System load clarification

[Mr. Lucky 0]

This one is for the devs or people knowledgeable about CFS3.

I'm still having low FPS due to my system but I'm trying to sort whether the bottleneck lies in my video card or my cpu.

Specs for those interested Intel P4 3.2ghz, 2 gig ram, Soyo Dragon II MB 800mhz fsb, ATI radeon 3850 AGP. Settings 5,3,3,3,3,1

All low end for this, I know and the HD3850 is problematic by itself, but here is what I'm observing, and I believe, others have as well.

This is all in campaign.

At takeoff and initial climb out, say 10 - 12 planes, I get 25 to 30 fps. I get really excited.

As I continue to climb and time passes (both inevitable occur at the same time early in the mission) the fps continues to drop to about 8 - 13 based on over the front and/or number of airbases in view.

My question is, am I seeing this fps drop due to more of the world and therefore more objects in view or, as time passes, does the activity increase loading up my cpu?

 

I ask this because:

As I continue to climb, and less detail is presented, the fps still stays low.

When I return to base and perceive the same viewpoint as on takeoff, the fps doesn't go back up, but stays low.

If it were only video issues, I'd expect the fps to go back up at least to that on takeoff especially since there's only one aircraft involved instead of 10 or 12 and that one's myself.

 

The only bearing this has is not upgrading, but whether I need to continue trying to tweak my video card or if it's a cpu issue. I don't think it's a heat issue, as they don't get progressively worse, for the whole mission, they do vary up and down based on what's in view, but the whole range drops from 25 - 30 at the beginning to 8 -13 for the remainder.

 

 

 

Before anyone offers the basics, I've already been tweaking the config and workshop settings for best performance balanced with immersion and I've been doing this since P1 came out so I already have read the tips and tricks past and present.

 

Thanks for anyone who has any thoughts on the matter.

[Flyby PC 23]

Just a suggestion, but it might be something overheating. Try taking the side of your pc off, hoover the dust off your cooling fins etc, and try a flight with the side off. Your FPS might be dropping because the heat is reducing efficiency.

 

There is also a site where you can download a utility to check your PC's temperatures, but the name of it was lost with the SOH meltdown. Speedfan rings a bell, but I forget. That might monitor your wattage.

Edited March 6, 2009 by Flyby PC

[Mr. Lucky 0]

Hey Gimp, never thought of that one, I'll give it a try.

BTW, I don't get that big a gain in FPS on lower settings...maybe just one or two fps.

[Mr. Lucky 0]

did test. The gpu temp stayed between 55 and 56 even when overclocked. The ACPI temp stays at 79 c all the time which seems high. Over 15 min, the FPS degraded from 20 to 9-10 just sitting on the field with the engine running.

[Mr. Lucky 0]

I know ,y hardware is sub par. I am only interested in pursuing this so I know whether to quit ripping my hair out tweaking the vide settings if it's the cpu that's the bottleneck.

[Flyby PC 23]

I know ,y hardware is sub par. I am only interested in pursuing this so I know whether to quit ripping my hair out tweaking the vide settings if it's the cpu that's the bottleneck.

 

When I started out simming, I was sure my PC had enough grunt to cope, but when I went online flying with the MOG guys, my FPS were never great, and once the action started, my flight became a slide show. My frames would freeze, and when they started again I had often already crashed, or even worse, crashed, re-spawned and crashed again. Sometimes I would wreck half the AI wingmen aircraft which was very frustrating to me and fellow players.

 

To cut to the chase, the MOG guys were very knowledgeable, and took me through a process of upgrading my PC, tweaking it, and step by step upgrading the hardware. I put in more RAM, I put in a new video card, I tested the cooling, I surveyed the wattage use, and even upgraded my power unit. All of this was a superb education, but didn't nail the problem of my framerates dropping away. (A good point I need to add is trusting your labels - Just because a power unit says it cranks out 300W, doesn't mean it actually does).

 

On paper, my CPU was 1.2 ghz or something, I forget now, - but on paper that should have been enough. My CPU was a 'Celeron' chip, and therein lay the problem. The Celeron chip (now correct me if I'm wrong) was never intended to be a gaming chip, and it's performance catered for business use. On paper it was fine, but CFS3 was taking it to the limit.

 

Eventually I was cured. - New PC, which actually did a lot more, but cost less than the old one.