Locking FPS at 30 makes panning the camera a struggle

[sho69607 29]

I have been dealing with lots of FPS fluctuation lately in p3dv4.5 so I decided to make some adjustments in the Nvidia Control Panel to lock my FPS at 30. That worked great, but the only problem is panning the camera is not smooth anymore and I am getting some screen tearing now. I'll attach some screen shots to show the settings I changed. Whether I turn Vsync on or off in the sim makes no difference in screen tearing. I also was recommended to install RivaTuner so I attached my settings to that as well.

https://prnt.sc/t10423

https://prnt.sc/t105qj

https://prnt.sc/t108mc

Edited June 16, 2020 by sho69607

[Ray Proudfoot 9,038]

You don’t list your monitor. Is it capable of running at 30Hz or do you have to force it via those settings? If it is set it to that via Nvidia Control Panel. Do not run any software like Riva Tuner, Nvidia Inspector or Afterburner. In P3D set the frame rate limiter to unlimited and tick VSync.

I use those settings with my system and it’s silky smooth. The reason you’re getting screen tearing is because you haven’t turned on VSync. See how you get on with that. Clearly your monitor has to be able to run 30Hz. Not all can.

At 1920*1080 even with a 1070 it should be okay. I can run at 4K with my setup. The smoothness of the sim should be the most important thing. How smooth panning is should be of secondary importance.

[sho69607 29]

9 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

You don’t list your monitor. Is it capable of running at 30Hz or do you have to force it via those settings? If it is set it to that via Nvidia Control Panel. Do not run any software like Riva Tuner, Nvidia Inspector or Afterburner. In P3D set the frame rate limiter to unlimited and tick VSync.

I use those settings with my system and it’s silky smooth. The reason you’re getting screen tearing is because you haven’t turned on VSync. See how you get on with that. Clearly your monitor has to be able to run 30Hz. Not all can.

At 1920*1080 even with a 1070 it should be okay. I can run at 4K with my setup. The smoothness of the sim should be the most important thing. How smooth panning is should be of secondary importance.

By default my monitor is 60hz, but have it set up for half refresh rate with Rivatuner. I have vsync enabled through Nvidia control panel so I am not sure why it doesn't appear to be working in the sim. When I use the FPS limiter within P3d, it does not work with some aircraft. By forcing it to 30fps with the Nvidia control panel, it seems to stay at 28-30FPS regardless of my settings in the sim (unless I crank them up too high). If I turn off the FPS limiter, my FPS goes much higher and the camera is smooth, but then the sim is more susceptible to stuttering with the inconsistent frame rate. I suppose it is about finding the right balance. 

[Ray Proudfoot 9,038]

@sho69607, it would really help if you gave the model and make of your monitor. All monitors can run at 60Hz but not all can run at 30Hz and tricks have to be used (like Riva Tuner) to get them to.

Never but never limit the frame rate in P3D. It gives the worst possible result. So what’s your monitor?

[sho69607 29]

28 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

@sho69607, it would really help if you gave the model and make of your monitor. All monitors can run at 60Hz but not all can run at 30Hz and tricks have to be used (like Riva Tuner) to get them to.

Never but never limit the frame rate in P3D. It gives the worst possible result. So what’s your monitor?

Sure, it is an ASUS VE278. I bought it new in 2015.

[Ray Proudfoot 9,038]

20 minutes ago, sho69607 said:

Sure, it is an ASUS VE278. I bought it new in 2015.

As I suspected it’s not capable of running at 30Hz which is why you have to use different methods to force it to that frequency.

You can see the supported resolutions and refresh rates on p23 on the manual 

http://static.highspeedbackbone.net/pdf/Asus VE278 LED Monitor Manual.pdf

It’s probably better that someone who uses a similar method helps, sorry. Hope you can get it improved.

[sho69607 29]

Ok maybe I am confused, but when I ran a refresh rate test my monitor came back as 60.001Hz.

Edited June 16, 2020 by sho69607

[Ray Proudfoot 9,038]

Just now, sho69607 said:

Ok maybe I am confused, but when I ran a refresh rate test my monitor came back as 60.001Hz.

If you look at the first table on p23 of the manual you’ll see that is the stated refresh rate. It is being artificially lowered by those settings in Nvidia Inspector. Specifically the 1/2 refresh rate which forces 60 to 30.

[DylanC 181]

3 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Never but never limit the frame rate in P3D. It gives the worst possible result. So what’s your monitor?

@Ray Proudfoot Unfortunately have to respectfully disagree with this statement.  I would say generally speaking, folks have seen poor results limiting the frame within P3D depending on their hardware including monitor used.  There are a few of us who have really great results by limiting frames within P3D to 30HZ and setting the refresh rates to our monitors at 30HZ.  Works perfectly for me, buttery smooth and I fly at 4K.  

[Ray Proudfoot 9,038]

6 hours ago, DylanC said:

@Ray Proudfoot Unfortunately have to respectfully disagree with this statement.  I would say generally speaking, folks have seen poor results limiting the frame within P3D depending on their hardware including monitor used.  There are a few of us who have really great results by limiting frames within P3D to 30HZ and setting the refresh rates to our monitors at 30HZ.  Works perfectly for me, buttery smooth and I fly at 4K.  

If VSync is enabled the fps is limited to the monitor frequency. Have you tried setting unlimited with the monitor to 30Hz? I tried both and there was no difference. But if it works for you that's fine. People can try the various suggestions and see what works best for them.

[Tomaz Drnovsek 440]

7 hours ago, DylanC said:

There are a few of us who have really great results by limiting frames within P3D to 30HZ and setting the refresh rates to our monitors at 30HZ.  Works perfectly for me, buttery smooth and I fly at 4K.  

This is one of the things I spent many hours/day/years/centuries investigating but never got to the bottom of it. I use TrackIR in precision mode. The only way I can get smooth movements is by using Unlimited frame rate with Vsync On and as close as possible to 60 FPS (on a 60 Hz monitor). It actually works pretty reasonable down to 40 FPS. If I limit the FPS (to whatever number, even 60) the movements become sluggish for the lack of the better word, it's not smooth anymore when looking around with TrackIR. The same story with 30 Hz monitor. If I wouldn't use TrackIR than all this would be a completely different story. Why? Well, most of the time when flying you look straight ahead out of the front window. The area of movement is limited to whatever you see out of the window, everything else is static. It moves when you look around with a mouse but those movements are usually quick and short. When flying the turns are usually slow. The fastest movement you get is probably when turning during taxiing on the ground. On the other hand with TrackIR you move your head ALL the time! It's like those taxi turns but 99% of the time when in P3D. Imagine looking at that all the time. Would you still say it's buttery smooth? Well, some actually do which really boggles me. Do they really get the same smoothness at 30 Hz or with locked FSP at 30 on a 60 Hz monitor I get with 60 FPS and Unlimited which I would call buttery smooth? Is it maybe the TrackIR thing I explained before? Is their definition of "buttery smooth" just different from mine? Is it something about human eyes and different perception of movement? I really don't know.

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Tomaz Drnovsek

[IanHarrison 525]

I see that you do not have RTSS scanline sync set to 1/2 .

On my system that is all I need to set the monitor. I don't limit frame rate externally or internally.

It gives me around 30 fps under favourable circumstances.

LG IPS LED 60hz

[Noel 4,563]

15 hours ago, sho69607 said:

I have been dealing with lots of FPS fluctuation lately in p3dv4.5 so I decided to make some adjustments in the Nvidia Control Panel to lock my FPS at 30. That worked great, but the only problem is panning the camera is not smooth anymore and I am getting some screen tearing now. I'll attach some screen shots to show the settings I changed. Whether I turn Vsync on or off in the sim makes no difference in screen tearing. I also was recommended to install RivaTuner so I attached my settings to that as well.

https://prnt.sc/t10423

https://prnt.sc/t105qj

https://prnt.sc/t108mc

Spencer:

In RTSS, click on the Scanline sync text itself and set it to x/2 which is nails down 1/2 of your monitor's 60Hz refresh.  You can leave the FPS limit off on that same interface.  Now go to the Settings button in RTSS, and chose the FPS Limit option.   As Ray suggested, and as you already have, unlimited frames and vsync enabled in-sim, and you can also use triple buffering.  Next, I suggest avoiding Inspector's custom settings for P3D and change to Global--default settings.  This, RTSS scanline sync x/2 works as well as vsyncing to a 30Hz screen w/ the caveat the main thread will run full tilt all the time, whereas w/ vsync to 30Hz the main thread changes w/ demand, so is ultimately better I feel.  Having used this now for 6y w/ P3D's former versions thru 4.5 I can attest I have perfectly smooth video all the time, unless sliders were set (either CPU and/or GPU related) too high in which case 30fps can't be maintained the stuttering ensues.  No tearing while panning, truly the holy grail for what we're all after--fluid, stutter-free video.  I'm still playing with FFTF Dynamic to see if I can improve the rare 'long frame' one gets from overloading the rig.

[neumanix 114]

I'm also a Track IR user, and to get an enjoyable experience you need frames. As many as possible. I find that 90fps is required to feel really connected.

Same goes for VR and any kind of head tracking. Panning around with the mouse is a completely different story.

Best solution is gsync/freesync and limiting the fps just below the maximum in the range. In racing games I lock to 120fps (144hz monitor).

Of course these kind of fps are impossible in a modern add-on packed flight sim, which is sad. That's why I stick with FS9, yay!!!

[sho69607 29]

Ok it seems that helped a bit as the screen tearing is gone. However, the fps is going between 28-32FPS and anytime I make turns on the ground I get some non fluid motion/stuttering. Maybe I am not used to using a lower framerate. I will try reducing some more settings and see if that helps.

Edited June 18, 2020 by sho69607