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Hardware recommendations: Difference between revisions
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* The LTS you should be running is the current 2020.3.8+ LTS. (March 2020). | * The LTS you should be running is the current 2020.3.8+ LTS. (March 2020). | ||
* People buying new hardware with FlightGear in mind are encouraged to wait until LTS ''afte''r the current 2020.3 LTS if possible - if they imagine they | * People buying new hardware with FlightGear in mind are encouraged to wait until LTS ''afte''r the current 2020.3 LTS, ''if possible'' - that is, if they imagine they will be using the hardware for a long while. | ||
*# Future performance requirements will not be known until the LTS after the current LTS. Some of the big projects underway on the FlightGear next branch need to be finished before requirements | *# Future performance requirements will not be known until the LTS after the current LTS. Some of the big projects underway on the FlightGear next branch need to be finished before requirements can be determined. These projects include moving to: the new [[Compositor]] rendering framework, the [[World Scenery 3.0 roadmap|next generation scenery]] rendering and data format, a higher version of OpenGL, in-sim UI replacement, and so on. | ||
*# Hardware prices will be expected to drop once the situation with the pandemic eases. Hardware is getting steadily faster. Hardware with the same performance is getting cheaper. You should never buy hardware for a ''future'' version of FlightGear or any other program. It's always better to wait until the application releases (and you have time to start using it properly | *# Hardware prices will be expected to drop once the situation with the pandemic eases. Hardware is getting steadily faster. Hardware with the same performance is getting cheaper. You should never buy hardware for a ''future'' version of FlightGear or any other program. It's always better to wait until the application releases (and until the hardware purchase is justifiable as you have time to start using it properly). | ||
*# There is a 1st rollout of buildings, roads, and objects for the world based on OSM data. Please don't buy hardware based on this rollout. The performance in future rollouts will improve drastically as objects are changed to a newer format. See [[OSM2City 1st Worldbuild]] for details. | *# There is a 1st rollout of buildings, roads, and objects for the world based on OSM data. Please don't buy hardware based on this rollout. The performance in future rollouts will improve drastically as objects are changed to a newer format. See [[OSM2City 1st Worldbuild]] for details. | ||
* For current hardware performance (with the OSM2City world-build off): FlightGear 2020.3 is faster than the 2018.3 LTS. The 2018.3 hardware profile below is valid - but only one profile and hardware build is available in that section as of writing this. | * For current hardware performance (with the OSM2City world-build off): FlightGear 2020.3 is faster than the 2018.3 LTS. The 2018.3 hardware profile below is valid - but only one profile and hardware build is available in that section as of writing this. | ||
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''Note on hardware requirements'' | ''Note on hardware requirements'' | ||
Requirements are only valid for a target FPS, monitor resolution, usage, and settings | Requirements are only valid for a target FPS, monitor resolution, usage, and graphics / simulation quality settings. People have a huge range of hardware. | ||
For flight simulators the usage can vary depending on the craft used, how the craft is used, and over what scenery the craft is used. The visibility range can change with altitude, how fast the scenery is loaded can change with speeds. How complex the visuals are depends on how much vegetation or man-made buildings are in the visible scenery. The following all place different demands: slow and low with a balloon/[[pterosaur]]/glider/wingsuit/ground effect vehicle, slightly faster and higher in a single prop [[Cessna 172P|C172P]]/[[Cessna 182S|C182]]/[[Piper J3 Cub|Cub]]/[[Piper PA28 Warrior II|PA]], fast and low in a supersonic [[Saab 37 Viggen|Viggen]]/[[Grumman F-14 Tomcat|F-14]] jet, higher altitude but slower in a [[Airbus A320 Family|A320]] airliner, fast and high in a Concorde, extremely fast and high in suborbital craft like the [[X-15]] , or using a [[Space Shuttle|Shuttle]] or [[Vostok-1]] space craft that is fast enough to reach orbit. View distances can vary from [[:File:EC135 Heer.jpeg|individual grass blades]] in airport keep to seeing [[:Category:Screenshots of Earthview|entire continents]] from orbit using an orbital renderer. Flying over a dense forest can mean [[:File:Alouette-lll over the Carpathian Mountains in Romania in Autumn (Flightgear 2018.x).jpg|vast]] amounts of trees are in view, while flying over a barren desert or ocean can mean there are few objects. Different craft place different demands on CPU and GPU. Some craft have detailed electronic and mechanical systems which are demanding on the CPU to simulate, while a craft like a glider does not. Some craft have high fidelity graphics and complex electronic displays - these can be demanding on the CPU and loading times, not just the GPU!. Some craft have options to reduce graphics. | |||
Without target FPS, monitor resolution, usage, and settings, requirements are meaningless other than for maximum settings (i.e. meaningless for what hardware people actually have) - even maximum settings are hard to predict as they depend on what scenery a flight can take place. It's not trivial to find exact specifications, even for commercial applications with lots of test systems. Some commercial 3d applications do give out specifications for less than max settings but these mostly do not give target performance/quality/usage at all, and a lot of 3d applications like games have limited usage patterns making it easier to check - since commercial screenshot galleries tend to be on the most powerful systems at time of release without stating hardware, not giving detailed performance/quality/usage targets is also a way of making people forget quality may not look anything like advertised on their hardware. The topic of quality and performance is not as simple as commercial applications make it out to be in their advertising. People should consider that a bit of time spent tweaking settings for the performance bottlenecks in your hardware, for your typical usages, can make a huge difference to visuals and FPS. | Without target FPS, monitor resolution, usage, and settings, requirements are meaningless other than for maximum settings (i.e. meaningless for what hardware people actually have) - even maximum settings are hard to predict as they depend on what scenery a flight can take place. It's not trivial to find exact specifications, even for commercial applications with lots of test systems. Some commercial 3d applications do give out specifications for less than max settings but these mostly do not give target performance/quality/usage at all, and a lot of 3d applications like games have limited usage patterns making it easier to check - since commercial screenshot galleries tend to be on the most powerful systems at time of release without stating hardware, not giving detailed performance/quality/usage targets is also a way of making people forget quality may not look anything like advertised on their hardware. The topic of quality and performance is not as simple as commercial applications make it out to be in their advertising. People should consider that a bit of time spent tweaking settings for the performance bottlenecks in your hardware, for your typical usages, can make a huge difference to visuals and FPS. | ||
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==== Target performance: ==== | ==== Target performance: ==== | ||
* '''20-30 FPS''' with default [[Cessna 172P|C172P]]. Monitor resolution 1920 by 1080 (also | * '''20-30 FPS''' with default [[Cessna 172P|C172P]]. Monitor resolution 1920 by 1080 (also known as 1080p , Full HD, or FHD). | ||
** Note: actual smoothness depends on | ** Note: actual smoothness depends on frame-spacing spikes - average FPS helps lower overall frame spacing. | ||
==== Target settings: rendering and scenery: ==== | ==== Target settings: rendering and scenery: ==== | ||
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* <code>View > rendering</code> dialog: | * <code>View > rendering</code> dialog: | ||
** Maximum shaders: all shader sliders maxed (i.e. overlays: on). | ** Maximum shaders: all shader sliders maxed (i.e. overlays: on). | ||
** Scenery layers: Vegetation density: Very High (if you run into RAM issues try turning this down) | ** Scenery layers: Vegetation density: Very High (if you run into RAM issues try turning this down). | ||
** Scenery layers: Buildings: Random buildings | ** Scenery layers: Vegetation shadows: on. | ||
** Scenery layers: | ** Scenery layers: Buildings: Random buildings - or OSM2City with light scenery near small towns, but not OSM2City near areas dense with big buildings (heavier scenery needs a faster CPU). Tweaking random building density: Try setting<code>/sim/rendering/building-density</code> in the range of 1-10. | ||
** Scenery layers: everything else on: Scenery objects (includes airport terminals), roads and railways, pylons, random scenery objects | |||
** Cloud density and visibility range sliders: max. | ** Cloud density and visibility range sliders: max. | ||
* <code>View menu > Adjust LOD ranges</code> dialog | * <code>View menu > Adjust LOD ranges</code> dialog | ||
** [[Level Of Detail (LOD) Ranges#Scenery ranges|Level of detail ranges]]: default (single prop planes) 1.5km/9km/30km. | **[[Level Of Detail (LOD) Ranges#Scenery ranges|Level of detail ranges]]: default (single prop planes): 1.5km/9km/30km. | ||
* [[Anti-aliasing]]: 4x or 8x. Transparency anti-aliasing: Multisample | * [[Anti-aliasing]]: 4x or 8x Multi-sampling(MSAA). [[Anti-aliasing#Transparency anti-aliasing|Transparency anti-aliasing]] (called Adaptive anti-aliasing on AMD GPUs): Multisample. | ||
* <code>Environment > weather > detailed weather</code> dialog: | * <code>Environment > weather > detailed weather</code> dialog: | ||
** [[Weather#Advanced Weather|Advanced Weather]]: on. | **[[Weather#Advanced Weather|Advanced Weather]]: on. | ||
** Advanced settings dialog: Enabled features: All: Cloud shadows, | ** [[Weather#Advanced configuration|Advanced settings]] dialog: Enabled features: All: <code>Cloud shadows</code>, <code>Realistic visibility</code>, <code>Generate thermals</code>, <code>Terrain effects</code>, <code>Terrain pre-sampling</code>, etc. <code>Max visibility</code> : 250km | ||
=== Hardware build: === | === Hardware build: === | ||
* '''GPU''' (Graphics Processing Unit, or Graphics Card): A GTX 960 or 1050 | * '''GPU''' (Graphics Processing Unit, or Graphics Card): A GTX 960 or 1050 Ti - or equivalent performance. More than 3000 ratings in this list: as of [http://web.archive.org/web/20210412095421/https://benchmarks.ul.com/compare/best-gpus April 2021]. [https://benchmarks.ul.com/compare/best-gpus Direct link] (Note: ratings numbers and list may have changed by the time you see it). Note: a GPU with this performance is capable of much more than 30 FPS. | ||
* '''CPU''': 4 core Intel Sandybridge [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Bridge#Desktop_platform i5 2500] (released 2012) or faster. This build will be '''limited by the CPU''' . Try to get a newer generation [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core Intel CPU], or equivalent AMD Ryzen CPU, if possible - e.g. a 4th generation Intel [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture)#Desktop_processors Haswell] (4xxx) i5 CPU, or faster. For a fairly approximate idea of CPU performance needed (Sandybridge i5 2500 has a rating of ~1700) see this archived copy of a single-core benchmark list: [http://web.archive.org/web/20210412100323/https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html April 2021] . [https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html Direct link] (Note: this direct list may have changed ratings numbers by the time you see it). This list only gives single-core performance - and it is approximate - for example, when an application uses more than one core processor the frequency will drop slightly lowering performance. The only reason a 2012 Sandybridge 2500 can manage 20-30FPS is because core performance hasn't gone up that much - it has increased by about 2x. FlightGear uses multiple cores. Some people may be able to get FG to run fine with a fast high clock 2 core CPU from a newer generation of CPU. But a 4 core is recommended as future FG will use cores even more. | |||
* '''CPU''': 4 core Intel Sandybridge i5 2500 (released 2012) or faster. This build will be '''limited by the CPU''' . Try to get a newer generation Intel CPU, or AMD Ryzen CPU, if possible - e.g. a Haswell (4xxx) | |||
* '''Memory''' (RAM): 8GB (12-16 GB preferred). If you lack RAM you need to reduce the level of detail ranges so less scenery is displayed. | *'''Memory''' (RAM): 8GB (12-16 GB preferred). If you lack RAM you need to reduce the level of detail ranges so less scenery is displayed. | ||
* '''Disk:''' to do! . | *'''Disk:''' to do! . | ||
=== FlightGear settings tips: === | === FlightGear settings tips: === | ||
* This build is '''limited by CPU'''. If your CPU is not faster (newer generation), at least you can try turning up graphics more to give the GPU something to do (try increasing Anti-aliasing, turning up | * This build is '''limited by CPU'''. If your CPU is not faster (newer generation), at least you can try turning up graphics more to give the GPU something to do (try increasing Anti-aliasing, turning up transparency anti-aliasing by selecting supersampling variety, increasing tree density). | ||
* GPU limited: Try turning down the resolution and [[anti-aliasing]] if you are GPU limited. The higher the resolution the more work the GPU must do. A 4k (UHD) resolution is like the pixel shader load of rendering on four 1080p screens at once! See [[Anti-aliasing#The%20trade%20off%20between%20graphics%20content.2C%20FPS.2C%20and%20graphics%20settings%20like%20anti-aliasing|The trade off between graphics content, FPS, and graphics settings like anti-aliasing]] | * GPU limited: Try turning down the resolution and [[anti-aliasing]] if you are GPU limited. The higher the resolution the more work the GPU must do. A 4k (UHD) resolution is like the pixel shader load of rendering on four 1080p screens at once! See [[Anti-aliasing#The%20trade%20off%20between%20graphics%20content.2C%20FPS.2C%20and%20graphics%20settings%20like%20anti-aliasing|The trade off between graphics content, FPS, and graphics settings like anti-aliasing]] | ||
* GPU: For '''4k monitors''': Try reducing resolution to 1080p. You should try the equivalent of a GTX 1080/2070 or a rating of about 7800 in this archived list, but you may have to tweak settings a bit: [http://web.archive.org/web/20210412095421/https://benchmarks.ul.com/compare/best-gpus April 2021]. [https://benchmarks.ul.com/compare/best-gpus Direct link] (Note: ratings numbers and list may have changed by the time you see it). See the advice on the anti-aliasing page. | * GPU: For '''4k monitors''': Try reducing resolution to 1080p. A lot of laptops come with slow GPUs but have 4k screens. You should try the equivalent of a GTX 1080/2070 or a rating of about 7800 in this archived list, but you may have to tweak settings a bit: [http://web.archive.org/web/20210412095421/https://benchmarks.ul.com/compare/best-gpus April 2021]. [https://benchmarks.ul.com/compare/best-gpus Direct link] (Note: ratings numbers and list may have changed by the time you see it). See the advice on the [[Anti-aliasing#Tips on using anti-aliasing settings|anti-aliasing]] page. | ||
** Notes: It's overlays and tree density that | ** Notes: It's overlays and tree density that can put stress on the GPU. | ||
* GPU: overlays require strong GPU power (that level of detail is not trivial). | * GPU: overlays require strong GPU power (that level of detail is not trivial). | ||
* CPU: Aircraft that are heavier on CPU than than the C172P can drag down performance more if you are CPU limited. | * CPU: Aircraft that are heavier on CPU than than the C172P can drag down performance more if you are CPU limited. | ||
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* GPU: ALS shaders sliders can be maxed in a lot dedicated GPUs, even quite old ones provided they are dedicated GPUs (and not integrated/mobile GPUs). It's mostly the scenery layer settings including tree density and LoD ranges that can be intensive. | * GPU: ALS shaders sliders can be maxed in a lot dedicated GPUs, even quite old ones provided they are dedicated GPUs (and not integrated/mobile GPUs). It's mostly the scenery layer settings including tree density and LoD ranges that can be intensive. | ||
* GPU / Disk space: turn on the <code>View > rendering > texture cache</code> for smoother FPS frame spacing and faster loading. This will take up extra space. | * GPU / Disk space: turn on the <code>View > rendering > texture cache</code> for smoother FPS frame spacing and faster loading. This will take up extra space. | ||
* ...what does this look like? Only the screenshots that have been uploaded to the wiki are available right now. There is a category with '''roughly''' [[:Category:Screenshots at high settings|high settings screenshots]] | * ...what does this look like? Only the screenshots that have been uploaded to the wiki by volunteers are available right now. There is a wiki category with '''roughly''' [[:Category:Screenshots at high settings|high settings screenshots]]. Note: a lot of these screenshots use settings that are below this profile, the overlays screenshots typically have transparency anit-aliasing higher than multisampling, some screenshots are with a much older Flightgear, a substantial amount of screenshots laptops with weaker GPUs or computers with less than 16 GB of RAM, some screenshots are at slightly higher settings than this profile or at 4k resolution.To get to the highest settings in the category at 1080p and trees at ultra, you would need a GTX 1060 or higher (about [http://web.archive.org/web/20210314111800/https://benchmarks.ul.com/compare/best-gpus 4100] in ratings), 12-16 GB of RAM - lowering LoD ranges will help (low ranges are fine for low altitude flights especially in mountain areas). Not turning up transparency AA will help. The CPU would be maybe a bit faster than i5 2500 to populate trees quickly at ultra e.g. a fast Haswell i5, or an overclocked Sandybridge i5 2500k @ close to 5GhZ. | ||
== Recommended hardware for FlightGear 3.20+ == | == Recommended hardware for FlightGear 3.20+ == | ||