Can a PC today run SFX smoothly maxed out?

[Flight Ace]

Can a PC today run SFX smoothly with everything checked and set at max? The answer is yes, in some places.

I have been running my recently built PC at what I call almost max. I never thought to check everything on with everything set to max. When I say everything is on I mean everything, including ATC, weather, light bloom, shadows, traffic (all) etc. Nothing is left off or less than max. I guess I never checked this before since several posts indicated that there is no hardware today that can do this. One thing I have learned in a lifetime is to never say never or can

[Celtman]

Just wait to be ripped apart by NickN

You may be able to run at max sliders (although for 100% road traffic you must have a pretty decent system), but no one will be able to run FSX max for another year at least. Having the sliders at max IS NOT running the sim max, there are still other factors to account, such as autogen/trees set to 6000 in the cfg etc. So in reply, you may be able to run with max sliders, but NO ONE can run the sim 100% "Maxed" yet.

Regards,
Celtman 8-)

[Flight Ace]

Just wait to be ripped apart by NickN

You may be able to run at max sliders (although for 100% road traffic you must have a pretty decent system), but no one will be able to run FSX max for another year at least. Having the sliders at max IS NOT running the sim max, there are still other factors to account, such as autogen/trees set to 6000 in the cfg etc. So in reply, you may be able to run with max sliders, but NO ONE can run the sim 100% "Maxed" yet.

Regards,
Celtman 8-)

Celtman,

I built my new computer for the purpose of running the off the shelf software package called FSX. Nowhere in the config file of that package do I see any lines that allow you to change the number of trees or buildings. Scenery Complexity and Autogen Density is for that purpose. If I wanted to add lines (a tweak) to do just that I would have kept my old computer. And I am looking forward to comments from Nick. And remember, I said it was possible in some places, not everywhere. And all I was reporting is the success I have had in running FSX in Reo, primarily because my two core processor runs extremely well there. I have often wondered if there is a difference in the way the SW was written (by different coders) for different locations within FSX which would account for better performance from one area to another.

[Camel_Moe]

Celtman,

I built my new computer for the purpose of running the off the shelf software package called FSX. Nowhere in the config file of that package do I see any lines that allow you to change the number of trees or buildings. Scenery Complexity and Autogen Density is for that purpose. If I wanted to add lines (a tweak) to do just that I would have kept my old computer. And I am looking forward to comments from Nick. And remember, I said it was possible in some places, not everywhere. And all I was reporting is the success I have had in running FSX in Reo, primarily because my two core processor runs extremely well there. I have often wondered if there is a difference in the way the SW was written (by different coders) for different locations within FSX which would account for better performance from one area to another.

Yes, you have to add the lines, and yes, it's a tweak, but the point is this:
The tree setting was limited because of performance issues. The stock FSX only uses 4000 autogen and 4500 trees at Max sliders. 6000 is the max the sim is capable of.
Maxing the sliders doesn't max the program.  There is no hardware available that is capable of running the amount of code that FSX is capable of generating. None. Zero. Zip.
You can "max the sliders to the limit, and the sim will still limit itself to work with your machine.  
Yes, you can run it "fully maxed" and get it smooth, but the stock sim isn't really running at max on your machine.
It's a common myth among many simmers that just because its smooth, they're getting everything FSX can do with max sliders. It's just not true.

[Celtman]

FlightAce,

First of all, you seem a little annoyed by my response. Sorry if I offended you, I didn't mean to do that. I was just stating exactly the same as Camel_Moe, that it is not possible to run FSX "Maxed" on todays hardware. Period. No can do.

Scenery Complexity and Autogen Density is for that purpose

I strongly recommend learning the functions of the cfg file and code before you go making statements like that, basically saying I am wrong - and trust me - I am not

I have often wondered if there is a difference in the way the SW was written (by different coders) for different locations within FSX which would account for better performance from one area to another.

I too have thought that may be the case... would be interesting if someone knew the answer (Nick? )


Regards,
Celtman 8-)

[Dwhiskie]

[quote]Can a PC today run SFX smoothly with everything checked and set at max? The answer is yes, in some places.

I have been running my recently built PC at what I call almost max. I never thought to check everything on with everything set to max. When I say everything is on I mean everything, including ATC, weather, light bloom, shadows, traffic (all) etc. Nothing is left off or less than max. I guess I never checked this before since several posts indicated that there is no hardware today that can do this. One thing I have learned in a lifetime is to never say never or can

[Flight Ace]

FlightAce,

First of all, you seem a little annoyed by my response. Sorry if I offended you, I didn't mean to do that. I was just stating exactly the same as Camel_Moe, that it is not possible to run FSX "Maxed" on todays hardware. Period. No can do.

Scenery Complexity and Autogen Density is for that purpose

I strongly recommend learning the functions of the cfg file and code before you go making statements like that, basically saying I am wrong - and trust me - I am not

I have often wondered if there is a difference in the way the SW was written (by different coders) for different locations within FSX which would account for better performance from one area to another.

I too have thought that may be the case... would be interesting if someone knew the answer (Nick? )


Regards,
Celtman 8-)

Celtman,

I don

[Flight Ace]

[quote][quote]Can a PC today run SFX smoothly with everything checked and set at max? The answer is yes, in some places.

I have been running my recently built PC at what I call almost max. I never thought to check everything on with everything set to max. When I say everything is on I mean everything, including ATC, weather, light bloom, shadows, traffic (all) etc. Nothing is left off or less than max. I guess I never checked this before since several posts indicated that there is no hardware today that can do this. One thing I have learned in a lifetime is to never say never or can

[NickN]

I do not

[Dwhiskie]

[quote][quote][quote]Can a PC today run SFX smoothly with everything checked and set at max? The answer is yes, in some places.

I have been running my recently built PC at what I call almost max. I never thought to check everything on with everything set to max. When I say everything is on I mean everything, including ATC, weather, light bloom, shadows, traffic (all) etc. Nothing is left off or less than max. I guess I never checked this before since several posts indicated that there is no hardware today that can do this. One thing I have learned in a lifetime is to never say never or can

[Katahu]

In response to the first question that was initially posted:

If you mean by running FSX with all sliders known to man maxed out while still maintaining playable [and enjoyable] frame rates, the answer is a big, resounding NO.

Just like the rest of us, you're gonna have to wait at least a year or so from now. So, get yourself a cup of coffee, a donut, and wait along with us.

[Flight Ace]

[quote]

I do not

[NickN]

Apologies

My free time is limited right now with the classes I teach and mentoring responsibilites but I do scan the forums during breaks and sometimes I may misinterpret. I look at 6 forums at once on a wide screen to facilitate quick reviews and sometimes I go a bit faster than I should and do not properly take the time to digest what is being posted.




As for how the sim looks with default scenery, yes it is an improvement over FS9 but in my opinion it also lacked a reality factor FS9 has in which the autogen is out of scale (it was before SP2 and is fixed with SP2 and GEX) and also the color saturation tends to make it look cartoonish, also fixed with the add-ons like GEX.

You have the ability to expand the scenery radius to 10 miles over the maximum of 4.5 set by the slider, and, you can edit in the autogen lines which will allow you to increase the number of objects per cell from 3000/4500 (trees/buildings) to 6000/6000.

Where will that come in? Well, if you were using the add-ons I mentioned they tend to reduce autogen in some areas because the developers reconfigured the AG layouts. That does not mean they must be increased however as add-on developers make changes to the landclass, textures and scenery the use of the autogen lines to increase its presence will become a norm.

It is the same with increasing the scenery radius. As hardware becomes able, increasing that radius manually will allow a much richer experience.

The above does not even touch on the sims ability to allow incredibly detailed land mesh and textures. Imagine flying next to a mountain and actually seeing a 3ft rock ledge, in its correct depth and proportion relative to is exact geographical location, and, be able to see the detail of the shale or rock. In that imagine the mesh being accurate to 1m and the texture coving the mesh being sharp as a 35mm snapshot down to 7cm.

Current hardware can not process that type of detail and remain flyable. The reason your sliders do not bring your system to a 1-2FPS slide show or crash the system with mesh and texture set to 100% is because the mesh installed is not 1m mesh, its 38 meter and the textures installed are 1-2m (some are better such as road surfaces)

Your system would probably take a

[Flight Ace]

In response to the first question that was initially posted:

If you mean by running FSX with all sliders known to man maxed out while still maintaining playable [and enjoyable] frame rates, the answer is a big, resounding NO.

Just like the rest of us, you're gonna have to wait at least a year or so from now. So, get yourself a cup of coffee, a donut, and wait along with us.

Katahu/FSGV

I ran my FSX (out of the box), and as you  put it, with all sliders known to man maxed out while still maintaining playable (and enjoyable) frame rates in Rio De Janeiro. My answer (can you do this?) is a big resounding yes.

What I didn

[Flight Ace]

[quote]



Apologies

My free time is limited right now with the classes I teach and mentoring responsibilites but I do scan the forums during breaks and sometimes I may misinterpret. I look at 6 forums at once on a wide screen to facilitate quick reviews and sometimes I go a bit faster than I should and do not properly take the time to digest what is being posted.




As for how the sim looks with default scenery, yes it is an improvement over FS9 but in my opinion it also lacked a reality factor FS9 has in which the autogen is out of scale (it was before SP2 and is fixed with SP2 and GEX) and also the color saturation tends to make it look cartoonish, also fixed with the add-ons like GEX.

You have the ability to expand the scenery radius to 10 miles over the maximum of 4.5 set by the slider, and, you can edit in the autogen lines which will allow you to increase the number of objects per cell from 3000/4500 (trees/buildings) to 6000/6000.

Where will that come in? Well, if you were using the add-ons I mentioned they tend to reduce autogen in some areas because the developers reconfigured the AG layouts. That does not mean they must be increased however as add-on developers make changes to the landclass, textures and scenery the use of the autogen lines to increase its presence will become a norm.

It is the same with increasing the scenery radius. As hardware becomes able, increasing that radius manually will allow a much richer experience.

The above does not even touch on the sims ability to allow incredibly detailed land mesh and textures. Imagine flying next to a mountain and actually seeing a 3ft rock ledge, in its correct depth and proportion relative to is exact geographical location, and, be able to see the detail of the shale or rock. In that imagine the mesh being accurate to 1m and the texture coving the mesh being sharp as a 35mm snapshot down to 7cm.

Current hardware can not process that type of detail and remain flyable. The reason your sliders do not bring your system to a 1-2FPS slide show or crash the system with mesh and texture set to 100% is because the mesh installed is not 1m mesh, its 38 meter and the textures installed are 1-2m (some are better such as road surfaces)

Your system would probably take a