Solved: Getting F-Zero X to Run at 60 FPS in 2020 [Windows 10]

[StyleKrong]

Wanted to document a working config for F-Zero X here in case anyone else might find it useful. I had almost given up hope of finding a working solution after trying virtually every combination of setting adjustments for a clean install of Project 64 2.3.

This thread with posts from 2017 really helped out a lot with troubleshooting for F-Zero X, which I'd say is arguably unplayable without 100% stable 60 FPS.

As a note, a patched HD version of F-Zero is available in beta. It's got some nice improvements to draw distance, and may be worth experimenting with if you're troubleshooting with frame stability. You should be able to find it as top result by Googling "F-Zero X HD Patch".

I had previously been playing on Windows 7 using Project64 2.1, a Radeon graphics card, and a very specific version of the Glide64 graphics plugin in place of Jabo's (the plugin installation required "glide3x.dll" to be placed in the main Project 64 folder, which is now an outdated practice as far as I can tell). The render was blurry, but it provided stable 60 FPS.

When moving my installation folder to my Windows 10 system, the version of the Glide64 Plugin used in that setup could no longer be detected as a selectable option for the video/graphics plugin. This may have been related to switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10, or it may be an issue related to Radeon vs Nvidia graphics cards. I was unable to find a fix for this issue.

The documentation and download sources used for the old configuration are also no longer available online, with sources from around 2005 finally being taken offline.

The good news is that it seems that there's a viable configuration for 2020 using Windows 10, that may also work for Windows 7 users as well.

Specs:
Windows 10 (64-bit)
Nvidia Graphics Card
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Processor
Project 64 Version 2.3.2.202

Check Your Monitor Settings:
First thing to do - set your monitor refresh rate to 59 Hertz. This is a critical adjustment to make. Many thanks to KayJay from the 2017 thread for pointing this out. The amount of frames being lost to 60 Hertz felt like the game was experiencing slowdowns / stuttering in some places, when in actuality it was running just fine behind a bad refresh rate setting. I had no idea this setting had such a huge impact on visual performance.

If you're running in full screen, ensure that the selected resolution is also 59 Hz to match your monitor settings.

Configure Project 64's ROM Settings:
Video Plugin: Glide64 For PJ64: 2.1.2.202 (This should come as a default option for Project 64 Version 2.3)

Recompiler-> CPU core style: set to Interpreter

Memory size: 8 MB (Default is 4 MB)
Counter factor: Set to 1 (Default is 2)
32-bit engine: Checked
Fixed audio timing: Checked (This should be checked by default. The only reason for this note is that many guides suggest unchecking this for a majority of games. F-Zero X is an exception.)
Sync using audio: Unchecked (I did some extensive testing with this option checked in a variety of different combinations - there doesn't appear to be any group of settings that make this a viable option for F-Zero X.)

All other settings should be left in their default states.

Even one frame of instability can ruin the entire experience of F-Zero X.

Hope this helps anyone who's running into issues with getting smooth playback up and running.