Testing Large Rolling Cache in Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator has seen significant improvements since its launch, and optimizing performance is crucial for a smooth experience. I’ve been experimenting with a 128GB rolling cache, which appears to be efficient.

Seb’s Dev video mentioned an average cache efficiency of 80%, but my recent testing suggests around 95% for recent objects. This is impressive, especially considering the large number of airports used in my test. However, it’s essential to note that this may change with future updates from Asobo.

The experiment involved loading 16 airports, including CYVR with skyscraper trees, into the simulator. During this process, I hovered around using FreeCAM at ground level to collect fine textures. While most airports filled the cache without issues, OMDB was streamed under the hood for a week, and its performance was noticeable.

Notably, after picking up CYVR airport, disk IO peaked at 17 GB/s for several seconds, followed by another burst after starting the flight. Another spike occurred when streaming weather data. These bursts of high disk IO were attributed to reading from the cache instead of streaming. This experience highlights the importance of monitoring disk performance and understanding how the rolling cache affects the simulator’s behavior.

I’d love to hear about others’ experiences with large rolling caches in Microsoft Flight Simulator, as this feature continues to evolve.

Source: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/rolling-cache-of-128gb-works-well-for-me/682043