Aluminum Donkey

Yeah, that's what I heard. It makes life less stressful for the CPU (and it seems to me that CPU usage in DCS is very well-optimized now, it's just too heavy on GPU usage and I'm not sure how Vulkan API affects GPU load for a given scene complexity) AD Edit, and speaking of less overhead, I'd LOVE to see frame gen and DLSS implemented without ghosting! I'm hoping it's because of DX11 and not an inherent limitation of the tech because it works well in other games, but forcing frame gen and/or DLSS in DCS World causes a lot of annoying ghosting and artifacts.

My understanding is that DX12 is easier to learn, but Vulkan API has the potential to give better performance on a given set of hardware. I'm not a coder though. Vulkan also still supports DLSS/DLAA, Frame Generation, hardware-based raytracing/path tracing and ray reconstruction and all that good stuff so it's as good an approach as any! I'd love to see all that great stuff implemented in DCS because the current DX11 graphics engine doesn't make extensive use of all the modern goodies in RTX 40 and 50 series GPUs. Once they gitter dunn though, it's gonna rock. AD That's cool, I'm just curious what the differences are? My understanding is that they both support the latest hardware graphics functions but DX12 is limited to Windows whereas Vulkan can be coded for any OS and is non-proprietary. AD

Thanks We're all looking forward to it, I bet it's gonna be pretty kickass and will allow our hardware to stretch its legs more AD I could be wrong but the impression I got was that ED were developing new graphics engines for both DX12 and Vulkan API. AD

Hi Bignewy, Not to nag or anything but ED have been talking about Vulkan API (and possibly DX12) for years now. It's been a LONG time. Still no cigar. Not trying to be annoying, but any chance of seeing a Vulkan or DX12 Open Beta sometime in maybe the next couple years? (Again, not trying to be difficult.) It seems to have a lot to offer and I'm surprised that a sim on the level of DCS is still using what in 2025 is an archaic graphics engine that can't make the best use of today's awesome hardware. Ghosting-free DLAA/DLSS, hardware raytracing with nice lighting and shadows, frame gen, better use of video memory and all that good stuff! You've had us foaming at the mouth for years now! AD

Hehehehe yeah, Kuky has a "pretty good PC"!!!! I wonder what he thinks a great one is AD

Aren't YOU a funny ass guy! AD

The best I ever found is using DLAA with the K preset enabled in Nvidia Profile Inspector. Nothing else works worth a hoot for me. To minimize ghosting, turn off Sharpening. I use a 2560 x 1440 single screen. AD

Have you ever tried using Nvidia Profile Inspector to try enabling DLSS without DLAA being applied? NVPI has a whole metic buttload of different options for configuring the graphics driver, much more than what you can get from NVCP. AD

This happens with DLSS for me but not when I only use DLAA. To make it go away, force DLAA Preset K. It eats a little bit of performance but looks REALLY good! AD

You're probably right, DLSS is awesome for everything but DCS. I find that with DLAA only it's much better than MSAA though, which is pretty crappy in DCS. I don't like DLSS with it though, only DLAA by itself. With the DLSS preset K though, DLSS is still pretty impressive and takes a load off the graphics card. I just prefer it with DLAA only because it gives less artifacting. AD

Yeah, my stuttering seems to have mostly gone away. Maybe it was a monitor sync problem, I have an old monitor that is not listed as G-Sync Compatible (but it works) and is 8 years old. It's working well now, also I seem to have better luck overall with ReBAR turned off in BIOS. I still can't get my low-altitude FPS up as high as I used to with a fresh graphics driver install, though. No idea why. First time I run the sim it's awesome, next time I have problems with low FPS sometimes, but it's only when flying low near the Eiffel Tower in Normandy 2.0. AD

Ok, in my case I always have to have some kind of vertical sync enabled or I always get screen tearing even if I set my game FPS to the monitor's refresh rate (75 Hz for me.) Normal Vsync seems to cause a lot of stuttering in DCS. It could be the sim itself, or it could be a problem with the Nvidia driver causing monitor sync issues. I don't know. I just recently figured out though that if I use Fast Sync instead of Vsync and limit the FPS in-game to the monitor's max refresh (75 FPS) then I get much smoother motion without stutter and Fast Sync eliminates screen tearing, which I will always get without any kind of vertical sync enabled. Maybe I'll try limiting FPS in the NVCP instead of in DCS itself just to see what happens, but it already works well with the framerate set in DCS. AD

If I enable G-Sync compatible with no vertical sync, I get tearing. I have to use some kind of vertical sync. Fast Sync seems to work best for me, Vsync causes stuttering and BS but Fast Sync works well if I set the framerate in the Settings menu with the slider.

Yes, I can run G-Sync Compatible mode with my Omen 32" monitor. I'm now using Fast Sync instead of Vsync though, and set the framerate in the Settings menu with the slider. It just about eliminates stuttering for me. Fast Sync is needed to eliminate screen tearing, it works well. AD I'm finding that too, except I use variable refresh (Freesync enabled in monitor, G-Sync ON in NVCP.) Using normal Vsync causes stuttering for me. AD

Are you using Vsync, either in-sim or in the driver? Turn it off and use Fast Sync in the graphics driver (NVCP) instead, it eliminates screen tearing. Then set the framerate you want in-sim using the slider in the Settings menu. Greatly reduced (just about eliminated) stutters for me. DCS doesn't seem to like Vsync very much. AD

Ok, I set my pagefile to 32768 MB as per recommendations. I also found that DCS runs much smoother if I don't use Vsync either in the sim or in NVCP. Instead, I turn Vsync off in the sim and use Fast Sync in NVCP, then set the framerate I want (75 Hz for my HP Omen 32" monitor) in the sim using the slider. Runs MUCH smoother now. For whatever reason, DCS doesn't seem to like Vsync very much. Fast Sync is much better. AD

Greetings everyone, I recently tried disabling Vsync in the sim and enabled Fast Sync in NVCP. It seems to have largely eliminated my stuttering problem. Using normal Vsync either in-sim or in NVCP doesn't seem to work so well. I have to limit the framerate in-sim using the Max FPS slider (I set it to 75 FPS, which is my monitor's max) and then I use Fast Sync in NVCP. Problem mostly solved! Only thing is, I still get FPS drops when flying under the Eiffel Tower in Normandy 2.0. I had the sim going for a while without it, I could just fly under the tower and it ran a solid 75 FPS. Now it drops down to maybe 62 or so. I wish it wouldn't do that... Anyway, at least I have a handle on it. I wonder if the problem is with my monitor. I have an Nvidia graphics card and a Freesync monitor, but my monitor is about 8 years old and is not G-Sync Compatible--just normal "cheap" Freesync and not Freesync Premium or Premium Pro (my monitor is an HP Omen 32".) That might have something to do with it. I'll keep messing around with settings and see what happens. Mostly, turning off VSync seems to have helped a lot. I just use Fast Sync now because with no sync at all, I get screen tearing even when running the sim at exactly the same framerate as my monitor's refresh rate (75 Hz.) If you're having problems with this, try it yourself--it very well might be a monitor sync issue. AD

I don't have problems with crashes. Can't remember the last time DCS crashed to desktop. As for my 16 GB graphics card, I run a single 2560 x 1440 display and 16 GB seems plenty. I rarely use more than 10-12 GB at max, most games barely use 6 to 8. AD

I've tried all that, and my DCS missions don't use all 32 GB anyway. I also have 16 GB on the graphics card and usually only about 10 GB gets used, sometimes maybe ~12. Besides, I've had it running great on my current system. No idea why I sometimes get it to run perfectly after an update, only to have it start stuttering and giving lower framerates the next time I run the sim. My GAWD what a nuisance. At least they fixed the bug that gave dreadfully long mission loading times. AD

I've never been able to make arses or teakettles of the dcs.log, but here goes: Thanks for any insights! AD dcs.log

Well, I ran the sim again last night and while the loading times are still much better, the stuttering is back again and framerates are starting to drop again. Pardon my French, but <profanity> IT. It's been like this forever. It was running great, and now it's back to a stuttery mess with framerate drops. Oh well, to hell with it. AD

Yeah, I had great results flying the latest version today! I don't have the balls to try it again in case it starts stuttering again and framerates suck. I've had it happen before. Just glad it ran really nicely for the first time in months. AD EDIT: Oh yeah, loading times are a heck of a lot better now too!

Yeah, I also have Realtek sound (ALC1200) and while the sound itself always works perfectly for me, disabling solved my problems with stuttering and low framerates. Problem is, it came back again even with the sound driver disabled! So I just turned it back on. I can't sort out whether it's DCS, Windows, or crappy device drivers somewhere. This really bites. I've lost interest in DCS for the time being, maybe they'll fix it one day. AD

Event Viewer logs? I have never in many years over many different systems ever been able to run a Windows install that doesn't accumulate massive numbers of warnings and errors in the Event Viewer. It doesn't matter if it's a fresh install of Windows using all the latest drivers and known-good hardware. First day of running, Event Viewer is chock-full of errors and warnings upon errors and warnings. Doesn't matter which version of Windows it is, doesn't matter what hardware it's running on. I ignore it now because it's ridiculous. Windows is a broken mess and always has been, when software becomes that overwhelmingly complex it is impossible to get everything running properly. Windows 7 was half decent though. AD

Also, while resetting Windows 11 helped a lot, after flying a few missions I'm starting to get stuttering again. It f@cking sucks, I just wanna play the darn sim! Since I started playing DCS in about 2008 I've spent more time porking around with it for performance reasons instead of really getting into the game and enjoying it. I get really tired of this. AD