|
|
Post Reply 
|
| Author | |
NickN 
Certified Professional 
Joined: November-21-2007 Points: 21104 |
 Topic: DRIVERS - NV INSPECTOR - FSX.CFG - COMPLETE GUIDEPosted: May-20-2014 at 1:20pm |
|
update bump
|
|
 |
|
|
NickN
Certified Professional
Joined: November-21-2007 Points: 21104 |
Posted: September-19-2010 at 2:21am |
|
THIS THREAD HAS BEEN UPDATED AND REPLACED WITH NEWER INFORMATION. PLEASE USE THE LINK PROVIDED BELOW: ======================================================== DO NOT USE THE FIRST 2 SECTIONS OF THIS FOR LATER 2.+ VERSIONS OF PREPAR3D THEY ARE FOR FSX/SE AND v1x OF PREPAR3D ONLY! YOU CAN STILL USE SECTION 3 AND 4 FOR A v2+ P3D SYSTEM. THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED
A WARNING ABOUT INSTALLING NVIDIA DRIVERS WITH THEIR BACKGROUND SERVICE WAS ADDED 5/20/2014, SECTION 3 BELOW
ADDED ADDITIONAL MSI AFTERBURNER SETUP INSTRUCTION FOR THE FINAL 3.0+ BUILDS
Nvidia is the GO-TO video adapter for FSX. ATi cards are not. If you use ATi there is nothing I can suggest for you as they will require unsanctioned hacked shader files to run heavy weather and other scenery situations. HACKING shaders with code that can bring on even MORE issues is SILLY and the shader hack is not even fully 3.0 compliant! If your goal is FSX, use NVIDIA
This post covers it all..
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 4 sections to this guide:
1. BASE INSTALL AND USE OF NVIDIA INSPECTOR
2. ADVANCED USE OF NVIDIA INSPECTOR AND THE FSX.CFG FILE
3. NVIDIA DRIVERS: HOW TO PROPERLY INSTALL OR UPGRADE THEM
4. NVIDIA ADAPTER FAN CONTROL AND MAKING FAR BETTER USE OF IT
==================================================
1. BASE INSTALL AND USE OF NVIDIA INSPECTOR
1. Download and install Nvidia Inspector http://download.orbmu2k.de/download.php?id=51 Unzip it and place the folder anywhere you like on your system
DO NOT REMOVE NVIDIA INSPECTOR.EXE FROM THE FOLDER IT WAS UNZIPPED TO WITHOUT ALSO MOVING THE XML FILE(S) THAT WAS INCLUDED WITH THE SOFWARE.
OPTIONAL: Open the folder and right click nvidiainspector.exe, select SEND TO DESKTOP. That will place a shortcut on your desktop to the application so you can access it easy at any time
After installing any Nvidia driver and a reboot, you DO NOT NEED TO OPEN the Nvidia control panel for anything D3D and game settings related. If you change anything in the Nvidia control panel for 3D and FSX games it will override Nvidia Inspector. 2. Run nvidiaInspector.exe 3. Click the tab shown below
4. On the profile screen, in the top box, start typing: MS FLIGHT SIMULATOR X and click the ARROW next to the box (see below). It will take you to MS FLIGHT SIMULATOR X listing and click on the MS Flight Simulator X profile 5. With 'MS Flight Simulator X" displayed in the box, make the following changes as shown. Doing so will not change any other profile and only set FSX. You can use the same method for the MS Flight Simulator 2004 profile too. NOTE: THIS IS THE 'BASE SETUP'.. FOR 'ADVANCED' SETUP READ THE SECTION: ADVANCED USE OF NVIDIA INSPECTOR AND THE FSX.CFG FILE
 When finished, click APPLY PROFILE
The "gear ICONS" in the boxes shown above will appear AFTER APPLY CHANGES is clicked!
IN FSX graphics settings, make sure AA is unchecked and Filtering is set to Trillinear ==================================================
IMPORTANT NOTE: The FIRST TIME Nvidia Inspector is run on the system or AFTER a driver upgrade/install the AA settings you made in Nvidia Inspector may not be retained. This is a bug that has been around for some time. What you are going to do next will resolve this and assure your Nvidia Inspector settings are correct.
IF you see this issue then do the following:
A: Close FSX
B. Reboot the computer
C: Re-run Nvidia Inspector. Repeat steps 2 through 5 above. Go down the list and CONFIRM the settings posted are the SAME as shown. More than likely the setting: ANTIALIASING BEHAVOR FLAGS as well as ANTIALIASING - MODE will reset and need to be changed back to what I show above. Verify all the settings are correct from the image I posted and then click APPLY
You should not have to change any of that again unless you perform a driver upgrade in the future. DO NOTE that any driver upgrade/install will ERASE Nvidia Inspector settings and the process noted above must be repeated. Just so there is no confusion around what I said above:
FRAME RATE LIMITERS CAN HELP OLDER OR SLOWER HARDWARE AND I WILL ADDRESS THE USE IN THE BIBLE THREAD.
====================================================
THERE IS MORE THAT ONE WAY TO RUN FSX. I WILL BE ADDRESSING ALL THE METHODS IN THE BIBLE THREAD. THIS METHOD IS SIMPLY THE MOST COMMON FOR SUCCESS AND SUCCESS DEPENDS ON YOUR DEMAND OF SCENERY, YOUR AIRCRAFT, AND, YOUR HARDWARE.
LARGE REGION PHOTO SCENERY IS HANDLED DIFFERENT IN RENDER. I WILL ALSO OUTLINE THAT IN THE BIBLE AS SOON AS I CAN. THE OUTLINE BELOW IS NOT MEANT FOR 'PURE' PHOTO SCENERY ADDONS WHERE NO TEXTURES AND LANDCLASS ARE IN USE.
2. ADVANCED USE OF NVIDIA INSPECTOR AND THE FSX.CFG FILE
NOTICE: Advance tweaking can invoke issues with time compression in FSX! Those who use the accelerated time compression feature to speed up long haul flights and who use very complex addon may see lockups or crashes using the advanced techniques outlined here and time compression with them. This was known years ago and one of the reasons why some tweaks were never released to the public. If you use time compression and see crashes with this setup, the bufferpool entry may need to be eliminated completely.
PLEASE NOTE: This section comes with the following prerequisites:
1. Your hardware is AT LEAST a decent i7 processor and a good video adapter
That's not i3 or i5, that is: i7. SandyBridge, IvyBridge and especially Haswell will run this setup exceptionally well.
You can try this with lesser hardware but the results are based on IF YOUR HARDWARE can fly the aircraft and scenery YOU DEMAND and maintain 22-30FPS. DIPS in frame rates can and will happen at complex airports, remember its about SMOOTH not FRAMES.
ABOVE ALL ELSE: FORGET THAT FRAME COUNTER AND LOOK AT THE OVERALL SMOOTHNESS!
The newer and better the hardware the higher the success rate is with this but I have set older 920 systems up using this method and it works as along as the user isn't pushing silly 'overstuffed' scenery addons and settings too high with them.
Bottom line; You have to have the hardware to do this and you are REASONABLE with those sliders and the scenery you use, this will work. This is exactly how I run all my FSX setups.
2. Your video card is of good quality and is well balanced with the CPU and CPU speed in use.
3. Your computer is running well without all sorts of silly startup programs, overbearing malware or AV scanners, and/or is not loaded with malware running in the background.
4. YOU MUST NOT USE THIS WITH A OLD TWEAKED CONFIG. START CLEAN WITH NO TWEAKS OR FRAME RATE LIMITERS INVOLVED . Save the current FSX.cfg file somewhere safe, let FSX build a new one and then apply what I post below with NO OTHER TWEAK ADDITIONS.
Set your FSX sliders back up and DO NOT USE WATER @ 2xHigh, set it to 2xLOW
5. YOU MUST BE IN FULL SCREEN MODE TO USE THIS, NOT WINDOW MODE
To automatically apply the settings in Nvidia Inspector that I outline below and skip manually editing the FSX profile, follow these directions:
Download and unzip. Drop the file: FSX_P3D_Profiles.nip directly into the Nvidia Inspector directory. You should now see 4 files in that directory:
change.log
CustomSettingNames_en-EN.xml
FSX_P3D_Profiles.nip
nvidiaInspector.exe
1. Run Nvidia Inspector
2. Click the profiles icon to enter the profile section. Its the button in the center-middle at the end of the DRIVER VERSION box
3. At the top of the menu next to the 'Martini Glass' icon you will see a DOWN ARROW icon, click that and select IMPORT PROFILES
4. The browse box should open directly to the Nvidia Inspector directory.. select the FSX_P3D_Profiles.nip file and click OPEN You should see a message that says the profile imported successfully.. click OK to close that box and then click the APPLY button and close Nvidia Inspector. You can opt to manually setup Nvidia Inspector using the image below.. the process above sets up Nvidia Inspector EXACTLY as I show below but WITHOUT: 2x Sparse Grid Super Sample enabled
I suggest you do NOT USE frame rate limiters and run unlimited frame lock IF you have to resort to that then understand: THAT IS BECAUSE YOUR HARDWARE CAN NOT MAINTAIN PERFORMACE LEVELS WITH THE SCENERY, SCENERY SETTINGS AND THE AIRCRAFT AT THE SAME TIME.. ITS SILLY
 TRY THIS INSTEAD AND TUNE DOWN A SLIDER IF NEEDED....
  AVOID using 2x Sparse Grid Super Sample if possible. This is usually only required if a scenery developer or aircraft designer has their head in the sand when it comes to graphics design. Adding that in will force performance drops.
IF you are using 1/2 refresh rate, that requires the support of the additional FSX.cfg settings I posted
1. Lock frames in FSX to 30 do not use a frame rate limiter!
2. AA unchecked, filtering: Trilinear
3. FSX.cfg edits:
[MAIN] FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.15 - NOTE: This is system dependent! If you are pushing too much scenery this can BLUR the textures so you must experiment with this and scenery settings. This value can go lower (0.10-0.12) if you do not see any blurry ground textures. [TERRAIN]
[BUFFERPOOLS]
UsePools=1 Poolsize=8388608 RejectThreshold=126976
additional...
HideInfoText=1 DisablePreload=1 [DISPLAY]
[GRAPHICS]
HIGHMEMFIX=1 this should be in ALL FSX.cfg files.. it was left out by Aces by mistake in SP2/Acceleration THATS IT!... there is no other tweak I have EVER worked with that made a hill of beans difference in FSX and that BP=0 tweak causes more issues that it is WORTH .. I have seen plenty of tweaks that may work over one scenery situation.. and as soon as you fly out of it, you need another tweak to fix the first tweak that never should have been in the config to begin with. In case you are wondering about the 'Affinity Mask' tweak, that will be added to the bible soon and in the mean time you may review this post which discusses that tweak very clearly: http://www.simforums.com/forums/the-fsx-computer-system-bible-in-pdf-format_topic46757_post284247.html#284247
The rest is ALL slider tuning and if you have a system that has been properly optimized with decent hardware, AND you set FSX as I outlined, the only slider you should ever need to tweak is "AUTOGEN" and possibly AI traffic depending on the number of rendered AI planes. In some scenery situations the 'Scenery Complexity' may need a tick lower if the addon scenery is too complex for the hardware.
Every other slider and checkbox in FSX should not need to be changed once the "initial tuning" of FSX settings has been completed .. its people running 2xhigh water and other silly FSX.cfg tweaks along with those crazy visual FX applications like SweetFX and ENB that you will see SWEAR what they are using is perfect... and next week they are in the forums looking for yet another tweak and complaining about something.
THIS IS IMPORTANT:
Black flashes or scenery spikes when a flight FIRST LOADS:
THIS IS NORMAL when a flight first starts, it is the way FSX is designed!.. what you do when a flight first loads is go to the locked spot exterior view and pan 360 degrees around the outside of the plane at least 5 or 6 times.. then go back into the cockpit
That preloads the video buffer and clears the glitches. Its normal with FSX and that is how you deal with it, those flashes should clear and not appear again
IF you continue to see flashes and scenery spikes constantly that do not stop then there is something that needs to be trimmed in setting or slider.. it means the scenery load is too high for the hardware period! Pan locked-spot exterior view 360 6 times, then fly.
The lower the reject in BP the closer to 0 you get but that also means the closer to seeing white patches and other glitches you get. This method eliminates the use of water slider 2XHIGH and BP=0 which is silly to use.
Water @ 2xHIGH is a DRAG on the system for NO logical reason. It should be set to 2xLOW
TUNING BUFFERPOOLS:
I have tested just about every combination possible and the value I posted here is the one I use for every single system I have set up ..slower system may need to raise the value if they see WHITE boxes and other strange glitches like that.
I would not knock myself out trying different values as they will provide LITTLE to NO change in performance.. all a higher value does is trim glitches if the value is set too low and the higher you go the less help it provides.
[BUFFERPOOLS]
UsePools=1 Poolsize=8388608 RejectThreshold=126976 If you get constant white or blue 'box' visual glitches and you are sure you have HIGHMEMFIX=1 in the config, then raise to:
RejectThreshold=262144
here is the list
=524288 highest
=262144 =126976 <---- this is what I start with for a safe value and RARELY ever have to use any different =98304
=65536 lowest
done deal carry on!
=================================================
3. NVIDIA DRIVERS: HOW TO PROPERLY INSTALL OR UPGRADE THEM - VIDEO DRIVERS: CRITICAL
Nvidia video drivers must be installed using the CLEAN INSTALL selection accessed through the ADVANCED INSTALLATION option of the driver installation. The following procedure is exactly how users should install a video driver upgrade. Please remember this outline for any future video driver installations: Obtain the driver from the Nvidia Driver support website.
NOTE: DO NOT USE the Windows Device Manager to uninstall any Nvidia driver.. Both Nvidia and Microsoft have confirmed that will NOT WORK and leave a system improperly updated. SPECIAL NOTE FOR MSI AFTERBURNER USERS: When ever you upgrade a driver, always uninstall MSI Afterburner when you uninstall the original video driver. Uninstall MSI Afterburner FIRST, then uninstall the Nvidia driver. DURING the MSI Afterburner uninstall the application will ASK if you wish to keep your settings, select YES.
Once the new video driver is installed, then reinstall MSI Afterburner (or an updated version if one is available). Your settings will take over and there is nothing to change or edit.
REMOVE OLD DRIVER:
Check the C:\ drive for a directory named C:\Nvidia which is a decompressed driver installer, if it is there, DELETE IT before uninstalling the driver from Windows.
DO NOT MANUALLY DELETE ANY OTHER NVIDIA DIRECTORY ON YOUR SYSTEM ONLY THE C:\Nvidia DIRECTORY IF IT IS FOUND. NOTE: It is important to make sure to get rid of any older decompressed driver installer on the system so you can successfully flush and install a new driver without issues. If for some reason a old Nvidia driver reinstalls after uninstalling one from Windows, remove that driver as well before continuing. The default Microsoft "Standard VGA Graphics Adapter" driver is NOT an issue if it happens to install, simply continue as outlined.
Go to Programs and Features. Select the: "NVIDIA Graphics Driver <version>" and uninstall it from Windows. Leave the rest of the items in the list alone... Then reboot the computer. You must reboot your system when directed by these instructions even if the system does not request a reboot! INSTALL NEW DRIVER:
Run the driver installer. After the driver decompresses to the C:\NVIDIA directory and when the driver installer starts, agree to the terms and then do the following a. Select the CUSTOM (ADVANCED) INSTALL and click NEXT
b. Place a check in the �Perform a Clean Install� box
c. If you do not use the following 3D vision drivers for a special 3D LCD monitor and 3D glasses, UNCHECK them in the list that appears in the box: *3D vision controller
*3D vision Driver - The first two items are for a 3D LCD monitor only and not needed unless you use a 3D monitor with 3D glasses *Nvidia Update - This will constantly check for updates and install them without your knowledge. Do not install this. *Nvidia GeForce Experience - This is a new feature that incorporates Nvidia Update. Its the same update bloatware. Do not install this. Click NEXT. The driver may do one of two things.. fully install the selections, OR, it may request a reboot before running the driver installer. Follow the directions. In either case, once the driver has installed then reboot regardless of if a Windows reboot is requested or not. Nvidia has corrected their installers so no 3rd party driver �flush� program is needed, and, you should NEVER use any kind of driver flush program in the future with the latest Nvidia video drivers. Only use the defined method above to uninstall/reinstall or update a Nvidia video driver.
d. Last, you can delete the directory C:\NVIDIA as it is no longer needed.
BE VERY AWARE: That after any video driver upgrade or installation that the software Nvidia Inspector, which is used to properly configure Nvidia video drivers for Flight Simulator use, must be restored with the proper settings and then verified before launching FSX with the new drivers installed. I outline the use of Nvidia Inspector above. NOTE: Its come to my attention that Nvidia may be pulling a FAST ONE with their silly background service: Nvidia GEFORCE Experience
This feature allows Nvidia access to your system and can automatically change your video driver... DON'T ALLOW THIS. Once you find a driver that works right, leave it alone and don't update/upgrade or change anything: http://www.simforums.com/forums/bios-and-video-driver-updates_topic48093.html
I have verified that with some newer driver releases after a Nvidia driver install where a user correctly ran the ADVANCED/CLEAN INSTALL method and UNCHECKED GeForce Experience, Nvidia installs it anyway!
CHECK THE FOLLOWING:
1. Run MSCONFIG and see if under the STARTUP TAB thee is ANY entry for Nvidia... if there is, kill it using this method:
Run REGEDIT, browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run look for the Nvidia item, right click and delete , close regedit
2. Start the SERVICES list in Windows. Scroll to: Nvidia Network Service this is the service that allows them ACCESS to your system and will change your drivers automatically. Double click, select STOP and set the dropdown to DISABLED. NOTE: In later versions of the drivers the Nvidia Network Service is no longer installed and this step can be skipped but check to be sure!
Leave the NVIDIA Display Driver Service ALONE.
Reboot the system
====================================================
4. NVIDIA ADAPTER FAN CONTROL AND MAKING FAR BETTER USE OF IT
SPECIAL NOTE FOR GTX 700 USERS.. THE GTX 700 SERIES REQUIRES AFTERBURNER 3.0 OR HIGHER INSTALLED.
Here is all you need and its ONLY to be sure the GPU is kept properly cooled.. we DONT overclock video cards!
This will QUIET loud cards and COOL the card much better during full load render use!
1. Download MSI Afterburner and install it. Do not install Kombuster.. just Afterburner.
IMPORTANT: During the install if you see: RivaTuner Statistics Sever listed, UNCHECK IT.
When complete select to run MSI Afterburner.
2. In the Afterburner GUI, click the SETTINGS button at the bottom.
a. On the GENERAL tab place a check in START WITH WINDOWS, uncheck "Enable low-level hardware access interface" and then at the bottom select NEVER in the dropdown for 'check for updates'
NOTE: Updates for this product are rarely needed. If you wish to check for a update use the manual button under the GENERAL tab. An update for this product is only needed if you have issues with fan control for a specific model of card. We are not using this product to overclock the video card, only control the fan speed far better than the card will, and, display the GUI temp in the Windows tray, that is all.
b. On the FAN tab place a check in: Enable User Defined Automatic Software Fan Control a curved line graph will appear.
Your mouse pointer with left click can be used to drag and move the curve at the 2 ends or anywhere in the middle by using an existing point in the curve, or, clicking the line will create a new point. Note that your curve does not have to look �exactly� like mine in the example below. The important factors here are;
- Set the top end to 90c
- Set the lower end to 30c
- Set the curve so it intersects at 50% fan speed when the core is 50c in temp
- There is a nice ramped curve to the line (it does not have to be perfect)
 C. On the MONITORING tab, under Active Hardware Monitoring graphs, uncheck all but these 4 items:
GPU Temperature
Fan Speed
Core Clock
Memory Clock
Then Under Active Hardware Monitoring Graphs, Select the Fan Speed by clicking on it once then go down to �Show in tray icon� and uncheck it. Repeat this for the Core Clock and the Memory Clock. Leave the GPU Temp enabled with �Show in tray icon�
Note: Those may already be deselected.. make sure the only item that displays �Show in tray icon� at the bottom is GPU Temperature.
With GPU Temperature selected, next to �Show In Tray Icon� place the mouse pointer over the little color square box at the other end of that setting and click it once.. a color change box will appear, change the color to a lime green which is easy to read in the tray and click OK. NOTE: You can make this what ever color you prefer.
LAST.. on the INTERFACE TAB make sure in the User interface skinning properties dropdown to select "DEFAULT MSI AFTERBURNER v3" You can choose the larger or standard size
Special Note: Right click the Task Bar, select Properties and then on the TASKBAR TAB click the button under 'Notification Area" that says: CUSTOMIZE. Locate the MSI Afterburner TEMP READOUT in the list and set it to: "Show Icon and Notifications". This will display your GPU temp in the tray at all times. You can of course opt to not display it there.
D. Click OK to close the settings. Verify at the bottom of the main screen of the MSI Afterburner GUI on the FAN SPEED slider that the AUTO button is in fact illuminated �green�. If it is not, click the AUTO button and the green light will appear.
E. NOTE: Older cards and lower end cards may not have access to the setting below. If your card is older or does not allow access to this feature, skip to the next step.
Newer Nvidia cards may have a LOW throttling limit set internally. Bypass this by using the image below and set the internal throttle for the card to 90c. By default the card will begin to throttle at 75c which is SILLY and can cause stutters. This process bypasses that and DO NOTE these cards are OK up into the 100c range and above so 90c is a reasonable throttle-back limit.
.
 F. Click the MINIMIZE icon in the top corner. NOTE: Clicking the �X� box will CLOSE the application permanently until it is launched again. Simply minimize it and it will go to the tray and disappear automatically leaving the GPU temp readout on the tray at all times. there ya go.. done!
SPECIAL NOTE: When ever you upgrade a driver, always uninstall MSI Afterburner when you uninstall the original video driver. Uninstall MSI Afterburner FIRST, then uninstall the Nvidia driver. DURING the MSI Afterburner uninstall the application will ASK if you wish to keep your settings, select YES.
Once the new video driver is installed, then reinstall MSI Afterburner (or an updated version if one is available). Your settings will take over and there is nothing to change or edit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
|
|
|
Post Reply
|
|
| Tweet |
| Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |
DRIVERS - NV INSPECTOR - FSX.CFG - COMPLETE GUIDE
Topic Options
