Strange GPU/CPU Behavior

[Alex753 1]

Hey !

 

I don't really know where to add this thread so feel free to move it if needed.

I'm experiencing issues with P3Dv4 GPU and CPU behavior, actually I never paid attention to it before but when I fly over heavy sceneries or with a  heavy on framerate Plane, both of my GPU and CPU don't run at 100%. My CPU cores are also not working equally, like the CPU0 work way harder than the others.

(All tests are made without Vsync obviously, so framerate is not limited)

CPU : I7 4790K without OC

GPU : MSI GTX970 4Go

The problem might be coming from my CPU since when I fly without any autogen, Vsync still off my GPU run at 100% with 140/150 FPS.

Autogen must be adding a big load to my CPU and as soon as I load my sim with big addons I got this weird behavior.

 

 

AffinityMask has been set on 0 in the .CFG as I saw it on forums, but I don't see any changes.

Here at TAMPA with Carenado PC12, 40fps, GPU chilling at 44% and CPU with only core0 working at nearly 100%, all other cores are chilling too.

 

I don't really know what to do at this point, Any idea ?

Have a great week.

 

[Bob Scott 7,716]

That's normal behavior.  The main thread, which usually runs on the first available core, typically hits that core with a sustained high load, and the other cores are used as-needed, spiking the most when terrain tiles and scenery are loaded.

As far as the GPU, you don't want to see it up close to 100%, as that will cause stuttering to occur.  40% is fine, it'll go higher with heavy clouds and weather, or at night with DL on.

Regards

 

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

1 hour ago, Alex753 said:

AffinityMask has been set on 0 in the .CFG

Whoa.. careful here..

Suggest you take that out, whatever it is

[Alex753 1]

So I couldn’t hit any higher framerate even with my GPU running at about 50% ?

what is the limitation here so ?

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

41 minutes ago, Alex753 said:

So I couldn’t hit any higher framerate even with my GPU running at about 50% ?

what is the limitation here so ?

Your CPU is likely the limiting factor as far as frame rates go.

Only a higher clocked CPU will give you better frame rates in your situation.

[Alex753 1]

Well I heard that the I7 4790K who runs at 4Ghz without OC is still quite a powerful CPU, I could try for sure to OC it slowly and carefully at 4.2Ghz to see how P3D behave after this.

However my GPU is way less powerful than the latest ones and I really thought it could be the issue here even if it was running slowly 

[pgde 571]

Given adequate cooling your 4790k should be able to reach at least 4.5 Ghz. I am using a Deepcool AIO water cooler and am running at 4.5.

[Alex753 1]

And do you noticed a noticable fps improvement ?

I basically want to reach at least 50Fps (50Hz screen + Vsync) from the average 40 I have on thoses big sceneries/planes.

[Jethro 65]

Your GTX970 GPU is downclocking 899Mhz under load 44% where it should be 1114Mhz Memory 3005Mhz should be 3505Mhz, Pstate is P2 should be in P0 under load, fanspeed is quite low 540rpm, temp 60deg (though not overly hot), voltage is low 1.006v, according to the NVI panel in your picture.  Have you checked the fans and/or GPU for dustbunnies, and that the graphics card power cables are securely attached. Not ideal for P3D/64bit, where loads are shared between CPU & under-performing GPU. 
It is also possible to benefit from a higher CPU overclock around 4.6 - 4.7Ghz.
I agree with other comments on Core usage, and Affinity Mask usage, CPU utilization.

As example here's my NVI panel under load (GPU Boost) and in IDLE mode. Gigabyte GTX770/4G/oc - Superclocked using MSI Afterburner with GPUZ render test to get the GPU into boost.

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Jethro

[AnkH 2,233]

14 hours ago, Alex753 said:

AffinityMask has been set on 0 in the .CFG as I saw it on forums, but I don't see any changes.

I wonder in which forum you have seen an AffinityMask=0... IF you want to try a suitable AffinityMask for your CPU, try AffinityMask=85 if you have HT enabled or no AM at all if HT is disabled. AffinityMask=85 always served me best when using 4 core CPU with HT on, but this value is rather individual and you need to play around with the values until you found the setting that suits your computer best...

[W2DR 1,859]

On 7/29/2019 at 4:07 PM, Alex753 said:

Well I heard that the I7 4790K who runs at 4Ghz without OC is still quite a powerful CPU, I could try for sure to OC it slowly and carefully at 4.2Ghz to see how P3D behave after this.

However my GPU is way less powerful than the latest ones and I really thought it could be the issue here even if it was running slowly 

The 4790K runs at 4.4Ghz in Turbo mode. You need do nothing to make that happen. It's automatic when the CPU is under a heavy load.

[BusheFlyer 87]

On 7/29/2019 at 11:43 PM, Rob_Ainscough said:

You need to find a balance between CPU and GPU.  If you CPU is pegged at 100% and your GPU is at 50% then your balance is not optimal.

CPU Intensive tasks:

AG Building Density
AI Ground Traffic (road, boat, ships)
AI Air Traffic
LOD Radius

GPU Intensive tasks:

AA levels (SSAA will place a lot of work on your GPU)
Dynamic Lights (in aircraft and/or airport that supports them)
Dynamic Reflections
Shadows (building and Sim Objects)
Terrain, Sim Object, Building Reflections
3D Trees

Adjust these to balance out CPU/GPU usage ... CPU 90% or less, GPU 85% or less should give you "some" headroom to avoid stutters.

Remove your Affinity from the Prepar3d.cfg.

If you are not satisfied with adjusting graphics settings and/or reducing Add-On settings, then I'm afraid you'll have to buy a newer CPU (motherboard/RAM etc.).  The 4790K is a good CPU, but it is over 5 years old.

Add-ons are more than capable at reducing your FPS by 50% or more (Orbx Germany alone drops my FPS by 37%).  You might want to also take a look at what Options you have set for the Airport you're at ... I've found that enabling ALL options at a 3rd party Airport can be a bad idea in terms of FPS and sometimes it might only take one or two options disable at the Airport to make a world of difference in FPS.  For example I recently had very low FPS at YBBN, tried everything in P3D graphics settings to increase the FPS and it made almost no difference (even with very low settings) ... then I went into Orbx YBBN control panel and experimented with options and sure enough it was a few of the Airport options that were triggering my FPS issue (and very high CPU utilization). 

Cheers, Rob.

A modern high end GPU, Nvidia 9 series or greater should be so underwhelmed by anything that P3D can throw it.. except when moving into 4K territory. It is almost entirely CPU bound. All tests and results bare this out. If someone has poor FPS then I would expect 99.9% of the time it is due to not enough drawcalls being produced fast enough.

It's highly unfortunate that Flightsimmers have almost become accustomed to it having lived with FSX. If P3D was released as a 'game' the performance would be considered an absolute joke. It's shockingly bad. What is really needed is a new simulator with a modern engine behind it.

[AnkH 2,233]

1 hour ago, BusheFlyer said:

A modern high end GPU, Nvidia 9 series or greater should be so underwhelmed by anything that P3D can throw it.. .

Wrong. Run ActiveSky, REX Skyforce clouds and overcast conditions and even a 2080Ti will struggle when running the sim with 4xSSAA already in 1440p.

Same goes for dynamic reflections, dynamic lighting and all this gpu-heavy stuff. You do not need a 4K display to ruin the FPS inside P3D when putting those settings "wrong"...

[Egbert Drenth 250]

1 hour ago, BusheFlyer said:

What is really needed is a new simulator with a modern engine behind it

Like XP11? Also XP (or any likewise simulator) 'suffers' lower than average frame rates compared to regular games.
(Flight) simulators will also ways struggle with performance since they try to replicate the real world dynamics etc.

[pgde 571]

13 hours ago, W2DR said:

The 4790K runs at 4.4Ghz in Turbo mode. You need do nothing to make that happen. It's automatic when the CPU is under a heavy load.

Not all cores are turbo boosted. You need to set that manually in BIOS. I have all 4 cores locked at 4.5.