Who has smooth framrates below 60fps?

[Bossco82 11]

Hi,

 

All of my SF2 installs run at 60fps with vsync on. However if the framerate drops even slightly below 60 it looks awful, it might be at 50fps but looks more like 3fps. Is this normal or do I have a problem.

 

I only ask as while browsing the forum it seems that a lot of people find 30fps playable.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

[xclusiv8 35]

When you press Ctrl-D inside the game and you get that information text up in the center of the screen there are three different fps readouts. What are they showing for you when you get stutter like this?

[Slartibartfast 153]

Must admit I used to get decent frame rates below 60fps and it all seemed to run smoothly on my old PC... only time I had issues was when I turned up to the max and had a few slow moments with the Vietnam Mod with SAM's lighting off everywhere...

[SFP1Ace 33]

Flying in F-15A (I believe it's cockpit is the most taxing on performance of all TW fighters) I'm getting 40-50 FPS and it's silky smooth (everything set to Unlimited, plus detail mesh set to 8 from original 4)! JIttering starts at and below 30 FPS for me...

 

EDIT: And I'm using Track IR5 so smoothness is essential here

Edited December 14, 2010 by SFP1Ace

[Bossco82 11]

When you press Ctrl-D inside the game and you get that information text up in the center of the screen there are three different fps readouts. What are they showing for you when you get stutter like this?

 

Literally if it drops off 59fps it stutters, if it gets to below 56fps it stutters really badly. Its been like this for ages, in fact i've changed graphics cards twice in this time I just never thought I had a problem until I read about others getting smooth gamplay as low as 30fps.

 

It happens in all my SF2 titles which include SF2, SF2V and SF2E. I know its nothing to do with my mods as it happens with a vanilla install. I tried disabling vsync but then I have a kind of micro stutter.

 

I mostly play camplaigns in SF2V and I thought the new multicore support would get rid of any fps drops, however it hasn't improved things that much.

 

System specs,

I5 760 @ 4GHZ

4GB DDR3 @ 1600mhz

Gigabyte P55 UD6 Mobo

GTX470 @ 800/1600/1860

HP 2210i monitor, 1920,1080 60hertz

 

Mike are you still using your GTX 460, if so what drivers are you using?

Edited December 14, 2010 by Boostjunky

[SFP1Ace 33]

Yep, still 460 GTX allright ;). The first offcial drivers for my card, 258.96, seems to work the best. I've also used later drivers - 263.06 and 265.90 quadro (using modded *.inf file) but these literally HALVED my FPS! So I'm back with the good 'ol 258.96.

[Gr.Viper 131]

With vsync on the moment your fps goes below 60, sync forces it to 30.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=928593

[SFP1Ace 33]

With vsync on the moment your fps goes below 60, sync forces it to 30.

http://hardforum.com...ad.php?t=928593

 

Yep, unless you use triplebuffering. Which, AFAIK, SF doesn't use.

[Bossco82 11]

The relation between vsync and screen hetz seems like my problem. I disabled vsync and forced triple buffering in my nvidia driver but I still got tearing.

 

However I discovered that with high settings, mirrors on and using an EO weapon over Haiphong in Linebacker 2 my fps dont drop below 48fps shown in game.

 

Is there any way around this vsync problem i'm experiencing in SF2 because 48fps would look smooth. I dont really want to have to buy a screen that has a lower refresh rate.

 

Cheers

 

 

[+Sundowner 4,818]

Did you try to disable vsync in your "Options" ini ? Its in your Saved Games/Thirdwire/whatever game folder.

 

 

[GraphicsOptions]

DisplayDeviceID=0

DisplayWidth=1680

DisplayHeight=1050

DisplayDepth=32

AspectRatio=1.600000

AntiAliasing=4

UseAdvancedShaders=1

ForceDX9=FALSE

ForceVSyncOff=FALSE

LensFlare=0

DetailLevel=4

ObjectDetail=2

ObjectTexture=3

CockpitTexture=3

CockpitMirrors=1

CockpitReflection=1

EffectsDetail=3

TerrainDetail=2

TerrainTexture=3

HorizonDistance=0

GroundObjectDensity=3

WaterDetail=2

CloudsDetail=2

Shadow=2

[Bossco82 11]

Thanks for the reply.

 

Yes I disabled vsync and enabled triple buffering in the nvidia control panel and set "ForceVSyncOff=TRUE" in the options.ini. It improved the tearing in level flight but it was still very obvious if you roll the aircraft.

 

What setting are people that have smooth framrates below 60fps using?

[SFP1Ace 33]

Perhaps you should try an older set of ForceWare drivers? Which 1 are you using atm?

[Bossco82 11]

Perhaps you should try an older set of ForceWare drivers? Which 1 are you using atm?

 

I'm using 260.89 mate.

[Bossco82 11]

Perhaps you should try an older set of ForceWare drivers? Which 1 are you using atm?

 

I'm gonna try 258.96, Mike what screen and operating system are you using mate?

[+Sundowner 4,818]

Hmmm, summat strange going on m8, your rig should be able to blitz it all maxed out without any problems. I use ATI myself so my settings wont be much use to you.

 

It's not summat stupid like a sound problem or summat running in the background is it..just a thought m8.

[SFP1Ace 33]

I'm gonna try 258.96, Mike what screen and operating system are you using mate?

 

Sony Bravia 32EX500 @ 1920x1080 plus Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit. Good Luck!

 

P.S. Make sure to set VSYNC to Force Off in NV control panel if you haven't done so already. Another thing is to increase/decrease "Maximum pre-rendered frames" option there and see if that makes any difference.

[Bossco82 11]

Sony Bravia 32EX500 @ 1920x1080 plus Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit. Good Luck!

 

P.S. Make sure to set VSYNC to Force Off in NV control panel if you haven't done so already. Another thing is to increase/decrease "Maximum pre-rendered frames" option there and see if that makes any difference.

 

Thanks Mike, well i'm using 1920x1080 and Windows Home Premium 64 bit, so thats not the problem. Do you run SF2 with Vsync enabled mate? I'll try the pre rendered setting mate.

[SFP1Ace 33]

I run with VSync forced off. But at what patch level are you playing mate? I've heard that EXP2 (December-2010 B level) worked wonders FPS-wise for some ppl.

[Bossco82 11]

I'm patched to decB aswell, my problem isn't exactly framerates. With unlimited setting over hanoi in linebacker 2 using an EO weapon my fps is in the mid 40's. However if I don't enable vsync I get stuttering/tearing. Its not so bad that you can see it when flying straight and level but in any maneuver its as if the screen can't keep up.

 

When it stutters I see anything from 45-210fps, my problem is somehow vsync off/refresh rate related. I'm starting to wonder if its my screen. How are you connecting to your Sony screen, DVI,VGA or HDMI?

[SFP1Ace 33]

So from your posts I gather that this problem appears (stuttering below 60 FPS) no mater what VSync setting you're using....Very odd indeed.

 

1. Are playing stock or heavily modded SF2? If its the latter then try removing all mods.

2. Another thing to check is to display in-game FPS counter (pres alt+d twice). FLIGHT FPS will be your Geforce's generated framerate while GAME FPS will be game's engine/physics framerate. Now mate please check what's the GAME FPS when this stuttering occurs (when your FLIGHT FPS in the 40-50 range).

3. Try them 258 drivers if you haven't already.

4. Now this is a long shot but turn off any antivurs/firewall/bittorrent software running in the background.

 

EDIT: 5. Set your CPU and GPU to stock clocks.

EDIT2: I made a mistake, should've written GRAPHIC instead of FLIGHT FPS, baka baka me :P

Edited December 14, 2010 by SFP1Ace

[Bossco82 11]

Thanks for the reply Mike,

 

1. Tried a vanilla install mate same problem.

2. I've checked the FPS counter, it stutters at 40fps-210fps which leads me to believe its something to do with having vsync off and a screen thats set to 60 hertz. If I have vsync enabled the stutter isn't there as long as I my system can produce 60fps, as soon as it drops below that it stutters.

3. Got the 258.96 drivers installed mate but no difference.

4. It could only be antivirus but thats been disabled too, I've also tried disbling aero but no luck.

5. Tried stock clocks on GPU and CPU too, no change although in game fps is obviously less.

 

I'm stumped mate, my system should be able to run SF2 maxed with all the eye candy since DecB. Like I said my FPS is easily high enough, its like the screen i've got just doesn't cope unless its getting a strict 60fps.

[SFP1Ace 33]

I don't really now what other advice I can give you mate :(. Maybe just do a clean install of windows? Lots of wor but the result is doubtful....Another, temporary solution migt be to lower details (say Horizon to High or Normal, Mirrors Off) so you can have 60 FPS all the time). In future this odd behaviour might be resolved by either patch or driver update....

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention I'm using DVI to HDMI cable.

Edited December 14, 2010 by SFP1Ace

[Bossco82 11]

I don't really now what other advice I can give you mate :(. Maybe just do a clean install of windows? Lots of wor but the result is doubtful....Another, temporary solution migt be to lower details (say Horizon to High or Normal, Mirrors Off) so you can have 60 FPS all the time). In future this odd behaviour might be resolved by either patch or driver update....

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention I'm using DVI to HDMI cable.

 

 

Thanks Mike, well I wouldn't have noticed until I installed decB and got no impovement from turning up my settings, all cores are being used but its not enough to give a solid 60fps. It could be something to do with Windows 7 64 bit!

 

I thought I installed something wrong but then noticed other SF2 users get smooth framerates below 60fps when for me anything below that results in this stutter. I've got 2 tv's that accept hdmi so i'm going to plug the pc into those to see if there is a difference. I'll keep investigating it and if I find the solution i'll be sure to post it up.

 

Thanks again for all the replies:good:

Edited December 14, 2010 by Boostjunky

[+swambast 722]

Boostjunky - I'll make it simple for ya and would even wager a bet on this one. The problem MOST LIKELY is with the GTX video cards and the 200 series DRIVERS on a multicore system using HDMI connection. For some there are no issues, but for many (myself included) it is very frustrating and disappointing! Not sure you saw this post of mine, but to share again:

 

Well, the conclusion I have reached is with the new GeForce GTX460 graphics card the 260.99 drivers are total crap - but especially with older DirectX9 based games. This has been confirmed in numerous forums as well, and it appears most owners of this card are waiting for a driver update...myself included. With the 8800 series card I had, I was easily in the 50s-60s frame rates no problem at 1920x1080.

 

But this problem is with the new FERMI architecture as it is causing some major problems with older titles resulting in an inappropriate GPU utilization which then adds unnecessary stress/allocation back to the CPU, as implied here: "We still have not yet determined the root cause but looks related to our multi-core optimizations. I expect that the fix will also address the low GPU usage issue as well. We haven't looked into DX10 but once we figure out what is causing this micro-stuttering issue and have a fix, I'll take a look at DX10. It is likely that is related."

 

What the heck were the Nvidia Quality Assurance Testers smoking when they released this driver...???

Well, wanted to post an update just in case others with the GTX460 are experiencing this problem...

 

I have also tried modified .INF files using the 263.09 and even a few hybrids, but none seem to make a difference. However, what DID provide me a temporary fix until Nvidia updates those POS drivers is to cap the frames using a limiter combined with a custom game profile using the Nvidia Control Panel.

 

Time permitting, I would like to explore and test rolling back the drivers to the earliest versions that were created to support the GTX series, which I have not researched yet. Let me know what you might find and I would be happy to lend a hand in the research/testing.

 

Steve

[SFP1Ace 33]

Boostjunky - I'll make it simple for ya and would even wager a bet on this one. The problem MOST LIKELY is with the GTX video cards and the 200 series DRIVERS on a multicore system using HDMI connection. For some there are no issues, but for many (myself included) it is very frustrating and disappointing! Not sure you saw this post of mine, but to share again:

 

Well, the conclusion I have reached is with the new GeForce GTX460 graphics card the 260.99 drivers are total crap - but especially with older DirectX9 based games. This has been confirmed in numerous forums as well, and it appears most owners of this card are waiting for a driver update...myself included. With the 8800 series card I had, I was easily in the 50s-60s frame rates no problem at 1920x1080.

 

But this problem is with the new FERMI architecture as it is causing some major problems with older titles resulting in an inappropriate GPU utilization which then adds unnecessary stress/allocation back to the CPU, as implied here: "We still have not yet determined the root cause but looks related to our multi-core optimizations. I expect that the fix will also address the low GPU usage issue as well. We haven't looked into DX10 but once we figure out what is causing this micro-stuttering issue and have a fix, I'll take a look at DX10. It is likely that is related."

 

What the heck were the Nvidia Quality Assurance Testers smoking when they released this driver...???

Well, wanted to post an update just in case others with the GTX460 are experiencing this problem...

 

I have also tried modified .INF files using the 263.09 and even a few hybrids, but none seem to make a difference. However, what DID provide me a temporary fix until Nvidia updates those POS drivers is to cap the frames using a limiter combined with a custom game profile using the Nvidia Control Panel.

 

Time permitting, I would like to explore and test rolling back the drivers to the earliest versions that were created to support the GTX series, which I have not researched yet. Let me know what you might find and I would be happy to lend a hand in the research/testing.

 

Steve

 

Agreed, I remember reading such info on nvidia forums, and 2xx series forceware is considered porked when it comesto fermi cards. Tonight I'll try to mod older 197 drivers to support my GTX 460 - maybe these will yeld even better framerates?