KLAX Not Playing Well With NGX

[sammyflyboy]

Hello. I am having a huge problem with my KLAX scenery. When I attempt to fly out of the airport with the PMDG 737 NGX, something always goes wrong. Either the whole skin of the plane disappears along with an all a black sky with only white REX clouds. I am running the latest standalone addon manager and I believe the latest NGX version. My video card in the nVidia GTX 670 @ 4.8 GHz. Also, it sometimes just repeats a frame from the screen so it looks like your flipping the pages of a book. I search the forum and I couldn't find anything along these lines, but I might not have looked hard enough. If you would, just point me out to the tread if there is one addressing this same problem. Thanks for you help and have a nice day! BTW, I am running the latest version of GSX as well.

-Sam Cordell

nVidia GTX 670 (OC) 4.8 GHz
Intel Core i7 3820 EVGA Superclocked
Asus PX79 (I think) Deluxe Motherboard

[sammyflyboy]

Oh, and I just got two out of memory complaints with the NGX and Airbus X by Aerosoft. Im running Windows 7 64bit, so that should run fine. I just got my new gaming computer, and since KLAX has been installed it hasen't worked perfectly once! I'm really having trouble.....

[virtuali]

None of your problems can't possibly be related to the scenery. Nobody has ever reported something similar.

For problems with images like you are describing, the most likely culprit is the video card drivers, or video card settings. Try to be sure the HIGHMEMFIX tweak is enabled.

To understand if the Out of memory issue is caused by the scenery (it's surely isn't) you should always try using a DEFAULT AIRPLANE first.

[bartwilliam]

Hi. I am having the same problem with my KLAX scenery, and only the skeleton of the PMDG 737 NGX showing. Poor frame rate and out of memory notification Using nVidia 306.97 driver.

Bartwilliam

Maximus IV Gene-Z motherboard
Gigabyte GTX 670
Intel i7 2600K
8 Gig Skill 1.5v Mem

[virtuali]

I can only repeat and confirm, nothing of this can be related to KLAX. For problems with images like you are describing, the most likely culprit is the video card drivers, or video card settings. Try to be sure the HIGHMEMFIX tweak is enabled.

The Out of memory notifications are clearly a problem of the airplane, that message will only report if your FSX exhausted it's regular RAM address space (FSX can use up to 3GB for itself), but most of KLAX memory usage is textures, and those will eventually exhaust VRAM (on your video card), but you wouldn't get an OoM message.

Try to simply LOWER your settings, especially the scenery radius, which might lessen the total RAM/VRAM requirements of theCOMBINATION of addons you are running, you must understand that resources are NOT "infinite" so, it's not that "KLAX is consuming your memory" but, more correctly, if you are using it with an airplane that is already very resource-hungry, you must lower your settings somewhere in order to fit in the overall memory (either video or system).

[jordanal]

I have to admit, I never had 100% success with the NGX and KLAX either - OOM about 50% of the time, especially after approaching across the LA basin and parking in a dusk/night scene.  The Highmemfix has always been in use here and I know it's a VAS issue with the combination of the two are pushing the VAS limit.  I seem to have better luck when not using the HD textures at LAX, but then it looks like crap and I can't use HD textures anywhere else, while that option is off in the FSDT options.

With my current (semi-high) settings, I seem to get OOM/VAS CTD at KLAX with the NGX, but no where else, including FSDT KORD and KJFK.  There is just something about KLAX being too memory intensive (as compared to other mega airports) and I just hope Vancouver doesn't consume the same or more.

[virtuali]

With my current (semi-high) settings, I seem to get OOM/VAS CTD at KLAX with the NGX, but no where else, including FSDT KORD and KJFK.  There is just something about KLAX being too memory intensive (as compared to other mega airports) and I just hope Vancouver doesn't consume the same or more.

Problems with OOM are usually related to executable code, which is always found in quantity in airplane gauges. KLAX hi-res textures mostly consume VRAM but, a problem with VRAM exhaustion would result either in graphic corruption or even in blue-screen crashes, NOT OOM/VAS error messages.

Some numbers, tested with Process Explorer:

- At default KLAX, with the default 737, and 0% AI, my FSX takes about 940MB
- At default KLAX, with the PMDG 737, 0% AI, RAM allocation goes up to 1.4GB
- At default KLAX, with the PMDG 737, 100% UT2 AI, RAM allocation goes up to 1.7GB

- At FSDT KLAX, with default 737 and 0% AI, FSX takes 1.2GB
- At FSDT KLAX, with PMDG 737 and 0% AI, FSX takes 1.7GB
- At FSDT KLAX, with PMDG 737 and 100% UT2 AI, FSX takes 2.0GB
- At FSDT KLAX, with PMDG 737, 100% UT2 AI, and higher scenery settings ("Large" radius and ground/road/boats traffic at 100%) with FSX takes 2.2GB
- At FSDT KLAX, with PMDG 737 and 100% UT2 AI, FSX takes 1.9GB with KLAX "HD Textures" turned OFF

This means:

FSDT KLAX takes about 260MB more than the default KLAX, and 160MB (100MB less) if HD Textures are turned OFF
PMDG 737 takes about 500MB more than the default 737
UT2 AI at 100% take about 300MB more than 0% AI

That concludes that, the most memory consuming things at KLAX are, in this order:

1st the PMDG 737 taking 500MB
2nd UT2 airplanes at 100% taking 300MB
3rd FSDT KLAX with HD textures taking 260MB and without taking 160MB

Raising settings in FSX takes about 200MB. I'm not running much else, and I was able to reach 2.2GB. Add other addons like real weather, online flying clients, hi-res mesh, and maybe you could exceed the 3GB that FSX could use on a 32 bit OS or the 4GB that it can use on a 64 bit OS.

Of course, if you were on the *borderline* of exhausting memory, and turned Off the "HD Textures" option, that might have saved just the right amount of RAM that allowed you to save an OOM, so you might be mislead thinking it was KLAX HD Textures that "caused it" (seems logical, since turning off that feature saved you from OOM, isn't it ? ), when in fact you only saved 100MB out of 4GB (which is 2.5%), but the situation was already close to the limit, and KLAX IS NOT the largest memory consumption item, as you can see from the above numbers.

[jordanal]

Very good detail and much appreciated.  But when I run ProcExp with 100% AI and load-up at KLAX, I'm already starting-out with around 3.4GB consumed (Win-7_x64).  I played around with lower settings including no AI, no HD textures, etc, and I coulnd't get it below around 3.0GB, just when starting at KLAX.  Now the issue for me mostly appears when I actually fly from say KLAS or KPHX into KLAX, taxi to a gate, and then flip to the outside view of the NGX, then I usually can generate the OOM/VAS error - assuming upwards of 3.8GB consumed, of the allowable 4GB limit.  So, I can start at KLAX and usually procede as planned.  But when flying-to KLAX, especially at dusk or night, is when I can usually hit the VAS limit and generate the OOM crash.  I run all the popular goodies, including FSGenesis mesh, UTX, GEX and so on.  My AutoGen slider is at dense, but my sencery complexity slider is all the way right as it's required to see jetways at some other payware sceneries.

It's as if more memory is consumed during the approacing, landing, taxi, and parking for some reason, and not releasing when no longer required, than just starting-out at KLAX.

[virtuali]

But when I run ProcExp with 100% AI and load-up at KLAX, I'm already starting-out with around 3.4GB consumed (Win-7_x64).

That's just confirms what I've said: I run with basically nothing installed, except KLAX, PMDG and UT2, you probably have many more addons and/or higher settings, so you start with an higher number.

That doesn't change anything in what I've tested above, the DIFFERENCE between having KLAX installed or not, shouldn't be very different from my own test: about 260MB compared to default KLAX. What is your memory consumption at DEFAULT KLAX, all other things being equal ? it's easy enough to test: just disable FSDT KLAX on the Scenery Library, and restart FSX.

If you memory usage at default KLAX is much more than 2GB, you should find what OTHER addon is taking so much memory, because there I have from 940 to 1.7GB at most.

But when flying-to KLAX, especially at dusk or night, is when I can usually hit the VAS limit and generate the OOM crash

Dusk should be expected taking more memory, because BOTH night and day textures are visible together. But at night, KLAX surely takes less texture memory than at day.

It's as if more memory is consumed during the approacing, landing, taxi, and parking for some reason, and not releasing when no longer required, than just starting-out at KLAX.

That's to be expected too, because memory was already taken during your flight and FSX probably never claimed back. Until you are 16NM out, KLAX doesn't load anything (but AI for it WILL load much earlier). Again, that's not a problem caused by KLAX, fact that you are having more issues landing than departing, it's even more clear evidence of this.

[jordanal]

What is your memory consumption at DEFAULT KLAX, all other things being equal ? it's easy enough to test: just disable FSDT KLAX on the Scenery Library, and restart FSX.

That's an interesting test that I've never tried - I'll give it a go when I get home from work tonight.

[Dougal]

I gave up trying to use the NGX at the wonderful LAX some time ago due to these problems too.  This thread has inspired me to try again.  Guess I'll just have drop my settings right down....

[OmniAtlas]

Try this memory fix:

http://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/oom-out-of-memory-helperfix/

[jordanal]

Excellent - I have many of Kosta's other tweaks and Nvidia Inpsector settings already in service, so hopefully this might really work.  Thank you very much for the heads-up.