FSX.CFG Tweak Review: BUFFERPOOLS

 

FSX. I have long been an avid fsx.cfg tweaker, perhaps to excess at times. Almost every tweak in the book has gone through my cfg file, however, most haven’t lasted long. Over the following months I will be dedicating a post to each tweak, and relaying my experiences. Now for the first installment, bufferpools, read on.

In essence, the bufferpool tweak allows FSX to make better use of available video memory - at least that’s my basic understanding. Higher memory video cards will benefit more from this tweak, especially 1GB and up. For the purposes of this article, I am using a GeForce GTX 670 2GB video card.

First, the tweak has to be added manually into the fsx.cfg file as seen below:

[BUFFERPOOLS]                                                                                               Poolsize=XXXXXXXXX or alternatively Usepools=XXXXXXXXX, both accomplish the same thing.

Now for some of the various settings I have used and my experiences. Please keep in mind these are simply my experiences and your mileage may vary.

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Poolsize=0

Hailed by some as the holy grail of tweaks, this setting basically instructs FSX not to reserve any video memory. To properly use this setting, water must be set to high 2X or above. In my opinion, this tweak is worth very little although I know many would disagree.

Now for my experience…flashing artifacts, followed by flashing artifacts, followed by more flashing artifacts…. I do agree that performance is relatively smooth with this setting; however, the artifacts are far too distracting for any reasonable usability. Lastly, the requirement to raise the water settings is a deal breaker for me.  

Poolsize=120000000

This setting did not create a smooth flight sensation whatsoever, far worse than all other settings. Accordingly, this tweak did not last long in my fsx.cfg file.

Poolsize=200000000

Although this setting was generally very good, results varied widely with different sceneries. For example, taking off from Orbx Spokane everything is perfect, both on the ground and in the air. The cruise portion of flight is great, no stutters or pauses. But, upon arrival into Orbx Bella Coola, stutters everywhere. I experienced this anomaly many times and simply put…this setting works but only with certain sceneries, at least for me.

Poolsize=390000000

By far the best bufferpool setting I have tried. This tweak adds incredible levels of smoothness to my in flight simming experience. So much so in fact that I sometimes struggled to purposely make FSX stutter even when practicing aerobatics. The downside for me, stutters when taxiing around the airport, particularly in turns. Nothing’s perfect I guess…

Poolsize=490000000

My experience was similar to the above 390000000 setting with one added drawback… autogen artifacts. During cruise trees would artifact all the way to infinity and beyond, almost like big green swords rising infinitely into the sky.  Obviously a no go setting for me.
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So what’s my conclusion? I do not use the bufferpool tweak anymore. There are countless different settings to try and I obviously have not tried them all, however, this is my take based on my personal experiences. Every positive change seems to be counteracted with a less desirable side effect. Sadly, this is business as usual with FSX tweaking…