I have been trying MSFS 2020 on my new PC and have had more CTDs and issues than I have in almost 30 years of flight simming. This morning alone after their latest hotfix, I had 4 CTDs in a row. My question is, if I purchase P3D now, which is the one to get version 4 or version5, and the main thing i want is for it to be stable like my Version 3.5 that I used for years. 

There's no really simple answer to this. How stable the sim is is a function of the hardware you run it on, the add-ons you use, how you have things configured, your Windows update state and many more. Based on my personal experience v5 is no less stable generally than v4, but the move to DirectX 12 has introduced some problems that some people have regularly and some people have rarely. Basically, if you have a good-enough GPU, v5 ought to be as stable as v4; but it's impossible for anyone here to say what will happen on your specific setup. 

Personally, I would never pick v4 over v5. There are so many performance and other improvements to be had. 

Agree.  Good graphics card with ample VRAM and V5 to me is just as stable as V4, but with better performance.  And better looking.  Some people seem to have random issues they can't seem to get past however with V5.  So I think it really depends on the individual setup.  

V4.5 is rock solid for everyone.

V5 is stable and improves performance for the majority but not for all. Some still experience crashes and do not see performance improvement.

My GPU only has  6 Gb Vram. Looks like 4.5 might be a better choice. ( RX 5600 XT) 

3 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

My GPU only has  6 Gb Vram. Looks like 4.5 might be a better choice. ( RX 5600 XT) 

I would agree with that.  

I'd still say v4.5 edges out v5.1 in terms of stability, but not by much.  And v5 does offer some much-appreciated performance gain, especially in known problem areas like the LA basin, NYC area etc.

Some add-on software hasn't yet, and perhaps will never make the trip to v5, e.g. PTA, the PMDG NGX (there is a newer NGXu product for v5), most of the Milviz add-ons, the iFly add-ons, ORBX Vector, many of the ORBX Global freeware airports, etc so if any of those are important to you, that'd be a consideration.

I have both, and still use both, but v5 is getting about 90% of my love now.

Edit -- with 6GB VRAM, I'd definitely go with v4.

v4.5 HF3 but 5.1 is stable enough. With v4.5 I stopped saving flights because I had 0 CTDs. I can't remember when I last had CTD with v4.5. With 5.1, they're back, but not often. 5.1 still wins overall by a large margin thanks to impressive performance gains and EA, which improves the look of the sim by miles.

I bought v5 for my laptop that has a 6 gig video card.   I can't sim on 4k but at 2048 with pmdg 737, qualtywings 787 and the aerosoft airbus professional series, I'm able to keep steady frames pretty much throughout a full flight.  I have the fps capped at 35 and textures at 2048.  Almost all sliders to the right.  I've had a few ctds from running out of video ram, but I'd go with v5!!

Edited March 27, 20215 yr by dufus01
Misspelling

Bob Scott -- PTA will never be v5 compatible (based on emails between me and the developer) due to the major change in shaders between v4 and v5. 

Bobski -- I would be concerned that you are having issues with MS2020 (I am not a 2020 user) and if you move over to P3D whatever issues would arise there too. What I would do as a test is to reinstall v3.5 and stress it a lot (if you still have the installation software and license info) to see if you CTD in P3D also. I am on v5 without any issues and would recommend that version.

Just a suggestion! Best of luck!

P.

 

1 hour ago, dufus01 said:

I bought v5 for my laptop that has a 6 gig video card.   I can't sim on 4k but at 2048 with pmdg 737, qualtywings 787 and the aerosoft airbus professional series, I'm able to keep steady frames pretty much throughout a full flight.  I have the fps capped at 35 and textures at 2048.  Almost all sliders to the right.  I've had a few ctds from running out of video ram, but I'd go with v5!!

I am just running 1960 x 1048 so I was thinking that maybe 6Gb Vram would work.  P3D offers a refund after 60 days if it doesn't work, so i figure I have nothing to lose. Most of the add ons I had with my previous version of P3D will work with 4.5 or 5. 

I am one of those guys with a good system that experienced the crashes in 5.1. I tried it for a year and did all kinds of things to kill the random crashes. I would go two or three flights and boom, crash. Always right when starting vectors or on the approach. After the last crash, I made my mind up and re-installed 4.5. It's solid and no performance issues at all. I do run MSFS as well without any issues.

 

28 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

P3D offers a refund after 60 days if it doesn't work

Thanks for that info, I was not aware. V5 did not work for me so I'll ask for a refund.

36 minutes ago, G550flyer said:

I am one of those guys with a good system that experienced the crashes in 5.1. I tried it for a year and did all kinds of things to kill the random crashes. I would go two or three flights and boom, crash. Always right when starting vectors or on the approach. After the last crash, I made my mind up and re-installed 4.5. It's solid and no performance issues at all. I do run MSFS as well without any issues.

 

I had read comments about that since 5.1 came out, and I don't want to jump from the frying pan into the fire by ditching MSFS and moving to something else that is not stable. I know a couple of simmers that got V5 and then reinstalled 4.5 after they had issues. 

35 minutes ago, Simicro said:

Thanks for that info, I was not aware. V5 did not work for me so I'll ask for a refund.

 

https://www.prepar3d.com/support/refundpolicy/