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IL-2 Guide for Computers, Benchmarking, Optimizing, Tweaking

Good day, BOYAN

Here is your latest post:


BOYAN Wrote:Hey Fireskull, really man thanks for explanation about that HD4670 to GTS 250 post.
As always, your posts are very helpful and informative.

I`ll have to check for that RAM increase. Don`t think my 4CoreDual-VSTA can handle ddr3 or above.

As for HD4670, i thought it would be enough but i was wrong. It is a low end card, yes, i can run on minimum
perfect settings getting avg 50 fps on slovakia map, it is smooth (would like to be smoother). Would also like
to se some type 1 clouds, type 2 water, some freetrack movement without stuttering and some more smoothness.....
I am asking too much, right?


Yes, find the information, probably manufacturer website, about the highest DDR which yours can handle. If compatible, this would be all that you need for your system until Storm of War.

About the HD 4670, some guys are really running IL-2 well with it, though I am not sure that they have the same edition of the HD 4670 that you have. If you are a bit tech savvy and like to research, then why not get more cooling and overclock your whole system. I am sure that 20 - 25 % increase would be safe with much added cooling. You can get used cooling systems from a local store for very cheap. Make sure to get direct contact cooling pads for your chips. There are a few free systems to help overclocking such as "Overdrive". The link for it is in my ATI Enhancements subtopic.

You should definately be able to run Sky=3 (Perfect Clouds) and Water=2 (Perfect Water for ATI) on your system. Since you like these two, then I recommend keeping these high and reducing things that you feel can be sacrificed for the sake of keeping other things.

Frames per second of about 40 - 55 on average is acceptable. With the eye candy that you want, I doubt that you could get much better. Actually, what you have is typical of many cards and doing fine.

Running HSFX 4.1 or the HSFX 4.11 would give you a small increase in performance and image quality, as well as faster loading times. Do you have either of these?


BOYAN Wrote:About 22". As i said, im on 17" CRT. Its ok, but its huge. I cant put my hands on my table while watching, working,
whatever. 22" would be real nice move, getting some wider area for those HD movies, and finally putting my hands on
the table for once. Found a real nice LG 22" IPS, and its not so expensive.

STORM OF WAR. Yes, Its gonna rock, look stunning, feel great, sound great , but for what price. I wouldnt even
consider trying it on my current rig. I am currently not able financially to get anything brand new. Been playing IL2
for 8 years now, the game has reached its peak and is still growing, looking better, and there is no reason for me to
stop enjoying it and move to SOW for big amount of money at this time. Will wait for couple of years for SOW, it wont
go anywhere. And planning to get to that number 10 of years flying in IL2, its just fascinating. A whole decade of flying
in one simulation....

Finally, I ve gone through your tech help for couple of times in the last months, been very helpfull, continue to teach us all please!

So, then what do i do in your opinion with minimal amount of cash to get some decent perfect settings?


It would be much cheaper and better for you to get a used stand at a garage sale, even if you must cut it to make it fit, and put your CRT on the stand. If you can do it, then another alternative for very cheap is to build a wood shelf with angle braces on the wall above your computer work area. I am surprised that more people don't do this instead of paying a bunch of money for a flat screen.

If you do decide to get another screen, then find one with a refresh rate that can be set above the standard 60 Hz. That way you can activate Vertical Sync which will match your IL-2 frames to the higher rated monitor refresh rate, resulting in a net gain of faster Frames Per Second. A used CRT or flatscreen mounted on the wall or placed on a stand behind or over your computer work area will increase your IL-2 performance over getting a 22".

"Don't sell yourself short". Save your money all you can for future hardware.

In your conf.ini file, use Sky=3 and Water=2 for ATI. You know that I have a special section for every IL-2 need. Enjoy the reading.

Feel free to ask any specific questions or make comments.

Always have fun with the learning process. Smile

Back in a little while for your response.


I'm back. See the next post.

Foxman Wrote:Hey Fireskull

Nice guide, enjoyed reading it, can I get your advice

I have a Dell Computer on its way to me, since my faithiful older computer died a couple of weeks ago with my IL2 on it (Noooooooo)

I am getting a Dell Inspiron 580s with the following specss, can you please give me your thoughts to what settings I will be able to run IL2 at.

i3-530 Core (2.93GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB Cache)
Windows 7 Professional 64bit
6GB RAM DDR3 1333MHz (3 x 2GB)
ATI Raedon 1GB DDR3

These hardware specs are set, I am not going to upgrade as I believe this will be enough, considering my last system specs

2 Cord Duo (E5300)
Windows Vista Home Premium 32 Bit
2GB RAM
GeForce 7300GT

With those specs, I could run a 120 Plane mission with no shutters

I would please like your advice, as well as any extra tips you have, I should get the PC in 2 weeks, I was running IL2 Sturmovik 1946 HSFX 4.11 before my computer crash


Hello, Foxman

"ATI Raedon 1GB DDR3" is what I quote from you. A bunch of cards have about 1 GB DDR3. What is your specific graphics card?

The i3-530 should be a dual core chip and will managa the running of IL-2 fairly well. Since it has two cores, then you probably will want to run IL-2 assigned to the second core. The Operating System is primarily assigned to the first core so naturally you don't want IL-2 sharing the same core with the OS. Another option to try is to run IL-2 in both cores and enable multi-threading in your graphics card Control Panel. The assignment of cores is covered in this tech topic.

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit is the way to go. You will have slightly better performance of IL-2 with the 64-bit over the 32-bit. Great choice here.

6GB RAM DDR3 1333MHz (3 x 2GB) is plenty of RAM. It's hard to have too much and you have the upper limit of what I would recommend for IL-2. This RAM clearly shows that you probably can run IL-2 better with Multi-Threading activated, and probably both cores, too. Running in the second core still might be the best option. You must test to be sure.

I looked at the specifications of the Dell Inspiron 580s at several websites and I feel that it is a good deal, a nice value.

You will definately be able to run Perfect Water in OpenGL Mode (water=2 for ATI in the conf.ini file). How to get Perfect Water and other Optimizations is covered in this tech topic, of course.

Congradulations on a good selection of computer. Let me know about the exact graphics card model and I will give you more information according to its capabilities for IL-2. Fair enough?

Hi fireskull, sorry about the graphics card, forgot to put it in

It is a ATI Raedon 5450 IGN DDR3

Foxman Wrote:Hi fireskull, sorry about the graphics card, forgot to put it in

It is a ATI Raedon 5450 IGN DDR3


With that card, you can run OpenGL in Perfect Water, Land Texture, and Sky, though you might need to reduce something else such as Effects. Overall, I am sure that you can at least come very close to getting the highest graphics configuration.

Keep in mind that some specific mods will force you to reduce graphics settings because some mods hurt IL-2 performance in a large way.


Congradulations on choosing a good computer. I am sure that you will enjoy it. Big Grin

I think I will run my graphics settings in excellent mode because I prefer maximum airplanes in the air for big actions over perfect settings, but I will play with the settings to see if I could get a good balance

Thanks for your tips fireskull

One more tip for you Foxman.

IL-2 Excellent mod was created with Trilinear in mind. It is an exact match. In my Benchmarking subtopic, I have a section for emphasis on stutter reduction. You can't really miss it because it is a small section devoted to using Trilinear for great performance and Excellent image quality. There is a group of commands which revolve around Trilinear. As long as you stay with those commands for Trilinear, then other changes in graphics commmand functions will not change your balance of excellent image quality and performance in it.

Help

I installed IL2 on my new computer, assigned it in the compability mode to run from Vista SP2, byt when I run the exe I get this message.

The program can't start because d3d8.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

This is the second time I have installed IL2 1946, with no patches and I got the same message, tried the re-install, and same problem.

Please help

Is this 64bit Vista? Did you install with admin rights?

This is a bit out of my area of knowledge, as I run WinXP. The message, on its own, sounds like you don't have DX9.0c installed, but Vista should have the required files in DX10. Someone else will have to confirm.

Foxman Wrote:Help

I installed IL2 on my new computer, assigned it in the compability mode to run from Vista SP2, byt when I run the exe I get this message.

The program can't start because d3d8.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

This is the second time I have installed IL2 1946, with no patches and I got the same message, tried the re-install, and same problem.

Please help



Hi, Foxman

IL-2 should be installed out Program Files. Mine is a major folder, like the Windows Folder, and it runs great.

If you have Vista, the Compatibility Mod that you might attempt is "Compatibility Mode for Windows XP Service Pack 2". IL-2 sometimes does not need this at all, but you may try it and see if it helps. Try to also run IL-2 without this mode. For compatibility mode, this is done by right clicking the IL-2 shortcut or the il2fb.exe file in the registry, click on Properties, and Click Compatibility. Check the box for compatibility and press the button at the buttom to Apply it.

Tell us more about your system and IL-2. What is the Operating System and the bit (32 or 64-bit)?

Is your IL-2 the Steam version or another digital download version? You should have the 4.08m version before adding any patches to eventually get a mod pack.

Hi Guys

I Have Windows 7 Professional 64bit

I did try installing it in a major folder, but when I ran the exec as administrator, I would get the cd running mini icon on my cursor, then after about one minute it would stop and nothing would happen.

My version of IL2 1946 is a CD Rom, and I did right click the "a" in the CD Rom and say run as administrator, and it installed fine with no reported issues. I have not even installed any patches let and the error I showed you still comes up.

And I did installed Direct X 9.0c when it prompted me, and it installed fine, with no error message coming up.

I give it another shot when I get home from work, but that is what I did.

Right Click on the IL2FB.exe, then click on properties then click the compatibility tab.
Check the boxes to run as administrator and run in WinXP SP3 mode.

That should hopefully solve your problems.

S!

Though I fly through the valley of death, I will fear no evil.....
For I am the meanest SOB in the valley!

[Image: JollySignature.jpg]

Hi Guys

Tried XP Service Pack 3 Compability, didn't work.

However, you might find this interesting, these are 3 things that happen when I try the exe

1) in IL2 Setup, when I select the OpenGL as the driver, I try the starter, the process for IL2 starts, then stops with nothing happening.

2) in IL2 Setup, when I select DirectX as the driver, and run in any compability mode, I get the error popping up after a while\

3) in IL2 Setup, when I select DirectX as the driver, and run the program, nothing happens after a short while of trying to load.

Good day,


What I ment was that you can make IL-2 itself a major folder like Windows, and so forth.


It is looking more like you have a bad graphics card driver, but not sure at this point. You can make sure that you have the correct driver.

If you have ATI, then that could easily explain a driver problem. Can you list all your computer specifications? Check on the right driver first. If that doesn't work, then please post your computer specifications.

Thank yoiu for the work. I just had to change out my card (to a GTX 470) and was searching for a few days on best IL2 graphics settings. When I found this, I thought I struck gold. I will make the changes at lunch today!!!!

Thank you for your hard work!
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