Performance issues?

[gspi1991 0]

Hi community,

 

i have experienced some performance issues the last days. Maybe you can give me a hint or two if those are real issues or just fine.

I did a complete system reset last week (got the new Samsung 970 Evo M.2). After that I installed P3D v4.2, checked if everything runs smooth, no issues there. Installed ORBX stuff - checked again. ActiveSky + ASCA + Envtex + Envshade -> everything looks good so far. Last but not least I installed the PMDG and QW stuff - so fine so good. After a few hours of flying I started to tweak my settings, just as they were pre system reset. The point is - now the frames are worse? The only things I have changed are the M.2 SSD and Envtex/Envshade with ASCA instead of REX Skyforce 3D and Tomatoshade. 

My Hardware:

• CPU: i7-6700k @ 4.7 Ghz (1.36V) - Corsair H100i v2 -> max. 67°C after 15 minutes stress test
• MB: Asus ROG Z170 Ranger VIII
• RAM: 32 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX @2400 Mhz C14
• GPU: MSI GTX 1080Ti Gaming X (overclocked +75 Mhz Core/+500 Mhz Memory)
• 1TB Samsung 970 Evo M.2 (Windows + P3D), 500GB Samsung 850 Evo, 500GB Crucial MX200 SSD
• Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
• Monitors: Asus ROG 24" 240Hz 1080p (FPS games), Ilyama 27" 144Hz 1440p (P3D), LG 34" 21:9 Cinema Display (EFB, PFPX,..), LG 27" 1080p (Browser,..)

 

My Software:

• P3D v4.2
• ORBX Global (Europe + NA), Vector, Trees HD, Nightlight config
• AS P3D4, ASCA, Rex SoftClouds, Envtex + Envshade, FSFX Immersion
• PMDG 737,777,747 (Base + Exp)
• QW 787
• Some airport scenery (AS EDDF/LSZH, T2G EDDM, ORBX ESSA, JS ELLX, FT EHAM/LOWW, FSDT KJFK v2,...
• Navigraph Charts Desktop App
• Chaseplane

My Settings:

 

I get ~19-21 FPS when departing FSDT KJFK v2 at night. ~18 FPS when arriving into ORBX ESSA at . Both times no heavy weather conditions, just cloudy.

 

I know my CPU could be better (struggling if I should go for the 8700k or wait for its successor) but (correct me if im wrong) all in all my setup should be able to pull solid numbers around 30 fps with my settings?

2 weeks ago I had no performance issues at all. I got at least 26 fps with the same settings. Are Envshade/Envtex and ASCA that more performance hungry than Skyforce 3D and Tomatoshade?

 

Gspi

[Jim Young 2,356]

I do not think so but then I never had a 6700K.  Your settings, IMHO, are awful.  If you uncheck cloud shadows and turn shadow draw distance to low, what does that do.  For me it is a fps hog and I have disabled cloud shadows.  Autogen is another area that affects fps if used for any length of time as it increases more and more autogen objects as you fly.  It is definitely great right at the beginning.  I have all of my terrain settings at max except for mesh and that is at 5m.  IMHO, shadows is the area of concern.

[gspi1991 0]

Hi and thank you for your input! 

Why do you find my settings awful? I am using them since 2 months and I like what i see but Im open for any advise/improvements! I will try different shadow settings and check if there are any differences performance wise.

What settings would you recommend beside the changes for cloud shadows and shadow draw distance?

 

 

[Jim Young 2,356]

36 minutes ago, gspi1991 said:

What settings would you recommend beside the changes for cloud shadows and shadow draw distance?

As I stated above, I have all of my terrain settings at max except for mesh and that is at 5m.  As I stated, autogen affects fps.  Get rid of it.  Not realistic at FL100 and above.  Most commercial airports will have great scenery surrounding the airport which you can look at while landing.

[Guest]

I had a 6900K that I used for testing P3D Vx.x ... unfortunately after Meltdown and Spectre vulnerability OS and EFI/BIOS updates that system didn't perform very well so I moved to a 8700K for my test platform.  However, you're using KJFK as a test spot which is typically a difficult location the get high FPS.

I use ENVTEX and ENVSHADE (performance mode) ... with ENVTEX I have most settings very low and I don't use ASCA  textures, use ENVTEX and I think it looks great.  The only higher quality textures I use are cirrus (2048), all other clouds are lower 512 DXT and they look more realistic to me.  The higher quality clouds tend to have a "drawing" outline look with unrealistic transparency.  I'll share my ENVTEX settings tonight when I'm home.  FYI you have 3 competing clouds products there (ASCA, REX, ENVTEX) so not sure how you are managing them?

I'll test the area/add-on/settings you're using to see where I'm at FPS wise, a 8700K will help but don't expect FPS miracles in that location KJFK.  

Finally, since you're using DL, suggest you drop 8xMSAA down to 4xMSAA.

Cheers, Rob.

[gspi1991 0]

Hi,

just came home and started testing. Shadow draw distance down to low - 1-3 fps gain vs. ultra. Autogen building density down to 0 - 2-3 fps gained but now the skyline of Manhatten is gone and im not sure if i can live with that "empty" sim. The other thing is autogen vegetation density - i quite like the look and feel with all those orbx hd trees in my sim - so I need to find a "sweetspot" for me - performance/look wise. 

I know that around KFJK it is quite hard to get solid fps and I´m completely fine if I can achive ~25 fps there. I´m not aiming to get >30 fps with the FSDT scenery there - but it should be "flyable" (= >=25 fps for me). 

 

Envshade runs in high performance mode. 

Envtex Settings: 

ASCA Settings:

REX Soft Clouds installed. 

ActiveSky settings are default.

So as far as I know Envtex, Envshade, ASCA, AS and Softclouds should work together with those settings? 

 

Í´m not sure about the AA settings. What are the main differences between 4x/8x MSAA and 2x/4x SSAA? Is SSAA heavier on performance?

 

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[ms2 184]

You have a very big configuration, mine is less.

Perhaps In our sims the bottleneck is the amount of datas to download simultaneously on the mothercart from different sources... so on Klax, Kjfk, Seattle, Paris.

 I know that fps are at the limit for mine configuration, to help I paused the sim before approach (first to make a scenario save, and to start the recorder), sure this pause help me avoiding difficulty in scenery downloading when landing.

Mine Sim p3dv4 now is the sim (a very old  fsx basis incoding) + addons for real weather + for ambience + cameras + very heavy aircrafts (as fslabs PMDG, etc) + immersion + tweaks, + and others orbx + mega sceneryearth + etc...

With a less computer configuration, I frequently follow the philosophy "less is more and I flight for linners essentially in the cockpit with less vegetation autogens (threes autogens on low of none) and medium-high complexity + buildings....

On AG sceneries, I could have the best of this sim worldwide. The fsx (the basis) was done essentially for AG flights.

This is mine conclusion , after reading Avsim comments with very big configurations, I don't attend unpossible of mine computer, said me... Mark be happy possessing  this level of quality.

Hope for you to meet a satisfaction of your invest with fine and good settings.

best regards 

 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, gspi1991 said:

Í´m not sure about the AA settings. What are the main differences between 4x/8x MSAA and 2x/4x SSAA? Is SSAA heavier on performance?

I recorded a video tonight with setting that work reasonably well in that location with those add-ons and a few more ... will post tomorrow night when I have time.  It covers graphics settings and ENVTEX/SHADE settings.

You can use all three products (REX, HiFi ASCA, ENVTEX) but you'll want to make sure each product has settings that don't overlap otherwise you'll have the same textures being replaced by different products (sometimes on the fly).  From  you settings you appear to be using REX soft clouds and also ENVTEX clouds ... you correctly disabled ASCA clouds so they will not conflict/replace.  If you're going to REX soft clouds then you need to disable ENVTEX clouds.

All add more info tomorrow night.

SSAA will be very hard on your GPU, especially with clouds present.  MSAA 4X is a better "performance" option but not as good quality AA.

Cheers, Rob.

[Peter Webber 339]

40 minutes ago, Rob Ainscough said:

I recorded a video tonight with setting that work reasonably well in that location with those add-ons and a few more ... will post tomorrow night when I have time.  It covers graphics settings and ENVTEX/SHADE settings.

You can use all three products (REX, HiFi ASCA, ENVTEX) but you'll want to make sure each product has settings that don't overlap otherwise you'll have the same textures being replaced by different products (sometimes on the fly).  From  you settings you appear to be using REX soft clouds and also ENVTEX clouds ... you correctly disabled ASCA clouds so they will not conflict/replace.  If you're going to REX soft clouds then you need to disable ENVTEX clouds.

All add more info tomorrow night.

SSAA will be very hard on your GPU, especially with clouds present.  MSAA 4X is a better "performance" option but not as good quality AA.

Cheers, Rob.

Hi, Rob. I have always chosen to keep my simulator simple (just ORBX, Hifi, PF3 and PMDG products). After reading this post, I am truly tempted to go further, but it all seems so much more complicated when blending all the various products together. In your professional opinion, does it make a huge change to immersion in my simulation environment to invest in these additional addons? I use P3D v4.1....7700K, 1080Ti...

[Jim Young 2,356]

15 hours ago, gspi1991 said:

just came home and started testing. Shadow draw distance down to low - 1-3 fps gain vs. ultra. Autogen building density down to 0 - 2-3 fps gained but now the skyline of Manhatten is gone and im not sure if i can live with that "empty" sim.

Autogen is being rendered constantly.  If you use it for 30 minutes, probably little or no difference with FPS.  But for flights longer than that, then it may take a toll on performance depending on where you are located.   If you want a great view of the Manhattan Skyline, how about purchasing a "great view of the Manhattan Skyline and dump Autogen.  Drzewiecki New York X has a cheap and fantastic addon that will do that.

In regards to ENVTEX, I have always stated, P3D/FSX runs great with fantastic FPS anywhere in the world until you start adding the eye-candy addons.  If those eye-candy addons do not work for your computer, then, IMHO, you need to upgrade or lower your settings dramatically which will ruin the effects of the fantastic eye-candy, eye-popping, awesome flight simulation addons that provide a lot of immersion into your flights.  I did.

But Rob and many others are the experts in getting the best performance out of your flight simulation experience with and CPU no matter how many addons you have so hopefully he can find a solution for your issues.

[gspi1991 0]

Hi guys,

first of all I wanna thank you for your help!

 

I have tried out a few settings now and so far I was able to get solid numbers.

For now i have disabled DL and switched to 4xMSAA (i see no difference @1440p resolution?) but was able to push all the terrain sliders to the maximum (with mesh resolution 5m). Water Detail Ultra - no reflections.

Scenery Objects all very dense/very high - autogen buildings disabled. Shadows both settings on ultra, unchecked sim objects and vegetation from casting/receiving list.

Furthermore I removed REX Soft Clouds and enabled ASCA clouds with 2048 cirrus and 1024 32 Bit cloud textures. 

 

All settings tested today, first leg was LOWW (FlyTampa) - EDDM (T2G) - EDDF (AS) - EHAM (FlyTampa) - LOWW (T2G). Took me a few hours but the performance was great (anytime >25 fps, lowest was 25 fps at EHAM). Tested with the QW787 which is about 5-8 fps down compared to PMDG planes for me. 

Now I will give it a try at KJFK, maybe i will do an overnight flight KJFK-EHAM later.

 

But of course I´m looking forward to see the results you got Rob, maybe I have to tweak a little bit more to be able to turn DL back on! Can´t wait to see your video 🙂

 

Cheers  

[LRBS 946]

23 hours ago, gspi1991 said:

2 weeks ago I had no performance issues at all.

Kind of a similar problem I encountered, maybe you wanna check your CPU speed in Task Manager and see if you have this issue? 

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/537860-help-with-cpu-speed-fluctuation-with-ht-on-please/?tab=comments#comment-3862431

 

[gspi1991 0]

On 6/19/2018 at 8:03 AM, Rob Ainscough said:

I recorded a video tonight with setting that work reasonably well in that location with those add-ons and a few more ... will post tomorrow night when I have time.  It covers graphics settings and ENVTEX/SHADE settings.

You can use all three products (REX, HiFi ASCA, ENVTEX) but you'll want to make sure each product has settings that don't overlap otherwise you'll have the same textures being replaced by different products (sometimes on the fly).  From  you settings you appear to be using REX soft clouds and also ENVTEX clouds ... you correctly disabled ASCA clouds so they will not conflict/replace.  If you're going to REX soft clouds then you need to disable ENVTEX clouds.

All add more info tomorrow night.

SSAA will be very hard on your GPU, especially with clouds present.  MSAA 4X is a better "performance" option but not as good quality AA.

Cheers, Rob.

Hi Rob, just wondering when you're gonna upload the video? I'm very interested in your settings.

Cheers, Gregor.

[Guest]

Sorry, other items came up, will try to get it edited and up by Sat maybe Thursday night.  It's mostly recorded but I added a few things.

Cheers, Rob.

[Guest]

Sorry for delay, I finally got around to finishing my video ... it's a long one so check the video description for quick links to time segments that might be of interest (it's all recorded in 4K but I tried to make it as 1080 friendly as possible):

Cheers, Rob.

EDIT: There are no revelations in this video, it's more about the "process" of tuning and less about the final settings.  Sorry to those looking for a magic bullet, there are none I've found yet.