Dan Addamo

Hi Ray, I checked my display settings: the Philips monitor only exposes 60Hz, 59.94Hz, and 50Hz natively in Windows—30Hz is not available. Since my setup cannot force a 30Hz refresh rate at the monitor level and I don't use external driver control panels like Adrenalin, setting the internal FPS limit (e.g., to 30 or 33 FPS) inside P3D was my practical way to prevent the iGPU from trying to hit 60 FPS and overloading. I'll test how VSYNC=1 with unlimited frames behaves at 60Hz, but if I notice performance dips or inconsistent frame times, I will likely re-enable the internal frame limiter to keep the load predictable on this hardware.

Thanks for the suggestions regarding VSync and unlimited frames. To give some context on my setup: I run a 24" monitor at 1920x1080 resolution. Regarding driver software: prior to 2022, I had the AMD Adrenalin suite installed, which caused severe stability failures during P3D sessions (including complete system freezes with looping audio/beeps that required a forced hard power cycle), as well as severe terrain tessellation glitches. Completely removing Adrenalin and reverting to a bare driver instantly solved all of those issues. Based on the feedback here, I have updated my Prepar3D.cfg to use UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0 and enabled internal VSYNC=1 to let the engine sync natively with the display without CPU throttling. I'll test this configuration over the coming days. As for v5, sticking with a rock-solid, fully tuned v4.5 environment fits my current hardware setup and stability requirements best. Thanks again for the input! I would like to share some screenshot of my P3D but I can't find a easy way to post here

Thanks for taking the time to read it! And yes, you're right: I did use AI to help draft the text. The article actually originated from a discussion between myself and AI about my P3D setup, my experience with the simulator, and the choices I've made over the years. The experiences, configuration, and technical details are all mine; AI simply helped me put everything together into a structured post. 😁 Regarding your questions: GSX: I used GSX in the past, and I agree that its jetway implementation in P3D was excellent. Unfortunately, I experienced stability issues with it in my particular setup, so I eventually decided to remove it. Stability was my top priority, and I preferred to keep the installation as lean and predictable as possible. Framerate & Display: I use the in-sim framerate limiter, set to 33 FPS. Windows Version: I'm running Windows 11, version 23H2. I am intentionally running Windows 11 version 23H2. Keeping the OS locked at this stable baseline, and avoiding post-24H2 updates, is a deliberate choice to prevent the known API regressions that affect Prepar3D and legacy add-on hooks. There are two additional crucial aspects of my setup that deserve mentioning: I fly predominantly in VFR, and I don't use a dedicated graphics card at all. P3D runs exclusively on the integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 built into my Ryzen 5 3400G. Because VFR navigation relies entirely on visual ground references, I have tuned the graphics pipeline specifically for terrain fidelity. I have pushed terrain resolution, high-detail mesh rendering, tessellation, and ground texture clarity to very high limits to ensure crisp landscapes and accurate elevation profiles. To handle these heavy VFR terrain demands on an integrated GPU without micro-stutters, I also implemented a physical I/O separation strategy: the core P3D engine runs on one drive, while all 1.2 TB of add-ons and sceneries reside on a separate physical drive. This eliminates disk read contention and queuing latency during real-time scenery streaming. One clarification about AI traffic: I don't use the simulator's built-in AI traffic at all. However, I fly exclusively on IVAO, so I still have live online traffic whenever other pilots are active in the area. I understand your point about major hubs looking empty, but for my flying habits, IVAO provides all the traffic environment I need.

Zero CTDs Since 2022: The Systems Engineering Behind My 1.2 TB P3D v4.5 Rig Hello everyone, In a community where troubleshooting CTDs, unexplained performance degradation, compatibility issues, and recurring software reinstalls are often considered part of the normal flight simulation experience, I would like to share a different kind of experience. My Prepar3D v4.5 installation was established in its current configuration on January 9, 2022. Since that date, it has maintained an uninterrupted operational record. Operational Statistics Recorded flight time: 3,761 hours and 20 minutes Recorded CTDs: 0 Simulator repairs: 0 Complete simulator reinstalls: 0 Installed simulation ecosystem: approximately 1.2 TB Registered scenery packages: approximately 200 SimObjects entries and associated assets: approximately 1,300 The flight-time figure comes from the Prepar3D logbook and represents recorded flight time, not total application uptime. The most interesting aspect is the hardware currently supporting this environment: an AMD Ryzen 5 3400G, integrated Radeon RX Vega 11 graphics, and 16 GB of RAM. The entire simulation ecosystem occupies approximately 1.2 TB of storage, including a substantial collection of payware and freeware scenery, aircraft, environmental enhancements, and development tools. This is not a claim that modest hardware can outperform modern dedicated gaming systems. It is an example of what can be achieved through careful configuration, controlled software changes, disciplined resource management, and long-term maintenance. My objective has never been to maximize individual benchmark scores. It has been to build and preserve a stable, predictable, and reproducible simulation environment. Here is how the system is organized. 1. Windows OS Architecture and System Hardening A complex simulation environment requires more than a capable processor and graphics subsystem. The underlying operating system must also provide a consistent execution environment. Windows is designed as a general-purpose operating system, with numerous background services, scheduled tasks, overlays, and dynamically managed processes. Some of these components can introduce unnecessary resource competition during demanding simulation sessions. My approach has been to reduce avoidable background activity while preserving the operating system's essential functionality. Game Bar and background overlays Unnecessary Xbox Game Bar functionality and associated background components have been disabled. The objective is to minimize overlay activity, background recording, and additional software interaction with the DirectX rendering environment. Process scheduling and resource management I use Process Lasso to manage process priorities, CPU affinity where appropriate, and I/O priorities. Rather than assuming that Windows' default scheduling is always optimal for this particular workload, I maintain a more controlled environment in which background applications are prevented from unnecessarily competing with Prepar3D for system resources. These settings are workload-specific and are not intended as universal recommendations. Memory management Windows has been optimized to maintain a relatively lean background memory footprint. During normal simulation operations, total memory consumption generally remains around 60% of the available 16 GB, leaving room for Prepar3D, aircraft systems, scenery loading, and supporting applications. The objective is not simply to minimize RAM usage, but to avoid unnecessary memory pressure and maintain sufficient headroom during demanding scenarios. 2. Prepar3D Engine Configuration and Resource Management The Prepar3D configuration file (prepar3d.cfg) has been progressively refined to accommodate the characteristics and limitations of the hardware. Rather than applying generic optimization presets, the configuration reflects the actual behavior of this particular installation. CPU affinity – [JOBSCHEDULER] The current configuration uses: AffinityMask=85 The binary representation is 01010101, selecting logical processors 0, 2, 4, and 6. This configuration was adopted as part of the CPU resource-management strategy for the Ryzen 5 3400G. Affinity settings are highly dependent on processor topology and workload characteristics; therefore, this should be considered a configuration choice specific to this system rather than a universal optimization. Terrain streaming – [MAIN] FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.10This parameter controls the amount of available frame time allocated to terrain fiber processing. The selected value reflects a balance between background terrain loading and the resources required by the primary rendering pipeline. The intention is to maintain consistent scenery loading without unnecessarily compromising frame-time behavior. AI and environmental traffic Artificial aircraft traffic, boats, and generic road traffic have been disabled. This significantly reduces unnecessary simulation activity, particularly CPU-side calculations associated with traffic management, object updates, and environmental density. The available processing resources can consequently be directed toward the aircraft, scenery, and simulation workload that actually matters to my operation. Terrain and LOD configuration – [TERRAIN] The current configuration includes: LOD_RADIUS=6.5 Texture resolution: 28 Mesh resolution: 24 Tessellation factor: 85 These values form part of a configuration balanced around the available hardware and the installed scenery ecosystem. The objective is to preserve an appropriate visual horizon and terrain definition without creating unnecessary resource pressure. 3. Scenery Architecture and Add-on Governance – 1.2 TB This is arguably one of the most important aspects of the entire installation. Managing approximately 1.2 TB of simulation assets requires more than simply installing add-ons and hoping they coexist correctly. The scenery environment currently includes approximately 200 registered packages, covering a broad range of commercial and freeware developers. The ecosystem includes: ORBX products and regional libraries. Commercial airport and landscape sceneries. Freeware scenery projects. Converted FSX scenery assets. Custom scenery and development resources. Scenery organization and layer management Scenery packages are organized into clearly defined directory structures, with particular attention to installation boundaries, dependencies, and layer priorities. The complete ORBX ecosystem is carefully mapped within the scenery hierarchy. Layer ordering is treated as an essential part of system maintenance, not as an afterthought. Incorrect priorities, overlapping scenery definitions, incompatible elevation data, and duplicated terrain resources can introduce visual anomalies and operational problems. Maintaining a consistent scenery database is therefore fundamental to long-term reliability. 4. Atmospheric, Environmental and Operational Ecosystem The visual and environmental experience is supported by a carefully integrated collection of established add-ons. Weather and environmental rendering Active Sky for Prepar3D (ASP3D). REX Sky Force 3D. Envdir. Envtex. Envshade. Envsound. Custom ReShade profiles. Operational and development tools ChasePlane for camera management and dynamic viewpoints. Little NavMap, running on dedicated secondary hardware. FSLabs Spotlights. ModelConverterX for model inspection and development workflows. Blender for 3D model development. Airport Design Editor (ADE) for airport scenery maintenance and modification. Each component has a specific role within the environment. The objective is to maintain an integrated ecosystem in which visual enhancements, navigation tools, aircraft systems, and development utilities coexist without unnecessary interference. 5. SimObjects Architecture – A Hangar of 1,300 Aircraft and Components Beyond scenery management, another significant challenge is maintaining a large SimObjects library. My current installation contains approximately 1,300 individual SimObjects entries and associated aircraft-related assets. This collection represents a considerable investment in aviation history and simulation development. The hangar includes aircraft spanning several generations: Experimental and prototype aircraft. Golden Age and vintage aviation. Classic piston-engine aircraft. Military aviation. Modern commercial and general aviation platforms. Advanced study-level aircraft. Developers represented in the collection include A2A, RealAir, Vertx, Aerosoft, Majestic, and numerous other freeware and payware creators. Structural integrity and file management A large SimObjects directory requires consistent organization and attention to file integrity. Aircraft configuration files, .air files, model definitions, texture references, and supporting resources must remain correctly structured. Broken references, malformed configuration entries, missing textures, and incompatible aircraft components can create initialization problems or unexpected behavior. Maintaining a clean and properly organized library is therefore essential. The fact that Prepar3D continues to initialize and operate with this extensive collection is an important part of the overall stability record. 6. Architectural Perspective: Prepar3D and the MSFS Ecosystem I do not consider Prepar3D and Microsoft Flight Simulator interchangeable products. They represent different architectural philosophies, particularly when viewed from the perspective of long-term ownership, configuration control, and ecosystem maintenance. Local infrastructure and data sovereignty One of Prepar3D's major advantages is the ability to maintain a substantial simulation environment locally. Scenery, aircraft, textures, environmental enhancements, and supporting resources can be stored and managed independently of an external streaming infrastructure. For users who have invested years building extensive local libraries, this represents a significant degree of operational independence. MSFS, by comparison, integrates cloud-based scenery delivery, photogrammetry, online weather, and other connected services into its experience. These capabilities offer considerable advantages in visual coverage and accessibility, but they also introduce additional dependencies. Network conditions, server availability, content delivery infrastructure, and online service performance can influence the experience when using streamed content. Local content and offline capabilities exist, but the overall architecture remains more closely integrated with online services. Software updates and ecosystem compatibility Prepar3D v4.5 offers something particularly valuable once an installation has reached a mature and reliable state: configuration stability. The user can maintain a known software baseline and decide when to introduce changes. This is especially important when operating a large collection of third-party aircraft, scenery, and utilities. MSFS follows a more continuously evolving development model. Sim Updates and platform changes can require third-party developers to adapt their products, and compatibility management becomes an ongoing part of maintaining the installation. This is not inherently negative; continuous development also brings improvements, new capabilities, and technological progress. However, it introduces a different maintenance philosophy. For someone who values a carefully curated, largely self-contained simulation environment, the ability to preserve a known working configuration remains a considerable advantage. The value of an established ecosystem My Prepar3D installation represents years of accumulated work. Approximately 1.2 TB of local content, hundreds of scenery packages, and an extensive aircraft collection constitute an environment that cannot simply be replaced by installing another simulator. It is a personalized simulation infrastructure, developed and maintained over time. That investment is not measured exclusively in storage capacity or the number of installed add-ons, but also in the configuration knowledge and compatibility work required to keep everything functioning together. 7. Final Thoughts: Stability Is an Engineering Decision There is a tendency in modern PC simulation to associate performance improvements exclusively with faster hardware, higher specifications, and frequent software updates. My experience suggests a different perspective. A reliable simulation environment is the product of several interacting factors: Appropriate hardware configuration. Controlled operating-system behavior. Careful CPU and memory resource management. Consistent scenery layer organization. Proper aircraft and SimObjects maintenance. Compatibility awareness. Disciplined software updates. Avoidance of unnecessary configuration changes. No single tweak is responsible for the result. It is the consistency of the entire environment, maintained over time, that matters. Since January 9, 2022, this Prepar3D v4.5 installation has accumulated 3,761 hours and 20 minutes of recorded flight time, without a single recorded CTD, repair operation, or complete simulator reinstall. All of this on a Ryzen 5 3400G, integrated Radeon Vega 11 graphics, and 16 GB of RAM. Not the most powerful hardware. Not the newest simulator. But an environment that does exactly what it was designed to do, day after day, without requiring constant intervention. Sometimes, the most meaningful engineering achievement is not building something that performs brilliantly for a benchmark, but building something that simply keeps working. Happy flying!

Be careful on which version you install because is incompatible with ASP3D. Anyway I used it but I didn't notice much difference.

What version of Windows do you have? Have you updated Windows in the last few days? It's hard to find a solution without knowing if you installed something new in the sim or the PC before this problem occurred. I solved all my problems with instability and fps drops, OOM, CTD, and Resource Exhaustion simply by uninstalling X-Box Game Bar and all its similar ones from the PC. However, if you give more information we'll see what it could be. If P3D goes into CTD attach the Event Viewer log (.xml)

Probably found the component which cause issue with the last Windows Update. Open task manager while P3D is running and "reset scenario" from menu P3D a couple of time until you can see on your Task Manager the process XBox Game Bar (there are 2 process one with the X-Box logo and one without). Leave it run and see CPU and RAM usage increase. Terminate process and resource should reduce. If you see this happening here the solution: Go to Settings > System Components. Find Game Bar and click on it. Click the Advanced options link. Under "Background component permissions," select Never. Let me know if this can help or fix P3D also on your PC

Probably found the component which cause issue with the last Windows Update. Open task manager while P3D is running and "reset scenario" from menu P3D a couple of time until you can see on your Task Manager the process XBox Game Bar (there are 2 process one with the X-Box logo and one without). Leave it run and see CPU and RAM usage increase. Terminate process and resource should reduce. If you see this happening here the solution: Go to Settings > System Components. Find Game Bar and click on it. Click the Advanced options link. Under "Background component permissions," select Never. Let me know if this can help or fix P3D also on your PC

I had similar problems with the latest Windows 11 update, but it affected my resource usage (VRAM). I use P3D v4.5 and haven't a CTD in about four years. However, after the latest Windows update, P3D stopped running normally. When I launch the simulator, it initially works as usual, but after 10 to 30 minutes, the VRAM usage increases from the normal 1.9GB to 9GB without any clear reason. This causes the PC to stop the program due to resource exhaustion. I believe the main issue is related to the .NET Framework or the C++ redistributable, but I can't be sure. Anyway, I managed to resolve the issue by uninstalling the latest updates (you can do this in the Update History section of Windows Update). Another possible solution is rolling back to the Windows 11 24H2 Repair Version, which can be found under Advanced Options > Recovery. It’s a large file, so the rollback process takes some time, but it fixes all the problems.

Hello, I have encountered a strange issue related to the latest Windows 11 update. My P3D V4.5 has been extremely stable (the last CTD occurred about four years ago). However, in the past few days, I received some updates via Windows Update that have negatively impacted P3D, causing low virtual memory conditions and frequent CTDs. It is an unusual problem affecting my PC's memory. When I start P3D, everything appears normal as usual. However, after 10 to 30 minutes, RAM usage suddenly increases to its maximum without any clear reason, despite not having installed any new add-ons. In Task Manager, I can see the RAM usage rising rapidly from 1.7GB to 8–9GB, eventually leading to a P3D crash. Has anyone else experienced this issue after the latest Windows 11 updates? It seems very odd, and I suspect it might be related to the release of the .NET Framework or the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64. After uninstalling these updates via Windows Update, P3D is running flawlessly again. Additionally, I noticed that when launching P3D, RAM usage has shifted from a low 600MB to around 2.0GB. Do you have any solutions? At the moment, the only workaround I have found is to revert the update. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

Hi, send me a PM with your email. I've got 2 different version: the original produced by Milviz for P3D V4. and one revisited by me (RIP files) very fps friendly if you have a not powerful PC. The PC-6 with Real Light + True Glass and Milviz's PBR could be a fps killer if you flight in HQ scenery or with bad weather. The modified version have only the bush wheel tires and amphibian version of the plane (not skis version and inline float). This version haven't also the original livery but some different made by me and converted from MSFS. Tell me what do you prefer

Hi all, would to like to share with you my rendition to this great aircraft! DeHavilland DH.88 Comet Rendition Manual.pdf - Google Drive Send me a PM with your email if you're interested in a copy.

Hello, there isn't animation in the mdl files for the pontoons. So is not possible to retract.