The final truth about ProcSpeed and Perfbucket

[Guest]

Because even after being directed to Phil's blog, people STILL keep on talking about changing ProcSpeed and Perfbucket ("and it might well be the case that the "PerfBucket" value should be retained as it was assigned during the original creation of each user's fsx.CFG and, possibly, may continue to be referenced thereafter by the sim's engine at each run"), I thought it would save a LOT of forumspace if this was settled once and for all! SO, here's a STRAIGHT copy from Phil Taylor's blog which tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about these settings! (Hope you don't mind me posting this here, Phil!)"Its come to my attention that various people and forums are suggesting tweaks to the ProcSpeed and Perfbucket values in the config file.Folks, I hate to tell you, but this is the placebo effect. We generate those numbers at startup and use them to set the default slider values. PerfBuckets range from 1-7 and correspond to Minimal, Very Low, Low, Medium Low, Medium High, High, Ultra High.Procspeed is generated by some code we run on the CPU, to help bucket your CPU. The procspeed and information about your graphics hw contributes to your default PerfBucket setting. Customizing your settings moves you out of the default PerfBucket setting, but there is no "number" for that.They are not used beyond default settings, and we do not "read" the values back out of the config - they are "write only". We use them internally in our labs as extra verification of hw, there is no use in changing them. If you think that changing them is doing something, its not."So, forget about these 'tweaks' and lets get on with the real ones. ;)

[Cruachan 705]

"So, forget about these 'tweaks' and lets get on with the real ones."You'll get no argument from me :)I kinda suspected that this was indeed the case, just wasn't sure about PerfBucket:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=set...ow_topic#401636So, it is now clear that if we should share our fsx.CFG files with others then it would be important to remember to leave these entries (ProcSpeed and PerfBucket) untouched as they will have no effect anyway, whatever their settings. Problems would only arise if these entries are deleted in the shared fsx.CFG file because FSX would simply recreate them at the next run when it uses this new file for the first time. The in-sim settings would be changed to reflect the user's hardware capabilities and would likely wipe out many of the settings in the shared file which, of course, defeats the purpose of the exercise!Cheers!Mike

[Guest]

>Problems would only arise if these entries are>deleted in the shared fsx.CFG file because FSX would>simply recreate them at the next run when it uses this new>file for the first time. The in-sim settings would be changed>to reflect the user's hardware capabilities and would likely>wipe out many of the settings in the shared file which, of>course, defeats the purpose of the exercise!As Phil says the two settings are only used for setting the SLIDERS ingame, which happens when 1. a cfg is created during the first run or 2. when you press Reset defaults in the graphics menu. The settings in the cfg do not change the cfg itself, but tell FSX what the position of the sliders ingame should be. Your problem is based on the idea the cfg changes the cfg itself, which isn't so. To be a bit more precise (and add a little to what Phil said): as soon as you've run FSX once, these numbers aren't changed until you press on Reset defaults somewhere in the game! (So these numbers aren't generated at every startup!)During the first run of FSX, when the cfg is created, those numbers are set to determine the position of the sliders. This is the ONLY time the settings wild be changed automatically! When you press Reset default somewhere later on (for instance on the traffic tab), FSX does NOT read the cfg to see where the sliders should be set (which you might think when reading Phil's explanation), but it FIRST sets ProcSpeed and PerfBucket ALL OVER again and AFTER that the slider is set. I suppose this is done to prevent getting strange defaults after changing hardware. So you will always get a default slider that suits your hardware.

[basys 4]

Hi FolksJust to clarify ->To be a bit more precise (and add a little to what Phil said):>as soon as you've run FSX once, these numbers aren't changed>until you press on Reset defaults somewhere in the game! (So>these numbers aren't generated at every startup!)These numbers ARE regenerated at EVERY startup.If you have a different background load, (services & apps),or have changed your drivers,you may well see these values change.You are more likely to see changes in procspeed,than in the perfbucket value,unless you've changed to an improved driver.>During the first run of FSX, when the cfg is created, those>numbers are set to determine the position of the sliders. This>is the ONLY time the settings wild be changed automatically! Incorrect - see above.HTHATBPaulhttp://www.basys.f9.co.uk/resources/images..._sig_500x94.jpg

[Cruachan 705]

Try running FSX and note the slider positions.Move several sliders to different positions. Make a further note.Now exit FSX, open fsx.CFG and delete the ProcSpeed and PerfBucket entries after noting their values. Save and close.Restart FSX and look at the slider positions. You should see that they have returned to their original settings.Exit the sim once again and open fsx.CFG. The ProcSpeed and PerfBucket entries will have been reinstated.So, from this, to me it appears to confirm that FSX does monitor these parameters at each run. If they are absent, then they will be reinstated at the next run with values again determined by your system's capabilities and your settings/sliders adjusted accordingly. If these capabilities change, for whatever reason, then this will be reflected by appropriate changes in the values of these parameters the FIRST time FSX is run following any change. Thereafter, you can do what you will to the sliders and the ProcSpeed and PerfBucket entries will remain unaltered. Their job is simply to setup/configure the sim at first run for reasonable performance as determined by your detected system's capabilities at that time.Correct?Mike

[Guest]

>These numbers ARE regenerated at EVERY startup.I've tested it several times and I did it aagin a few times just nowm but the numbers are not regenerated on my computer. On my computer (!) it happens exactly as I said.I manually changed the numbers from something like 6500 and 7 to 3500 and 3. I started FSX a few times and closed it again. I also changed a few settings. And everytime the numbers didn't change at all! ONLY when I pressed on Reset default (I chose the button on the Display > Aircraft tab, but you can pick any Reset button you want) the numbers were regenerated.So ON MY COMPUTER it's exactly as I told! I cannot imagine this being different on another system.>Restart FSX and look at the slider positions. You should see>that they have returned to their original settings.Yes, but this ONLY happens inbetween pressing on Reset defaults and saving a flight! If you save a flight after changing the settings, those settings won't be changed automatically just by deleting the entries. Well, again, not on MY computer.Anyway, the important point of this all is that we do not have to look at these settings while tweaking. ;)

[Cruachan 705]

Hi J van E,I really don't know why we are arguing about this as I think basically we are in agreement.. LOL!Look at the following extract from my config file:MainUser Objects=Airplane, HelicopterSimObjectPaths.0=SimObjectsAirplanesSimObjectPaths.1=SimObjectsRotorcraftSimObjectPaths.2=SimObjectsGroundVehiclesSimObjectPaths.3=SimObjectsBoatsSimObjectPaths.4=SimObjectsAnimalsSimObjectPaths.5=SimObjectsMisc;ProcSpeed=4629 <--------- ORIGINAL VALUE ;PerfBucket=6 <--------- ORIGINAL VALUE Location=124,102,1156,876,.DISPLAY1Maximized=0HideMenuNormal=0HideMenuFullscreen=1ProcSpeed=4506 <--------- generated at SECOND runPerfBucket=6 <--------- ditto ;ProcSpeed=1892 <--------- generated at FIRST run;PerfBucket=2 <--------- dittoPANELSIMAGE_QUALITY=1DEFAULT_VIEW=0QUICKTIPS=1PANEL_OPACITY=100PANEL_MASKING=1PANEL_STRETCHING=1UNITS_OF_MEASURE=0I started by making a copy of fsx.CFGI then opened fsx.CFG and commented out the ProcSpeed and PerfBucket lines. As you can see these were recreated at the first run, the values are low and are reflected by low settings in the sim. I run Cool 'n' Quiet technology with my AMD cpu and I have shown that misdetection can occur when fsx.CFG is first created. This appears to happen during the loading phase of the sim. This loading period is significantly longer the first time the sim is run and I have noted that during this phase the CPU speed and voltage fall many times to max power saving levels. At subsequent runs the loading phase is much quicker and if you delete the ProcSpeed and PerfBucket lines they are more likely to be regenerated with more accurate values reflecting the true capabilities of your system. This is what happened when I commented out the ProcSpeed=1892 and PerfBucket=2 lines before running the sim for a second time and for the purpose of this demonstration. If you want accurate detection AND you have an AMD cpu AND you are using the Cool 'n' Quiet technology, then disable Cool 'n' Quiet temporarily in the BIOS until fsx.CFG has been created for the first time.">Restart FSX and look at the slider positions. You should see>that they have returned to their original settings.Yes, but this ONLY happens in between pressing on Reset defaults and saving a flight! If you save a flight after changing the settings, those settings won't be changed automatically just by deleting the entries. Well, again, not on MY computer."Commenting out the ProcSpeed and PerfBucket lines is, I am sure, the same as pressing 'RESET', only in this instance we are only forcing the resetting of 2 values. The fact that they don't change on your system is simply because the resetting of the values at detection is exactly the same as it would have been at the first run generation of fsx.CFG. In my case the values, as you have seen, can vary but this is because Cool 'n' Quiet has not been disabled.So, you see we do agree! Delete fsx.CFG and the values will be recreated. Deletion of the lines or commenting them out will have the same effect. Altering the lines following their initial creation has NO further effect since their raison d'

[kjackson 0]

No time for Perfbuckets here. The only buckets I'm concerned with are the nice comfortable bucket seats in my new Columbia 400 from Eaglesoft. That with the excellent weather and graphics app from HiFi Simulations make for a smooth flight. I'm all over the place these days.I'll worry about Perfbucket and ProcSpeed settings when I reach the next scheduled maintenance period, which is quite a long way off. I'll mention it to the A&P guys though.Otherwise, I am spending too much time flying and enjoying this wonderful sim to worry about a few FPS gains. FSX is the best ever ACES. Fine job!Of course this is my personal observation and in no way has any bearing on the discussion you guys are having. Good stuff all around and I will keep an eye on this post.See you guys in the sky.

[Guest]

>Absolutely!Absolutely indeed! Fun discussion this is, specially because not only do these numbers mean nothing while tweaking, but even the main purpose of these numbers is sort of useless (specially for a tweaker), because... who ever uses the default settings these numbers produce in FSX?!? I for sure don't! :)Time to fly on! :(

[Cruachan 705]

"who ever uses the default settings these numbers produce in FSX?!? I for sure don't!"Yes, does make you wonder as most us will now regard them as being irrelevant. I suppose they may help the novice simmer get started with reasonable initial settings that are likely to give him/her reasonable performance from the sim.Ah well!Mike

[Guest]

Hm, well, reasonable... I noticed FSAA and AF are never turned on automatically when default is set. FSAA is always off by default and filtering is at bilinear, no matter what your hardware is... The setup-routine just doesn't look at these settings (and they aren't saved either when savind the settings!) I tried flying once with the default settings: it looked pretty horrible, I have to say! Fps was very cool though... :(