Just recently installed MSFS which amazes me.  I have a 10700K cpu and a 1080 Ti graphics card.  Currently I have a 5 year old BenQ 60hz monitor.  Am trying to decide if a 144hz new monitor is worth looking.  Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

5 hours ago, PDX Flyer said:

Just recently installed MSFS which amazes me.  I have a 10700K cpu and a 1080 Ti graphics card.  Currently I have a 5 year old BenQ 60hz monitor.  Am trying to decide if a 144hz new monitor is worth looking.  Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Only if it's a Gsync or FreeSync monitor. Otherwise, there are few situations in which you'll hit 144 FPS in any of the flight sims.

On 1/30/2021 at 10:46 PM, PDX Flyer said:

Currently I have a 5 year old BenQ 60hz monitor.  Am trying to decide if a 144hz new monitor is worth looking.

Unless you play games where you can get 144fps that would not be a good move.

Check if your BenQ can support 30Hz. If so, switch to it and you’ll get super smooth results in any flight sim. My PD3200U 4K monitor gives great results in P3D running 3840*2160 @30Hz.

Err... not talking about the sim here, but I wouldn't be without my 144hz monitor. Not had a 60Hz for about 3 monitors back.

So much better when pottering about the desktop. Very smooth in Windows.

9 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Unless you play games where you can get 144fps that would not be a good move.

Check if your BenQ can support 30Hz. If so, switch to it and you’ll get super smooth results in any flight sim. My PD3200U 4K monitor gives great results in P3D running 3840*2160 @30Hz.

Thanks Ray.  Always appreciate your insight.

On 1/30/2021 at 2:46 PM, PDX Flyer said:

Just recently installed MSFS which amazes me.  I have a 10700K cpu and a 1080 Ti graphics card.  Currently I have a 5 year old BenQ 60hz monitor.  Am trying to decide if a 144hz new monitor is worth looking.  Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Hi fellow PDX flyer, good to see another flight simmer from the area.

As you probably already noticed its difficult to maintain high frame rates with MSFS when settings are on Ultra even with your 1080ti. While going to a 144hz monitor will be great for other games as you stated "for MSFS" not so much. 

On 2/2/2021 at 12:34 PM, TurboKen said:

Hi fellow PDX flyer, good to see another flight simmer from the area.

As you probably already noticed its difficult to maintain high frame rates with MSFS when settings are on Ultra even with your 1080ti. While going to a 144hz monitor will be great for other games as you stated "for MSFS" not so much. 

THANKS for your reply.  Looking at your specs ... WOW ... that looks like a great rig you have. I am impressed.

btw, how do you like your 38" ultrawide monitor?

I’d like to argue the counter point to @Ray Proudfoot. You don’t need to achieve >60fps to benefit from a 144 Hz monitor as I recently found out when I upgraded my 60 Hz 34” ultra-wide to a 144 Hz ultra-wide display. Even when you not using VRR (for example when your FPS are below the required refresh rate for VRR (Gsync or Freeaync, VRR range depends on the screen but usually starts at 40 or 48 Hz)) you will wait on average 58% less (going from 60 Hz to 144 Hz) for a rendered frame to refresh on screen. 
 

I used to be a big fan of locking the screen to 30 Hz to provide a fluid experience, but no more. 144 Hz has been great for fluidity and when VRR kicks in it’s fantastic! Only issue I have with the screen is flickering when moving in/out of the VRR range (at 48 Hz in my screens case) but I can live with that. The issue would go away if I disabled VRR of course, but I’d rather keep it on. 

Edited February 7, 20215 yr by alepro21

@alepro21, VRR? It's always best to describe these things. Variable Refresh Rate? If so I have no issue with those monitors but you do limit yourself to choosing a monitor that matches the graphics card.

If that combo can deliver a fps of 40 consistently then fine. But what is the minimum fps it can deliver? 30? Or less maybe.

All I'm saying is that with a 30Hz refresh rate and setting P3D to get close to that most of the time that works for me. And with no flickering either. Monitoring CPU1 and the GPU workload using RivaTuner really helps you to get the best performance.

On 2/5/2021 at 7:31 PM, PDX Flyer said:

THANKS for your reply.  Looking at your specs ... WOW ... that looks like a great rig you have. I am impressed.

btw, how do you like your 38" ultrawide monitor?

Thanks, It's a great system and I really enjoy it. As for the monitor I couldn't recommend it more. Having the extra width really helps with the immersion factor. I'm waiting for a larger display in the 40-42" range w/HDR but might be a few more years. I would say its perfect for flightsims but really its great for all gaming I do.

On 2/7/2021 at 7:57 PM, Ray Proudfoot said:

Monitoring CPU1 and the GPU workload using RivaTuner really helps you to get the best performance.

Interesting Ray! Do you use that information to tune your settings? I only ever looked at this when making a hardware change, but perhaps I’m missing a trick here?

43 minutes ago, alepro21 said:

Interesting Ray! Do you use that information to tune your settings? I only ever looked at this when making a hardware change, but perhaps I’m missing a trick here?

I keep it running all the time now. Some airports are not that well designed regarding Dynamic Lighting and should the sim start stuttering a quick glance at the GPU load will confirm that's where the problem lies. Stuttering can also be caused by very heavy cloud cover but in those cases you can't do much about it but at least it shows where the problem lies. GPU, not CPU.

But monitoring CPU1 is very helpful when setting scenery levels. I pinched this method from @Pete Dowson....

• Position your aircraft at a very complex airport. I use EGLL
• Slew up to 500ft
• Slew through 360 degrees noting both fps and CPU1.

Where CPU1 hits 100% you'll probably get stuttering as your settings are too high for the CPU. Remember CPU1 bears the main load. Reduce them slightly and repeat the process. The target is to get CPU1 usage under 100%. If you can't at least it will be at 100% for the shortest time possible.

If you can achieve that your flying experience will be so much better. This is where running your monitor at 30Hz is better than 60Hz since the workload is lower and you're more likely to be able to get CPU1 below 100%.

Thanks a lot for the tip and explanation Ray! I’ll certainly give this a shot.  

For me, 4K makes all the difference in the world when it comes to visual clarity and realistic looking planes and scenery.  I've tried and sent back monitors that weren't 4K with higher refresh rates and they couldn't compare to the visual reward a 4K monitor gives you.

Ray Proudfoot helped me get straight on this when I was looking for a monitor.  P3d and MSFS look so much better in 4K .  You will have to accept either 60hz or buy a monitor that can step down to 30hz.  Ray's BenQ does and my LG 32" 4K monitor does as well.  However I fly v5 version and I keep my monitor in 60hz.  I seems to work for me.

It's 4K for me or nothing.

On 2/10/2021 at 5:40 AM, alepro21 said:

Thanks a lot for the tip and explanation Ray! I’ll certainly give this a shot.  

 

On 2/10/2021 at 5:40 AM, alepro21 said:

Thanks a lot for the tip and explanation Ray! I’ll certainly give this a shot.  

 

 

Edited February 11, 20215 yr by spilok

On 2/1/2021 at 5:56 AM, Ray Proudfoot said:

Unless you play games where you can get 144fps that would not be a good move.

Check if your BenQ can support 30Hz. If so, switch to it and you’ll get super smooth results in any flight sim. My PD3200U 4K monitor gives great results in P3D running 3840*2160 @30Hz.

Hey Ray, Does your monitor natively support 30hz or is it native 60 and you run it at 30?  Skip