Good enough for P3D?

[whats up]

Hello folks,

I've been running FSX for a while now and am thinking of upgrading to P3D V3. I don't exactly possess a good system, here are my specs:

i7-6700HQ (yes, it is 2.6Ghz, but CPU-Z shows me that it consistently runs between 3.09 to 3.29 Ghz)

GTX 980M

32GB RAM

Windows 10 64-bit

My question is, what kind of performance can be expected from this hardware. Will there be a decrease in fps because P3D renders shadows in VC? Do I need to tweak P3D to get better performance? What kind of visuals can I expect compared to FSX while maintaining roughly the same fps? Anyone with a similar CPU running P3D with any advises?

[evm]

1. Will there be a decrease in fps because P3D renders shadows in VC?

2. Do I need to tweak P3D to get better performance?

3.What kind of visuals can I expect compared to FSX while maintaining roughly the same fps?

 

1. Yes. But it depends entirely upon your settings, P3D can render much more eye candy and it is very easy to overload your computer.

2. Yes and no. The general feeling is, that tweaks are no longer necessary. But there are the odd tipps around which may or may not do something.

3. Pretty much the same. It just looks different because of the different rendering technique (DX 11 lights, shadows, bloom). FPS will probably be a bit lower than FSX, but the general feeling is that they are smoother. Autogen handling is better (less pop-ups) and water looks different.

 

I made comparison shots a few months back, between FSX DX10 and P3D V3:

 

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?294940-P3D-V3-CaptainSim-737

 

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?294954-FSX-DX10-comparison-to-P3D-V3

[whats up]

Thank you for the advice. Also, I read somewhere that P3D V3 dumps the memory when it's near full or something like that, is that true or I was just hallucinating :)? I am really REALLY fed up with OOMs, my CPU is not even that good and the memory already can't handle the textures/objects, I'm hoping P3D would do a bit better.

[evm]

You were not hallucinating. P3D V3 cleans up memory more aggressively than the ESP based simualtors before it. This is not done in a single sweep, but more like additional garbage collection that happens all the time.

 

IMHO this is both good and bad. Good, because OOMs are less likely (but nevertheless still possible if you manage to fill up the VAS fast enough). Bad, because it seems that P3D dumps textures too eagerly, resulting in reload lag problems (=black objects). This is even more evident if you are using TrackIr and turn your head a lot. May only be my own perception, but there are already a few threads online inquiring about this.

 

Personally, I think that the OOMs were not caused because FSX garbage collection was bad. Microsoft tried to keep as much data in the memory as possible to reduce lag (no need to reload from disk if you already have it), and they did that on purpose. Back then it wasn't a problem, things like 4K textures were nothing to be taken seriously (the maximum value that FSX allows is 1024, but users found out that they can override that value with textures that are 16 times the size - and then they wonder why memory is running out...)

 

But one thing is important to be aware of: P3D, like the MS sims before it, is being built with powerful (current or even future) hardware in mind. It still is the benchmark app for maxing out a system's capabilities. If your PC struggles with FSX, P3D will probably not do any better. I think that it is not by accident that Lockheed Martin has a refund policy.

[whats up]

I wouldn't say my PC is struggling with FSX, pretty much running max settings in scenery except scenery density and autogen density, those are on normal. But thanks for the insight. Personally, having seen people run P3D with the same CPU as me, I would say it's not necessarily faster, but even at lower fps, it runs smoother. I've became a realist over the years and I do realize I can't be expecting X-Plane kind of smooth flight dynamics, for that I go to X-Plane. But it just seems to me that FSX/P3D do a bit better on the graphics side of things, although YMMV. Having said that, from what I understand, flight models update the same number of times per second as fps, so does that mean my aircraft will handle weird below a certain fps even if the sim is smooth? Or is it like X-Plane where in the options you can set how many flight models you want per frame?

[evm]

The ESP based sims (FSX, P3D) differentiate between "sim frames" and "visible frames" too. But you cannot control the calculation base. I think it is based on velocities, accelerations and time passed since the last frame.

 

From what I have seen when frames get really low is, that the aircraft still flies like it should - but you are missing the part of the flight where visual frames could not catch up. It jumps ahead so to speak, but it is always where it is supposed to be. But it will miss control movements of course, if FPS are so low that it cannot pick up your joystick in time.

 

IMHO P3D is only smooth(er) in certain conditions. Which admittedly most PC setups of the simmers seem to meet, but unfortunately mine doesn't.

Edit: I think I should explain this. I am running an i7 5930K with 980ti, powering three 27" full HD screens in NVidia surround mode (VC spanned over all three screens). On top of that I am using TrackIR with EZDOK. While it is undoubtedly possible to run P3D at 20 FPS smooth-like on a single, static screen, it is impossible in my setup. 20 FPS is way too low for using TrackIR with 5940x1080 resolution. By and large I need around 40-60 FPS. I am not totally happy with P3D, because it is not as smooth here as my hand-tweaked FSX. This is probably due to the generally lower FPS, coupled with a tendency to aggressively dump textures from memory (making it necessary for the sim to reload them from SSD) and the occasional (or even regular) stutter. Of course I could cut back on the eye candy - but what would be the purpose of running P3D if I did? It would look pretty much the same as my FSX does - and in FSX every addon that I own works - not so in P3D.

[whats up]

Alright thank you. I'll get P3D and get the refund if it doesn't fit the bill. I will most likely post back in a few weeks after trying and finding out more about P3D and how I feel about it compared to FSX.

[whats up]

Well, it's been a couple of months since I got P3d, and I must say, I LOVE IT! I am running a lot more P3D only eye candies and getting the same fps as FSX without those eye candies. So, as a reference for anyone else, it was a successful and satisfying update for me and my machine.