fsx/fsx-se? FSX causes CPU Overheat and Frame Drops(Help)

[GeKa 0]

Hello everyone,

I am new in AVSIM Online and I signed up, because I wanted to get involved with a flight simulation community.

Unfortunately, my experience on AVSIM Online begins with asking your help for a problem. First of all, let me write

my PC specs:

-i7 4790k CPU cooled by a

-CoolerMaster Hyper 212EVO

-Asus Strix GTX970

-Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H

-16GB Kingston HperX Fury RAM

-CoolerMaster G750 750W PSU

 

The problem:

I believe that my PC is appropriate for FSX. My idle state CPU temp is average 40*C, which I have read is ok. My temps while playing a requiring game(ex.Assassin's Creed:Syndicate) are around 60*C.

Those temps may look normal to you. I have read they are. However, I have problems with FSX. I have many add-ons installed, that is true: REX4, good aircraft like Carenado and PMDG and many sceneries.

Sometimes, I also run Night Environment Greece and AES by Aerosoft. So, while running FSX the CPU hits 90-100*C. It is annoying for me, as the frames drop to 20FPS and dangerous for the CPU, as such

temperatures can harm it.

I built the PC just 6 months ago, but I will replace the CPU thermal paste. Then what? I have thought of equipping two new CoolerMaster Jetflo 120 fans for the Hyper 212EVO. They are more powerful than the single 212EVO fan. However, will there be any difference? They will cost me around 30 Euros, and I will buy them just for FSX, because only while running FSX the i7 overheats. What do you think? Should I go for the fans? I think it is a one way option, as the only liquid coolers that my N500 case fits are not quite appropriate for the i7 4790k. I am expecting your replies.

Thank you in advance,

George Kavantzas

[SteveW 1,792]

It does seem you need more cooling,

 

 

but you can try reducing the number of cores FSX uses with an Affinity Mask in the fsx.cfg:

 

if you have HT Enabled, first try 85, then try 116, then try 52. They use 4, 3, and 2 cores respectively

 

[JOBSCHEDULER]

AffinityMask=85 or 116 or 52

 

if you have HT Disabled try 14, and 12. They use 3, and 2 cores respectively.

 

Whatever the outcome I would recommend HT enabled and AM=116 (3 cores) or AM=85 (4 cores)

[tf51d 284]

Don't know how FSX could be causing this, as it uses very little of the GPU's power, as it is more CPU bound. For example I flying FSX now and my GPU temp is only 43 degrees Celsius. (Though I'm using a GTX750 which doesn't eat much power anyway.) Maybe one of your addons may be causing it. I have read about problems on the net some people are having with the latest NVIDIA drivers causing the fans not to adjust properly, If that's the issue, try using an older driver like 3.53 or 3.47

[hjsmuc 393]

Welcome to AVSIM George.

 

Your system is very similar to mine and my temperatures for both CPU and GPU don't go beyond 80 degrees, mostly they are around 65-75 when running the sim (Prepar3D in my case).

 

The biggest influence on the temps is made by the processor clock. Have you tried to run all BIOS settings on Auto? Do you overclock and if so how much? Try running the Gigabyte Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and run a stress test. I can easily get your temps with that tool if I switch HT on, let the Turbo Boost active and don't set the fan control to max with the mainboard tool. Also, how many fans does your case have? Running the sim with high settings and complex aircraft and scenery comes very close to running the utility stress test.

 

Hope this helps.

[SteveW 1,792]

"I can easily get your temps with that tool if I switch HT on"

 

Yes, this is true. Blindly switching on HT without consideration for the affinity mask, FSX will use all 8 logical processors, causing a heat overload. Which gives HT a bad name, unfortunately.

 

Coming down on an overclock by only a small margin could make all the difference, bring it down in heat by quite a lot, depending on how far it is pushed already. A little voltage can make a big impact over 4GHz.

[Ronaldo1978 26]

Welcome!

 

but I will replace the CPU thermal paste

You know you must not use too much thermal paste? This may also cause overheating problems because the thermal conductions cannot work properly anymore. Use an old credit card or similar to apply a thin layer of thermal paste.

 

Rgds and good luck!

[HUSSAR 254]

I agree, a small amount of thermal paste, pea size is more than adequate.  Like Steve says above, it could be your voltage setting in the BIOS.  Intel has a great utility that lets you adjust clock settings in the windows environment, no need to boot into your BIOS:

 

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24075/Intel-Extreme-Tuning-Utility-Intel-XTU-

 

Good luck,

 

Rob

[GeKa 0]

Thank you everyone! I trully did not not expect such quick respond! I will try every solution for the problem! I am thankful you have helped me!

[GeKa 0]

Should I eventually buy the fans? No difference. And I have no idea about what to do with Intel XTU. Do not call me greedy, but I still need help.

[hjsmuc 393]

Core at 4.4 with HT on will give you too high temperatures on air cooling. I ran 4.4 for a while but that was only feasible with HT off. Try default settings in the BIOS first and compare, that's where I would start. If this proves that the OC is the reason for the heat I'd start with modest OC and voltage changes with the help of the Intel tool and then see when you hit the heat again. Again, this is based on the fact that we have an almost identical system. You can also leave the 4.4 on for the moment and go to voltage settings right away. However, be prepared for some boot errors if you get the numbers wrong. 

[GeKa 0]

Hello again.

I have some questions for you. It is about hardware for FSX.

So, let's start. My CPU is an i7 4790k, right now at 4.1GHz with a CM Hyper 212EVO.

My video card is a GTX 970 by Asus Strix. And I have 16GB of RAM.

The question:

which is the best CPU cooler to overclock the i7 4790k at 4.6GHz ?

I saw that it is the best option and I really need it because I am loaded with addons like REX4 and many sceneries.

Btw, my case is a Cooler Master N500 which can fit a cooler with up to 162mm height.

I have read good things about the Noctua NH-D14. Is it ok for 4.6Ghz? I can afford it and my case supports it.

Thank you

[Bob Scott 7,710]

The Noctua cooler is as good as any air-cooled solution out there.  It should be fine for 4.6GHz ops, provided you aren't running crazy high voltages or trying to run in a 35 deg C room.

 

Another option would be a self-contained water loop like the Corsair H100/H110 etc...more complexity, and slightly better performance than the Noctua.

 

Looking at your first post, 40 deg C is way too high at idle.  There's something wrong there.  The CM Hyper is a not-so-great consumer-grade cooler, but it should be able to do much better than 40 at idle.  I'm wondering if someone left the protective tape on the heatsink or if the TIM application is really botched.  Or, alternatively, I also wonder if the overclock was done with an automated overclocking tool (bad idea) or otherwise accomplished using excessive voltages.

 

Regards

[martin-w 3,234]

Bob is correct. 40 degrees at idle is high. Depends what PWM is doing to the CPU fan RPM at idle though.

 

 

So, while running FSX the CPU hits 90-100*C. It is annoying for me, as the frames drop to 20FPS and dangerous for the CPU, as such

 

 

 

Something seriously wrong with your cooling there.

 

CPU cooler not mounted properly.

 

Thermal paste badly applied.

 

CPU cooler fan failure.

 

4.1 GHz is nothing. That won't be your issue. 

[scottb613 1,186]

Anything above low to mid 80's under load and I would be a little concerned... Surprised your MOBO isn't just shutting you down...

 

Regards,

Scott

[martin-w 3,234]

It would be the CPU that would reach TJMax and throttle back, followed by a shut-down if higher. I'm guessing shut-down would be around 110 degrees, so he's teetering on the edge.