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  1. #26
    Another thing I have noticed, and not sure if it related, is that the red light on the top of the computer (presumably the one that indicates hard drive activity) Is constantly blinking. Even when i am not doing anything on the computer. I am currently talking to the salesguy at microcenter to see if they can swap the card for me, and that way I can rule out the possibility that i got a dud
    Matt

  2. #27
    Good luck with checking the card out.

    If you're still having trouble when you get it back, can you double-check there is no anti-virus software busy in the background and that your FSX folder is excluded from any real-time activity?

    Also, do you have FSX on a separate drive to the OS? to keep it away from any page file activity...

    Then try these:

    - reset your nvidiA control panel to default, and also the FSX profile in Inspector. Make sure Vsync is off. Rename your FSX.cfg file, let a new one build, and launch the default flight without making any settings changes. It should show considerable tearing, but should be very smooth despite running at the default 20fps

    - If this isn't smooth check you've no unwanted processes running in the background. If you're using MSI Afterburner try right-clicking on the monitoring panel to pause the polling. If it's still not smooth then IMHO you have a hardware problem. You could try cleaning or replacing the memory, or reducing the overclock as a first step

    - if the above is smooth, you know your system is OK and your battle is actually tuning. Keep vsync off for now (it introduces its own problems), don't worry about the tearing, and without adjusting any nvidiA settings start ramping up the in-game settings. You should be able to get close to max in the default Friday harbour flight (leave out light bloom, car traffic and air traffic for now). Try it at 30 and 60fps lock via FPS_Limiter and at unlimited.

    - if you get big stutters during the above, check your GPU usage history in afterburner - you're probably hitting 100% every now and then. Tune down card-heavy settings (shadows and water) to back it off while the CPU is pumping so much at it. Small stutters are fine for now

    - add the widescreen tweak and try again to check this has no impact

    - then introduce (via inspector) vsync on, prerendered frames 0, AA at 64x4v12. Use the standard recommendations for the other inspector settings. Exception: I keep my AA ticked on-game and use inspector to Enhance it, rather than Override. I am assuming this helps the o/clocked CPU take some work away from the GPU but am not sure.

    - your card will likely hate you for the above, but if you then try with various internal frame locks (ditch FPS_Limiter now) and check the GPU usage every couple of minutes you will soon get a feel for how much throttling back it needs to avoid saturating it and incurring the big stutters. Use Seattle or something to give it a fair test. You can also experiment with triple-buffering on and off but I can't see a difference.

    - if this broadly nails it, you can then try tweaking via bojote's web tool (leave out the vsync obviously as your card is doing that) then building in 4096 clouds, 7.5 LOD radius, and air traffic, etc. When tuning for these changes, save a copy of your settings file for each FPS limit you want to try, as previously posted, so that you can quickly switch without losing the other settings. I settle at mid-twenties FPS smooth.

    Good luck - you deserve this to work!

  3. #28
    Benny,

    THANK YOU sooo much for all of the good troubleshooting and tuning steps. As soon as I get the card swap done, i will set out to get testing and follow those steps to see what happens.

    As far as what you have posted above, I use NOD32 antivirus, and I have it set to exclude the FSX folder and associated folders from scanning; FSX is on the same drive as the OS, as I am not proficient in partitioning or anything like that. Maybe i should add an SSD just for X.

    The post that Ted put in a few up really makes me feel like I have a serious hardware issue, because his test was with very similar hardware and he has the 'buttery-smooth' flight that I am looking for, and he really didn't mention any hardcore tweaks or tuning.

    So, I will be working from my laptop for a day or two while microcenter does their thing swapping my card (i can do ram, but don't feel comfortable doing the vcard) and it is warrantied, so once i get it back, I will report. Thanks again!
    Matt

  4. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Felixthreeone View Post
    Maybe i should add an SSD just for X.
    I'd suggest getting an SSD for your OS and keeping the FSX install on it's own dedicated drive.

    I've just ordered my own i7 2600k upgrade and am looking forward to seeing how FSX will run in comparison to my current (3 year old) overclocked QX9770 build.
    I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  5. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Felixthreeone View Post
    Benny,

    THANK YOU sooo much for all of the good troubleshooting and tuning steps. As soon as I get the card swap done, i will set out to get testing and follow those steps to see what happens.

    As far as what you have posted above, I use NOD32 antivirus, and I have it set to exclude the FSX folder and associated folders from scanning; FSX is on the same drive as the OS, as I am not proficient in partitioning or anything like that. Maybe i should add an SSD just for X.

    The post that Ted put in a few up really makes me feel like I have a serious hardware issue, because his test was with very similar hardware and he has the 'buttery-smooth' flight that I am looking for, and he really didn't mention any hardcore tweaks or tuning.

    So, I will be working from my laptop for a day or two while microcenter does their thing swapping my card (i can do ram, but don't feel comfortable doing the vcard) and it is warrantied, so once i get it back, I will report. Thanks again!

    This is the only tweak I used:

    http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html

    not one single jaggie and smooth as butterAttachment 46203
    Vivat Christus Rex! Ad maiorem Dei gloriam

  6. #31
    Ted - that's interesting. I get to the same IQ but only with the above considerations and FPS limit. Would you mind detailing your nvidiA driver version and all your inspector settings please? And what vsync solution are you using - card-based or via FSX.cfg? Many thanks.

  7. #32
    OK...faster than I thought...but interesting result. I just returned fro Microcenter, where they swapped out my Gigabyte GTX 560Ti OC for an EVGA 560Ti SOC, and after getting it home and re-installing the driver and setting up FSX the way it was prior:

    ................NO CHANGE AT ALL. STUTTERS LIKE HELEN KELLER.

    .................I give up. Done.
    Matt

  8. #33

  9. #34
    DX10 doesn't work at all for me; Makes the water look funny and all of my graphics look 'corrupted' with dx10 switched on....and IT STILL STUTTERS!:angryfir:
    Matt

  10. #35
    Looks like I am left with a couple other components to try. A new CPU, a new Hard drive, or different RAM. I only use it for FSX, and since it runs like crap, what is the point? Might as well throw component after component into it, until flight comes out, and runs at 1,000,000 fps and stutter free. I know the 560Ti series of cards aren't that great, but c'mon...2 different cards, both very reputable brands. Both stutter. So...maybe my cpu is fritzy, or my HD isn't up to the task....
    Matt

  11. #36
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    Unfortunately the test unit I built at TechCorp is no longer, they tear 'em down fast and set up the next build, but the settings I think these are the settings for Nvidia Inspector I had:Attachment 46230Attachment 46231Attachment 46232

    Did you run prime95 CPU test Matt? Also drop that overclock down to 3.5ghz and see what you get. FSX has an internal clock too and if your overclock is done badly or reported wrong the clock could be off and your bandwidth very slow.
    Ted
    Vivat Christus Rex! Ad maiorem Dei gloriam

  12. #37
    Thanks, Ted. Yes, I actually have run several Prime95 runs, and I tend to do one after each change to speed or voltage in BIOS...

    "Did you run prime95 CPU test Matt? Also drop that overclock down to 3.5ghz and see what you get. FSX has an internal clock too and if your overclock is done badly or reported wrong the clock could be off and your bandwidth very slow."

    ..Not sure what you mean by this....as far as my overclock, it is, at least from all of the research i have done, fairly clean and stable. It will pass prime95 blend torture test for over 12 hours, and I don't see awful temps.

    ..I do notice, however, that you had your inspector set to AA 'enhance application setting'? Does this mean that you had AA ticked in FSX settings? maybe I will try this and see...
    Matt

  13. #38
    I am seeing some progress....

    With the new EVGA card, I have tried a few tweaks that I had attempted with the Gigabyte card...and the EVGA unit **SEEMS** to be responding a bit better...namely, the bufferpool setting. With the Gigabyte card, adding a bufferpool entry caused either no change, or a negative one. With the new card, however, the bufferpool entry seems to have had a slight smoothing effect on the stutters.

    I am, at this point, focusing on the inspector settings, as well as the config settings that relate directly to the video card (i.e. the vsync, BP, AA, and texture bandwidth etc) and as soon as I am satisfied on some level of thoroughness, I will report my findings.
    Matt

  14. #39
    WoooooooHoooooooo!!!!!

    ...After much trial, error, tweaking, tuning, researching, testing, beer drinking, head scratching, headaches, nausea, vomiting, cheering, yelling, and other odd behavior, I have, at last, solved this!!!!

    ...The short story is as follows:

    Did a ton of research into FSX inner workings, and got a better idea of how it works. So I set about applying the usual tweaks that are posted all over FSX forums everywhere, after researching each one, and studying its merits and drawbacks.

    After a TON of trial and error, narrowed down the tweaks that actually DID something for me: affinity mask, bufferpool=0. I am currently using an affinity mask of 12, and I will continue to experiment with 14 and 15 also. And bufferpool=0, because every other BP setting was a no-go.

    Now....after making it that far, I was still getting stutters, albeit reduced stutters....so, I thought 'hey, man...this setup MUST be able to run better than this!'...and did a bit more research about the rendering from the GPU, its feed from the cpu, etc...

    And, incidentally, Ted's post a few back really got me thinking...SO...I used my MSI afterburner to monitor GPU usage, and set up invidia inspector with a few changes.

    I changed the anti-aliasing setting to 'enhance application setting', and ticked the AA box inside FSX. Then, I changed the anisotropic filtering setting in inspector to none (same as use application), and changed the setting in FSX to anisotropic. Finally, I set the vsync setting in inspector to 'use the 3d application setting' , and added the vsync lines into the FSX cfg directly.



    .....The result? At 30fps, the smoothest flight experience I have ever had since getting this new PC. It is AMAZING!!! Any stutters that do show up are so minor they are almost invisible...you REALLY have to be looking for them in order to see them!!

    As of now i am still testing with different aircraft, in different areas, and so far, I have been able to max out pretty much every slider (except ai, since I use UTII), and I am astounded at what I am seeing. The help and advice of other people on this forum really made a difference, and I appreciate it very much!
    Matt

  15. #40
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    Glad you got it up and running,Matt. Now you can enjoy FSX as it's meant to be.



    I got my i7 upgrade parts this week too. I'm considering keeping my current rig "as is" as a backup rig and getting a new case,gfx,cooler,fans,SSD,hard drives,optical drives and psu for the new build...but Mrs KD isn't too keen on the idea of yet another d**n pc about the house!
    I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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