[NO BUG] GPU lag spikes and FPS jumps caused by the radar

GPU lag spikes and FPS jumps caused by the radar

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Bug:

When

Radar On - for me GPU usage jumps from zero to 99% and back, FPS drops from 60 to 5 and back.

Radar Off - stable 99 GPU usage, no FPS drops.

Can I reproduce it 100%: yes

How to reproduce/ description:

Turn on your task manager and observe the GPU usage when:

Radar On

Radar Off

DCS Version: OpenBeta 2.5.6.55363/No mods/No headtracking.

Operating System

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

CPU

Intel Core i7 3930K @ 3.20GHz 48 °C

Sandy Bridge-E 32nm Technology

RAM

32,0GB DDR3 @ 799MHz (10-10-10-27)

Motherboard

ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P9X79 PRO (LGA2011) 33 °C

Graphics

2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (Gigabyte) 52 °C

Above issue is only present with the F-14 module.

Hi, what settings are you running on?

Unfortunately, the age and speed of your CPU means that the Tomcat is really stressing your CPU even with the radar off. The radar uses very CPU intensive processes that are likely pushing your CPU beyond 100% of its computing power. This issue is compounded by fairly slow DDR3 RAM @ 800Mhz. Running the Tomcat graphically is like running two highly detailed cockpits at the same time, meaning lots of VRAM needed. I'd recommend at least 4GB but really 8GB of VRAM on your GPU.

Hi, what settings are you running on?

Thank you for replying, Iv tested F-14 on absolutely lowest setting and ultra. With and without mods to lower pit resolution.

Issue persist no matter what.

On max settings every other module can run 50-60 fps no issues.

My Gpu is indeed stressed by DCS, but CPU on max settings is always below 50% load.

Luckly I`m planning to upgrade the GPU soon, thanks again for looking in to this and replying!

Thank you for replying, Iv tested F-14 on absolutely lowest setting and ultra. With and without mods to lower pit resolution.

Issue persist no matter what.

 

On max settings every other module can run 50-60 fps no issues.

My Gpu is indeed stressed by DCS, but CPU on max settings is always below 50% load.

Luckly I`m planning to upgrade the GPU soon, thanks again for looking in to this and replying!

Are you looking at total CPU usage or single core?

Running the Tomcat graphically is like running two highly detailed cockpits at the same time.

I never thought of it that way. It makes perfect sense now why it is "such a resource hog". It's no bug, it's the nature of the beast.

Graphics

2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

It's misleading - there are no 1060 with 2GB VRAM.

It's misleading - there are no 1060 with 2GB VRAM.

Its Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

Unfortunately I think Fat Creason is right though, a new GPU will not fix your issue most likely. A new CPU and faster ram would. That said, of course a better GPU will yield you slightly better results, but the radar causing you problems exposes the bottleneck, which is the CPU. There's unfortunately little we can do about that, as much as I hate to say this, it's just an older generation CPU that doesn't really cut it anymore. We've discussed your issue with the entire team yesterday evening, but no matter what angle we try to take, we have to come to this conclusion, as much as it saddens us to give you such an answer. And sure, other modules may work fine, but the comparison does not really hold up, most of them have no raycasting radar, or do not emulate the systems that we do, don't have 2 cockpits, a different poly count, etc etc...

IMO in general the min system requirements for DCS are set too low, it has been quite a while since they have been changed, but that's just on a sidenote. Last time they were changed, it caused a bit of a ruccus in the community. And while we try to be optimized and inclusive towards older systems, at a certain point it is just not possible anymore. Another issue is that the DCS requirements do not list the generation of CPUs, etc.. An i5 from 2011 vs an i5 from 2015 can be quite the difference.

Personally, if I were you, I would keep the 1060 for now and invest into a new MOBO + CPU and faster ram. The 1060 as such is not a bad card, although of course also not one that will allow you to run everything on ultra settings.

PS: Designated as no bug. I wish we could do something to give you another year or two with this CPU, but there is really nothing we can do. Our apologies about that, trust me if I say, we would love to, if we could.

I don't think it's that easily conclusive. I have the budget system which might have a bit more recent CPU/RAM but it's still worse ranked in 1-2-core performance, which is the only factor worth of comparing in current DCS engine.

I don't have such problem with DCS/F-14B that it goes below 20 fps at any time*. It'd have to be very heavy mission or high-poly object concentration rendered on the scene. DCS is CPU heavy but it's mostly player count, AI count, large woods, object count or Supercarrier that make it sweat, not radar or cockpit in the Tomcat.

*I have my freezes of course but these are subject to full RAM/VRAM.

CPU comparison:

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Pentium-G4560-vs-Intel-Core-i7-3930K/3892vs1487

RAM timings (10-10-10-27) suggest rather higher ranked memory too:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR3_SDRAM#Modules

Did you try any other gpu drivers, bart?

HW upgrade will help of course but if you have 5 fps in the particular situation now - what setup would give you 60? It'd have to be 12 times faster - they din't make such CPU yet and not in a few years to come when considering same DCS engine. I just suggest to look at the problem a little more deeply.

I don't think it's that easily conclusive. I have the budget system which might have a bit more recent CPU/RAM but it's still worse ranked in 1-2-core performance, which is the only factor worth of comparing in current DCS engine.

I don't have such problem with DCS/F-14B that it goes below 20 fps at any time*. It'd have to be very heavy mission or high-poly object concentration rendered on the scene. DCS is CPU heavy but it's mostly player count, AI count, large woods, object count or Supercarrier that make it sweat, not radar or cockpit in the Tomcat.

*I have my freezes of course but these are subject to full RAM/VRAM.

 

CPU comparison:

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Pentium-G4560-vs-Intel-Core-i7-3930K/3892vs1487

 

RAM timings (10-10-10-27) suggest rather higher ranked memory too:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR3_SDRAM#Modules

 

Did you try any other gpu drivers, bart?

 

HW upgrade will help of course but if you have 5 fps in the particular situation now - what setup would give you 60? It'd have to be 5 times faster - they din't make such CPU yet and not in a few years to come when considering same DCS engine. I just suggest to look at the problem a little more deeply.

If the radar is causing these drops for him, it is his CPU, there is no doubt in that.

PS: Designated as no bug. I wish we could do something to give you another year or two with this CPU, but there is really nothing we can do. Our apologies about that, trust me if I say, we would love to, if we could.

No problem, thank you for the support, topic can be closed as far as am concerned. :thumbup:

No problem, thank you for the support, topic can be closed as far as am concerned. :thumbup:

I really feel sorry, Bart, I wish we could do more for you in this case, or could stretch the performance optimization to include even older systems. Either way, we do not forget such things, and whenever we see a possibility to squeeze out more, we'll be sure to seize it. Afterall we would like the Tomcat to be as inclusive as possible.

The thread can stay open, maybe others experience similar issues and seek advice.

Btw, my personal advice, or if you want to know what my plan is: atm I am also coming to the edge of abilities with my 4770k (although I am complaining on a higher level here ofc), so I am switching to an AMD Ryzen 3800 for now, and appropriate motherboard. I have a 1080ti, so on that side I am still doing well. While facing smaller issues, unlike in your case, in my case, too, switching the CPU and getting faster ram will show more improvement than upgrading the GPU. And while Intel maybe faster on the single core performance still, AMD is good enough imo, especially since my monitor is locked at 60hz/4k and I dont run VR. The upside of the AMD is that future processors will be compatible with the motherboard, so I wont have to switch again. Not sure if it helps for your plans, but that's the route I am taking. I hope it gives you some ideas at least. Feel free to pm me, if you want to talk a bit more. :)