FSX SP2/acceleration vs FSX-SE cpu load

[David25210]

Hello, 

 

I’ve been lately running FSX-SE on several old laptops (such as 2nd gen core i3 with 8GB RAM and 1GB Radeon 5000 series), and because fsx-se annoyances such required steam initial launch, also invalid security certificate issue, certain add-ons install quirks etc, I decided to install FSX Gold instead after wiping FSX-SE properly from all directories. Upon launching, I see that basic-tuned FSX (highmemfix, texturemaxload) to put it on par with FSX-SE, FSX  puts higher CPU load then FSX-SE… over 50% (FSX) vs around 30% (FSX-SE); that makes difference in fan noise on old laptop which is too much annoyance.. also there is more tearing and black texture load occasional flicker in FSX while FSX SE doesn’t seem to suffer from this… 

 

Anyway, can someone suggest what exactly steam/dovetail did to Fsx code that it runs actually better? And whether I can offset this somehow in Fsx.cfg settings?

 

I’ve been tweaking Fsx since the release , so I am generally familiar with many useful and not so useful tweaks, however I don’t see any of those implemented in fsx-se.cfg and it still runs this better? 
 

just a thought… thx in advance…

[JSkorna]

The code fixes are internal. All your tweaking isn't going to change much. Go back to SE and put up with those issues or stick with FSX and put up with a different set of issues.

[David25210]

2 hours ago, JSkorna said:

The code fixes are internal. All your tweaking isn't going to change much. Go back to SE and put up with those issues or stick with FSX and put up with a different set of issues.

Thanks. I think you’re right here, I loaded Fsx-se alongside the Fsx , in the exact same flights with identical settings the fsxse runs cpu at about half usage compared to fsx acceleration . Also, no artifacts or tearing. 
 

This is really problem for me only on weak hardware as old laptop, on powerful well ventilated desktop I can happily run both versions together because the higher cpu load of Fsx isn’t such an issue. But fans on old laptops react to increased cpu load with high noise and that’s what I’m trying to avoid. Well, apparently Fsx-se is a winner here…

 

t

[PhrogPhlyer]

I have run FSX Acceleration (Gold) on all kinds laptops, since FSX was released, CPUs both great and small. The only time I have had any issues is when I have the scenery autogen sliders on high. That would cause older CPUs to bog down. No issues at all with intel i7 or i9. I consistently get whatever frame rate I target in settings. 

[raf12022]

For what it's worth, I'm also using an i3 processor and FSX. To improve frame-rates significantly I reduced cars, airport vehicles to zero. Some of them will still show up, like re-fueling and tugs etc. Then I reduced shipping down to five per cent using the slider. On top of that I tweaked the entire FSX scenery configuration file found in the AppData folder under Roaming. I'm enclosing a copy of my configuration for you to use. Just make up a copy of your original one in case you want to revert back.

Basically I added a Memory fix onto it to reduce resources that your computer draws on, in other words, a Memory Maximum. It cuts out tearing and should give you 27FPM which is very reasonable. I have another tweak should you require it. Anyway, just replace the file I'm giving you for your original.

fsx.zip

[f16jockey_2]

2 hours ago, raf12022 said:

I have another tweak should you require it. Anyway, just replace the file I'm giving you for your original.

The attachment contains the replier's fsx.cfg.
This file has hardware specific sections, and can simply not be transferred from one computer to another as a whole.

Same goes for tweaks: what works on one pc, may not on another.

Be careful.

 

Wim

[David25210]

3 hours ago, raf12022 said:

For what it's worth, I'm also using an i3 processor and FSX. To improve frame-rates significantly I reduced cars, airport vehicles to zero. Some of them will still show up, like re-fueling and tugs etc. Then I reduced shipping down to five per cent using the slider. On top of that I tweaked the entire FSX scenery configuration file found in the AppData folder under Roaming. I'm enclosing a copy of my configuration for you to use. Just make up a copy of your original one in case you want to revert back.

Basically I added a Memory fix onto it to reduce resources that your computer draws on, in other words, a Memory Maximum. It cuts out tearing and should give you 27FPM which is very reasonable. I have another tweak should you require it. Anyway, just replace the file I'm giving you for your original.

fsx.zip 17.05 kB · 3 downloads

Thank you, just inspecting your fsx.cfg, and  looking for tweaks you used. BTW, which generation is your i3? Im now tuning on aged i3-370M. Have another laptop with i3 (10th generation) , that one handles fsx easily, but still lots of fan noise, however that one uses integrated UHD graphics. But can run FSX-SE cranked very high. didnt try with FSX SP2/Acc...

[David25210]

1 hour ago, f16jockey_2 said:

The attachment contains the replier's fsx.cfg.
This file has hardware specific sections, and can simply not be transferred from one computer to another as a whole.

Same goes for tweaks: what works on one pc, may not on another.

Be careful.

 

Wim

Thanks for pointing it out, yes, Im just looking for the tweak lines, the whole fsx.cfg replacement wouldnt do any good...

[loki]

On 4/2/2023 at 10:52 AM, David25210 said:

Anyway, can someone suggest what exactly steam/dovetail did to Fsx code that it runs actually better? And whether I can offset this somehow in Fsx.cfg settings?

 

I’ve been tweaking Fsx since the release , so I am generally familiar with many useful and not so useful tweaks, however I don’t see any of those implemented in fsx-se.cfg and it still runs this better? 

 

As Jim touched on, a number of the changes to the Steam Edition are under the hood, meaning there is no way you can apply them to the boxed version. I've copied a link to the Steam Edition release notes for reference. Note the first point regarding recompiling the sim with a more modern compiler in particular.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20141219113120/http://steamcommunity.com/app/314160/discussions/1/626329820729615790/

 

For tweaks, as they are very system and user dependent, you should start with the settings in the sim and then work through one of the FSX setup guides. Make sure to try each tweak individually though to see if they actually make a difference for your system and use case. Someone flying PMDG airliners is going to need different settings and tweaks than someone flying around the bush somewhere, for example.

 

https://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/fsx-software-and-hardware-guide/

 

And with the laptops, have the fans and heat sink (dust blocking airflow etc) been cleaned recently? Laptops aren't the greatest when it comes to cooling.

[raf12022]

2 hours ago, f16jockey_2 said:

The attachment contains the replier's fsx.cfg.
This file has hardware specific sections, and can simply not be transferred from one computer to another as a whole.

Same goes for tweaks: what works on one pc, may not on another.

Be careful.

 

Wim

 

[raf12022]

I've learned a valuable lesson, thanks for the advice.

[David25210]

24 minutes ago, loki said:

 

As Jim touched on, a number of the changes to the Steam Edition are under the hood, meaning there is no way you can apply them to the boxed version. I've copied a link to the Steam Edition release notes for reference. Note the first point regarding recompiling the sim with a more modern compiler in particular.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20141219113120/http://steamcommunity.com/app/314160/discussions/1/626329820729615790/

 

For tweaks, as they are very system and user dependent, you should start with the settings in the sim and then work through one of the FSX setup guides. Make sure to try each tweak individually though to see if they actually make a difference for your system and use case. Someone flying PMDG airliners is going to need different settings and tweaks than someone flying around the bush somewhere, for example.

 

https://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/fsx-software-and-hardware-guide/

 

And with the laptops, have the fans and heat sink (dust blocking airflow etc) been cleaned recently? Laptops aren't the greatest when it comes to cooling.

Loki, thanks for that Steam Edition changelog link. That explains why FSX-SE runs bit better then FSX itself... Im going through Kostas once again while getting the FSX run reasonably well even on such an old hardware... My main problem isnt the performance, its the laptops cooling fan noise and heat. I keep blowing the fan and inlets with compressed air to keep airflow, even lifting it up a bit off surface..

 

However, made a small progress; with jobscheduler and affinity mask set to run on only 1 core as the poster above had in his FSX.cfg (2 core CPU with HT=cores 0,1,2,3) I managed to get the CPU load at around 27-30%, which seems to keep the cooling fan spin fairly quietly. Ill keep experimenting, but will install FSX-SE in coexistence mode on this laptop too, I have it on other rigs this way and no problem, keeping eye not to mix them up, and so far so good, for months, with many add ons installed in both sims. 

 

Pic how it looks like now, off course at 1366x768 desktop and FSX windowed at 960x720 its limited, but at my current location I have to live with what I have right now.... at KSEA and stock DC-3, autogen on normal, water on low 1x, etc but is smooth and usable..