The A2A Simulations Community

Hi:) After upgrading my pc, my frame rates often go past the 100fps mark. I won't limit them, because the performance drops signifigantly when I do. But when the frames per second becomes 100 or larger, the vibrations in the cockpit looks to be very slow, or even no existant. Does anybody know a solution?

Use an external frame rate limiter and set fsx frame rate to unlimited.

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Владимир Левков/Vladimir Levkov

Aviation is proof that,given the will,we have the capacity to achieve the impossible

We recommend limiting frames in all simulations. For fsx, its best to limit to 18 or 36, since the sim runs certain areas at 18fps. Scott.

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A2A Simulations Inc.

I've always played around with the frame rates but I run mine at 18 FPS as Scott recommends now and I get much better all around performance now. I always figured 18 FPS would look choppy but it looks surprisingly smooth.

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All the best - Flyboy4612
Private pilot/tail-dragger endorsed

When you limit framerates, you not only reduce your cpu's utilization (on FSX it can be seen on one of the cores), but you give headroom for other parts of the simulation to run. Limiting can give a smoother experience because you will get a consistent framerate, rather than a constantly moving one. Limiting fps reduces stutters / hiccups too.

Scott.

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A2A Simulations Inc.

This is always an interesting topic, because 18fps locked on my system is very definitely choppy and stuttery. I run mine locked to 36, although over dense areas or in weather it can never get that high... Which is where it gets interesting, because while flying a helicopter at 18fps locked has obvious control delays and stutters, flying a helicopter with frame rate locked at 36fps, but the sim only managing to draw 16 or 17fps, is a much smoother experience. I don't claim to be able to explain that, because it makes no sense at all.

I think the best setting is determined by personal preference and each user's individual system, but it's very definitely a myth that performance is "better" with frame rate not limited. You're getting higher FPS numbers, yes, but at the expense of other things which also need to be done such as updating gauges, drawing scenery and weather or running AI.

Ian P.

Keep in mind that typical movies in a theatre run at 24fps. I think they're running higher than that with modern digital technology, but the point being that low frame rates for FSX have worked fine for theatre audiences for decades. On our computers each "frame" is a rendering of what appears on your screen. It's a direct linear effect - 40fps being twice the load of 20. I was running FSX at 10fps a while back on my new i7. I could notice it slightly so I bumped it up to 16.

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i7 2600, 8GB, Nvidia 420, 1.5TB, W7, TrackIR-5

This is an interesting discussion. On my setup, if I lock the frames at 20, I get stutters and a "grainy" look. If I lock them at 40, I get no stutters, and a much clearer, sharper display, some stuttering when panning. If I lock them at 60, I get a very fluid, very sharp, clear, detailed display and no stuttering when panning. Anything higher and I start to get graphic spikes when panning around.
One thing I noticed is the AI aircraft are stuttery/jerky with higher frame rates.
I do not have the Spit, but in the B17, the frame lock does not affect the vibrations.
I7960, GTX470, Win7-64.

Yes, but movies have motion blur, due to the exposure time for each frame, which makes them look more fluid than they really are. It's an optical illusion. Check out the combat scenes in Saving Private Ryan or Gladiator. They used high speed shutters for those scenes, resulting in sharper images with less motion blur. You can clearly see a slight stutter in those scenes. Computer games, including FSX, usually don't have motion blur (and even if the have it's just some filter effect and not real motion blur). Each of their frames is perfectly crisp and that's why we need a lot more frames per second to have a perfectly smooth impression in games. Sure, 24 or 30 fps work reasonably well and a frame rate cap is necessary in FSX to prevent hickups, but that's nothing compared to the smoothness of a game running at 60fps. It makes a world of a difference and it's unfortunate that we can't have framerates like that in FSX.

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Happy Landings
- Patrick