Msfs stutters caused by peripheral hdwe?

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Using TrackIr with MSFS results in stutters. When I do not use that system I have zero stutters.
Using the head tracker with other sims is also trouble free.
Could it be that the software is fine as long as nothing but a joystick is running congruently?
Could that be why some of us note no problems and others are stuffed?
Maybe we should each list what programs and peripherals we are running when we post about stutters. Maybe folks should just open the sim with no VR, no TRackIr, no ‘extras running at all - just as a test to see if that could be part of the problem.
Because for me - it is night and day.
I should be able to use the head tracker in this 21st century sim - but I cant.

** also - it isn’t hard to imagine that when a department head at MSFS or ASOBO says they are ‘using the sim’ themselves yet are oblivious to some pretty glaring issues it likely means that they are turning it on - pushing a few buttons on their KB and noting that the buttons work - and calling it good.

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Maybe, but I use TrackIR as well and get no stutters worth mentioning. But people have different thresholds when it comes to stuttering and minimum FPS.

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For what it’s worth, I’m using a large number of peripherals and software packages simultaneously: 12 USB input devices (e.g. joystick/yoke/three different sets of throttles, stream decks, kb/mouse, multiple arduino devices, etc) and some additional USB devices that aren’t controllers (e.g. usb headset, jetseat). On the software side, I run FSUIPC7, mobiflight, RealSimGear device interface, TrackIR, SimShaker, Gees, XPForce, Navigraph SimConnect and the Skypark (simultaneously… any time I’m simming). I’ve not had any recent performance issues until this latest WU4 update, where the stuttering puts the sim into a state that’s beyond unplayable in multiplayer (And only in multiplayer). If I go to options > data > multiplayer: off it’s totally fine again (Where fine in my case == 35-45 fps on avg, with no stutters that I wouldn’t attribute to scenery/asset load).

As I don’t have any clue what your technical background is, I wouldn’t dare make any assumptions, but I can share some of the issues I’ve had in in the past with this sim (and XP11) and USB peripherals.

I have had trouble with Windows putting USB devices to sleep, which can be solved in the device manager, if you haven’t tried that.

I have had trouble with USB hubs failing, sometimes as soon as 6 months in, sometimes as long as 2 years in.

I have had trouble with individual on-board USB ports having trouble with one specific USB peripheral SUDDENLY, after weeks/months, and have witnessed the same device and the same port work completely fine in an alternative configuration.

I have also had trouble with oversaturating the existing USB controller on the motherboard, and I have also had success by installing a high-quality PCIe USB expansion card (I avoid the super cheap ones on Amazon, and the ones that only pull power through a SATA power connector which I believe is insufficient). Note that even your motherboard may also contribute significantly to your success with this option – in my system there are shared resources across the PCI bus between certain PCIe and SATA slots, and failure to adhere to certain requirements could reduce my GPU PCIe speed down to 4x (from 16x), and possibly another horror or two I’ve since forgotten buried deep within my motherboard manual.

Prior to this latest update I had been enjoying FS2020 with tons of community addons and running at moderately high settings, and with TrackIR (version 5) fully functioning the entire time. I do mostly use the passive TrackClip (with just the reflectors).

Hopefully a solution exists for you out there, good luck!

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I didn’t think they were a problem either - until I went back and reviewed some of the videos I had made before I had the TiR installed. In side by side comparison the tics and micropauses seem almost constant with TiR and virtually non-existent without it. Still happen regardless on descent to the destination airfield - say from 2 miles out from the rwy and descending from 2,000’ to pattern altitude…but without TiR just one or two little tics and done.
** edit - I think those little micropauses everyone notices when nearing the destination are caused by the sim populating the area to the extent that users have in their settings - more airport vehicles, static aircraft, animated personnel and ground traffic - more stutters *

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you’d be right to assume I do not have much technical computer knowledge or software acumen - but I know the difference between ‘some’ and ‘none’ - and so I noticed there is ‘some’ stuttering with TiR running - and virtually ‘none’ without it.
The difference is repeatable and consistent.
Also I could remark that it did not seem as pronounced when I first applied the head tracking to MSFS as it is now. I first used and recorded some flights with TiR on Feb 24th. Quite a bit has changed in MSFS since then. It just got me to wonder that it seems many people in the community not only have different experiences with MSFS - we also interact with flight sim through a wide variety of peripheral hardware and software. Possible that the folks who use the least of that are having fewer problems. At least worth asking the question. Especially as the Updates keep rolling in fraught with unexpected consequences.

** to your point on USB latency - as I said in the original post - I use the same setup in ATS, DCS, IL2, and RoF - all without any impact on those flight sims wrt stuttering or micropauses

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Sorry about the shortcomings in my phrasing – I was trying to emphasize that I wasn’t making any assumption about your technical knowledge, and instead erring on the side of over-sharing my own experiences. It’s absolutely worth asking the question, you never know when/where a solution will pop up.

And in my experience, for whatever reason, X-Plane11 (in VR) and FS2020 (in any format) with high settings will absolutely punish my system unlike any other sim/game… DCS/ATS/ETS/Assetto Corsa/iRacing/etc don’t even come close for me. I run as high of an overclock on both my cpu/gpu as I can get away with, and I pretty much do the all my OC tuning and stress-testing with FS2020 now. If it works in there, not a single one of my other titles will have an issue.

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I suffer from poor communication skills and was not affronted at all (though rereading what I posted indicates that I might have been - lol) . I too was only trying to admit that my technical understanding in this realm is limited but extant to a degree and that I’m no foreigner to troubleshooting.
I agree also that the best flight sims are a crucible of fire for PC hardware…and the real test for anyone who thinks they have a handle on their hardware / software settings. I have a long way to go before I can be that guy. I just want to try to offer suggestions that might be helpful. I think we all want this title to be successful. For me MSFS is the flagship of flight simulation.

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