investigating [SLOW PERFORMANCE] Unusually long load times and close times

[Akula]

I don't think this is a BIOS issue. I think the issue comes from the various updates DCS has made that inadvertently impacted multi-thread support. Something happened because DCS got nothing but praise when they released an update that specifically addressed a significant improvement to Multi-thread support, and they delivered. Since then I think one update was released in 2024 to address a multi-thread bug but nothing after that. We've all been down this road before where one update fixes A, B, C, D but breaks X.

It's not the Devs faults as they can't be expected to beta test every single different configuration out there but when it comes to a vital feature like Multi-thread support, it's a feature that needs to be tested after every update on various machines to ensure compatibility/stability. This is free performance that we cannot use due to a bug in the updates that wasn't there before. 

 

Obviously I'm not a DCS dev but if I was one I'd get my hands on a 14900k machine and start running some tests. This does not look like an isolated incident.

[Akula]

BIOS, Nividia drivers and Windows all up to date. 

Ran a test this morning before updating the Nvidia drivers.

 

Prior to Nvidia update and  HT support OFF  - Desktop to main menu > 42 seconds  Exit to Desktop  > 5 seconds 

After Nvidia update and  HT support ON  - Desktop to main menu > 70 seconds  Exit to Desktop  > 40 seconds

I don't claim to know what the problem is but there does seem to be a link between Multi/Hyper threading and DCS load times.

[Ghost6868]

Same problem here.. 

 

Very long start 

 

[lee1hy]

24H2? I have long loading time after 24H2 update

[miguelaco]

No improvement for me in load times after updating to latest DCS version 2.9.20.15010. Wonder if the fix made it to this patch as it doesn't seem mentioned in the changelog.

[Apache 64]

vor 4 Minuten schrieb miguelaco:

No improvement for me in load times after updating to latest DCS version 2.9.20.15010. Wonder if the fix made it to this patch as it doesn't seem mentioned in the changelog.

at least (from the change log):

Terrain Engine

Tuned lazy loading of 3D models. We already had asynchronous loading in place, and this update adds complementary optimizations to ensure only the models needed in the current situation are loaded. This should slightly improve loading times in both the Mission Editor and mission startup.

[miguelaco]

I'm aware of that change, but we're talking here (at least I am) of loading times from desktop to main menu. In my case, once in the menu the sim runs smooth with no excessive loading times, before and after the patch.

[miguelaco]

On 9/2/2025 at 3:33 PM, SAM77 said:

New bios was released couple days back for my mobo. I updated my bios today to the latest version along with Intel ME. Now I have this issue with long loading time. I turned off Hyperthreading in bios and it loaded much quicker. In addition, with HT on exiting from game to desktop takes significantly longer than before. I will live with it for now. Hopefully the fix mentioned will solve it. I plan on reinstalling win11 anyway when MiG29 is released. If the problem still exists, I will consider reverting to the previous bios version. 

I ignored the golden rule "If it isn't broke don't fix it"

I rolled back the BIOS to an August 2024 version, and DCS load times have improved a lot, pretty much on par with the benchmarks I got when disabling HT.

I have an Asus ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming WiFi II. The BIOS version is 1503 dated 2024/08/08.

Edited September 21 by miguelaco

[SAM77]

11 hours ago, miguelaco said:

I rolled back the BIOS to an August 2024 version, and DCS load times have improved a lot, pretty much on par with the benchmarks I got when disabling HT.
 

I have an Asus ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming WiFi II. The BIOS version is 1503 dated 2024/08/08.

I had a try at rolling back the Intel ME that accompanied the latest bios but it wouldn't allow it. So, I guess I'm stuck with the latest bios. I'll try reinstalling WIn11 and pray that fixes it otherwise I can leave HT off for now. Someone mentioned the latest major Windows 11 update contributed to their long loading time (which could also apply to me as I did all these things around the same time) so yeah hoping a fresh install fixes it. 

Thanks for your report on how rolling back the Bios fixed your system.

[SAM77]

Fresh windows install didn't fix long loading time issue. Switching off HT in bios fixed it. Oh well.

[miguelaco]

That fixed it for me too but I don't want to leave HT disabled just for DCS. Specially when once in the sim, I noticed a small hit on fps stability with HT off.

Did you try downgrading the BIOS? I didn't do anything special with my ASUS board, just followed the usual procedure to bump up the version but applied a previous one instead.

Cheers

[SAM77]

No, I didn't revert back to the previous bios. I can live with HT not being enabled and hopefully further down the track either a fix from ED or a new bios from MSI fixes this issue. I'm trying to overcome my OCD and to not be annoyed or irritated by this is a good challenge  

Edited September 22 by SAM77