SLI/Perfect 'Heartbeat'

[Cdr84]

I have a problem running IL-2 in perfect with sli enabled.

When I run on just one video card (I have 2x8800gt's) everything is smooth in perfect, but with SLI enabled there is a heartbeat like micropause. There is also a nasty flicker of shadows on the water.

Turning off perfect mode in SLI also cures these problems.

I have seen this problem reported by people here and there, but never any solutions.

I have tried all the .dll's.

I don't believe this is hardware specific unless it is to the 8000 series cards. I have 3 different machines that all do the same thing.

This machine is a Q6600/680i/4gb ram/2x8800gt setup, also have;
-Dell M1730/2.8ghz cpu (sorry, can't remember which one right now), 4gb ram/2x 8700M GT
-amd 6400+/Nforce 590/4gb ram/2x8800gts 640mb (the older ones)

I have tried several different drivers, all do it to some degree. Maybe you have one that works?

This is really annoying, I can get 60+fps most all the time in SLI, but must put up with this unacceptable stuff, so end up taking the hit and running one one card.

Here is my ;

[Render_OpenGL]
TexQual=3
TexMipFilter=3
TexCompress=0
TexFlags.UseDither=1
TexFlags.UseAlpha=0
TexFlags.UseIndex=0
TexFlags.PolygonStipple=1
TexFlags.UseClampedSprites=0
TexFlags.DrawLandByTriangles=1
TexFlags.UseVertexArrays=1
TexFlags.DisableAPIExtensions=0
TexFlags.ARBMultitextureExt=1
TexFlags.TexEnvCombineExt=1
TexFlags.SecondaryColorExt=1
TexFlags.VertexArrayExt=1
TexFlags.ClipHintExt=0
TexFlags.UsePaletteExt=0
TexFlags.TexAnisotropicExt=1
TexFlags.TexCompressARBExt=1

TexFlags.TexEnvCombine4NV=1
TexFlags.TexEnvCombineDot3=1
TexFlags.DepthClampNV=1
TexFlags.SeparateSpecular=1
TexFlags.TextureShaderNV=1

HardwareShaders=1

Shadows=2
Specular=2
SpecularLight=2
DiffuseLight=2
DynamicalLights=1
MeshDetail=2
VisibilityDistance=3

Sky=1
Forest=3
LandShading=3
LandDetails=2

LandGeom=2
TexLarge=1
TexLandQual=3
TexLandLarge=1

VideoSetupId=3
Water=4
Effects=2
ForceShaders1x=0

PolygonOffsetFactor=-0.15
PolygonOffsetUnits=-3.0
[DGen]
CampaignMissions=Hard
RandomFlights=3
CampaignLength=Medium
AirIntensity=High

I am running at;

[window]
width=1680
height=1050
ColourBits=32
DepthBits=24
StencilBits=8
ChangeScreenRes=1
FullScreen=1
DrawIfNotFocused=0
EnableResize=0
EnableClose=1
SaveAspect=0
Use3Renders=0

Any ideas?

Cdr

[Feuerfalke]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/GKirk/normal_search-button-for-dummies.jpg

;)

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=2839&highlight=8800

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=3070&highlight=sli+flicker

[ytareh]

Have you set the 'process affinity' on your dual core processor by removing the semi colon (;) that was originally in front of the first line in this section of your conf.ini???This caused me a lot of stutters...


[rts]
ProcessAffinityMask=1
mouseUse=2
joyUse=1
trackIRUse=1
DisableIME=0
locale=

[JG27CaptStubing]

BTW I have the exact same thing and if you research the threads posted there doesn't seem to be a fix. Some have reported better results with the new DLLs and some haven't. Also if you read threw there are very few guys running SLI and with the very problem being mentioned.

I've tried every driver and still its the same pulsing heartbeat stutter.

Its something to do with the game.

[JG27CaptStubing]

Have you set the 'process affinity' on your dual core processor by removing the semi colon (;) that was originally in front of the first line in this section of your conf.ini???This caused me a lot of stutters...


[rts]
ProcessAffinityMask=1
mouseUse=2
joyUse=1
trackIRUse=1
DisableIME=0
locale=

This is true with dual and 4 core CPUs but what he is describing has nothing to do with the problem. It's a SLI thing and it sucks

[JG27CaptStubing]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/GKirk/normal_search-button-for-dummies.jpg

;)

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=2839&highlight=8800

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=3070&highlight=sli+flicker

This post is completely not needed... Great links but if you want to go through 15 pages of junk that has nothing to do with the SLI problem then your post is great.

RTFM is a lame way to respond

[Feathered_IV]

Feuerfalke, nobody likes those self appointed internet know it alls. Those smug gits that argue out of habit and who always pretend that they know more than everybody else. You are on the fast track to becomming a real tosser. I advise you pull your head in a bit. You are becomming what you used to despise.

[dflion]

Well done Feathered IV - I usually would not get involved in this type of debate - I am a very 'old bloke' - older than a lot of people may realise and hopefully with a bit of wisdom. This forum and sim is all about WWII aviation and was created by a Russian aeronautical engineer - Oleg Maddox - it is the best WWII flight sim on the market today and an absolute credit to Oleg and his team. When BOB - SOW hits our screens (I don't care how long it takes) I will again be a very happy flight sim enthusiast.
DFLion

[Mysticpuma]

Actually, I think I know what you are referring to with the micro-pause, as I too suffered from it. I cannot tell you why it happens, but I did manage to get rid of it by disabling VSync.

Now as a Movie-maker I like my VSync as it stops tearing of the cockpit frame with head movement, but the micro-pause (almost as you put it in a rythm) was a real pain!

Disabling VSync fixed the problem and I too run a pair of 8800GTS (G92) in SLi, so it could be a common problem.

Maybe it could work for you, but that's what fixed it for me.

Also for odd water problem, have you downloaded the very latest .dll's from the 1C forum, which fixed a host of problems for the 8800's?

Link is in fourth post from the bottom of this page:

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=2839&highlight=patch&page=4

Hope that helps, cheers, MP.

[JG27CaptStubing]

Thanks for the post about diabling Vsync... man that kinda stinks not to have Vsync enabled though I think you're right. The rythmic stutter is terrible and really annoying. It could be a G92 thing because I know several guys running SLI on 8800GTXs and they don't get it or at least I have yet to see someone post about it.

No I haven't tried the new Dlls as it wasn't sure which ones are the latest. I will take a look at see what happens.

Stubes

[JG27CaptStubing]

Tested just the Vsync on and off and it didn't do anything...

[JG27CaptStubing]

Did some final testing with the latest DLLs... Bottom Line is if you run SLI will have this "HeartBeat Stutter" Problem. I've tried everything and its clearly an SLI issue.

Like it was mentioned in the Thread above about the 280 that is the right solution. Those that run the 9800X2 and any combination of SLI is going to have this problem.

[unreasonable]

I run SLI without stutter with 9800s but you need to set the SLI mode in the Nvidea control panel to "force split frame rendering".

If you are already doing that then I am clueless....

[JG27CaptStubing]

I switched from AFR to Split Frame Rendering and so far so good... It could be that I'm looking for any sort of pause but the heartbeat thing is still there. So far its much better... I only tested it a little bit. Sometimes I noticed it takes time for it to show up.

More to follow and Thank you for the Tip.

If this is the solution I will be very happy.

[unreasonable]

Glad that was some help - just another thought since you are a n Nvidea user:

Does your current stuttering increase in frequency and eventually - after an hour or so - lead to the appearance of an "OpenGL error" message? This is a known Nvidea only problem which stems from some incompatibility between IL2 code and Nvidea which was never fixed. The work around is to set up a hotkey for recording a track, then at the beginning of the mission start recording and then immediately stop recording. This somehow "resets" the memory and prevents the lock up.

If your stuttering is anything to do with memory management issues this might help even if you are never locking up - easy to try anyway as no settings need to be changed. If you use scroll lock you can tell from the light on the keyboard whether you are recording or not so you need not worry about inadvertently filling up your memory with a track.

[Tree_UK]

If you get lots of flickering especially over water try putting on a little bit of light filtering in your track IR settings, i dont know how or why but this fixed it for me.

[WhiteSnake]

I got 2 8800GT cards running in SLI and everything runs like a dream and looks amazing now.

Make sure in the NV control panel, under 3D settings for the game you set Highest Qualety and everything else should be the NV recomended settings.

Only thing you change is you set AA to 16xQ, Override Aplication settings for AA and set Supersampling. (mines all in dutch but you figure out what i mean)

Here is my OpenGL bit of the Config.Ini file.

[Render_OpenGL]
TexQual=3
TexMipFilter=3
TexCompress=0
TexFlags.UseDither=0
TexFlags.UseAlpha=0
TexFlags.UseIndex=0
TexFlags.PolygonStipple=0
TexFlags.UseClampedSprites=0
TexFlags.DrawLandByTriangles=0
TexFlags.UseVertexArrays=1
TexFlags.DisableAPIExtensions=0
TexFlags.ARBMultitextureExt=1
TexFlags.TexEnvCombineExt=1
TexFlags.SecondaryColorExt=1
TexFlags.VertexArrayExt=1
TexFlags.ClipHintExt=0
TexFlags.UsePaletteExt=0
TexFlags.TexAnisotropicExt=1
TexFlags.TexCompressARBExt=0

TexFlags.TexEnvCombine4NV=1
TexFlags.TexEnvCombineDot3=1
TexFlags.DepthClampNV=1
TexFlags.SeparateSpecular=1
TexFlags.TextureShaderNV=1

HardwareShaders=1

Shadows=2
Specular=2
SpecularLight=2
DiffuseLight=2
DynamicalLights=1
MeshDetail=2
VisibilityDistance=3

Sky=2
Forest=3
LandShading=3
LandDetails=2

LandGeom=2
TexLarge=1
TexLandQual=3
TexLandLarge=1

VideoSetupId=17
Water=4
Effects=2
ForceShaders1x=0

PolygonOffsetFactor=-0.15
PolygonOffsetUnits=-3.0

[JG27CaptStubing]

Glad that was some help - just another thought since you are a n Nvidea user:

Does your current stuttering increase in frequency and eventually - after an hour or so - lead to the appearance of an "OpenGL error" message? This is a known Nvidea only problem which stems from some incompatibility between IL2 code and Nvidea which was never fixed. The work around is to set up a hotkey for recording a track, then at the beginning of the mission start recording and then immediately stop recording. This somehow "resets" the memory and prevents the lock up.

If your stuttering is anything to do with memory management issues this might help even if you are never locking up - easy to try anyway as no settings need to be changed. If you use scroll lock you can tell from the light on the keyboard whether you are recording or not so you need not worry about inadvertently filling up your memory with a track.


Knocking on wood but I've never had any lock ups or errors like the one you mention.

In terms of Flickering Water I just Ctr ESC out to the desk top go back in and bingo water is fine.

So far so good.

Its really sad but I've never had this problem with ATI... Yeah my 1950 was slower but with water 2 it looked a lot better than Nvidia...

The only thing thats keeping me with Nvidia right now is every other game I run is fantastic. 2 8800gts in SLI runs just about everything maxed out at 1920X1200 with all the goodies on. This is the only game that gives me headaches and its the one I play the most.

Bang for the buck 2 GTs are very difficult to beat.

[JG27CaptStubing]

Did a lot more flying this week and the stutter problem is still very much there... It just takes a little longer for it to show up. What is odd though there are times when it stutters right out of the gate.

I hope the boyz can take a look at this for 4.090 if it ever sees the light of day. SLI is a problem with this particular game.

[zapatista]

SLI is a problem with this particular game.

are there any similar problems reported with crossfire systems ?

or is this bug specific to geoforce sli systems only ?

[JG27CaptStubing]

I can't say anything about CF... I haven't heard anything related to CF and this game.

[GF_Mastiff]

I haven't had any problems in CF mode.... With this game runs perfect.

[Feathered_IV]

Stubing, try this old trick with your Dll's. It usually gives a 10% boost to NV users...

Back up you existing dll's. Make a copy of il2_corep4.dll and rename it, il2_core.dll. Then put it in your 1946 folder, overwriting the original il2_core.dll. You should get a smoother performance and about an extra 10fps for good measure. ;)

[WhiteSnake]

Did a lot more flying this week and the stutter problem is still very much there... It just takes a little longer for it to show up. What is odd though there are times when it stutters right out of the gate.

I hope the boyz can take a look at this for 4.090 if it ever sees the light of day. SLI is a problem with this particular game.


That starts to sound like a powersuply isue...

Wich PSU you got and how old is it?

Download HWMonitor from www.cpuid.com and start that before your gonna play a game and leave it running while your playing, after your done look at the tempratures and voltages it recorded (min/max)

[JG27CaptStubing]

That starts to sound like a powersuply isue...

Wich PSU you got and how old is it?

Download HWMonitor from www.cpuid.com and start that before your gonna play a game and leave it running while your playing, after your done look at the tempratures and voltages it recorded (min/max)

I doubt it's a PS issue concidering it runs everything else fine in SLI... Just IL2 1946 is a pain.

[Feathered_IV]

I uploaded my renamed Dll's for you to try. Should give a significant gain to most Nvidia users too:

http://www.zshare.net/download/16169477a7b1453f/

;)

[JG27CaptStubing]

How do these compare to the new DLLs released in Feb?

[Feathered_IV]

I forget which ones they were (Sept. I think) but they are the best by far for my own 8800GT setup.

[Kernalklink]

JG
Thanks for this thread, any 8800 info always helps. I just want to say that I have the GTX version and have never had this problem so I wonder if it is specific to the GTS? Bt then I read that a GTS is a slow GTX that doesn't quilfy or something like that.

[Mysticpuma]

Feathered, for god's sake!!!!!!

Can you upload them to mediafire please????

I have now waited 3 times for it to count down to the download link, and when I do click on the link that says 'download now' it just goes into a loop, reloads the download page and then says your download link will appear in 60 seconds!!!!!

No file is downloading, even though the counter keeps going up!!

Any chance of uploading these dll's to http://www.mediafire.com ?

Please...sorry about the first line....bloody frustrating problem!! :(

Cheers, MP ;)

[Feathered_IV]

I ca only obey http://www.mediafire.com/?9mvmjfl4mng
These are the dll's I've already renamed. If you have your own favourites. You can back them up and do the same trick to your own.


For anyone else who thinks this technique smacks of black magic and heathen sorcery, I can reassure you that the method of renaming the dll's to better suit NV systems actually comes from the the official readme's that Maddox Games supplied with earlier sets of improved dll's. The sets that came out last year via third parties had no readme, although the technique is still applicable.

To recap:

Rename il2_corep4.dll to il2_corep4.dll.bak
Make a copy of il2_core.dll
Rename the copy of il2_core.dll to il2_corep4.dll

Put both in your 1946 folder ;)