133 replies to this topic

[Drybonz]

This thread is full of suggestions starting in the first post.  I can take one glance at the screenshot of your settings and tell you are not optimized, IMO.  I would recommend starting in the first post and trying the recommendations and then reading on if you still have problems.

[blackvulcan3]

I went for an eternity with ball stutter on Win 7, Pentium G, 8GB ram, GTX750ti & Samsung SSD. Although a lot of tables would play well I had micro stutter on plenty. Some outright stutter on more graphic intense tables. Keep in mind, this was a clean install with only pinball tables on it.

 

First I upgraded the CPU to i5 4490, improved but still micro stutter, no more massive stutter like before. I have followed the applicable tips in the thread but they did not work for me. 

 

Upgraded the Ram to 16GB. No change.

 

On the weekend I upgraded to Windows 10 and micro stutter decreased considerably.

 

Last upgrade to to GTX970 OC 4GB. Now everything is fast and stutter free. I still can't make my machine run in fullscreen mode, but I can live with that now.

 

So now my cabinet is Win 10, i5 4490, 16GB ram, GTX970 OC 4GB. 

 

Thanks gents for the info, especially Drybonz.

[Drybonz]

Glad to hear it, blackvulcan... thanks for posting your results.

[ZeroMoon]

 

This thread is full of suggestions starting in the first post.  I can take one glance at the screenshot of your settings and tell you are not optimized, IMO.  I would recommend starting in the first post and trying the recommendations and then reading on if you still have problems.

I updated the Visual Pinball 101 to 10.2.1. I also updated the Visual Pin Mame to the latest version (2.8).

 

\

 

I have to use true full screen because If I run in windows mode it shows a white blank screen instead.

 

I have run one table also updated but it still have not solved my shuttering problem (although it runs smooth, but it shutters when a lot of lights are flashing.)

 

Also change my Nvidia Control Panel settings a bit.

 

Anisotropic filtering: Application-Controlled

Antialiasing - FXAA: Off

Antialiasing - Mode: Application-Controlled

Antialiasing - Setting: Application-Controlled (Grayed)

Antialiasing - Transparency: Off

CUDA - GPUs : All

Maximum pre-rendered frames: 1

Multi-Frame Sampled AA (MFAA) : Off

Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration: Single display performance mode

Power management mode: Prefer maximum performance

Shader Cache: On

Texture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization : On

Texture filtering - Negative LOD bias: Allow

Texture filtering - Quality:  Quality

Texture filtering - Trilinear optimization: On

Threaded optimization: Auto

Triple buffering: Off

Vertical Sync: Use 3D application settings

Virtual Reality pre-rendered frames: 1

 

And I also tried your recommendation many times before. Did not have any luck.

Edited by ZeroMoon, 17 January 2017 - 01:51 AM.

[Drybonz]

Are you having trouble with all tables, or just some?  If so, can you give a couple examples of problem tables for you?  Have you tried the tips from this thread for your backglasses?

[ZeroMoon]

Are you having trouble with all tables, or just some?  If so, can you give a couple examples of problem tables for you?  Have you tried the tips from this thread for your backglasses?

I only running VP on desktop (not fs) only so I don't know if backglasses can effect my performance. I just tested a few tables on VP9 and one in VP10. Both are getting the same shuttering through.

Edited by ZeroMoon, 17 January 2017 - 02:11 AM.

[Drybonz]

Ah ok... I have never used desktop mode so I am probably not the best person to try to help you.  No, the backglass tweaks won't apply to you, which would have been my next step for troubleshooting.  Maybe some desktop user will jump in with some tips.  Much of it will be the same... but for fine tuning, I'm not sure.

[ZeroMoon]

It's kinda odd that my older, lower spec laptop is running smoother than on my laptop through...

[Drybonz]

I'm sure you can get it worked out if you find the right tweaks.  Don't forget to check your system outside of VPX for things that might be causing a bottleneck.

Edited by Drybonz, 17 January 2017 - 04:47 AM.

[SillyRabbit]

Hi,

 

The two options screenshots in the guide in that first post are showing as broken links, can anyone repost them?

 

Thanks!

[Drybonz]

Hi,

 

The two options screenshots in the guide in that first post are showing as broken links, can anyone repost them?

 

Thanks!

 

Apparently the image hosting service that I used for those nuked something.  A major drawback to this forum is not being able to directly attach pics easily.  Sorry, I'm not going to update any pics I have posted on this site.  It's way too much hassle knowing they are basically going to be temporary.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

[SillyRabbit]

Thanks, no problem. I think I sussed it out from context..

[Drybonz]

There is another visual pinball site that offers a host of nice features for typing up tutorials and allows direct uploads of pics, etc... I have already done one tutorial there and the experience was so much better that I may eventually migrate this tutorial there as well.  Again, sorry for the problems.

[kiwiBri]

Just so that others reading will know, I have an i5 2500K, 8 gigs ram, gtx960 2 GIG, Windows 10.

 

Similar, even slower than roars, and VPX runs buttery smooth in exclusive fullscreen with B2S, DOF and loads of toys running!

 

 

Nvidia Control Panel Settings for VPX (not VP9, PM5):

 

First things first... your nvidia 3D gaming settings for VPX (not the global settings!).  

 

I noticed you have MFAA enabled, and other some settings set to ON. Bad..bad..bad.

 

First rule of PC Gaming.....ALWAYS leave the nvidia control panel 3D game settings at DEFAULT for your game, and make sure it runs nicely first, and only change anything if you have to! I live by this rule, and I've had multiple SLI, multi-screen and single card systems and i also game in 4K, and this will save you alot of head-aches!  When things are working nicely, then "maybe" try some AA settings or vsync settings.  

 

For some older games, yes you may have to change some things, but not in the case of VPX.

 

In the case of VPX in the nvidia control panel, my settings are all at the default, but I do have my VSYNC set to "application controlled".  Try setting yours the same. Here's what I could fit in a pic.

 

 

 

 

OK here is my VPX settings:

 

 

 

You'll notice that I have pretty much every setting maxed out for the most part in VPX. The only thing I disabled was the Ambient Occlusion (in-game) because it would leave some odd shadow effects at times, and looked worse instead of better.

 

The big thing I noticed right away for you roar, is that you have FPS set to 60 and max pre-rendered set to 0. This worked well enough (mostly) for VP9 and PM5, but it will NOT work well with VPX in exclusive full screen!

 

You want to have FPS set to 1 (vsync enabled), and pre-rendered set to 1.

 

Try having everything match to my VPX settings. Adjust your "bring VP back into focus" to your liking...

 

That "should" get you going nice. If you still have issues, disable all anti-aliasing, and if still....try ambient occlusion...but you should not have to do that.

 

Important: If still having an issue, make sure that your "User Customization" options for each table is set to the same as the main settings (manually), as I thought I saw that there was a bug that these options would sometimes not work when set to "default". This should be the last thing you should have to try.

 

Both of these bits of settings and nvidia settings are important to have set right in order to work together nicely.

 

 

....and make sure your backglasses are definetly set to EXE. Make sure of that in the xml for B2S settings as well for the table you have problems with.

 

Good Luck!

 

 

Terry, any chance of updating your posts with current screen shots since Photobucket has blocked your images?  

 

I have the same setup as you and Roar and I was looking to improve my graphics performance. Right now I'm using VPX 10.3.1, VPinMama2.9 , i5, 16GB, SSD, 2GB GTX960 SSC.  Pin2DMD for DMD. Windows 10. 

 

When I turn on the "force anisotropic filtering " option, VPX seems to crash

[Brer Frog]

A lot of the thread links I saved regarding pin builds have their images missing. I'm just guessing that most will not get updated.

[kiwiBri]

A lot of the thread links I saved regarding pin builds have their images missing. I'm just guessing that most will not get updated.

 

yeah, such a shame.  I see my pics are gone from my build thread.   I will go back soon and update them. So annoying. 

[smithy001]

Hi guys, and thank you for this topic Drybonz,

I read all of it, but there was no need for me sofar to change any video settings, because almost all VPX tables run at 180 FPS min. on my system.

 

But still with for example CV, SS, Champions Pub, I experience micro stutter with the ball(s) when lights and flashers and multiballs and similair kick in at the same time.

At that moment the FPS is around 100-120 and the GPU load on my Asus GTX680 stays around 99%.

The 2GB GPU is overclocked to boost at 1250 MHz and has enough memory left and never runs hot. CPU and memory have no problems.

The simple solution for me is turning down the FPS a little bit under Options in VPX and as long as it stays above 180 that's not an issue for me. All stutter is gone then.

 

My questions are not how to solve this by changing settings in VPX and thus limiting its potential, but what does VPX need in a graphic card?

What should I look for in a graphics card for my cab? Is it bigger bandwith or buswidth we need for the future of Visual Pinball or more pixels or transistors?

Memory is not yet an issue with my GPU, but what will newer tables designed with VP104 and upwards bring us?

 

Do I even need a new GPU or will changing some settings as suggested before keep me going for another 2-3 years?

I use a 1920x1080 60 Hz tv, so no need for 4K and up for me soon. I know that I will need to replace my system within a few years, it's all second hand 2012-213 mid-high end stuff.

 

Thanks for your replies and all the great works you keep surprising us with.

Edited by smithy001, 12 December 2017 - 01:32 AM.

[Thalamus]

To me it sounds like you should just keep the card until you find that it is unusable for you. Micro stutter can often be tuned away by reducing reflections to playfield, details levels and small things like that. As you said. One day you'll just find yourself in a situation where a upgrade is due. That is where I'm now. I really want to buy myself a new GPU for x-mas. But, to be honest, if I wait til the holiday season is over. I might have a better chance of getting it cheaper ;-)

[Carny_Priest]

It's about $3,000 on the street, but it would do the job. Think of it as future-proofing.

 

https://www.theinqui...rushing-monster

[smithy001]

Thanks for your reply guys.

I think Thalamus' solution is the most practical for the 'near future-proofing' for me.

Is there a way to be a bit more specific to what the mayor factor is to keep in mind when buying your 'new' GPU?

 

Checking in Gpu-z the only factor maxing out in my current card is GPU load.

The system CPU and RAM, and the memory of my GPU never was a problem with any of the newer tables, neither are memory controller load nor the temp. or the video engine load or bus interface load.

Upgrading from a 650Ti to a 680 'doubled all the values' for me in regards to pixels, texture, bandwith, bus width and brought a great improvement in my cab. That feeling lasted about one year.

If I roughly wanna achieve that jump in specs again I will need to buy a card that had a retail price of around $650-700 for a nice second-hand price, but my current CPU can't handle that new card...

 

So if I know what decisive factors to look for in a card, new or second hand, that would help me and other pinball addicts to build a future-proof system around that with room left for future upgrades.

With the rate of developement of tables and VPX you can never be sure where this will lead us, but you could maybe give us an indication hardware or specs wise.

A simpel advice like 'you need a high pixel rate card or a card with more memory bandwith' would be a lot clearer for me than telling me I should buy a gtx 780 or higher.

Edited by smithy001, 12 December 2017 - 03:12 PM.