FSX Play REAL GPU requirements not recommended

[Phish828]

I wanted to ask kindly for some feedback from users who have activated FSX Play on which Nvidia GPU would run flawlessly in a full mode with no stutter. I'm going to upgrade from my GTX 1070Ti PC this year and wondered if an RTX 3060 would be enough to future-proof myself or should I go to the RTX 3090 and just be done with it. Thanks in advance for any advice

[jasonreg]

All and ForesightMattyG - following up with some additional testing and have some interesting results. I swapped my RTX2080 Super 8GB DDR with an RTX4060Ti 16GB DDR. If you compare these two cards, it should be a sideways move with the cards performance within 10% (UserBenchmark: Nvidia RTX 2080S (Super) vs 4060-Ti). What I found was a massive increase in playability at High and Ultra settings. But what is even more interesting is the amount of VRAM (RAM on GPU) these courses are using. Some data:

• GS Pro – Ultra 1920x1200 – uses approx. 35% of avail VRAM and <45 GPU, < 25%RAM, 60FPS (I limit to 60 max due to Projector Capabilities) - GS Pro worked just fine with 2080 Super as well...)
• FSX Play
  • Foresight Driving Range – 1920x1200, Ultra – uses 89%VRAM, 100% GPU, 75%RAM, FPS 58
  • Foresight Driving Range – 1920x1200, High – uses 45%VRAM, 75% GPU, 51%RAM, FPS 60
  • Awbrey Glen (New Course release) - 1920x1200, Ultra – uses 77%VRAM, 82% GPU, 55%RAM, FPS 36
  • Awbrey Glen (New Course release) - 1920x1200, High – uses 56%VRAM, 93% GPU, 50%RAM, FPS 60
  • Pebble Beach about the same as Awbrey
  • Harbour Town used 89%VRAM on High at 12 FPS …….
  • Pitch & Putt used 97% VRAM on Ultra at 15 FPS .....

Not sure what kind of conclusions to be drawn here but it seems that the courses are (a) coded differently (which we all kinda knew) and (b) exceedingly heavily dependent on amount of VRAM on GPU (which for me is the interesting bit). 8BG is a not starter, and 16 seems “Just enough”. In terms of where I go from here is somewhat of a question. The only card out there right now is a 4090 and that seems like an awfully big investment for this Rig - I would be looking at a new build I think in that case. But really, I should not be having to think this way. There is clearly an over reliance on VRAM .... if it can be fixed then we all are in a much better position. For the time being, about the best viable upgrade for me would be a 4070Ti 12GB DDR - beyond that I likely will get some CPU bottlenecking. That said, the only way to get 16GB of VRAM is keep the 4060Ti or go to a 4080 .....

Any input here?

[MongoOnlyPawn]

I agree with jasonreg in terms of the reliance on some of the specifics of the video cards, but I would also say that we have to deal with what's available. I'm not a coder so I have no idea if the programming isn't efficient, or if it's as efficient as it can be and it's still very taxing on the video cards, etc,.... but in reality it doesn't matter.

I'm not saying that I enjoy spending what seems to be an absurd amount of money on computer parts, but if that's what I need to do in order to get the kind of graphics and physics and gameplay processed correctly to very realistically reproduce a sport that I enjoy very much, then that's what I have to spend.

jasonreg, I appreciate your time & efforts on doing the research, that's some pretty applicable insight for people as they move forward with purchases.

I think we have to figure out what we need first, then see how much it costs. I initially tried using a 12 year old IBM business laptop, and after doing some of the similar testing & research that jasonreg has done I thought to myself..."what the **** was I expecting?....

Like trying to play Quake or Unreal tournament with an IBM PCjr, it just ain't gonna happen.

Thank you again for taking the time and getting applicable results jasonreg.

My thought with technology is always buy the biggest/fastest/most powerful item you can afford, it's the best way to future proof yourself.

[Locke]

Does anyone know if FSX Play is playable with the following mobile GPUs? What are the expected FPS in 1080p and medium/high detail level?
RTX 3070, RTX 3070 TI, RTX 4060, RTX 4070 (Laptop / mobile)

Thanks in advance!