FPS Drops with my Wheel Plugged In

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Dabullfrog91, May 2, 2017.

  1. Dabullfrog91

    Dabullfrog91 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2015
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    Hello All,

    I was wondering if anyone could help me. I have some old but good hardware. I have a Microsoft Sidewinder FFB Wheel with pedals. The other day I noticed I was locked to between 35 and 45 fps no matter what. I mean, it did not matter if my graphics settings were turned all the way down or everything was at its maximum. My system is more than capable:
    i5 4460
    16gb ddr3
    1060 gtx 6gb
    Also I should note, this is not a problem with Automobilista, Spintires, or Wreckfest.

    So, I messed around and finally found out what the problem is. Anytime my FFB wheel is plugged in my frames instant drop. If my wheel is unplugged and not running, its at 120 fps all day long. However, whats even more interesting is that I can literally unplug the power cord but keep the USB port to the wheel plugged in and my FPS is still down to between 35 and 45 fps. After some experimenting, I found that if I turn FFB intensity all the way to 0 (effectively turning it off in the in game settings) that also seems to fix the problem. So, it seems my old Sidewinder's FFB is to blame. I was not sure if there is a workaround? I read that it does not seem to be specific to only this wheel, I have seen that people with Thurstmasters and Logitechs have also experienced the same thing. Its got something to do with the FFB refresh rate according to what I have seen. However, I have no way to fix this on my own. I tried downloading the original MS Sidewinder driver from 1998 and although it seemed to install just fine running it in compatibility mode, it made no difference in performance. The wheel itself works flawlessly besides this and I simply don't have the money to go buy a new wheel. Looking into the RaceRoom Config settings they do not seem to have a config file for MS sidewinder (they do for just about everything else). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

    -J. Samples
     
  2. Dabullfrog91

    Dabullfrog91 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2015
    Ratings:
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    Oh one more thing, It did not matter what USB port I plugged it into. Every USB port had the same effect.
     
  3. Dabullfrog91

    Dabullfrog91 New Member

    Joined:
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    Big thanks to Georg Ortner who helped me fix this problem.

    Okay, so as it turns out, deleting that file (My Games\SimBin\RaceRoom Racing Experience) had the desired effect. It effectively fixed the problem completely!
     
    • Informative Informative x 1