New build, v4.5 runs fabulously w/ the same approach as the prior build for 3.4, which is UNLIMITED/vsync to 30Hz screen.  Despite showing massive headroom on a given flight (Setup to be respectful of hardware capabilities, per flight scenario), to the tune of CPU at ~42% load, GPU at ~53%, I was getting these annoying niggles on the ground and in the air.  Very fluid for 6-14 seconds, then this annoying stuttering burst, subtle in terms of amplitude, but clearly there and very annoying!  I never saw this in P3D 3.4 on the old rig so this was a total puzzle to have these recurrent disruptions in otherwise fabulously smooth animation.

Well, I decided to try rebuilding Prepar3D.cfg even though I really did not special tweaks beyond setting my preferred affinity mask and setting the various sliders where I wanted them.  Next flight:  Voila!  No more of these annoyances!  Well, at least for this flight .  I saved this relatively virgin Prepar3D.cfg so I could swap it quickly to try again if needed.  I spent the last few days trying everything from updating the quite new nV driver to changing affinity masks and every other thing I could imagine, all to no avail!  I would insert the new Prepar3D.cfg, get maybe one good stutter-free flight, then they would start cropping up again. 

Long and short of it:  there was ONE SETTING in the newly built and retained Prepar3D.cfg file that I forgot to set in my initial virgin copy, and subsequently would change during adjusting settings for each upcoming test flight:  Auto-fill Main View checkbox.   OMG, this sucker is causing these stutters I can't believe it!  If I uncheck it, the stutters disappear completely!  If I recheck it, they come back just like clockwork!  Be aware if you do want to try this, and test it, if you been set as checked for auto-fill, when you uncheck the box the screen may not get rid of the auto-fill-in and stay fully expanded.  In this case hit the Alt-Enter to go to windowed mode first, then go ahead and uncheck the Auto-fill Main View box, and now you hopefully will see the screen shrunk slightly around the periphery as the auto-fill in disappears.  I'm using 3440x1440 screen.

I've only verified this solution in one plane (Maj Dash 8) but the stuttering behavior described happened w/ all other planes.  It was especially annoying w/ the Dash 8 because it is so easy to run it was pathetic to get these niggles w/ so much CPU/GPU overhead there.  It took a while to notice auto fill might have been involved because I often depart at pre dusk and in the dim lighting the lost filled in border isn't as readily apparent.

Addendum:  might as well ask--any way to get the screen to fill all the way out w/o checking the box?  I know there is no native full screen mode.  Or, perhaps there is another setting that might be interacting w/ the auto-fill main view functionality that can be changed perhaps?   Both the last two nV WHQL drivers for my RTS 2070 Super exhibited the stuttering, but as I say w/ the old build I never had this issue.  That it happens every maybe 6-14 seconds or so might be a clue to someone who understands these things better than I do.

Edited April 22, 20206 yr by Noel

48 minutes ago, Noel said:

Auto-fill Main View

This is very interesting to me because in v4.5 I had no stutters locked at 30hz vsync to my 4K screen.

In v5 I find that I get smooth performance with locked frames at 30+vsync, but if I don't lock the frames I have stutters.  I will give this a try and see what my results are.  If I unlock frames and turn off vsync, I get 50+ FPS most of the time, so it didn't make sense that I couldn't vsync at 30fps smoothly anymore.

(but also thought this could be related to the AMD video driver comparability issue LM is working on with AMD)

Edited April 22, 20206 yr by cwburnett

I just did a much more demanding flight in the NGXu and man, it's totally glass now but w/ so much higher settings of course than the old build.  Man I'm glad I stumbled on to that it's remarkable how reproducible it is, this stuttering associated w/ auto-fill.  It's been glass since getting on to unlimited/vsync to 30Hz screen which my Dell fortunately can do.  It was so frustrating to get all of this horsepower, have all of that indicated headroom, then get this goofy disturbances every 6 to 14 seconds or so and now it's all better!   I had narrowed it down to initiating ANYTHING in GSX but again that was a red herring.   Hopefully someone will have experienced this and come up with a way to fill the screen and not get this.  I will submit a ticket for it perhaps there is something LM can find on their end that will solve this for those who have it, and I very likely not the only person who is experiencing this.  

Your 4K screen does 30Hz eh?  The true holy grail I'm 100% convinced would come in being able to always maintain 60 frames vsync to 60Hz screen, unlimited frames.  Def can do this in the Dash 8 as you know you can maintain serious frames with it, though truly synced to 30Hz is pretty close to perfection.  

Auto-fill Main View checkbox

...is this a check in the UI or a setting to disabled in the cfg file?

In the UI, Display Settings in the Full Screen Settings box.

5 minutes ago, Boomer said:

Auto-fill Main View checkbox

...is this a check in the UI or a setting to disabled in the cfg file?

 

7 minutes ago, Boomer said:

Auto-fill Main View checkbox

...is this a check in the UI or a setting to disabled in the cfg file?

... a check box in the U.I.

Curious, this seems to have eliminated stutters for me as well in v5.

1 minute ago, Boomer said:

Curious, this seems to have eliminated stutters for me as well in v5.

Chris, you can also turn if off in the .cfg file...as I just did prior to my first test flight in both v4.5 and v5, by just opening up the .cfg file(s),  and deleting associated with that U.I. check box=True, and make it False, and then SAVE.  You don't have to wait to get to the sim's U.I.  

25 minutes ago, Boomer said:

Auto-fill Main View checkbox

...is this a check in the UI or a setting to disabled in the cfg file?

It's a checkbox in the Display menu in v4.5

Unbelievable.  That would have been, and indeed was, the last place I would have considered as a source of this annoyance.  I am in fat hog heaven now have waited patiently to put a new PC together for 6.5y now, and a month ago get this up and running and be on the one hand totally pleased w/ the obvious big performance bump that came w/ the new hardware, and yet be plagued by this subtle but really annoying recurrent stutter in the context of lots of CPU/GPU overhead for 4 straight weeks!   Back to flying again and away from this incessant troubleshooting!

If anyone else here benefits from this be put in a ticket and perhaps LM can address it.  It's not nice to have to donate that perimeter for naught and I have to think others, unless this is something unique to my new PC, who are having this also didn't think to look for auto-fill as a source to investigate.

1 hour ago, Noel said:

It's a checkbox in the Display menu in v4.5

...it's also in the .cfg file. So, if you don't want it to affect other settings you might have customized, it's better to edit the True flag, to False at that .cfg line. That way, nothing else will react to your having turned the click box off, in the running sim's U.I. masks. Sometimes, what we turn on or off in one part of the sim U.I., will effect a rewrite in the .cfg file upon exit, to other features. 

Great Find Noel!  I’m actually still using 4.5 but this eliminated them for me!

52 minutes ago, airforce806 said:

Great Find Noel!  I’m actually still using 4.5 but this eliminated them for me!

Awesome!  If you can go to my post at LM's forum and let them know it may help get us a real solution so we can also restore full screen use.  https://www.prepar3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6312&t=137275#p214511

Can I assume Auto-fill is not a factor if using the Window view mode?

Al

Edited April 23, 20206 yr by ark

I think this is a Windows problem not a P3D problem. I've seen it in beta testing. Has to do with a update to Windows10..

Try this: Right click p3d icon, go to properties, check the box for "disable full screen optimisations"

See if it gives the same effect as unchecking that box in P3D.

Edited April 23, 20206 yr by Slayer