Some tips to improve your PC performance for the sim

[KeBrAnTo]

Hi all,

My intention with this post is to try to explain, specially for those who don't have much knowledge about such things, the way one can push up their PC performance in order to get the maximum of it and therefore improve their flight experience with the sim.

It is not my intention either to make any statement about I'm speaking the absolute truth in this post, but to explain what has worked well for me, as every rig is a different world, that's all. :grin:

I'm not gonna get into discussions about if this piece of hardware is better than the other one, runs faster, etc ..., I consider that this knowledge is part of the basics everyone should know or at least get informed about if it is their intention to deal with PC's.

Well, let's get started. :grin:

0.- BIOS settings

- Disable Hyper Threading

- If using Saitek USB controls and having issues like losing calibration in the middle of the game, wrong control oputput etc ... change USB Mode from Hi-Speed to "Full Speed" and Legacy USB support "Auto". These fixed my x52 problems.

1.- OS settings

My recommendation here is to run CoD over a 64 bit OS, Windows 7 if possible in order to get the game running using native DX10.

- Install the game in it's own partition/disk.

- Recommended high speed disks such SSD, SATA II ..... Use hardware RAID 0 on the disk the sim is installed on, whenever is possible for your system or your pocket. (This setup requires 2 HD's)

- If available RAM is higher than 8 GB, disable the paging file in all the disks.

- Use the lowest timing RAM allowed by your motherboard/CPU whenever is possible.

- Disable "file indexing" feature on the disk CoD is installed on.

- Disable antivirus while playing the game.

2.- GPU settings

My personal recommendation to those who are not happy with FPS is not to try to stick to the graphic settings ingame YOU consider the game should be running fine at based on the hardware you have, but do some benchmarking using the proper tools and decreasing ingame graphics settings until FPS has reached to what you consider comfortable with in order to have a good flight experience.

Benchmarking and testing part takes quite a lot of time but it is mandatory in order to set the right graphic settings for your system, if you don't agree with the idea of investing some time performing these tests, no point to keep reading any further, just double click "launcher.exe" and there you go, but please do not complain any more about CoD graphic performance, we all know there are many things that need fixed and optimized.


- If you have nVidia GPU, it is recommended to enable SLI creating a new graphics profile through "nVidia Inspector", please take a look to the following RickRuski's post, it is really instructive and it really works. http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=26236

My personal recommendation, along with the ones Rick's adviced in the previous link, which worked really well for me too, are these settings: (scroll down in nvidia inspector profile settings)

- Enable aplication for Optimus : SHIM_RENDERING_MODE_ENABLED
- Optimus Flags for enabled applications: SHIM_MCCOMPAT_ENABLED
- Preferred Refresh Rate: REFRESH_RATE_OVERRIDE_HIGHEST_AVAILABLE
- nVidia predefined FXX AA usage: 0x0000001
- Turn FXAA On/Off: ON
- Dynamic Tiling: ON


- If you have ATI, I would consider about changing to nVidia ;-) I do not have ATI GPU so I do not really know if Crossfire is actually working in this game, but I read somewhere that manufacturer has declined support to this game regarding the Crossfire feature.

3.- Game related settings

- Disable desktop composition in the "launcher.exe" advanced settings shortcut if OS is Windows 7.

- Disable Steam Cloud, Steam lobbys and notifications in game.

- Run the game in Full-screen mode at monitor native resolution and refresh rate. This should also match OS desktop settings.

- If you experience "connection lost" kind of errors while playing online, it might be caused because you're saving the track of the flight. Check if you don't save tracks when playing online has the same effect on your connection to the game server.

- Put some logic when adjusting ingame video settings. We all know our rig is the best and should be able to deal with this sim and play max settings, but, until that statement becomes true, you should face the truth and lower down the settings until FPS reach what you consider enough for a smooth flight experience while the graphic engine gets properly optimized.

4.- Other considerations

- You should consider seriously over-clocking your CPU and/or your GPU's.

This subject is something most of the people don't even want to hear about but there are lots of places where you can get all the necessary info in order to adjust a little bit the performance of your hardware safely. I've learned a lot in this site http://www.overclock.net/, and I never toasted any CPU/GPU/RAM module or anything, so that's my recommendation obviously. Also, people there is really helpful and there are lots of tutorials for nearly any kind of hardware device you could ever think of. Worth to take a look to it definitely.

If you finally decide to do some over-clocking, the most important thing is to make sure that your system is stable with the applied settings and in order to do so the only way is to make tests and more tests, benchmarking etc .... Again a lot of time, but believe me, it is worth it.

Before you start overclocking your CPU, make sure you have a good fan/cooler system for your CPU.

Well, I think that's all I could think of right now, I'll be updating the thread if something else comes back to my thoughts or I make some new findings.

Hope this helps, at least a little bit, to the people who complain about really low FPS in game so they can enjoy this great sim as I'm doing now. :D

My hardware specs are on my signature. Actually, running the game following these recommendations, I get round 70 FPS max., 50 FPS average when playing online, using MEDIUM settings, AA x2, low amount of houses, low forest, high models, high effects, high textures, no shades and no grass, and the game still looks very good and the sim runs smooth as silk and no stutters at all.

Cheers. :)

[SIDWULF]

Well being a computer technician for a few years I have come to realize Softwear tweaks should be avoided as Windows at default works the best, Windows is already optimized it is unnecessary to fiddle with Windows settings. Things like Game booster or disabling running processors is useless as at idle your computer is essentially using %0 processing power anyways, or should be. People tend to go overboard messing with settings in Windows, it's pointless. This thread thankfully dosen't recommend to much of this kind of stuff.

And as far as overclocking goes I am terrified of instability, component failure, artifacts, or not knowing why games are crashing other then poor coding. So i don't overclock.

[Timberwolf]

The post seems to be for someone that knows alittle more about computers and it's software.. If your not that good with computers don't mess with your bios or window running programs or overclock anything unless you know what your doing These things will mess up your computer to the point you will need to have it repaired if you mess up

The first thing i would do is know what your computer is and whats installed There are some programs you can use to do this (Speccy) is one of them

Another thing to speed up your computer is close unwanted processes like start up programs (anti virus ) ( Media players ) etc non windows items

Memory cleaners, Histroy sweep, Defrag, Clean junk files, windows updates driver updates, Connection speed test, Temp check,

Many of theses help your computer, speed it up and are eazy to do

I use a free program to do alot of these (Advance system care) If you can't remember the last time you did all these things to your computer .. Google the program I have it in my computer for 1 year now and helped many friends use it on theres

[CWMV]

Overclocking is too easy with an ASUS motherboard with UEFI.
Hell I pushed one button and the PC ran the overclocking program for a mild 4.4ghz. Has run flawlessly for months now and with a Zalman fan has never breached 50* even with CoD running flat out.
Also, I know many guys who have used gamebooster 3 with great success. Reported everything from greatly increased frame rates to the near elimination of stutters. So it seems worth it.
As for windows being the be all end all...have to disagree. IE9 handles like a Yugo, that is not very well at all.
firefox for me!

[SIDWULF]

Overclocking is too easy with an ASUS motherboard with UEFI.
Hell I pushed one button and the PC ran the overclocking program for a mild 4.4ghz. Has run flawlessly for months now and with a Zalman fan has never breached 50* even with CoD running flat out.
Also, I know many guys who have used gamebooster 3 with great success. Reported everything from greatly increased frame rates to the near elimination of stutters. So it seems worth it.
As for windows being the be all end all...have to disagree. IE9 handles like a Yugo, that is not very well at all.
firefox for me!

I don't know Windows 7 is the best Windows has ever been and IE9 has a very large amount of options and is an intergrated part of the windows shell so more compatability and as i mentioned the highly effective smartscreen filter.

I switched from Firefox back to IE 9 when it came out because i saw no reason anymore to use an alternate browser.

IE9 = win

[CWMV]

That's one of the reasons I stuck with firefox.
IE9 has far, FAR too much going on that I will never, ever need.
And its just not as user friendly as firefox. Sorry, but at this point I'm not going to learn a new browser when the old standby is as effective as always.
And after a week with IE9 I just wasn't impressed.
Firefox = easier = win +1

[KeBrAnTo]

Well being a computer technician for a few years I have come to realize Softwear tweaks should be avoided as Windows at default works the best, Windows is already optimized it is unnecessary to fiddle with Windows settings. Things like Game booster or disabling running processors is useless as at idle your computer is essentially using %0 processing power anyways, or should be. People tend to go overboard messing with settings in Windows, it's pointless. This thread thankfully dosen't recommend to much of this kind of stuff.

And as far as overclocking goes I am terrified of instability, component failure, artifacts, or not knowing why games are crashing other then poor coding. So i don't overclock.

Well mate, I've being working as computer technician for 16 years, now I'm a network administrator, dealt with laptops, workstations, servers, Windows, Unix, all kind of software & hadware ... all my life.

I'm sure that we could be all day discussing about our C.V's too I guess and I don't know much about what you're experience is on this business, but I'm sorry I must say Windows OS is an operating system developed to make things easier to the common of the mortals working with a PC, those who don't know much about all the things that lay beneath turning on and off the computer, and, if you want to make this OS fit your own particular requirements as an advanced user, it is mandatory that you must go an step further away than the "default" settings of the OS, precisely in order to fit that OS to your own requirements.

You're right when you say there's not much about third party software ment to improve performance, in fact, there isn't any on my post. This is pure BIOS, OS and GPU low level tweaking, that's all.

I don't agree with your statement regarding overclocking, no wonder you're terrified with the idea, I would be terrified too about trying to fix my TV flat screen wielding chips or something like that because I wouldn't have a clue about what I'd be doing, so that denotes me lack of knowledge about that particular subject.

Overclocking, if you do it based on some knowledge about what are you doing is the best thing to get the max from your system, default values are just that, defaults.

Obviously you need to know about that matter and have the proper hardware, If someone doesn't, I wouldn't recommend it either, I'm just telling the people they should get at least informed and learn about advantages and disadvantages of it, and how to put it in place on their system, that's all.

CWMV is right when he says ASUS motherboards are really easy to overclock, they're almost automatic doing so, In fact they're preparared to overclock from factory and it is supported by ASUS.

Enough said. This is my advice to the people who want their PC performance improved, you can give it a try or not, but please let the rest of the users decide by themselves if they want to give it a try or not.

[NLS61]

Overclocking is too easy with an ASUS motherboard with UEFI.
Hell I pushed one button and the PC ran the overclocking program for a mild 4.4ghz. Has run flawlessly for months now and with a Zalman fan has never breached 50* even with CoD running flat out.
Also, I know many guys who have used gamebooster 3 with great success. Reported everything from greatly increased frame rates to the near elimination of stutters. So it seems worth it.
As for windows being the be all end all...have to disagree. IE9 handles like a Yugo, that is not very well at all.
firefox for me!

Please watch you core Voltage can be set way higher then you want.
This can seriously harm you processor over time especially with Intel i5 2500K and i7 2600K.
manual overclocking is much better also gives better results
Watch from 7:55
Or visit http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110


Cheers,

Niels

[hummilaygay]

By following a few simple guidelines, you can maintain your computer, help increase your PC speed, and help keep it running smoothly. This article discusses how to use the tools available in Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Service Pack 3 to help make your computer faster, maintain your computer efficiently, and help safeguard your privacy when you're online.
1. Remove spyware, and help protect your computer from viruses
Spyware collects personal information without letting you know and without asking for permission. From the websites you visit to user names and passwords, spyware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to privacy concerns, spyware can hamper your computer's performance. To combat spyware, you might want to consider using the PC safety scan from Windows Live OneCare. This scan is a free service that helps check for and remove viruses.
Download Microsoft Security Essentials for free to help guard your system in the future from viruses, spyware, adware, and other malicious software (also known as malware). Microsoft Security Essentials acts as a spyware removal tool and includes automatic updates to help keep your system protected from emerging threats.
The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is another utility that checks computers running Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software, including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom, and helps remove any infection found.
2. Free up disk space
The Disk Cleanup tool helps you to free up space on your hard disk to improve the performance of your computer. The tool identifies files that you can safely delete and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.
Use Disk Cleanup to:
Remove temporary Internet files.
Delete downloaded program files, such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets.
Empty the Recycle Bin.
Remove Windows temporary files, such as error reports.
Delete optional Windows components that you don't use.
Delete installed programs that you no longer use.
Remove unused restore points and shadow copies from System Restore.
3. Speed up access to data
Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk as a file is opened (to piece it back together). The response time can be significantly longer.
Disk Defragmenter (sometimes shortened to Defrag by users) is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end to end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.
When to run Disk Defragmenter
In addition to running Disk Defragmenter at regular intervals (weekly is optimal), there are other times you should run it, too, such as when:
You add a large number of files.
Your free disk space totals 15 percent or less.
You install new programs or a new version of the Windows operating system.
Running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter on a regular basis is a proven way to help keep your computer running quickly and efficiently. If you'd like to learn how to schedule these tools and others to run automatically, please read Speed up your PC: Automate your computer maintenance schedule.
4. Detect and repair disk errors
In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.
As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.
If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.
5. Learn about ReadyBoost
If you're using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can use ReadyBoost to speed up your system. A new concept in adding memory to a system, it allows you to use non-volatile flash memory—like a USB flash drive or a memory card—to improve performance without having to add additional memory.
6. Upgrade to Windows 7
If you try all the previous remedies and your computer still isn't as fast as you would like it to be, you may want to consider updating to Windows 7.
Find out if your computer can run Windows 7 using the Upgrade Advisor.
Compare Window 7 editions.
Read a third-party review of Windows 7 by David Pogue of The New York Times.
If the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor determines that your computer can't run Windows 7 and you still have the need for speed, it might be time for a new computer.
View more at: http://www.techyv.com/questions/how-improve-pc-performance

[CWMV]

Please watch you core Voltage can be set way higher then you want.
This can seriously harm you processor over time especially with Intel i5 2500K and i7 2600K.
manual overclocking is much better also gives better results
Watch from 7:55
Or visit http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110


Cheers,

Niels

Thanks. Real quick what is the suggested max?