19.11.2009, 21:22
Benchmarking***Preparation and Staging Techniques
#1) Research preparation will actually save time, Benchmarking and Optimizing made easier-and you'll be happier.
#2) Planning to know your direction will guide you to keep the progress in order. I recommend a flowchart.
#3) Documentation will keep a record for easy comparison and future reference.
#4) Testing with practical tools and methods is the only efficient way.
Before you go further, open Fraps and run IL-2 in a mission with plenty of activity, clouds, and nearby objects. Use the same mission and flight path for all following tests. The sample track called "The Black Death" has become the standared among IL-2 users for comparing and communicating. Take note of the Frames Per Second for a few minutes and record it for future reference. If this is below 20 FPS, then that is like wearing very tight shoes which are too small. For me, 30 FPS can be adequate in missions of little demand. If I need no stuttering, then some of the views don't have high enough FPS. Rates above 40 are good. FPS of 50 or more is excellent. In some scenes, I get FPS of 60, 70, or more. Some guys have a rig and settings that have these as their lower numbers! Regardless, everyone reading this can greatly improve the Frames Per Second in IL-2.
In this Preparation for Benchmarking, I will help you to get familiar with basic technical things and clarify common misunderstandings. Feel free to take a peek at IL-2 and hardware specifications as you go through preparation because this is the nature of it. It is like the shoemaker getting all his tools and information in order before beginning the tasks of making a shoe.
First, Benchmarking reveals the general capabilities of your computer for processing IL-2: Benchmarking is the result of Basic Setup. As a clarification, when we see a review on a game and/or hardware that gives Frames Per Second and other Benchmarking numbers, many organizations are doing the Benchmarking tests with less than highest settings. For example, though a particular graphics card might be capable of Anti-aliasing setting of 32x, much lower setting is typical. Therefore, we can not necessarily say that Benchmarking is the highest settings, which can confuse people at first. Those groups make the basic settings of setup and compare the FPS. Sometimes the FPS is the only number involved, though a few others might be considered. Good to know, huh?
Second, Optimization is making settings to reveal the extent and limits of graphic processing types for your IL-2 in your PC, mainly using the graphics card control panel. This is made clear in the Control Panel by the names of graphic setting types and any number value which might be applied. Numbers, or values, have more importance here than the previous stage.
Third, Tweaking is potentially the last phase if more improvements are needed and is mainly centered in conf.ini file. Sometimes this has been previously optimized and only needs to be studied to verify that all is well. The conf.ini file is ultimately about number values as the computer reads it. You could say that it is all about numbers to our eyes.
Expect all phases to be repeated after a graphics driver update.
#1) Research preparation will actually save time, Benchmarking and Optimizing made easier-and you'll be happier.
#2) Planning to know your direction will guide you to keep the progress in order. I recommend a flowchart.
#3) Documentation will keep a record for easy comparison and future reference.
#4) Testing with practical tools and methods is the only efficient way.
Before you go further, open Fraps and run IL-2 in a mission with plenty of activity, clouds, and nearby objects. Use the same mission and flight path for all following tests. The sample track called "The Black Death" has become the standared among IL-2 users for comparing and communicating. Take note of the Frames Per Second for a few minutes and record it for future reference. If this is below 20 FPS, then that is like wearing very tight shoes which are too small. For me, 30 FPS can be adequate in missions of little demand. If I need no stuttering, then some of the views don't have high enough FPS. Rates above 40 are good. FPS of 50 or more is excellent. In some scenes, I get FPS of 60, 70, or more. Some guys have a rig and settings that have these as their lower numbers! Regardless, everyone reading this can greatly improve the Frames Per Second in IL-2.
In this Preparation for Benchmarking, I will help you to get familiar with basic technical things and clarify common misunderstandings. Feel free to take a peek at IL-2 and hardware specifications as you go through preparation because this is the nature of it. It is like the shoemaker getting all his tools and information in order before beginning the tasks of making a shoe.
First, Benchmarking reveals the general capabilities of your computer for processing IL-2: Benchmarking is the result of Basic Setup. As a clarification, when we see a review on a game and/or hardware that gives Frames Per Second and other Benchmarking numbers, many organizations are doing the Benchmarking tests with less than highest settings. For example, though a particular graphics card might be capable of Anti-aliasing setting of 32x, much lower setting is typical. Therefore, we can not necessarily say that Benchmarking is the highest settings, which can confuse people at first. Those groups make the basic settings of setup and compare the FPS. Sometimes the FPS is the only number involved, though a few others might be considered. Good to know, huh?
Second, Optimization is making settings to reveal the extent and limits of graphic processing types for your IL-2 in your PC, mainly using the graphics card control panel. This is made clear in the Control Panel by the names of graphic setting types and any number value which might be applied. Numbers, or values, have more importance here than the previous stage.
Third, Tweaking is potentially the last phase if more improvements are needed and is mainly centered in conf.ini file. Sometimes this has been previously optimized and only needs to be studied to verify that all is well. The conf.ini file is ultimately about number values as the computer reads it. You could say that it is all about numbers to our eyes.
Expect all phases to be repeated after a graphics driver update.