was an Nvidia 8800GT with 512 MB VRAM.  I upgraded to a 560Ti with 1 MB VRAM and saw an improvement in FPS as well as smoother image rendering.

Ok, thanks for replying. I think I will go for a GTX 970.

Even though the GPU usage shows around 50-60 %, is it still possible that my GPU is the problem here? Would i benefit from upgrading to a better GPU?

 

If your GPU is only running at 60% it's definitely not bottlenecking the CPU. Try DX10 if you haven't already - it offloads more work to the graphics card. Don't expect dramatic changes with a GPU upgrade - I changed from a GTX 275 to a GTX 970 and saw only a moderate improvement in FSX. The biggest advantage I got was being able to run FSX comfortably on a higher resolution monitor (currently 2560x1440). FSX likes high CPU clock speeds and the graphics card is less of a factor than it would be in most modern games.

My Nvidia 8800GT never ran at 100%, nor does my 560Ti, but FSX was definitely better with the 560Ti and no other changes to my computer.

My Nvidia 8800GT never ran at 100%, nor does my 560Ti, but FSX was definitely better with the 560Ti and no other changes to my computer.

 

Propeller was asking if his GPU was causing a bottleneck, which, running at 60%, it isn't. When you say "FSX was deffinitely better with the 560Ti", what do you mean by better - better performance or better visually? The improvement to the appearance of the graphics with a newer GPU is a completely different issue. Newer GPUs tend to have more stream processors, faster memory and lots of added extras which will help the image look better.

My 770 is running pretty much at 100% with an I5 3570k at 4.5.I'm using DX 10. Would I benefit from an upgrade to a 970?

 

Sorry to hijack the topic.

 

I forgot to add, I'm using a single monitor at 1920x1080

 

Thanks

My 770 is running pretty much at 100% with an I5 3570k at 4.5.I'm using DX 10. Would I benefit from an upgrade to a 970?

 

Sorry to hijack the topic.

 

I forgot to add, I'm using a single monitor at 1920x1080

 

Thanks

 

I'm surprised that your 770 is running at 100% at 1920x1080. Are you using extreme AA/supersampling settings? I recently upgraded my GPU but was previously running FSX fairly smoothly on an old GTX 275 and rarely got near 100% usage. I only upgraded because I wanted to move to 2560x1440 with some other games. Whilst you would certainly see an improvement with the 970, keep in mind that FSX is very CPU-heavy (slightly less so with DX10) so I wouldn't think that upgrading would make a massive difference at your resolution. I would be trying to work out what was causing the 770 to be so heavily loaded.

I'm surprised that your 770 is running at 100% at 1920x1080. Are you using extreme AA/supersampling settings? I recently upgraded my GPU but was previously running FSX fairly smoothly on an old GTX 275 and rarely got near 100% usage. I only upgraded because I wanted to move to 2560x1440 with some other games. Whilst you would certainly see an improvement with the 970, keep in mind that FSX is very CPU-heavy (slightly less so with DX10) so I wouldn't think that upgrading would make a massive difference at your resolution. I would be trying to work out what was causing the 770 to be so heavily loaded.

Thank you very much for your reply. I'm indeed using 8SGSS setting in inspector. Hoping to get rid of "jaggies" but it doesn't seem to help. My frames are really good, no doubt about that. I'm just trying to improve picture quality. I was hoping a newer card would help. But maybe it's my monitor limited resolution.

 

Cheers

Thank you very much for your reply. I'm indeed using 8SGSS setting in inspector. Hoping to get rid of "jaggies" but it doesn't seem to help. My frames are really good, no doubt about that. I'm just trying to improve picture quality. I was hoping a newer card would help. But maybe it's my monitor limited resolution.

 

Cheers

 

What size monitor are you using? Obviously the bigger the monitor, the larger the pixels for a given resolution and the harder the AA will have to work to give you smooth lines. Although some people swear by 40" or more 1920x1080 TVs with FSX, you've got to sit some distance away to make it look good. Until fairly recently I was using a 22" 1680x1050 monitor and thought the AA was good. It all depends on what you're happy with. I have a 32" monitor running at 2560x1440 and I'm more than happy with my setup.

 

As a first attempt to reduce the load, try using 16x CSAA in the fixer and 4SGSS in NVIDIA Inspector and see how it looks.

 

Alternatively, give Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) a try - the GeForce website says that your 770 supports it. The game is basically rendered at a higher resolution than your monitor can normally achieve then shrunk back to fit the screen. Some people have found that it gives a smoother image at lower AA settings. I had a look at it and the trade-off seems to be a slightly softer image and smaller text in on-screen menus. You set it up in the NVIDIA Control Panel under Global Settings. Have a read through this thread for more info: http://www.avsim.com/topic/458352-i-am-speechless/.

I was just going to write that removing reshade seem to have fixed the AA issue. I tried at 4SGSS and it actually looks pretty good. My monitor is a 22. Thanks for the pointer on DSR, I'm curious about it.

 

Thanks again