WideFS and Wideview - Clarification

[FatherDane]

I have a problem with low frame rates on my sim.  I have been told that using a second computer will improve that.  The problem is that there is very little information out there dealing with the actual steps for setting this up.  Currently I use a hardware sim and one computer running everything.  I have six monitors for the MIP and three for the eternal views - it is the external views that are dire when it comes to frame rate. As I understand it - and please correct me - to use two computers I would need BOTH WideFS and Wideview.  Yes?  Also, I would need to have all the same software on both, to include P3D (which I use) and PMDG, and all the airport sceneries as well, I understand?  The real problem is getting info on how to make it all work.  I have written to Mr Napolitano but I get no reply to my enquiries.  I downloaded the manual but it is confusing as it appears to be written for FSX and not P3D.  So, can you clarify the situation for me please?  Do I need BOTH WideFS (wideserver) and Wideview and presumably Widetraffic as well?  And do I need to set up the second computer (dedicated to run the three external views) with identical software as installed on the main computer?  Furthermore, is it preferred to use the main computer (server) to run the MIP and six monitors and dedicate the second computer, the client, to running the three external views?  If you know of a video somewhere that explains all this, I would be really grateful, but in the meantime, getting the preceding clarified would be a big start as I need to find out up front what I'm getting myself into with both effort and cost.  Many thanks

Father Dane

[Pete Dowson]

1 hour ago, FatherDane said:

As I understand it - and please correct me - to use two computers I would need BOTH WideFS and Wideview.  Yes?

No. WideFS is only to support FSUIPC applications on a PC not running a flight sim.

WidevieW is not supported here, it isn't our product, so for details about setting that up you'll need to find its Forum. Sorry.

Pete

 

[Luke Kolin]

5 hours ago, FatherDane said:

I have a problem with low frame rates on my sim.  I have been told that using a second computer will improve that.

I would be cautious going down this rabbit hole unless you're comfortable with dealing with networking, firewalls and their associated troubleshooting. The add-ons you can relocate to a second compute typically take up two or three orders of magnitude less CPU time than FSX or P3D; I've never heard of anyone getting a meaningful lift in frame rates based on this.

I'd suggest examining your hardware specs and configuration first.

Cheers!
 

[FatherDane]

Thank you for the advice.  As an old IFR pilot I am less concerned about outside views than a VFR pilot might be, but as I keep getting nagged about the low frame rate from others I thought I should at least explore it.  I have gone over all the CPU and GPU configurations several times and I have discovered that PMDG is the main culprit for resource hogging.  I'm not daunted by networking but as I couldn't find anything online that was clear about what would be needed to set up a multiple computer system, I was not about to embark on an expensive expansion project without knowing if the end would be worth it.

Thanks for the reply

Father Dane

[palcair]

Try boosting your graphic cards with the program MSI, very simple, YouTube has videos.

i just did it and faster cards now.

[den4]

Wideview is a means of putting different (usually virtual cockpit) views on multiple PCs and you would need to have everything duplicated on each PC for it to work properly.  I used it years ago when I ran FSX but it was such a PITA to keep everything on all 4 PCs identical that I eventually gave up using it.

I have gone down the line of having 2 graphics card, 2 Triple Head 2 Go units, one attached each graphics card, with 3 screens attached to each TH2G.  I then run P3D and XP11 in windowed mode and stretch it out across all the 6 monitors to give panoramic views.  Frame rates are not killed by doing this like using multiple view widows of P3D would.

I don't know anything about PMDG, can you run the instruments on a second PC?  

 

Just noticed this is an old thread, did you solve the problem?

[FatherDane]

Hello

Thank you for the information.  After a lot of enquiry and quite a bit of trial and error, I have assembled two computers which I call Flight-1 and Flight-2 (server and client respectively).  It was a bit of a chore, but I managed to duplicate all the software and scenery on both computers.  I decided to use Wideview as it allows the use of Active Sky.  OpusFSI does not.  I put PMDG NGXu on the server (Flight-1) and a simple B737 that came with FSX on the client (Flight-2).  I have three large televisions to provide 180 degrees of external view attached to the client but only a simple and small screen for the Windows desktop on Flight-1...but there are six other monitors attached to this unit to show the cockpit instrument screens.  I suppose I could run the instruments on another computer, but I would still need six monitors to show the instruments no matter what I do.  Dedicating the second computer to external views was the best option.  I use P3D's View Group to arrange the three screens in P3Dv5 and the frame rate is very good averaging between 40 and 60 fps.  And I use the best graphic settings for the sceneries to boot.  I know that maintaining the same on both computers can be a bore but that is only done now when I have to add a patch or a new scenery.  And yes, PMDG runs very well on the server and powers all the screens for my hardware cockpit - at a lower frame rate true, but that is all I need to run instrument screens.  So instruments on one PC and external views on a second PC.  It works!

Cheers

Father Dane