Dual Core on XP

[rich12545]

Just tried the "fix" and got a 50% increase in fps. wow. I'm impressed. But a hassle each time. So I thought maybe one of you programmers might like to cook up something, maybe a dll or whatever. If it would work when starting fs it would be really great.

change to windows mode
open windows task manager
go to processes
right click fs9.exe
choose set affinity
uncheck cpu1
close
open task manager
right click fs9.exe
choose set affinity
check cpu2
close
change to full screen

It's way way beyond me. But if someone with the skills could do this it would be a huge boon to the community.

 

[Bradburger]

Thanks rich.

Rather than clog up Falcon409's post again, I'm going to post this here.

After a bit of searching, I came across this about FS9 & mulitcore at Flight Simulator Guide.com, which might be of use regarding FS9 and a muliticore CPU.

Does FS2004 support multi-core processors like the dual and quad core cpu's?

- FS2004 will run perfectly on a dual or quad core system, but it will use only one of the 2 or 4 cores. The most recent edition of Flight Simulator, FSX, will use all available cores. With that in mind, you have to think about which version you will use (or use most of the time). Since FS2004 doesn't use all cores, it's better to choose a cpu with a higher speed. For example, FS2004 will run faster on a dual core 3.0Ghz than on a quad core 2.6Ghz. However, FSX will run much faster on the quad core 2.6Ghz. So it just depends on which version you prefer.

Some people believe you can force FS2004 to use all cores. You can reset the affinity of fs9.exe in the Windows Task Manager. It goes like this: Start a flight in FS2004. Change to windowed mode (not fullscreen). Press CONTROL + ALT + DELETE at the same time. Now the Windows Task Manager will show. Go to the tab "Processes" and look for fs9.exe on the right side (Image name). Select fs9.exe, right-click on it and choose "Set Affinity...". Uncheck all but one CPU (for example with a dual core, uncheck CPU 1 and leave CPU 0 checked). Press OK. Now select fs9.exe again and right-click on it and choose "Set Affinity..." for the second time. Now check all cpu's (for example with a dual core, check both CPU 0 and CPU 1). Press OK.

Now FS2004 will spread the load over both cpu's (cores). You can check this if you click on the "Performance" tab in the Windows Task Manager. You should see that both cpu's are processing about the same amount of data. But don't think this will increase your performance! It just will spread the load, but there will be no frame rate increase whatsoever.

One note: A multi core cpu has still its advantages over single core cpu's. While one of the cores is processing data for FS2004, the other one can handle other tasks like a firewall, music, browser, etc. So a dual or quad core cpu will slightly increase the performance of FS2004 compared to a single core cpu of the same speed.

You'll note that it doesn't specify that it is for XP or Vista, and some might disagree with the comments about frame rate gains!

Cheers

Paul

 

[rich12545]

I've tried this several more times, with xp, and saw modest to no gain. That first time must have been a freak. I'm just going to forget it. I have a dual core 2.8 gig with a geforce 9500gt so it runs fine. Only problem is I need 8xs aa for the shimmering which significantly reduces fps so I look for every edge I can get. This really had me excited at first.