sknight751
sknight751
TraineeTrainee
Joined: Mar 07, 2021 Posts: 6
Asked

I have a Dell desktop Optiplex 7010.   It had an Intel i5 3540 processor.   I have an Nvidia  (GeForce) 1650 graphics card and 16 GB of ram installed. 
I have the disk version of FSX (not Steam).   I also have the ORBX scenery upgrades.  With this config, everything ran without running out of memory.   

I upgraded from the Intel i5 to an Intel i7 3770 processor.  (note by BIOS is updated to A29. )   After the upgrade, other computer functions seemed to be working fine except FSX.   Note that Dell shows that the i7 3770 CPU is an option for the Optiplex 7010.   

However, now, shortly after takeoff, the computer freezes and a dialog box says I am out of memory.  I would have thought the upgraded CPU would improve performance-not and make it worse.   
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks
Steve

Answers 3 Answers

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Paul Cook
Paul Cook
Guest
Answered

Your old cpu was the bottleneck, now the ram is, Go for 32. The Buzzard

Rafathe11
Rafathe11
Guest
Answered

You're right "Paul Cook"
 

Ian Stephens (ianstephens)
Ian Stephens (ianstephens)
CaptainCaptain
Joined: Feb 22, 2012 Posts: 882
Ian Stephens is an expert on this topic. Read his bio here.
Expert Answered

Hi Steve,

It's indeed puzzling that upgrading your CPU would result in an out of memory error. Let's look at a few possible explanations and solutions to your issue.

  1. Virtual Address Space (VAS) Limitation: FSX, being a 32-bit application, is limited to using 4GB of Virtual Address Space (VAS). This limitation applies to both your RAM and your graphics card's VRAM. ORBX scenery upgrades could be pushing your VAS usage closer to the 4GB limit, resulting in an out of memory error. You can use a tool like VAS Monitor to track your VAS usage and try to reduce scenery complexity, texture resolution, or other settings in FSX to alleviate this issue.
  2. Background Processes: Ensure that no unnecessary background processes are running, as they might be consuming memory and causing the issue. Close any applications or services not required during your FSX sessions.
  3. Compatibility Mode: Sometimes, running FSX in compatibility mode can help resolve issues like this. Right-click on your FSX.exe, go to Properties > Compatibility, and try running it in compatibility mode for an older version of Windows, such as Windows 7.
  4. Affinity Mask: Tweaking the affinity mask settings in your fsx.cfg file might help with performance and memory issues. Locate your fsx.cfg file (usually in %AppData%\Microsoft\FSX) and add or modify the AffinityMask line under the [JOBSCHEDULER] section. For an i7 3770, you can try setting it to AffinityMask=84, which utilizes four of the eight available threads. This tweak can help distribute the workload more efficiently across your CPU.
  5. Graphics Driver Update: Ensure that you have the latest drivers installed for your Nvidia GeForce 1650 graphics card. Outdated drivers might lead to memory issues or instability.

In case none of these solutions work, you might consider reverting to your previous CPU to see if the issue still persists. If it does, there could be an unrelated problem that coincided with your CPU upgrade. If the problem is resolved, you may want to try reinstalling FSX, ensuring that it's properly configured for your upgraded hardware.

Good luck, and I hope you manage to resolve the issue soon!

Happy flying!

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