Rig Tuning, Spotlight

Process Lasso – Simple First Tune

on/7 comments
This initial setup for Process Lasso will help with the most common tuning issue facing DCS VR Pilots running SteamVR

Keeping DCS and SteamVR process on separate cores will eliminate some types of stutter and drag for VR users.

[CLICK HERE for a deeper dive video]

This does NOT apply to Oculus Rift users.
The Rift processes do not react well to Core restrictions and appear to manage to keep away from busy cores on their own.

CPU Core Binding Goals
  • Lock DCS to specific cores for on-going process management.
  • Ensure the VR process keep away from DCS when running.
  • Setup DCS to later ensure other windows processes do not impede either of those critical process groups.
Processes Initial Focus
  • DCS.exe
  • (Steam) VR Compositor
  • (Steam) VR Server.exe
  • Other Steam Services
Cores
  • A (6) Core CPU running Hyperthreading shows (12) Cores.
  • Core 0 & 1 being Physical Core 0 and it’s Virtual Core 1.
  • All even cores are physical, all odd cores are virtual.
Enabling

Decide which two Cores to lock DCS into.

If you choose the top two Cores to lock DCS.EXE to, with Hyperthreading on, you would select Cores (8-9) (10-11).

To keep Steam processing away from DCS.exe, you would make those cores not available to the steam process. Simply by checking the boxes for all Cores and unchecking the boxes for (8-9) and (10-11).

  • The best way to do this is to run the applications/SteamVR and DCS in VR mode.
  • Run Process Lasso and find the processes noted above.
  • Right-click on the process and select “CPU Affinity/Always/Select CPU Affinity”.
  • Then walk through locking the process in or out of your chosen schema.

There are 7 comments

  1. mariner3302

    Is the Pro (paid) version of Lasso necessary and/or does it bring an improvement over what the free version does? I think its important to support developers that put hard work into a product if it is something that will benefit me.

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    1. Thud

      Tough call.
      I use the purchased version and have for so long, I can’t remember off the top of my head. But I’ll look at it again.
      What’s important is 1) Core Management for apps. 2) IO Management 3) Stopping pop-up processes you haven’t dealt with directly from interfering while running.

      Some of that can be done with really good OS tuning. Then it’s down to core management.

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  2. Daniel William Wa

    Is the Pro (paid) version of Lasso necessary and does it bring an improvement over what the free version does? I think its important to support developers that put hard work into a product if it is something that will benefit me.

    Like

    1. Thud

      Thanks for dropping in!
      Much of the information should be helpful for most simulations. VR and Rig tuning are universal needs I think. I fly IL2 on occasion, if there are specific topics you think may be helpful to IL2 please let me know.

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    1. Thud

      Yes – this is for ensuring SteamVR running behind any game behaves as it should. IL2 doesn’t have the issues DCS does, it’s not 100% needed for IL2.

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