I started noticing that while the sim is running the GPU usage is very low but I am getting a steady 40 FPS in my gameplay. The GPU usage stays between 10-15% with an avg temp of around 75 deg C. The CPU on the other is around 40-50%. Is this some sort of a glitch or do I have a wrong setting enabled. My sim graphics settings are High and the NVIDIA control panel settings are shown below.
Any input from the community would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
The CPU percentage shown is the average for all the cores. One of these cores (probably the one carrying the main thread) will be nearly maxed out. You can see this by clicking on the CPU graph to see individual core performance.
So, you might have low GPU usage, but you’re limited by the CPU main thread, as most users are.
Similar situation …
Is 40 low to you? I’ll be happy to trade. I get a solid 20 with an occasional dip to 17, but it’s still fluid and perfectly useable. I have the settings that have the greatest impact on visuals set to high/ultra, and the rest is medium, low, or off.
Bless you it you can fly at 17-20 FPS. Anything below ~27 is unflyable to me. I play at 1440P on an LG 27" G-Sync monitor. Oh, and BTW, try turning everything down to get a constant 60 FPS…it is so smooth at 60, but the visuals in and out of the cockpit are terrible. I lock mine at 40 FPS and play there. Now if only I could eliminate the darn stutters 
I noticed a similar thing today. Gpu was around 10%, normally higher than 90%. Smooth flying with about 40 fps. I have i9 9900 and rtx 3090.
No way 40 FPS is low for me. In fact, given my system config, I am very content with the fps. It’s just that when I saw the low GPU usage percentage, I got curious what might be causing this. Would love to know your system config and in-game graphic settings for comparison.
I see. So is it something that is limited by the system, or so the devs need to tweak this better? I remember when the Japan update landed, my GPU would be at 90% usage.
Your fps will always be limited by something, whether it’s the cpu, the gpu, the internet or whatever. And the limiting factor may change, depending on location, flight conditions etc. Also Asobo say they are constantly working to get (often minor) improvements in performance, so you may find your limiting factor changes over time.
You are getting 40fps, and most users would be happy with this, so just sit back and enjoy the flight.
Thank you for clarifying this point! I will go ahead and enjoy the flight.
I keep my settings in a text file in case I have to reset everything. …
V-Sync > On
Frame Limit > 60
Render Scaling > 70
Anti-Aiasing > TAA
Terrain LOD > 50
Terrain Vector Data > Med
Buildings > Med
Trees > High
Grass & Shrubs > High
Objects LOD > 50
Clouds > Ultra
Texture Resolution > Low
Anisotropic Filtering > 2X
Texture Supersampling > 4x4
Texture Synthesis > Low
Waves > High
Shadow Maps > 2048
Terrain Shadow > 128
Contact Shadow > Low
Windshield Effects > High
Ambient Occlusion > Ultra
Reflections > Ultra
Light Shafts > Low
Bloom > On
Depth of Field > Off
Lens Correction > Off
Lens Flair > Off
Generic AI Models > On
Generic MP Models > Off
Glass Refresh Rate > High
Core basics
AMD Ryzen 5 3550H
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
16.0 GB RAM
Good Idea! I should do that too. Here is mine:
Primary hardware
AMD Ryzen 5 3600
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
16 GB RAM 3200 MHz
Thanks for sharing!
You should also be able to bring your glass refresh rate up. I have mine maxed out and there’s no hit on frames.
What kind of performance are you getting from your machine with those settings?
(asking because someone offered to give me a very similar computer, just wondering if it will be good enough!)
Many thanks,
Do you know if there is any way to “split” the main CPU thread processing to the others?
To MorolTheDuddles,I have been using a free program called “Quick CPU” that someone else recommended shortly after MSFS was released. It seems to do exactly what you are alluding to - essentially spreading the load across all the available CPU cores. I am NOT a gamer and certainly no expert on overclocking, etc. so I just simply installed it using the program defaults. It seems to work great!
BTW, I am running MSFS on a very underpowered Lenovo lap-top with just GTX 1050TI graphics. It does have an I7 CPU but an older generation, low-speed version designed just for lap-tops.
I truly have to take my hat off to the Asobo developers for all the great improvements they have made to this simulation since its first release!
In the beginning I could barely run this sim satisfactorily even in the lowest settings without terrible lag, stutters, crashes and everything else.
Today, it’s like a completely different program! I can actually now run it in “Ultra”. Granted the FPS is certainly not anywhere near 60 (more like 20-30 most of the time), BUT and a very, very big BUT-
it is as smooth as butter now, and predictable. No surprises! No stutters, no lag, smooth landing approaches without unexpected screen freezes!
I have to say, that for me at least, if they do nothing more than to provide us with a nice video replay capability like in FSX, I’ll certainly feel like I got MORE than my money’s worth!
Do you get this kind of framerate while flying through NYC corridor in USA Discovery Flight? I get single digit FPS while pasing Statue of Liberty area. Most other locations I get 20 fps or higher…
My CPU 8 Core 16 thread 4.2 GHz Intel
GPU RTX 2060
24 Gig RAM
Setting up the threads and specifying the tasks to be performed in each is hard-coded into the program. When the program runs, Windows itself then allocates which threads shall be performed by each core. I don’t think there is any easy way for the user to control either of these processes.
There is no doubt that FS2020 does already split the tasks into different threads - all 16 of the logical cores on my processor are active when I run the sim, with one loaded more than the others. There are various problems for the original programmers when setting up a balance such that all the cores are equally loaded, for example in knowing how fast each thread will run. Also, the number of cores in each processor will influence whether balance is obtained - for example if there are more threads than cores, some of the threads will need to be doubled up on individual cores, while if there are more cores than threads, some will sit idle. The number of cores of course varies between systems. And there will generally be one task (the slowest ship in the convoy) which will dominate the overall speed of the sim.
So, to the best of my knowledge, there is no way the user can get any improvement in this area, except by upgrading their system. Asobo are obviously aware of the problem, and will be trying to optimise the program as they get more experience in how the sim runs. But they will never be able to please everyone.
Nope! Definitely not in the 20-30 range in the NYC neighborhood. (Must confess, I live and fly mostly in Hawaii around the Honolulu area. Apples and oranges comparison, I know. Just tried a flight in NYC. I will attach a few screen captures showing my FPS at various points down Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty. Didn’t reach single digits, noticeably choppier, but no hiccups or stutters and I was running all settings in “Ultra”, with clear skies!
My HW, one must admit, is quite weak: Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz 2.80 GHz
16GB RAM,
NVIDIA GTX 1050TI
Looks like you have Bing Maps and Photogrammetry turned off. I probably get better framerates without those enabled like yours but I like to have them on to make the cities looks true to life…
