I'm at my wits end with trying to figure this one out.. i've even started with a brand new clean setup on Win 8.1 (bare OS, then FSX, no real addons)... I installed Fixer.. clicked install library.. left it at that (and 4x AA in fixer).. and tweaked the Inspector, per various posts on here.. (the tweaking causes drops in fps as a result of losing shimmering mostly)

 

Basically.. if you run the attached flight i get bad fps as you pull the cessna upward towards the clouds.. it will start off locked at the locked 30 fps.. then dip to 14-18 fps as you pull towards clouds.. and this is without rain.. though granted at 5760x1200 resolution on my evga gtx670 with 3 24" screens in surround mode.. (if you leave it windowed in one screen the effect is not really noticed)..  I run at 4.6 ghz.. speedstep on.. HT on.. affinity mask 84

 

 

I've found that if I dont change any inspector settings.. leave it app controlled and set to 4X in the Fixer.. no issues (cloud shader checked).. the minute you switch to 4x SGSS and override in Inspector... the frames get ugly.. which as I've read is an issue with SGSS and clouds.. making the cloud shader have no effect when it comes to AA (?)..

 

If i leave it at App controlled.. of course there is too much shimmering.. 

 

I've tried every combination of FSX.cfg settings as well.. these settings seem ok in general with little clouds.. sharing below.. bufferpools makes no difference at least with what i've tried.. on or off.. i've even overclocked the video card by +60 on both clocks with only about 2 fps increase roughly.

 

Any suggestions would be great..

 

***if anyone else out there has a similar config.. could you try the attached flight and see if you can replicate this issue.. Id be very curious to see if the same holds for others, as a sanity check at least

 

 again.. i started over on a clean OS and nothing but default FSX scenery and clouds (no rex or AS2012 yet etc).. just installed fixer and tested (didnt delete shader directory etc, though in other tests i did just to be safe).. ill try the same with dx9 and see if the issue remains.. i'd assume it would be worse.  

 

I went from an ati 5850 in hopes that things would improve with dx10, shimmering and weather situations.. 

 

Thanks in advance

 

Here are settings i'm running at :

 

 

 

[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670.0]

Mode=5760x1200x32

Anisotropic=1

AntiAlias=1

 

[JOBSCHEDULER]

AffinityMask=84 

 

 

[GRAPHICS]

AC_SELF_SHADOW=1

AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1

AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=0

ALLOW_SHADER_30=1

COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=0

D3D10=1

EFFECTS_QUALITY=2

ForceWindowedVSync=0

GROUND_SHADOWS=0

HIGHMEMFIX=1 

IMAGE_QUALITY=0

LANDING_LIGHTS=1

 

 

MultiSamplesPerPixel=4

MultiSampleQuality=0

 

NUM_LIGHTS=8

See_Self=1

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=2048

TEXTURE_QUALITY=3

Text_Scroll=1

SHADER_CACHE_PRIMED_10=1693500672

 

[TERRAIN]

AUTOGEN_DENSITY=2

BATCH_AUTOGEN2=1

DETAIL_TEXTURE=1

LOD_RADIUS=8.500000

MESH_COMPLEXITY=90

MESH_RESOLUTION=23

SWAP_WAIT_TIMEOUT=2  

TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=897  

TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=1100  

TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=29

WATER_EFFECTS=4

IMAGE_PIXELS_FOR_AUTOGEN_POLYGONS=2048  //new

 

[sCENERY]

ObjectsToBatchPerFrame=50 //new

DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1

IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=4

LENSFLARE=1

MAX_ASYNC_BATCHING_JOBS=3

SmallPartRejectRadius=1  //4 b4

 

[Display]

ActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=0,28,140,64

ActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255

BLOOM_EFFECTS=0

ChangeTime=4.000000

InfoBrakesEnable=True

InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128

InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,255

InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128

InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,255

InfoOverspeedEnable=True

InfoParkingBrakesEnable=True

InfoPauseEnable=True

InfoSlewEnable=True

InfoStallEnable=True

InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0

InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,0,0

NonActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=24,33,87,64

NonActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255

RUNWAY_LIGHTS_APPROACH_SCALAR=0.35

RUNWAY_LIGHTS_STROBE_SCALAR=0.35

RUNWAY_LIGHTS_SURFACE_SCALAR=0.35

RUNWAY_LIGHTS_VASI_SCALAR=0.25

SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1

TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=80

TextureMaxLoad=27

TransitionTime=4.000000

UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=30

WideViewAspect=True

 

[Main]

User Objects=Airplane, Helicopter

SimObjectPaths.0=SimObjects\Airplanes

SimObjectPaths.1=SimObjects\Rotorcraft

SimObjectPaths.2=SimObjects\GroundVehicles

SimObjectPaths.3=SimObjects\Boats

SimObjectPaths.4=SimObjects\Animals

SimObjectPaths.5=SimObjects\Misc

DisablePreload=1

FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.05  

HideMenuFullscreen=1

HideMenuNormal=0

Location=2055,211,3705,989,\\.\DISPLAY1

Maximized=0

PerfBucket=7

ProcSpeed=9788

 

[Weather]

WindshieldPrecipitationEffects=1

MinGustTime=10

MaxGustTime=500

MinGustRampSpeed=1

MaxGustRampSpeed=200

MinVarTime=5

MaxVarTime=50

MinVarRampSpeed=10

MaxVarRampSpeed=75

TurbulenceScale=1.000000

WeatherServerAddress=fs2k.zone.com

WeatherServerPort=80

WeatherGraphDataInDialog=0

AdjustForMagVarInDialog=1

DynamicWeather=0

DownloadWindsAloft=0

DisableTurbulence=0

CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=3

DETAILED_CLOUDS=1

CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=8

THERMAL_VISUALS=0

 

[TrafficManager]

AirlineDensity=0

GADensity=0

FreewayDensity=0

ShipsAndFerriesDensity=0

LeisureBoatsDensity=0

IFROnly=0

AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=0

 

 

 

 

And here is one example Inspector settings i've tried.. again, i've tried everything can think of though (and have found online):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut your 3 x 1920 monitors down to something that the 670 will manage (like 3 x 19" monitors for 3840 x 1024) , or get another 670 and use SLI.    

 

You're trying to modify and push too many pixels/objects from a system which isn't a very capable system. 4.6 and a 670?  Your procspeed number tells the story. A system capable of handling your expectations will have a number up around the 19000 mark.

 

I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but it's the way it is.  Here are the frame killers if you want to keep experimenting.

 

All the best,

 

pj

Cut your 3 x 1920 monitors down to something that the 670 will manage (like 3 x 19" monitors for 3840 x 1024) , or get another 670 and use SLI.    

 

You're trying to modify and push too many pixels/objects from a system which isn't a very capable system. 4.6 and a 670?  Your procspeed number tells the story. A system capable of handling your expectations will have a number up around the 19000 mark.

 

I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but it's the way it is.  Here are the frame killers if you want to keep experimenting.

 

All the best,

 

pj

 

Thats what I was afraid of.. the high res being the issue.. if i drop to a lower res.. 4320 x 900 say.. (3840x900 is the other option i show) it looks terrible.. i'm guessing on native smaller screens it wouldnt.. not sure thats the best route.. however the fps stayed up.

 

So a second 670 would fix the higher res issue?  A little costly, but if it works i guess worth it.

 

Yeah the procspeed number has always been around 10,000.. i couldnt tweak it to be better no matter what i tried.

Even with a 2nd 670 you'll run out of video memory running that high of AA - Remember SLI does not make additional video memory available...so 2 2gb 670 does not = 4GB it's still 2GB. If you do go that route you will need to reduce your settings.

I guess the real question is.. does anyone out there run fsx at 5760x1200 and have 25-30 locked frame rates?

 

That should have been at the end of the subject of this thread..  "+ 5760x1200"

 

UPDATE:

 

I dropped the res to 4320x900 (the next notch down).. i couldnt see a way to do custom res. in fsx.. so i left it at this for now..

 

Yeah its a little less sharp.. however..

 

Much to my amazement.. going with the following in NI and 4 and 0 in fsx.cfg:

 

 

 

 

 

 

and also.. I put ALL major sliders in the scenery page.. like mesh resolution, complexity and autogen to MAX.. went in and added traffic at 10% values and 40% Airline and 20% GA.. (again on a default fsx install mostly)..

 

Turned on rain..

 

I was holding 24.5-30 fps at this reduced resolution (depending on weather i was pitched up at the sky max or not).. reducing sliders from max should keep it near 30..

 

Amazing..

 

For me swapping out for smaller screens isnt an option for now.. so unless there is a beast of an Nvidia card that can fully handle 5760x1200 resolution with everything mostly cranked.. i'll probably live with 4320x900 for now.. i think.

In some degree, Steve: I know several folks running a pair of GTX 580's in SLI and the same monitor setup - and those cards are only 1.5-gig ram, and still have very good results - e.g. still holding 28 - 30 around FSDT / FlightBeam airports and scenerys in the SOCAL area. One issue is the proc is slow - it needs to be at 4.8 - 5.0 to feed a pair of 580's. I suspect 2 x 670's are a fairly even match for 2 580's. But - yes - the settings shown here will kill the system just as effectively as the wrong monitors/wrong gpu/wrong clock or any combi of that. Just a very quick look  - the LOD is too high and the TBM needs to be at 120, and BufferPools should be there, too. FFTF at .05....? no. Just read the response since starting this reply. Native screen resolution is where the best looking IQ will be.

 

Oh well: it's all a great learning experience!

 

pj

In some degree, Steve: I know several folks running a pair of GTX 580's in SLI and the same monitor setup - and those cards are only 1.5-gig ram, and still have very good results - e.g. still holding 28 - 30 around FSDT / FlightBeam airports and scenerys in the SOCAL area. One issue is the proc is slow - it needs to be at 4.8 - 5.0 to feed a pair of 580's. I suspect 2 x 670's are a fairly even match for 2 580's. But - yes - the settings shown here will kill the system just as effectively as the wrong monitors/wrong gpu/wrong clock or any combi of that. Just a very quick look  - the LOD is too high and the TBM needs to be at 120, and BufferPools should be there, too. FFTF at .05....? no. Just read the response since starting this reply. Native screen resolution is where the best looking IQ will be.

 

Oh well: it's all a great learning experience!

 

pj

 

Ah i left that out of the post:

 

[bUFFERPOOLS]

//RejectThreshold=126976

//UsePools=1

UsePools=0

Poolsize=0

 

I've tried the commented lines before with no difference..

 

Yeah on second look 4390x900 res is not nearly as ideal..

 

However.. with dx10 at least.. if i use 4x supersampling or 8x even.. i dont notice much shimmer.. the worst is low altitude seeing cars flickering or static airplanes on the ground.. perhaps 5760 with supersampling.. or SGSS and settle for dx9 i guess.. for now.

 

I would like to try to get Procspeed up.. but have my doubts..

Ok this is interesting.. 

 

I rebooted.. 

 

In bios turned off speedstep And HT..

 

Ran fsx.. 5760x1200 with SGSS again.. same results.. 14-29 fps..

 

however.. in removing the procspeed line.. it rewrote it..

 

ProcSpeed=17424

 

I think speedstep is the likely culprit here.. making that value "appear" lower than really is.. either way, turning those off and having the higher procspeed value had no effect on things.

Procspeed only relates to the first time the system is booted with your existing hardware - FSX has a look at the system and says - ok - this is a xxx fast system and assigns a number - which stays there until it's removed. When you delete that number - or remove the fsx.cfg altogether, which is sometimes recommended as a 'fix' - fsx will do the same thing again and write whatever it feels is the new system's capability. It has nothing to do with HT on or off. It doesn't actually do anything at all - just sits there, as a sort-of yardstick. It's just never been deleted since day one, that's all.

 

But - yes - that 17xxx is more in keeping with what you have, and throws the cause of your problem right back to the oversize monitors and undersize GPU!

 

All the Best!

 

pj

Procspeed only relates to the first time the system is booted with your existing hardware - FSX has a look at the system and says - ok - this is a xxx fast system and assigns a number - which stays there until it's removed. When you delete that number - or remove the fsx.cfg altogether, which is sometimes recommended as a 'fix' - fsx will do the same thing again and write whatever it feels is the new system's capability. It has nothing to do with HT on or off. It doesn't actually do anything at all - just sits there, as a sort-of yardstick. It's just never been deleted since day one, that's all.

 

But - yes - that 17xxx is more in keeping with what you have, and throws the cause of your problem right back to the oversize monitors and undersize GPU!

 

All the Best!

 

pj

 

Well.. prior to turning off speedstep in particular.. i remove the line.. it recreates it as ~9750...

 

Turn off speedstep.. repeat.. 17500 or so...

 

Turn it back on.. remove the line.. relaunch fsx..  back to around 9750

Because when you turn speedstep off the proc automatically goes to full turbo speed. When you turn it on, the speed will drop back down. HT may make some difference, to, though I haven't done any experiments with regard to it's effect upon proc speed - just the temperature variation when overclocking.

Because when you turn speedstep off the proc automatically goes to full turbo speed. When you turn it on, the speed will drop back down. HT may make some difference, to, though I haven't done any experiments with regard to it's effect upon proc speed - just the temperature variation when overclocking.

 

Yep.. thats what i'm saying.. this is why my value originally posted was low and why i could never get it to raise, as long as speedstep was turned on.. though speedstep being on had no bearing on performance, because fsx must calculate that in a speedstep active mode.. vs when the sim is in full use where the processor speedstep goes off and the full 4.6 ghz is used.

Most folks leave SpeedStep turned on, so that the pc sits at it's 1.600 GHz when messing around, i.e. not gaming. This is how mine is setup and here are my cfg figures. It floats around this depending upon what's running or not running.

 

//ProcSpeed=20814   580

//ProcSpeed=21141   780

ProcSpeed=20657

 

If FSX sees that line is missing when it starts up it evaluates the system and puts a number in that spot. Those numbers happen as FSX starts up, and the proc will ramp up at that time.  

 

Anyway, enough.. there's something wrong with something, somewhere with your setup: I guess I'll just leave up to you to figure it out then - ok!

 

Regards,

 

pj 

Just adding some more test findings..

 

I monitor the GPU utilization during a PNW flight (Fsmark07).. 

 

I see that the max memory used is 1636 out of 2048..

 

Is this typical?  Little bit of slack i guess.  (edit.. i see on an NYC pass with full storms it hit 1836MB)

 

I tried OC the video card in EVGA Precision.. tried +66 on both clocks.. then +120.. no change in frame rate in a 120sec benchmark in fraps.. odd.

 

Originally I thought maybe a 4GB version would yield better performance all things held equal at 5760 resolution.. but maybe a 780 is as good as it gets..

 

still would be curious if anyone runs 5760x1200 and dx10 with SGSS successfully on something faster

 

For now its 4xsupersampling under DX10 at 5760x1200.. i got it cranked.. dont mind a shimmering ground airplane or car.. buildings look good.

 

If its not too long a title.. if someone could change this threads title to this more accurate one:

"DX10 AA woes w/ clouds (i7 2600k 4.6ghz + Evga GTX670 2GB FTW) at 5760x1200"

 

Just adding some more test findings..

 

I monitor the GPU utilization during a PNW flight (Fsmark07).. 

 

I see that the max memory used is 1636 out of 2048..

 

Is this typical?  Little bit of slack i guess.  (edit.. i see on an NYC pass with full storms it hit 1836MB)

 

I tried OC the video card in EVGA Precision.. tried +66 on both clocks.. then +120.. no change in frame rate in a 120sec benchmark in fraps.. odd.

 

Originally I thought maybe a 4GB version would yield better performance all things held equal at 5760 resolution.. but maybe a 780 is as good as it gets..

 

still would be curious if anyone runs 5760x1200 and dx10 with SGSS successfully on something faster

 

For now its 4xsupersampling under DX10 at 5760x1200.. i got it cranked.. dont mind a shimmering ground airplane or car.. buildings look good.

 

If its not too long a title.. if someone could change this threads title to this more accurate one:

"DX10 AA woes w/ clouds (i7 2600k 4.6ghz + Evga GTX670 2GB FTW) at 5760x1200"

 

 

I run at 5880x1080 with bezel correction enabled - previously had a 680 GTX, now a Titan. I use DX10 4x SGSS, theres no shimmering that I can see. I get very good FPS. I typically use  only 4% on all sliders for Land and Sea traffic, no aviation traffic because I get that from UT2 and medium airport traffic( I think its the minimum for some stuff to show up in GSX) I run autogen on dense and scenery complexity on extremely dense. 

 

Regarding speedstep: The cores will ramp up when you actually start flying - but not when you are in the opening screen of FSX as it barely needs any power to show 1 spinning aircraft. Therefore you get a bad Procspeed number - This number does nothing but determine the initial settings when you start FSX the first time, you can safely ignore it. I recommend to leave speedstep on. 

 

For some reason on my system SGSS always increases the FPS compared to any other AA mode...it did with my SLI 480's and the 680 I had as well

 

When you use 3x screens you will find traffic is a real killer and it's one of the first places to lower some things without loosing Image quality. A good rule of thumb I use when dealing with NV surround is just simply take what you'd normally use on traffic and cut it by 2/3. Honestly the DX10 forum is a good place for info - need to spend time reading it and the guide.  It's just that you are a minority of a minority so you cant simply use anyone else's settings.