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Performance Issues (Very Subpar Fps) On A Fairly Decent Rig.

Started by mariomanz28, Mar 15 2014 05:00 PM

9 replies to this topic

#1 mariomanz28

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Posted 15 March 2014 - 05:00 PM

I am going ahead and posting here in relation to the new Technical post that said this:

Quote

If you feel performance is below par for you please drop by the patch feedback forum and submit your experience and we’ll continue to work with users having issues until we are confident that no major performance issues remain.


FAIR WARNING THIS WILL PROBABLY BE A VERY LONG POST

I have to say that yes, I feel performance is sub par for me. I recently upgraded to a EVGA GTX 770 Superclocked. After this patch the performance in game is absolutely abysmal. No matter what settings pretty much every match once it gets going is in the 20-40 FPS range, sometimes it dips lower.

Now I have experienced the "Stutter" that a lot of people have mentioned which I felt was due to the shaders reloading themselves and after a while of playing that issue went away. However my FPS for most of a match is horrible.

I just sat down for the last few hours running tests using the Benchmark tool in FRAPS to give me my min/max/avg FPS during a match. While not the most accurate way to measure, since I get 80+ FPS in testing grounds I opted to test in live matches since that is where it counts the most and since I cannot pick what map to drop on it's incredibly hard to get definitive results on a per map basis. So what I did was run 2 test matches per each of the 4 different graphical settings I tested. 2 of those 4 Graphical settings were settings I have been running to get decent performance (even though I still dip into the 20s) on each DX9 and DX11 and then another batch at Very High settings set by the "System Specification" setting each on DX9 and DX11.

Basic System Information (I will post my DxDiag at the end of the post):

Quote

Computer:
Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8 Professional
OS Service Pack -
Internet Explorer 9.10.9200.16721
DirectX DirectX 11.0
Computer Name MAKO
User Name mario_000
Logon Domain MAKO
Date / Time 2014-03-15 / 20:14

Motherboard:
CPU Type QuadCore AMD Phenom II X4 Black Edition 980, 3700 MHz (18.5 x 200)
Motherboard Name Asus M5A97 Evo (2 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset AMD 970, AMD K10
System Memory 8153 MB (DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM)
DIMM3: Corsair CMZ8GX3M2X1600C7 4 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-17 @ 457 MHz)
DIMM4: Corsair CMZ8GX3M2X1600C7 4 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (7-7-7-20 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-17 @ 457 MHz)
BIOS Type AMI (12/07/2011)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (2048 MB)
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (2048 MB)
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (2048 MB)
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (2048 MB)
Monitor Acer AL1916W [19" LCD] (L76020444133)
Monitor Sceptre X24WG [24" LCD] (17411170)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Creative SB X-Fi Fatality XtremeGamer Sound Card
Audio Adapter nVIDIA HDMI/DP @ nVIDIA GK104 - High Definition Audio Controller

Storage:
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard SATA AHCI Controller
Storage Controller Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller
Disk Drive WDC WD1001FAES-00W7A0 (931 GB)
Disk Drive WDC WD3200KS-00PFB0 (298 GB)
Disk Drive Seagate USB 3.0 Cable USB Device (931 GB, USB)
Disk Drive ST3500641AS (500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Optical Drive ATAPI iHAS124 B (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:8x, DVD+RW:24x/8x, DVD-RW:24x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Optical Drive DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK


For the sake of simplifying things I will use the terms Config 1, Config 2, etc for each test result.


Quote

Config 1:
Resolution: 1920x1200
Screen Mode: Full screen
DirectX Setting: DX11
Motion Blur: Off
V-Sync: Off
Damage Glow: On
Effects: Low
Object Detail: Medium
Particles: Low
Post Processing: Low
Shading: Low
Shadows: Low
Texturing: Very High
Environment: Low
PostAA: Off


Quote

Config 2:
Resolution: 1920x1200
Screen Mode: Full screen
DirectX Setting: DX9
Motion Blur: Off
V-Sync: Off
Damage Glow: On
Effects: Low
Object Detail: Medium
Particles: Low
Post Processing: Low
Shading: Low
Shadows: Low
Texturing: Very High
Environment: Low
PostAA: Off


Quote

Config 3:
Resolution: 1920x1200
Screen Mode: Full screen
DirectX Setting: DX11
Motion Blur: Off
V-Sync: Off
Damage Glow: On
System Specification: Very High


Quote

Config 4:
Resolution: 1920x1200
Screen Mode: Full screen
DirectX Setting: DX9
Motion Blur: Off
V-Sync: Off
Damage Glow: On
System Specification: Very High


Now onto the important information, performance:

Quote

Config #1 Test #1 Min/Max/Avg FPS 30/114/46; Test #2 Min/Max/Avg FPS 23/69/41
Config #2 Test #1 Min/Max/Avg FPS 31/106/47; Test #2 Min/Max/Avg FPS 27/99/40
Config #3 Test #1 Min/Max/Avg FPS 19/81/36; Test #2 Min/Max/Avg FPS 23/79/38
Config #4 Test #1 Min/Max/Avg FPS 24/84/37; Test #2 Min/Max/Avg FPS 11/61/32


A few things to note, at the start of most matches I get 80+ FPS. Usually 100+ During the ready screen. The same goes for the end of match screen. This also tends to skew the Average FPS a bit but I tried as much as possible to only run the benchmark during the match when I was actually using my mech. As you can also see there's not too much difference for me between DX9 and DX11. Another thing to note is that the graphical settings have minimal impact on overall performance, it's always pretty poor. As you can tell almost every single test match dropped below 30 FPS. This should not even be possible with a GTX 770, let alone with most settings being on LOW.

Considering my entire computer meets or exceeds the "BEST" system requirements for MWO I feel I should be getting FAR more FPS that I am. Also note that MWO is the ONLY game I have a FPS issue with. Every other game I have tried or play has ran at 60+ on the highest settings possible.

Additional Note #1: I have no idea why the summary screen for AIDA64 is showing my memory being DDR3-1333 as the SPD screen in AIDA64 is showing the proper speed being DDR3-1600 @ 7-8-8-24 timings.

Additional Note #2: Using all latest drivers available.

Complete DxDiag for reference:
Spoiler

#2 NRP

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Posted 15 March 2014 - 05:51 PM

It's not your GPU. The game is CPU limited. Try setting the Environment, Object Detail, and Shadows options to "Low" in the Advanced menu of the Video settings menu. This should reduce the load on your CPU.

#3 Goose

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Posted 15 March 2014 - 06:03 PM

Look:

Big numbers in the testing ground, but no where else, is systemic of the CPU bottleneck often reported.

DX11 seems to add CPU load, instead of reducing it as was prognosticated: I can only assume your "config4test2" was on one of the hard maps, like Frozen City Day, Forrest Colony Snow, or River City.

Defalut AA is PostAA, so turning it off has maybe ~1fps benefit; Damage Glow is has been sighted as a problem childe, so turn it off.

Environment, Shadows, and Particles all pretty much have to be set to medium or less, and there's talk of Object Detail loading CPUs, also.

Shaders is sort of like Textures: If it doesn't load up it's part of the GPU (GPU load, and GPU memory, respectively,) you can bump them up some.

You probably have to set a frame rate limit to bring up you minimum:
sys_budget_fps = 45
sys_MaxFPS = 45
is the order of the day, as sometimes one will work instead of the other.

#4 mariomanz28

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Posted 15 March 2014 - 06:44 PM

In case you didn't notice in both Config 1 and 2 Environment and Shadows are both set to Low while Object Detail is set to Medium already. Low on Object detail is terrible to look at, for example it makes the Catapult's cockpit windows look like they are falling out and it makes the Orion's circular hands look like triangles. That is one thing that will not get set any lower than medium.

As for being CPU limited I understand that. Problem is though my CPU is an entire CLASS level above the "BEST" on the system requirements of MWO according to PGI. They recommend an Athlon II X4 680, I have a Phenom II X4 980

Also another thing to note at no time while playing (I have an applet for my G13 that shows the CPU load) does my CPU max out and the GPU is also running about 50% or so load.

Again going by the "BEST" recommended system specs according to PGI I should not be getting the performance I am considering how far above the "BEST" line I am, especially considering most of the settings are already on low and still dipping sub 30 FPS.

Config 4 Test 2 was Frozen City Night on DX9.

Edited by mariomanz28, 15 March 2014 - 08:29 PM.

#5 Goose

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Posted 15 March 2014 - 10:11 PM

View Postmariomanz28, on 15 March 2014 - 06:44 PM, said:

In case you didn't notice in both Config 1 and 2 Environment and Shadows are both set to Low while Object Detail is set to Medium already. Low on Object detail is terrible to look at, for example it makes the Catapult's cockpit windows look like they are falling out and it makes the Orion's circular hands look like triangles. That is one thing that will not get set any lower than medium.

Yeah: Anything set to low makes the game feel bad, man.

View Postmariomanz28, on 15 March 2014 - 06:44 PM, said:

Also another thing to note at no time while playing (I have an applet for my G13 that shows the CPU load) does my CPU max out and the GPU is also running about 50% or so load.

About that:
Posted Image
Multi-core CPUs make that stat less then useful: Note the 17.something percent on the top chart? :D

View Postmariomanz28, on 15 March 2014 - 06:44 PM, said:

As for being CPU limited I understand that. Problem is though my CPU is an entire CLASS level above the "BEST" on the system requirements of MWO according to PGI. They recommend an Athlon II X4 680, I have a Phenom II X4 980
…
Again going by the "BEST" recommended system specs according to PGI I should not be getting the performance I am considering how far above the "BEST" line I am, especially considering most of the settings are already on low and still dipping sub 30 FPS.

I can't defend the published specs; All I know is there are a lot of unhappy people whom don't have overclocked Sandy Bridges around here … B)

At any rate: I suspect you don't have the CPU for DX11, and recommend doing some tests with an overall Medium setting in DX9.

Also: Look around the forum for user.cfg suggestions. :D

#6 mariomanz28

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Posted 16 March 2014 - 07:58 AM

View PostGoose, on 15 March 2014 - 10:11 PM, said:

At any rate: I suspect you don't have the CPU for DX11, and recommend doing some tests with an overall Medium setting in DX9.


Check Config #2. Pretty much everything on low except Textures and Object Detail and was also DX9. Comparing the results I actually see very little difference in performance between DX9 and DX11.

#7 NRP

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Posted 16 March 2014 - 08:51 AM

It's not that your CPU is bad either. The game is draw call limited. Too many draw calls generated per frame can overwhelm even the best CPU. It's an inefficiency with DirectX. Hopefully PGI is working on this.

Anyway, Matt already said there is a bug introduced in the current patch that causes the GPU to trash its caches, which causes the "stuttering" early in the match. He said this will be fixed on Tuesday. Hopefully, this will also help performance in general.

#8 Sen

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Posted 16 March 2014 - 09:00 AM

Quote

[color=#959595]The game is draw call limited. Too many draw calls generated per frame can overwhelm even the best CPU.[/color]
If I read the article correctly, I believe this is something they will be addressing in DX12. Of course, they haven't TECHNICALLY officially announced anything, so grain of salt.

#9 Goose

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Posted 17 March 2014 - 12:02 PM

Set 2 has both your highest minimum and maximum framerate(s), ergo: Get off DX11 …

Oh; You left damage glow on: A mistake.

#10 mariomanz28

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 01:01 AM

View PostGoose, on 17 March 2014 - 12:02 PM, said:

Set 2 has both your highest minimum and maximum framerate(s), ergo: Get off DX11 …

Oh; You left damage glow on: A mistake.


A marginal difference really. I shouldn't be seeing 20s or 30s with this setup on those settings regardless of DX9 or DX11. Hence something is wrong and the reason I am posting this to let PGI know about my configuration and performance since that is what Matt asked for.

We are talking less than 10 FPS difference also recorded across different maps and different starting areas. This makes a big difference as well. Notice Config 1 Test 1 (DX11) actually achieved a higher max FPS than the DX9 one? Some matches and some maps when I start out after the mech startup sequence I might see numbers as high as 90 FPS and some maps and matches I might start out as low as 50 FPS. Doesn't matter whether I am on DX9 or 11.

I'm not here to talking about a 1 or 10 FPS difference between this and that, the point was to get numbers across multiple games, maps, and settings to show that overall performance is very poor no matter what settings are tweaked or fine tuned.

Also it turns out reading deeper into the Feedback thread for the Tech Update Matt went on to post a list of CPUs and performance benchmarks and what he considers to be low, mid range, and high end performance on CPUs where being 4000-7000 rating is what most modern computers run and 7000+ is considered high end. My CPU falls within the "normal" or "mid level" range. The processor used on the AMD side for the "Best" system requirements listed is in the low end range and over 1000 points of rating slower than my CPU. Seeing as how I have a mid level CPU and a decently high end GPU I should definitely be getting more than 20-30 FPS average on low settings.

Now hopefully today's patch will fix some of that, if not all. I also took the liberty of staying up all night reformatting my rig and upgrading to Windows 8.1 which Matt also said had some improvements in CPU handling vs Windows 8. I plan on jumping on and doing a few more tests before the patch hits to see if 8.1 improved the performance any then also doing tests after the patch.

For now though it's 5 AM here and I'm dead so time to hug the pillows.
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