How powerful of a PC does one need to max out FSX?

[Derek Speare]

Well I've come to learn from taking a few minutes this morning to do some tests that the 3D cockpits are the biggest offenders to frame rates. For example: MY Milviz T38 get's about 38 FPS (FI gives 75), but the powered hang glider thing gives 75/75. The former has a very detailed 3d cockpit and the latter has really nothing. The C47 has good frame rates, too. I'm presuming that not much can be done, then, with the exception of using the lo-res 3D cockpits, something I'd really not want to do.

Yes, these older titles don't run on a modern, high end CPU like we'd hope. FSX looks like it's using about 54% of my CPU from what I can see when I'm testing. I'm not one to OC so I suppose I have to live with it.

Also: Can someone tell me why I don't have a FSX.cfg file in my Steam installation?

[metalnwood]

Derek, I forget exactly but your fsx.cfg lives either in your document/my games/fsx (or similar) or c:\users\youruser\appdata\micrsoft fsx - something like that as well..

I am writing on my mac so no access as I type for exactly the folder structure but I think you can find it from that.

Keep that 980ti, DCS may yet require it!

[picnic]

FSX looks like it's using about 54% of my CPU from what I can see when I'm testing. I'm not one to OC so I suppose I have to live with it.

If you look at the individual cores occupancy you should see one core maxed out, the rest will follow a similar pattern to each other but with a much lower occupamcy. It's this one core maxed out why FSX wants the max Ghz you can get.

Also: Can someone tell me why I don't have a FSX.cfg file in my Steam installation?

This depends on whether FSX was installed first or not. If you never had FSX the Steam Edition stores its config files in the traditional folders, so c:\users\youruser\appdata\roaming\microsoft\fsx. If Steam is installed side by side with the boxed version its in a c:\users\youruser\appdata\roaming\microsoft\fsxse or something like that, its pretty obvious. Sadly the SSD in the laptop I have Steam Edition died last week and is being RMA'd so I can't check the exact name. Remember to let File Explorer access to hidden files to see the appdata folder. FSX and Steam versions also store files in a similar way under c:\programdata. The active scenery.cfg is store here

[Derek Speare]

I've found that the 3d cockpit is what kills frame rates. The Milviz T38 runs my system to ~30-35 FPS (all settings are about as low as they go), but the Learjet gets 100+. The T38 has a highly detailed 3d cockpit whereas the Lear has a very plain one. Everything else being equal lots of frames are used up running high end 3d cockpits.

So now the begged-up question becomes what gets taxed running the 3d cockpit, the CPU or GPU?

[Derek Speare]

More testing :/

It looks like I am running the CPU for all it has. Dunno at this point, and I have done all I can do... *flips table*

[Sharkku]

Your CPU graph looks very similar to mine! I also have those spikes ever 45-50 secs.

This reminds me of interpreting ECG:s... "the patient most probably has an occluded circumflex artery. ECG shows signs of heavy ischemia." or actually, more like "widened QRS complex as a sign of left bundle branch block" or "ventricular fibrillation with atypical ventricular complexes. Charging... clear!"

[Derek Speare]

Still testing. It seems like my native FSX frame rates are somehow locked to 60 max even though unlimited frames is set and vsynch is not on. There's this very brief flash and then the frames drop from 75 to 60 and don't go above it. This happens when first beginning the fight. Something is turning it on even though it's forced to off in my nvidia control panel.

Edit: It's odd, this situation. However, I ran my FSX.cfg through Venetubo's tweaker and now it's gone. Strange, really strange.

[Derek Speare]

So I have traced the cause of what makes my FSX frame rates capped at 60 FPS. If FSX opens up a message window of any type, the frame rates go no higher than 60. Closing those windows removes the logjam. While it's not frequent to get over 60, I am a frame rate junkie and don't like anything to get in the way.

I have subsequently disabled all message windows, but some still pop in. I am running FSUIPC (thank you, Robert, for your advice ), and disabled messages there, too, but some are still happening, oddly enough.

Also, on a different note, I was able to successfully overclock my i7-3820 from 3.603ghz to ~4600ghz, giving a nice boost to my Linpack scores. I thought I had an O/C happening by simply running my multiplier to 44 with a BCLK of 100.00, but for whatever reason (Asus MB) there was no O/C really going on. I went back to do some reading and toom the BCLK to 125.000 and the multiplier to 37 for an expected frequency of 37*125.000, or 4625ghz. If this is giving me more frames, that's still yet-to-be-determined.

And I also went back with the new O/C settings and compared the Asynch Frame Rates for FI, looking at the Alpha7 and The latest Beta. The Alpha still has the best Asynch frame rates /:

[Tony]

I know Intel chips don't get as warm as my volcano AMD chip but do you have good cooling Derek ? Don't want to see your chip get fried ?

Tony

[Derek Speare]

All is good. A massive Cooler Master sink with 2 fans and 4 more case fans on top of that