Once again, CPU bottleneck doesn’t mean 100% utilization. DX11 will use a main thread with a few secondary threads. Once the main thread gets maxed out, you’re effectively CPU bottlenecked due to the main thread. Hence, the “Limited by main thread” message on the DevMode popout. Even my 5950x with a 3090 is bottlenecked at the main thread in some scenarios.
Yeah I get you, so maybe he forgot to mention he’s watercooled or something
Ryzen 5600x for pure gaming, 5800x for all around use, 5950x for the best
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Hi DensestSnail693
I have just checked my settings again tonight as what I wrote was mostly from memory.
I have the Fuma 2 TT cooler fitted and it is fantastic compared to the Wraith Prism and water cooling is not needed as I don’t overclock.
I have 6 settings on Ultra and the LOD is 130 and the other 2 LOD are at 200
I am really happy with the picture quality and the Temps and usage are close to what I said. The increase in the LOD to 130 has now just about maxed out the GPU.
Check the Top left hand corner of the pictures.
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I’m using this… but then I realised the bottleneck actually came from the Memory clockspeed since I use my own 32 GB with 3200 MHz memory speed. But switching to a 3800 MHz actually brings the bottleneck down to almost similar level.
Core i7-11700K vs Core i9-10900K: 80+ Game Benchmarks, Bottleneck, and Streaming Analysis - CPUAgent
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Hi Neo
I don’t know why the CPU never goes beyond 25% - 30% usage in the Sim.
I have set my memory in the Bios to XMP.
How can you get the CPU to do more work?
The higher you set the LOD, the more you’ll use. At 9s on both, I get 15 - 30% usage. Occasionally it spikes to around 35. No clue how to get more aside from going higher with LOD. I believe 9 is the max however.
I followed this method to open up more CPU usage.
You will never go to 100% CPU usage if you have 8+ cores. MSFS only uses a few threads.
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I finally opened my Ryzen Master app to check this. I’ve seen similar posts lately. Turns out, the only core that ever maxes, with beyond max settings(LOD @ 9), is 1 on my 3900X. 2 and 3 get within 90% or so of it, and from there, it’s a precipitous drop off. Quite interesting…
What I’m looking at suggests, as with GPUs, that there’s a solid place to “land” at and not go all out. The sim doesn’t seem to utilize all that’s available to it in its current state. It’s hard to admit that as a 3090 owner, but it is what it is.
DX11 will only use a main thread with a few secondary threads. That’s why you see one thread near maxed. It’s inefficient, but that’s DX11.
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So is the wise move to wait until DX12 comes to the sim and upgrade/hold from there?
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Who knows. On paper, DX12 should help with CPU thread bottlenecking as it’s more of a true multithreading engine. However, judging by recent games, the move to DX12 hasn’t quite translated to the expected performance increase.
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If you’re wanting to build a new PC… I would seriously wait until November when the new Intel CPUs are out. They will require a new motherboard type (new socket) along with a new cooler design because the hole spacing is different. They will will also support DDR5 and PCI express 5. And will be Intel’s new platform for several years. If you build something right now and want to upgrade the cpu or something in two years… you won’t be able to (or at least you’ll just be getting old hardware). Could go with AMD which are better right now however that’s about to change…
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Yup … coding for more than a couple of threads must be a nightmare. However this will all change as AI competence takes over from the best brains out there and I think that’s really close, certainly within the next ten years.
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I would wait for Intel Alder Lake.
IMHO Intel 12600K looks like the sweet spot for MSFS, but it is not out yet, my estimation is based on available information at this time.
12600K should provide nearly the same single thread performance as 12900K at half cost: baseline 340 USD vs 705 USD according to pricing leaks.
Money you can spend elsewhere on your rig, eg better motherboard, more storage or faster RAM. Slightly overclocking it down the line will mostly bridge the gap.
Most likely with stock 12600K you will not be CPU bound in MSFS except in very rare edge scenarios that won’t affect gaming experience.
The multithreading performance of 12600K should be largely sufficient for most use cases, and certainly for MSFS, with the exception of video encoding, etc which can benefit from a higher thread count …
Of course you could also go for 12700K or 12900K if money is no object.
Also, the Z690 chipset will support both DDR4 and DDR5, PCIe4 and PCIe5 NVMe, so memory/storage cost will be flexible according to your budget.
Both DDR4 and PCIE4 storage will be sufficient for MSFS, so you won’t need the higher end motherboards strictly for this game.
Finally Windows 11 will take advantage of a special sauce CPU scheduler made for Alder Lake, called HGS+ (Hardware Guided Scheduling+) so I expect gaming performance to outpace current AMD chips significantly.
It’s too early to say what the final MSRP will be in your area but 12600K should fit within your budget IMHO. 12700K may or may not, difficult to say at this stage.
Intel is set to launch Alder Lake in November, it is up to you to decide how urgent your upgrade needs are.
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Not exactly true. CPU is still the limiting factor at or close to the ground especially at complex payware airports. I have a 3080 and a 10700k and whilst I am GPU limited in the air, I am CPU limited on the ground. I am talking about at 4K resolution.
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This statement is very misleading, and should be clarified. CPU bottlenecking is largely a function of resolution, with lower resolutions of 1080p and 1440p almost exclusively bottlenecked at the CPU, regardless of processor. There is absolutely no indication Alder Lake would prevent bottlenecking.
HGS is a response to Alder Lake’s big/little core design to utilize those threads sufficiently in Windows. Invoking this as a performance leap is misleading, as without this, Windows would not be able to take proper advange of the hybrid design. The same thing was done for Bulldozer back in the day, and current Ryzen architecture to some degree.
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This is not what I said. It is always possible to push a CPU, any CPU to its limits.
I said CPU bound scenarios will only exist in very rare edge scenarios that won’t affect gaming experience in MSFS. It is already the case with higher end CPUs, available on the market today. If you fly a B747 over the atlantic you will be CPU bound on the airports tarmac, what Alder Lake will bring is higher performance which will mechanically make the CPU bound scenarios less relevant on gaming experience in MSFS. Standing still in a crowded airport does not require 120fps to have a good gaming experience in MSFS.
It is but not only. The Intel HGS+ scheduling is hardware based. What Intel have disclosed is that they have worked closely with MS to optimize performance in W11.
CPU Scheduling is a vast subject. On Linux for instance, without hybrid CPUs, different schedulers have different performance results depending on the application. Optimization plays a role, aside from taking into account the hybrid cores. It is misleading to state otherwise.
We will see the end result when the chip is available.
Maybe we should compare notes then 
Bottom line, IMO it is better to wait for Alder Lake to be released next month than to purchase available AMD chips right now.