Nealius Posted July 26, 2021 Posted July 26, 2021 I have a very simple sandbox mission with a handful of AI flying from point A to point B and nothing much else. Today I flew the L-39 from Rene to Akrotiri with some low level shenanigans along the way and I had constant stutters. Reviewing my video footage and using my stopwatch I tapped the lap button every time I had a stutter over a one minute period. The stutters came at 12 second intervals. These stutters occur at low graphics settings, high graphics settings, VR, 2D, in every single aircraft. Interestingly the stutters don't occur when hosting the same mission on a server and flying as a client. The stutters do not occur on Caucasus, PG, NTTR, Marianas, Channel, or Normandy. System specs: i5-9600k 5.0GHz RTX 3060 12GB VRAM 32GB DDR4 2666 RAM OS on SSD DCS on SSD I've attached my mission file for others to test. Syria Sandbox NOMODS.miz 1
Nealius Posted July 28, 2021 Author Posted July 28, 2021 Further testing. Stutters coincide with minor drops in GPU usage.
Hiob Posted July 28, 2021 Posted July 28, 2021 (edited) May it be, that your RAM is coming to it's limits? I have seen Syria utilizing around 32 GB (I have 64). Perhaps the stutters came from the swapping to pagefile? Just an Idea... Edit: I don't want to imply that 32 GB must lead to stuttering. (It shouldn't) But perhaps there lays a hint on where to search for causes. Edited July 28, 2021 by Hiob "Muß ich denn jedes Mal, wenn ich sauge oder saugblase den Schlauchstecker in die Schlauchnut schieben?"
Nealius Posted July 28, 2021 Author Posted July 28, 2021 Only 82% of my RAM was utilized. No pagefile use on this flight.
Dangerzone Posted August 10, 2021 Posted August 10, 2021 Your problem is probably CPU, not GPU based. The GPU is probably going 'down' as it's got little left to process while it's waiting for the CPU to 'catch up'. Given that you don't have this problem if you host the mission on a separate server, and/or that changing GPU settings make no difference - it only adds to my suspicion that it's a CPU bound issue. If you can OC your CPU you may be able to overcome the stuttering, or otherwise you may need to look at settings that will assist your CPU over your GPU.
THERION Posted August 10, 2021 Posted August 10, 2021 1 hour ago, Dangerzone said: Your problem is probably CPU, not GPU based. The GPU is probably going 'down' as it's got little left to process while it's waiting for the CPU to 'catch up'. Given that you don't have this problem if you host the mission on a separate server, and/or that changing GPU settings make no difference - it only adds to my suspicion that it's a CPU bound issue. If you can OC your CPU you may be able to overcome the stuttering, or otherwise you may need to look at settings that will assist your CPU over your GPU. I think he already overclocked his CPU, given the i5-9600K runs with 4,6 MHz in turbo mode. But to me it seems the CPU is the bottleneck here. Maybe one should show us the actual graphic settings of DCS and also the NVidia panel settings @Nealius. On the other hand, I also noticed some micro stutters every now and then on the Syria map with my rig. All other maps, except for the Marianas, run smoothly. Maybe there are still performance issues on those two maps. But that's just a guess.
Nealius Posted August 10, 2021 Author Posted August 10, 2021 I'm currently overclocked to 5.0GHz on all cores. These are my current settings. At the time I last experienced the stutters, SSAA was off and Terrain Object Shadows was also off. NCP settings are all default except for power management set to performance. I noticed my graphics card wasn't specifically selected under OpenGL rendering, so I switched that to my 3060. Preload radius is set to max, as I understand less than max to cause stutters as objects are rendered.
THERION Posted August 11, 2021 Posted August 11, 2021 23 hours ago, Nealius said: I'm currently overclocked to 5.0GHz on all cores. These are my current settings. At the time I last experienced the stutters, SSAA was off and Terrain Object Shadows was also off. NCP settings are all default except for power management set to performance. I noticed my graphics card wasn't specifically selected under OpenGL rendering, so I switched that to my 3060. Preload radius is set to max, as I understand less than max to cause stutters as objects are rendered. OK - I have the same NCP settings like you, all default except "power management", FXAA on as I do not use MSAA (a potential performance killer too). Now, my graphic card is not as good as your one - I've got an MSI 1070 / 8 GB VRAM and I do not OC it. My CPU is a i5-11600K again, not overclocked at all, but turbo kicks in with 4,9 Mhz. Here are my settings in DCS. With these settings I only have small minor micro stutter on the Syria and Marianas map, all other maps run smoothly. Maybe you try these and see what you get? And do not set preload radius to the max., this will fill up you RAM without a reasonable advantage. So here are my DCS settings: Be aware that shadows are a total performance killer and you only notice them when flying low, if you do some sight seeing (my personal taste of course). SSAA too can hurt. Cheerio
Nealius Posted August 11, 2021 Author Posted August 11, 2021 I'll test the Preload radius. That seems to be the most logical if I think about the difference in settings and performance in other maps. I've found that SSAA in VR costs me zero performance on my card, for significant gain in visual quality.
ArjenHVA Posted August 11, 2021 Posted August 11, 2021 10 hours ago, Nealius said: I'll test the Preload radius. That seems to be the most logical if I think about the difference in settings and performance in other maps. I've found that SSAA in VR costs me zero performance on my card, for significant gain in visual quality. Syria is notorious for preload radius related issue and you're definitely pushing your luck with putting it on max. See other related topics where people got a smooth ride after significantly reducing it.
Nealius Posted August 11, 2021 Author Posted August 11, 2021 4 hours ago, ArjenHVA said: Syria is notorious for preload radius related issue and you're definitely pushing your luck with putting it on max. See other related topics where people got a smooth ride after significantly reducing it. That's definitely it, then. I get smooth performance on every other map with max preload radius. Never heard of this particular Syria issue, though. Just the RAM issue.
Nealius Posted August 13, 2021 Author Posted August 13, 2021 I reduced preload radius to half and still had the 12-second stutter.
THERION Posted August 13, 2021 Posted August 13, 2021 41 minutes ago, Nealius said: I reduced preload radius to half and still had the 12-second stutter. Well, half still means 75000, right? Try something like 40-45000 and have a go. And you might reconsider to review your shadows settings too.
Nealius Posted August 13, 2021 Author Posted August 13, 2021 Reduced to 40000. Stutters mostly gone in level flight, but pretty bad when maneuvering or when close to the ground. I'm seeing the same 12-second dips in GPU usage, but they aren't as severe as before. RAM usage 73~83% CPU usage 45~54% on each core GPU usage 100% VRAM usage 99% Now here's where things get interesting. I created a new mission with just my aircraft. No AI air units. No AI ground units. Not even LHA or Supercarrier assets. No stutters at all. So apparently it's caused (or exacerbated) by the AI....despite not really having that many of them on the map.
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