Max GPU Load

[24CarotMagic 0]

Hi Fellas,

First off, as seen by the title, Im encountering Max GPU loads. At first, I thought the tweaks I have been using were the main factors, but after resetting my P3D config file to its default settings, there were no changes in load usage. I've read many topics about people utilizing only 50 - 70% of their GPU while having better settings than my default, and im thinking to myself "How in the heck?" 

I checked my task manager and it shows that P3D is using nearly all of my load on my GPU. What I noticed in task manager is that only 3.4GB/11GB of GPU Memory is being used when P3D is open. May this be the factor? GPU USAGE

Specs:

AMD Ryzen 2700X @ 4.05GHz

16GB RAM @ 3200MHz

EVGA 1080Ti FTW3 11GB

Windows 10 Pro

Edited April 5, 2019 by 24CarotMagic

[sgreen91 182]

GPU usage is dependant on time of day (use of dynamic lights etc), weather at the time (heavy overcast days with cloud setting on max), usage of anti-aliasing, and monitor resolution.  I run a 4k monitor with a 1080ti and when all those above conditions are met its a perfect storm of 100% gpu usage which when running at 30hz refresh it will cause stuttering.

Supposedly a 2080ti will run better but I have yet to purchase and verify that it would help in those situations.

 

[Rogen 1,087]

Hi 24CarrotMagic,

GPU usage is going to be subjective depending on a whole lot of various items.

Here's a link to a free tool I use to monitor CPU, temps and GPU use, it can help you gain an understanding of how settings changes affect GPU/CPU use.

https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

 

Monitor Hz rate (refresh rate) vs fps

Essentually the higher the frames per second, and the higher the GFX settings and the greater the draw distance equals higher GPU use.

For example, lets say we have a 60 hz monitor - and we can either set a locked frame rate or run unlimited frames within P3D.

However running a locked frame rate in P3D is not the best as P3D isn't really setup to actually achieve the FPS set on the slider and the result is a poor performing sim.

So the next best option is to set the fps to unlimited. P3D does manage this very well and automatically works as hard as it can to get the maximum fps result, however the fps will jump around and although fps will be high it generally won't be very smooth.

There is also the P3D option of vsync with triple buffering which will sync the frame rate to match the monotor hz (60 hz = 60 fps) and this actually works very well for providing a very smooth flying experience.

However with a 60 hz monitor you'll need P3D to be able to maintain fps of around 30% higher than 60 fps (for a 60 hz monitor) in order to leave some free overhead for the vsync to not drop out, as if the fps drops below 60, so to does vsync and a jarring judder and stutters occur.

 

So what does all the above have to do with GPU load?

Well, trying to maintain the highest fps on a 60 hz monitor with even resonable settings in P3D tends to max the GPU and results in stutters. Plus some settings in P3D will affect GPU use more than others, for example vegetation shadows will kill GPU use especially in low light conditions (dusk/dawn where shadows are long) simply because if you're in a area with trees - there are typically lots of trees to have to draw shadows for.

But if you can set the monitor to 30 hz and use vsync (30 hz = 30 fps), the GPU no longer has work as hard at the same P3D settings values and thus a smooth flying vsync'd sim is possible. In fact you can often ramp up the settings and still keep P3D flying smooth.

But what if it is not possible to set a 30 hz screen mode? Well there are a few tools that can help, there is the NVidia 3D setting of vsync at half the refresh rate (I never had much luck with that though) and there is RTSS (Riva Tuning Statistics Server) which can do the same and help keep your GPU use under control while also vsyncing at half the monitor refresh rate.

Take a look at this thread which has discussion on RTSS also includes a sample video with the P3D settings used for the video.

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/552108-stuttering-every-few-seconds

 

P3D Profiles

One of the main consumer of GPU and fps in P3D is the draw distance, being the wider the draw distance, the more resources will be taken by both CPU and GPU, it's a bit like doubling a resolution increases resource requirements by 4.

This is where P3D profiles comes in handy (although they are some what clumsy to maintain).

You create a nice standard configuration then save it as a profile. I've created a bunch based on draw distance mostly and tune accordingly.

e.g. 0.PhototReal (has practically all setting maxed) 1.VeryHigh, 2.High, 3.Medium, 4.Low etc.

The Clumsy part is you cannot browse/select the profile to save, you'll need to type it in so best to keep the name simple, hopefully LM wil fix this lack of UI functionality in the future...

The profiles are held in \Documents\Prepar3D v4 Files\ as the name you've given them and that's why I prefix with a number for ordering and to make them easy to find. Essentually they are cut down prepar3d.cfg files and you can edit manually with a text editor and also rename them outside of P3D itself without drama. They can be used to create alternative settings that can easily be switched over to while flying.

 

Example Pics

I'll finish off now with two P3D pics, both are P3D paused with the exact same photoreal scenery (BlueSky) running my "0.PhotoReal" config profile, the difference being one is @ 60 hz unlimited frame rate, the other is @ 30 Hz vsync'd unlimited frame rate ((30hz vsync'd = 30 fps - this is the only change), Check out the GPU use stats.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1704214789

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1704235003

Edited April 5, 2019 by Rogen
corrections

[24CarotMagic 0]

22 hours ago, sgreen91 said:

GPU usage is dependant on time of day (use of dynamic lights etc), weather at the time (heavy overcast days with cloud setting on max), usage of anti-aliasing, and monitor resolution.  I run a 4k monitor with a 1080ti and when all those above conditions are met its a perfect storm of 100% gpu usage which when running at 30hz refresh it will cause stuttering.

Supposedly a 2080ti will run better but I have yet to purchase and verify that it would help in those situations.

 

Ive seen people with older GPU's having better performance/quality than me, so a 2080Ti is not an option for me 😞 and it's expensive

[24CarotMagic 0]

6 hours ago, Rogen said:

Hi 24CarrotMagic,

GPU usage is going to be subjective depending on a whole lot of various items.

Here's a link to a free tool I use to monitor CPU, temps and GPU use, it can help you gain an understanding of how settings changes affect GPU/CPU use.

https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

 

Monitor Hz rate (refresh rate) vs fps

Essentually the higher the frames per second, and the higher the GFX settings and the greater the draw distance equals higher GPU use.

For example, lets say we have a 60 hz monitor - and we can either set a locked frame rate or run unlimited frames within P3D.

However running a locked frame rate in P3D is not the best as P3D isn't really setup to actually achieve the FPS set on the slider and the result is a poor performing sim.

So the next best option is to set the fps to unlimited. P3D does manage this very well and automatically works as hard as it can to get the maximum fps result, however the fps will jump around and although fps will be high it generally won't be very smooth.

There is also the P3D option of vsync with triple buffering which will sync the frame rate to match the monotor hz (60 hz = 60 fps) and this actually works very well for providing a very smooth flying experience.

However with a 60 hz monitor you'll need P3D to be able to maintain fps of around 30% higher than 60 fps (for a 60 hz monitor) in order to leave some free overhead for the vsync to not drop out, as if the fps drops below 60, so to does vsync and a jarring judder and stutters occur.

 

So what does all the above have to do with GPU load?

Well, trying to maintain the highest fps on a 60 hz monitor with even resonable settings in P3D tends to max the GPU and results in stutters. Plus some settings in P3D will affect GPU use more than others, for example vegetation shadows will kill GPU use especially in low light conditions (dusk/dawn where shadows are long) simply because if you're in a area with trees - there are typically lots of trees to have to draw shadows for.

But if you can set the monitor to 30 hz and use vsync (30 hz = 30 fps), the GPU no longer has work as hard at the same P3D settings values and thus a smooth flying vsync'd sim is possible. In fact you can often ramp up the settings and still keep P3D flying smooth.

But what if it is not possible to set a 30 hz screen mode? Well there are a few tools that can help, there is the NVidia 3D setting of vsync at half the refresh rate (I never had much luck with that though) and there is RTSS (Riva Tuning Statistics Server) which can do the same and help keep your GPU use under control while also vsyncing at half the monitor refresh rate.

Take a look at this thread which has discussion on RTSS also includes a sample video with the P3D settings used for the video.

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/552108-stuttering-every-few-seconds

 

P3D Profiles

One of the main consumer of GPU and fps in P3D is the draw distance, being the wider the draw distance, the more resources will be taken by both CPU and GPU, it's a bit like doubling a resolution increases resource requirements by 4.

This is where P3D profiles comes in handy (although they are some what clumsy to maintain).

You create a nice standard configuration then save it as a profile. I've created a bunch based on draw distance mostly and tune accordingly.

e.g. 0.PhototReal (has practically all setting maxed) 1.VeryHigh, 2.High, 3.Medium, 4.Low etc.

The Clumsy part is you cannot browse/select the profile to save, you'll need to type it in so best to keep the name simple, hopefully LM wil fix this lack of UI functionality in the future...

The profiles are held in \Documents\Prepar3D v4 Files\ as the name you've given them and that's why I prefix with a number for ordering and to make them easy to find. Essentually they are cut down prepar3d.cfg files and you can edit manually with a text editor and also rename them outside of P3D itself without drama. They can be used to create alternative settings that can easily be switched over to while flying.

 

Example Pics

I'll finish off now with two P3D pics, both are P3D paused with the exact same photoreal scenery (BlueSky) running my "0.PhotoReal" config profile, the difference being one is @ 60 hz unlimited frame rate, the other is @ 30 Hz vsync'd unlimited frame rate ((30hz vsync'd = 30 fps - this is the only change), Check out the GPU use stats.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1704214789

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1704235003

Unfortunately, locking my frames isnt helping at all unless something im doing on my side is wrong. I've tried FPS limiting in NVIDIA Inspector, RTSS (Not sure how it works with my 120Hz Monitor) and even inside the game. 

Also im not sure how to set up P3D to sync with my Monitor Refresh rate in order to achieve smoothness as most posts i read, people have native 60Hz monitors which work well for them

[Rogen 1,087]

Hey Mate,

You need to set a screen mode and size (outside of P3D) that runs @ 60 hz and then choose that screen size in P3D.

For example my monitor will output 1080P, 1920 x 1080 at the following refresh rates.

23 hz, 24 hz, 30 hz, 50 hz, 59 hz and 60 hz

Then if you follow the settings for RTSS as described and also in the video (there is both RTSS and P3D example settings) you should be right to go.

Note there will be no need to limit in the NVidia inspector because by vsyncing at half the 60 hz refresh rate you're automatically limited to 30 fps and setting a limit anywhere else is redundant.

Cheers

[24CarotMagic 0]

11 hours ago, Rogen said:

Hey Mate,

You need to set a screen mode and size (outside of P3D) that runs @ 60 hz and then choose that screen size in P3D.

For example my monitor will output 1080P, 1920 x 1080 at the following refresh rates.

23 hz, 24 hz, 30 hz, 50 hz, 59 hz and 60 hz

Then if you follow the settings for RTSS as described and also in the video (there is both RTSS and P3D example settings) you should be right to go.

Note there will be no need to limit in the NVidia inspector because by vsyncing at half the 60 hz refresh rate you're automatically limited to 30 fps and setting a limit anywhere else is redundant.

Cheers

I tried limiting my refresh rate to 60Hz, and following the RTSS guide, and all it does is make my sim laggy. But it does usually stay around 30FPS which is great, but again not ideal for me as it doesnt feel smooth compared to my current settings. I guess everyones system is different and im no exception. I did order an SSD so I can continue tweaking my sim as it takes AGES to load P3D.

[Sea2Sky 4]

On 4/5/2019 at 4:05 PM, Rogen said:

But if you can set the monitor to 30 hz and use vsync (30 hz = 30 fps), the GPU no longer has work as hard at the same P3D settings values and thus a smooth flying vsync'd sim is possible. In fact you can often ramp up the settings and still keep P3D flying smooth.

This has made a considerable FPS performance increase on P3D v5. Great advice, thank you.