fsx-ms No BufferPools entry at all VS. Bufferpools=0

[PinkPony 171]

Hi Guys,

 

I have never added a bufferpool entry to my fsx.cfg  (microsoft default), I have always been very happy with this (my system is in my signature for those wondering).

 

I just want to confirm that not having any entry in the fsx.cfg related to bufferpools is the same as having a bufferpools=0 ?

 

If these two are not the same, then what does having no bufferpools entry in my fsx.cfg mean?

 

Best,

 

Leo Cal

[Capt Speirs 52]

Hi Guys,

 

I have never added a bufferpool entry to my fsx.cfg  (microsoft default), I have always been very happy with this (my system is in my signature for those wondering).

 

I just want to confirm that not having any entry in the fsx.cfg related to bufferpools is the same as having a bufferpools=0 ?

 

If these two are not the same, then what does having no bufferpools entry in my fsx.cfg mean?

 

Best,

 

Leo Cal

[bufferpools] Usepools=0 bypasses the internal FSX bufferpool and makes the GPU handle the data instead of the CPU. If your Video card can't handle it, you might get artifacts. 

[PinkPony 171]

[bufferpools] Usepools=0 bypasses the internal FSX bufferpool and makes the GPU handle the data instead of the CPU. If your Video card can't handle it, you might get artifacts. 

 

Currently I have not bufferpools entry at all in my fsx.cfg

 

I know Usepools=0 can cause artefacts and spiking if the GPU is inadequate.

 

With my i7 4790k running at 4.7Ghz and a GTX780 with 6GB I believe usepools=0 may be the best setting to take advantage of my system. I did a short 5-10 minute test yesterday with the PMDG777 at Fly Tampa Dubai with Active Sky Next running. I did not notice any artifacts or spikes. 

 

Also, I have found many posts mentioning water set to to 2xHigh is a must when using Usepools=0. Is this 100% the case? When I temporarily tried usepools=0 yesterday I left my water at 2xLow. No visible artifacts or spikes. I know raising the water setting will slightly counter the benefit of Usepools=0, so I would rather leave it at 2xLow because thats how its always been for me. 

 

To sum it up, does anyone see any issues with Usepools=0 and water left at 2xLow with my CPU/GPU combo? I understand my 5-10 minutes of testing may not have been sufficient to induce artifacts and spiking. If that is the case, what are the best test conditions to confirm there are no issues?

 

My Nvidia Inspector is set to Force Vsync On, and I have no framerate limiter set in NI or FSX.

 

Note: I am a DX9 user. OOMs have never been a issue for me as I am happy with a LOD of 4.5 and 1024 textures.

[tf51d 284]

 

 

I just want to confirm that not having any entry in the fsx.cfg related to bufferpools is the same as having a bufferpools=0 ?

 

No it's not, the default for FSX SP2 is the same as BufferPools=1, Poolsize=4000000.

[Pete Dowson 558]

Also, I have found many posts mentioning water set to to 2xHigh is a must when using Usepools=0. Is this 100% the case? When I temporarily tried usepools=0 yesterday I left my water at 2xLow. No visible artifacts or spikes. I know raising the water setting will slightly counter the benefit of Usepools=0, so I would rather leave it at 2xLow because thats how its always been for me.

 

I have the same settings as you, and rarely see any artefacts. The only ones I ever see are short-lived black spikes into the sky when turning quickly in a freshly loaded scenery. Since this is not something I'd normally do (taxi turns are slow comparatively) it doesn't bother me, though on some really heavily detailed. airports such as Heathrow I do occasionally, on first loading FS, engage Slew mode and turn the full 360 degrees. After that, no artefacts in any case.

 

I've also found that artefacts are far less likely now I've changed over to FSX-SE instead of FSX-MS.

 

I have tried water at 2 x High, and not only does this significantly impact performance (even when nowhere near water, oddly), but I actually don't like the water effects that provides. Matter of taste I assume.

 

Pete

[PinkPony 171]

I have the same settings as you, and rarely see any artefacts. The only ones I ever see are short-lived black spikes into the sky when turning quickly in a freshly loaded scenery. Since this is not something I'd normally do (taxi turns are slow comparatively) it doesn't bother me, though on some really heavily detailed. airports such as Heathrow I do occasionally, on first loading FS, engage Slew mode and turn the full 360 degrees. After that, no artefacts in any case.

 

I've also found that artefacts are far less likely now I've changed over to FSX-SE instead of FSX-MS.

 

I have tried water at 2 x High, and not only does this significantly impact performance (even when nowhere near water, oddly), but I actually don't like the water effects that provides. Matter of taste I assume.

 

Pete

 

Thanks Pete,

 

I will start using usepools=0 and leave Water at 2 x Low (as it's always been for me). From what I have been able to find so far regarding the extensive usepools=0 vs =1 debate it seems that when you have the right CPU/GPU power available, =0 is the way to go. I was very lucky to get my hands on a EVGA GTX780 with 6G of VRAM, (discountinued as it was too close to the titan for a lot less $$$).

 

If anyone has any further experience regarding this CPU/GPU combo and using usepools=0 and water 2 x Low successfully (or unsuccessfully), please share!

[jaybird1nyc 24]

Hi Leo,

 

My setup is similar, but just a bit older, than yours (see specs in my profile).  I, like Pete, have been successfully using "usepools=0" and water 2x Low with excellent results, and few drawbacks.  Also like Pete, I occassionally see a few black spikes here and there.  I've never tried the slew-mode trick, but I usually just pan around 360 degrees a few times from the external view, if I remember to.  Certainly nothing serious enough to lose the substantial benefit from usepools=0.

 

I should also add that I use FSPS Fiber Accelerator and I run FSX-A in DX10 using Steve's DX10 fixer (paid version).  That combo has been absolutely transformational, and has, for the time being, delayed any desire to move to P3D, for me at least.

 

Jay

[PinkPony 171]

Hi Leo,

 

My setup is similar, but just a bit older, than yours (see specs in my profile).  I, like Pete, have been successfully using "usepools=0" and water 2x Low with excellent results, and few drawbacks.  Also like Pete, I occassionally see a few black spikes here and there.  I've never tried the slew-mode trick, but I usually just pan around 360 degrees a few times from the external view, if I remember to.  Certainly nothing serious enough to lose the substantial benefit from usepools=0.

 

I should also add that I use FSPS Fiber Accelerator and I run FSX-A in DX10 using Steve's DX10 fixer (paid version).  That combo has been absolutely transformational, and has, for the time being, delayed any desire to move to P3D, for me at least.

 

Jay

 

Thanks for your input Jay!

 

I have been testing poolsize=0 and water 2xLow for the past few hours and I am extremely happy. 

 

Previously I had no bufferpools entry whatsoever in my fsx.cfg and was running the FSX frame rate limiter at unlimited. I never had any issues with this setup and my frames would regularly shoot up to the 90-120 range. I did however notice after having read that this itself can cause minor stutters, that indeed there were some stutters going on when I was in spot view using EZDOK. Nothing I ever noticed from the cockpit.

 

I decided to give Vertical Sync "1/2 Refresh Rate" and Vertical Sync Tear Control "Standard" a try and set the internal FSX limiter to 30FPS as recommended by NickN. 

 

That in conjuction with usepools=0 and still using water 2xLow is probably the best set up ive used so far!

 

Extremely smooth and my sim is holding a constant 30FPS at Fly Tampa Dubai with ASN and my PMDG -300ER. 

 

I do a lot of 10-15 hour flying and will be putting this new set up through a full test this weekend. 

 

If I understood usepools=0 correctly, this is now using my 6GB of VRAM on my EVGA GTX780 to its full potential and leaving my CPU to handle FSX.

 

If anyone has any additional suggestions please do share! Good thing is that I can always go back to my original set up if sh*t hits the fan and FSX decides go crazy (as we all know it can haha).

 

I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences so far!

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

If I set my water higher than 2.x Low, I sometimes lose my clickspots in the RealAir Duke.  I also don't see much improvement in setting it higher.

[SteveW 1,792]

But what proportion of changes do you see with different Bufferpools settings? The Usepools=0 setting is less consistent, Poolsize=1000 leaves the program to take up some slack and shows less chopping overall. After taking performance readings using unlimited, I always set a fixed fps and corresponding vsync. Here each graph is taken from the same 2 minute section of flight, with various Bufferpools settings:

[bufferpools]
UsePools=1
Poolsize=1000

[Griphos 138]

Do you use any reject threshold setting? Wouldn't using some multiple of 64 (1024) actually be better for poolsize? You should try a usepools = 0 without a poolsize setting and with the same frame rate limit as the others.

 

From your graphs, it appears that the largest pool size is best, not a small pool size.

[Dirk98 354]

Thanks Pete,

 

I will start using usepools=0 and leave Water at 2 x Low (as it's always been for me). From what I have been able to find so far regarding the extensive usepools=0 vs =1 debate it seems that when you have the right CPU/GPU power available, =0 is the way to go. I was very lucky to get my hands on a EVGA GTX780 with 6G of VRAM, (discountinued as it was too close to the titan for a lot less $$$).

 

If anyone has any further experience regarding this CPU/GPU combo and using usepools=0 and water 2 x Low successfully (or unsuccessfully), please share!

 

Same here, with a similar video card GTX780 (6Gb), USEPOOLS=0, water @ Low 2.x

No artifacts.

 

Dirk.

 

PS: FSX-SE (stand-alone), DX10Fixer

I decided to give Vertical Sync "1/2 Refresh Rate" and Vertical Sync Tear Control "Standard" a try and set the internal FSX limiter to 30FPS as recommended by NickN. 

 

That in conjuction with usepools=0 and still using water 2xLow is probably the best set up ive used so far!

 

Very true! Plus FSX-SE in combination with DX10Fixer makes things only better.

 

Dirk. 

[Griphos 138]

I find any limit at all seriously reduces my FPS. I lose at least 5 fps. I now leave frames unlimited, and just use vsync forced on in Inspector, without the 1/2

refresh setting. I find bufferpools=1 with either a 1mb or 6mb poolsize gives me the best FPS at demanding airports. Better than bufferpools=0 on my system.

 

I use Steve's fixer and don't get artifacts. I have water set to 2xLow. I do get flashing textures. Particularly white polygons on water or in clouds at the edge of my screen. I wish I could figure out how to get rid of those.

 

I run an i5 at 4.4 with a 770.

[SteveW 1,792]

Agreed, a small pool provides the smoothest shortest lines on the graphs. I've been running through various scenarios and couldn't improve matters with RejectThreshold.

 

The problem with setting a fixed fps is that this invokes the look ahead buffer, and requires extra headroom in the sim. That's why even though I can get 40 to 140 fps during flights, I set 20 fixed in the sim, and 1/3 refresh in NI with a 60Hz monitor. Going above slightly, perhaps setting 21 or 22fps causes jitters and can be seen in the data. I make a .csv of the frame rate and drop it on Excel and use the Insert function to draw graphs.

 

Regarding using the Unlimited fps "Test Mode". Users really should check out panning in the outside view, keep panning round and round. What do you see? The frame rate is fixed to the scenery complexity. The view turns faster as the scene becomes less complex, and turns slower as the scene includes more objects. This happens while turning in flight and removes the accuracy of the flight model and messes with your turns. Using TrackIR requires an accurate same time between frames for best results too.

 

However, the sim set to Unlimited smooths out if it reaches the refresh rate of the monitor, showing frames smoothly in tune with the monitor. Extra frames are not displayed, instead limit the sim to the refresh rate to reduce heat.

[Dirk98 354]

The problem with setting a fixed fps is that this invokes the look ahead buffer, and requires extra headroom in the sim. That's why even though I can get 40 to 140 fps during flights, I set 20 fixed in the sim, and 1/3 refresh in NI with a 60Hz monitor. 

This happens while turning in flight and removes the accuracy of the flight model and messes with your turns

 

Very interesting, and 20 fps is generally enough for my flying (I don't use TIR, only EZDOK). I think I'll use these 20 and 1/3 settings.

 

Steve, what are your PoolSize and RejectThreshold settings when flying airliners?

 

Extra frames are not displayed, instead limit the sim to the refresh rate to reduce heat.

 

But again that would "invoke the look ahead buffer" and negate the "unlimited" benefit of some extra FPS, would it not?

 

Thanks,

Dirk.