How I Fixed Micro Stutters (Pimax Crystal Light)

[MarkyMarkUK]

Hi DCS / Pimax Community

I'm posting this as it's taken me sooooo long to get the PCL working nicely with DCS (Steam) and to remove those micro stutters.....hoping it helps others in the future.

Background: I had my PICO4 & DCS working lovely, no micro stutters, HIGH graphics setting in DCS but ever since going to the PCL, I got great sharpness, still great FPS but frametime was spikey so I had micro stutters...especially low flying over buildings.

....but now fixed! 

My rig:
-Processor    13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900K   3.00 GHz
-Installed RAM    64.0 GB (63.7 GB usable)
-System type    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
-Windows11
-RTX 4090 (latest drivers)
-SSD(s)

Here's how I did it:

1. Reset EVERYTHING to default
   1. Nvidia settings
   2. No QuadViews installed
   3. No OpenXR Toolkit
   4. No Process Lasso
   5. No CPU Affinity fiddling
2. PimaxClient (latest)
   1. Device: Refresh 120Hz (don't skip this one)
   2. Games: DCS World Steam Edition
      1. See Pic
      2. Don't skip 'Lock to Half Framerate'
      3. Ensure using Pimax OpenXR setting in the PimaxClient
3. DCS Graphics Settings
   1. See Pics
   2. No QuadViews

Summary: The biggest discovery for me and my rig was upping the Hz to 120Hz and forcing 60FPS - The two items above in RED. I get rock solid 60FPS, barely drops, nice and smooth.

Hope this helps 

null

Edited January 21 by MarkyMarkUK

[j9murphy]

interesting to me that you chose to optimize your settings with render quality set to medium instead of high.  Are others with 13900+/4090 doing this?

[Moxica]

9 hours ago, j9murphy said:

interesting to me that you chose to optimize your settings with render quality set to medium instead of high.  Are others with 13900+/4090 doing this?

Not me. Not with Pimax. Kinda defeat its purpose; Clarity!

[MarkyMarkUK]

10 hours ago, j9murphy said:

interesting to me that you chose to optimize your settings with render quality set to medium instead of high.  Are others with 13900+/4090 doing this?

You would think so, right, but it translates to Render Quality .75 which is barely noticeably different to High (1.0). This Medium setting on my rig means the GPU is at 98% most of the time and CPU around 33% (using MSI Afterburner). If I select Render Quality to High, then I get GPU 100%, Frametime spiking and micro stutters. If I want to keep it at High then I have to put DCS on the Medium Graphics setting (which looks horrible).

On Medium render quality, everything is still crystal clear, all dials and numbers etc.

The main observation is that on my rig, the only thing that stopped the micro stutters (apart from setting DCS graphics to Low or VR preset) was upping to 120Hz and locking to half framerate.

21 minutes ago, Moxica said:

Not me. Not with Pimax. Kinda defeat its purpose; Clarity!

If I start my optimisations with a base of PCL Render Quality of High, then I have to start using QuadViews (hate it) and DCS on Low / VR graphics preset (hate it). 

On Medium render quality, for me everything is still crystal clear, all dials and numbers etc.

[Moxica]

Also; I have visible range to ultra at least. It is in "Extreme" atm.
And absolutely no DLSS!
DLSS and DLAA just replace stutter with mush.

[j9murphy]

I tried putting the Crystal on Medium resolution last night.... my conclusions:

• difference in cockpit tolerable, didn't lose much if anything
• view out the window (far) also didn't lose a lot, was a little less sharp but also tolerable
• view out the window (ground under 5000 feet) much blurrier.  Pretty large difference here, and not tolerable to me.

My conclusion (YMMV of course!):  If I were flying a high altitude A/A mission I might use this if I was struggling to maintain framerates, but that's the least likely scenario that I'm going to be struggling.  For A/G missions, Helo missions, or anything where I'm flying low, this was a step backwards and not one I would not use medium for.

My personal preferences only, everyone has their own sweet spot!

[Peedee]

20 hours ago, j9murphy said:

interesting to me that you chose to optimize your settings with render quality set to medium instead of high.  Are others with 13900+/4090 doing this?

Render quality for me must be set to high. Or else distant details are not very clear. I might as well used my Pico4 or Quest 3 then...  I have 13900 + 4090. No problems with stutter either. Feel sorry for those who have that problem, but it's been a long time since I had that. Probably back in my Reverb G2 days   Meaning a couple of years I think.

[Panzerlang]

I finally got around to trying the 120hz and capping the frames to 50%, no go on my rig. Not a suprise really, it's always the CPU being flogged on at least one core to 100% that causes the issue (and it's the "Main Thread", not the "Render Thread").

[nephilimborn]

On 1/23/2025 at 11:14 AM, Panzerlang said:

I finally got around to trying the 120hz and capping the frames to 50%, no go on my rig. Not a suprise really, it's always the CPU being flogged on at least one core to 100% that causes the issue (and it's the "Main Thread", not the "Render Thread").

Hi, was wondering what negative experience you had with 120hz/half-frames? I ask as i have recently been try this setting for other reasons, noticed it eliminated the stutters i was experiencing on syria map + ah-64d however for some reason seems a blurry experience for me.

[Panzerlang]

2 hours ago, nephilimborn said:

Hi, was wondering what negative experience you had with 120hz/half-frames? I ask as i have recently been try this setting for other reasons, noticed it eliminated the stutters i was experiencing on syria map + ah-64d however for some reason seems a blurry experience for me.

Blurry and a 'high frequency' image 'jitter'.

[nephilimborn]

9 hours ago, Panzerlang said:

Blurry and a 'high frequency' image 'jitter'.

Thank you @Panzerlang, 'high freq image jitter' perfectly describes what i am also experiencing

[Thorns]

So what settings do you all use to get rid of the "high freq image jitter" at high res? MarkMarkUK, I tried your setting and it's not too bad, but I want to hear what the other people use.

[onib89]

On 1/21/2025 at 10:08 PM, MarkyMarkUK said:

Hi DCS / Pimax Community

I'm posting this as it's taken me sooooo long to get the PCL working nicely with DCS (Steam) and to remove those micro stutters.....hoping it helps others in the future.

Background: I had my PICO4 & DCS working lovely, no micro stutters, HIGH graphics setting in DCS but ever since going to the PCL, I got great sharpness, still great FPS but frametime was spikey so I had micro stutters...especially low flying over buildings.

....but now fixed! 

My rig:
-Processor    13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900K   3.00 GHz
-Installed RAM    64.0 GB (63.7 GB usable)
-System type    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
-Windows11
-RTX 4090 (latest drivers)
-SSD(s)

Here's how I did it:

1. Reset EVERYTHING to default
   1. Nvidia settings
   2. No QuadViews installed
   3. No OpenXR Toolkit
   4. No Process Lasso
   5. No CPU Affinity fiddling
2. PimaxClient (latest)
   1. Device: Refresh 120Hz (don't skip this one)
   2. Games: DCS World Steam Edition
      1. See Pic
      2. Don't skip 'Lock to Half Framerate'
      3. Ensure using Pimax OpenXR setting in the PimaxClient
3. DCS Graphics Settings
   1. See Pics
   2. No QuadViews

Summary: The biggest discovery for me and my rig was upping the Hz to 120Hz and forcing 60FPS - The two items above in RED. I get rock solid 60FPS, barely drops, nice and smooth.

Hope this helps 

null

I just figure it out that if you recenter the head set while flying the stutters are gone. Can someone else confirm that? In my case I was struggling for those stutters without fps drops and I finally came to this conclusion..it's like when it's out of borders it's shuttering 

[MarkyMarkUK]

8 minutes ago, onib89 said:

I just figure it out that if you recenter the head set while flying the stutters are gone. Can someone else confirm that? In my case I was struggling for those stutters without fps drops and I finally came to this conclusion..it's like when it's out of borders it's shuttering 

You mean DCS recentre or Pimax recentre?

[onib89]

9 minutes ago, MarkyMarkUK said:

You mean DCS recentre or Pimax recentre?

Pimax recenter. .I  notice that in other games if you go outside the zone it stutters a lot. I didn't fix it all but is better... but notice that it doesn't recenter the right way. Sometimes recenters you out of it's borders. Maybe a bug. 

[MarkyMarkUK]

1 minute ago, onib89 said:

Pimax recenter. .I  notice that in other games if you go outside the zone it stutters a lot. I didn't fix it all but is better... but notice that it doesn't recenter the right way. Sometimes recenters you out of it's borders. Maybe a bug. 

Hhhmmmm, dunno but my chaperone borders are turned off anyway.

[onib89]

21 minutes ago, MarkyMarkUK said:

Hhhmmmm, dunno but my chaperone borders are turned off anyway.

You know what scratch that. Still stutters ... I try it in sinai map and then it was alright...maybe just a coincidence...  it still stutters when look close to the ground left or right... I bultied a 7k pc to have this in dcs always ... at least it worked in other games that I had this issue. Stutters when go outside borders. Dcs it's a thing itself...

Edited April 13 by onib89

[Blackhawk163]

When I upgraded to the 5080 I was still getting the micro stutters out the side. Then I decided to actually tax the you and not the cpu. First DLSS/DLAA had to go, and then my Pimax custom settings that I had used on the 4080 super (.85 resolution ) had to be increased to native. 120hz (no capping at half). 
 

I don’t mind QV, and FFR. All modules save for the F4 phantom (which cuts down to 32 fps for some reason) run smooth with no stutters at 60 capped in DCS and OPXRTK. I usually test this over The BFM mission over tarinkot (just shoot down the mig right away) and then fly circles over the airfield as the density of objects go from low to high and then low again. 

[nephilimborn]

7 hours ago, Blackhawk163 said:

When I upgraded to the 5080 I was still getting the micro stutters out the side. Then I decided to actually tax the you and not the cpu. First DLSS/DLAA had to go, and then my Pimax custom settings that I had used on the 4080 super (.85 resolution ) had to be increased to native. 120hz (no capping at half). 
 

I don’t mind QV, and FFR. All modules save for the F4 phantom (which cuts down to 32 fps for some reason) run smooth with no stutters at 60 capped in DCS and OPXRTK. I usually test this over The BFM mission over tarinkot (just shoot down the mig right away) and then fly circles over the airfield as the density of objects go from low to high and then low again. 

I also experience these PimaxCL stutters and also feel it may be CPU bound headset tracking related (re-centering does not seem to make a difference). I have set the appropriate process priorities in PLasso (win10) and have set 120hz at 60capped. However have not tested turning off other CPU consuming upscaling such as DLSS/DLAA/QV. Will try tonight and see if that makes a difference. 

I even printed up some QRCode tracking sheets and placed these in front and on the sides - that i think was a waste of time and made no noticeable difference for me either.

[dutchili]

Check yesterday's livestream by Waggs on the Germany map. 2d and continuous scenery stutters. 

I advised him to remove all unofficial mods. No seriously, I don't think you can fix it with settings.

[BIGNEWY]

1 hour ago, dutchili said:

Check yesterday's livestream by Waggs on the Germany map. 2d and continuous scenery stutters. 

I advised him to remove all unofficial mods. No seriously, I don't think you can fix it with settings.

I know you are trying to be funny, but you are incorrect. Settings can play a big part in fixing stutters, but it is very system specific, scripts, game settings, bios settings and hardware issues can all contribute to stuttering. 

I was moderating that feed, I wasnt seeing any stutter, and his FPS was about 120 for most of it. But that isnt a topic for here. 

thank you 

[dutchili]

31 minutes ago, BIGNEWY said:

I know you are trying to be funny, but you are incorrect. Settings can play a big part in fixing stutters, but it is very system specific, scripts, game settings, bios settings and hardware issues can all contribute to stuttering. 

I was moderating that feed, I wasnt seeing any stutter, and his FPS was about 120 for most of it. But that isnt a topic for here. 

thank you 

I was indeed

I was pretty successful in limited the stutters with DCS, Windows and Nvidia settings, but i can't fix scenary stutters over populated areas.

If you watch the recorded stream you can see that the houses etc on the edges of the screen are not fluidly moving backwards. The FPS indications in DCS are not 100% representing what we actually see. In general, in my case, the ground/scenery stutters are the result of the CPU not being able to produce enough frames. It occurs mostly when turning while taxiing, looking sideways more than 45 degrees or when flying low-level over cities. The more complex the weather, the more stutters.
With my reference to settings, i primarily mean that the game is unable produces enough frames in all scenario's regardless the settings.

[onib89]

Guys I have built a beast and I suffer of these stutters...AMD Ryzen 9950X3D, ROG ASTRAL 5090 OC, 64GB RAM 6000 CL32 2X32, PF1 ARGB 1200W Platinum , rog ruyijin 360 iii extreme, Samsung 9100 pro 2tb, 990 evo plus 4tb. Samsung g8 oled 34". On my monitor 175hz 175fps stable and stuttering,  on pimax crystal light 90hz 90fps stable and stuttering , so many people with different systems have the same issues, I mean.. what the heck man..it's Nvidia drivers?? I tried all settings from low to highest and it's the same thing. I tried all refresh rates in vr , everything I saw in YouTube from guides to fixes and nothing.. it's just frustrating..I'm not into commercial flights but I'm thinking seriously buying mfs  2020 or 24 to test if stutters there..

Edited April 14 by onib89

[avgyst]

В 14.04.2025 в 12:52, onib89 сказал:

Guys I have built a beast and I suffer of these stutters...AMD Ryzen 9950X3D, ROG ASTRAL 5090 OC, 64GB RAM 6000 CL32 2X32, PF1 ARGB 1200W Platinum , rog ruyijin 360 iii extreme, Samsung 9100 pro 2tb, 990 evo plus 4tb. Samsung g8 oled 34". On my monitor 175hz 175fps stable and stuttering,  on pimax crystal light 90hz 90fps stable and stuttering , so many people with different systems have the same issues, I mean.. what the heck man..it's Nvidia drivers?? I tried all settings from low to highest and it's the same thing. I tried all refresh rates in vr , everything I saw in YouTube from guides to fixes and nothing.. it's just frustrating..I'm not into commercial flights but I'm thinking seriously buying mfs  2020 or 24 to test if stutters there..

In my case stuttering was given by the video card monitoring program - palit thunderMaster.  If you have such a program enabled during the game, try to close it and see the result.