Game Stutters if it Goes Beyond 40 FPS

[vincentclaw]

Game Stutters if it Goes Beyond 40 FPS

After a very long time of trial and error trying to figure out what's causing the game to stutter i realized that capping the frame rate to 40fps in the user ini file the game runs fine in the most CPU intensive locations, but if fps left unlocked, it reaches 60fps alright but really really stutters and i get massive CPU spikes when it does.

Is there anything else i could do to fix the stutters other than capping the frame rate?

I run it on 1080p

GTX 970
8GB RAM
I5 3330 @3.00

Thanks.

 

[SigilFey]

Ever since I started my 1.31 playthrough, I've noticed massively more stable visuals (almost 0% pop-in, no shadow weirdness, no NPCs materializing out of the ether 2 feet in front of me). But, I also noticed that overall performance dropped by about 5-10 FPS overall. I would get random FPS drops (not really hitching or stuttering, but raw performance degradation) seemingly at random. Manually locking the frame limit to 48 FPS (edit user.settings --> FPSLimit=XX) has resulted in flawless performance throughout the entire game. I'm wrapping up the main quest now. Wandering casually around White Orchard on a sunny day = 48 FPS. Fighting in the streets of downtown Novigrad during a thunderstorm = 48 FPS. Battling 4 drowners and 2 foglets in a foggy swamp in Velen = 48 FPS. Galloping full tilt through a thick mountain forest in Skellige while being chased by a wyvern = 48 FPS.

My guess is that the game wants plenty of performance overhead to manage processes and accurate frame-timing. 48 FPS is a nice balance. Long distance panning can produce a slight jitter when looking around, but the eye adjusts quickly to this.

Running 1080p, Fullscreen, Ultra settings + shadow tweaks, Hairworks Off, Vsync On

i7-4790K
16 GB RAM
GTX 980 ti
Samsung EVO SSD

Try 48 -- it might be the balance you're looking for. If you continue to get stutters, try lowering the game resolution one step (e.g. 1920x1080 --> 1600x900), ensuring you have "No scaling" selected under Nvidia Control Panel. (The game will run with a black border around the image-space, but it will increase your overall performance significantly.)

 

[WalteriusMaximus]

I can confirm from a previous suggestion SigilFey made to lock the FPS at 48 has resulted in my game also running absolutely flawlessly!

 

[MitchB84]

Except for the whole 48FPS thing. Flawless I think not. I don't have any issues with stuttering and I use a 144hz 1440 g sync screen with uncapped frame rate. Perhaps something else needs to be looked at.

6850k @ 4Ghz
16GB 3200 DDR4
MSI 1080 Gaming X

Didn't have issues with my old rig, either.

3770k 4.5
16GB 1600 DDR4 980 SLI

 

[WalteriusMaximus]

Except for the whole 48FPS thing. Flawless I think not. I don't have any issues with stuttering and I use a 144hz 1440 g sync screen with uncapped frame rate. Perhaps something else needs to be looked at.

6850k @ 4Ghz
16GB 3200 DDR4
MSI 1080 Gaming X

Didn't have issues with my old rig, either.

3770k 4.5
16GB 1600 DDR4 980 SLI

Not everyone will have issues, sure. But that does not invalidate those who do. And capping the framerate DOES resolve it. For some. Unless you want to tell me I am lying?

 

[MitchB84]

In no way did I state that your fix didn't work for you. My point is playing at 48 FPS is not what I would call flawless.

 

[SigilFey]

In no way did I state that your fix didn't work for you. My point is playing at 48 FPS is not what I would call flawless.

Flawless = no errors. If the performance does not fluctuate even a single frame up or down, that's flawless performance. It's not "blazing" performance; it's rock-solid performance at 48 FPS. Think of it as the difference between a massive truck and a sportscar:

If I buy a truck and try to race it, I'll be woefully disappointed -- even though the truck is performing flawlessly as a truck. It's not meant for racing. In order to race, I'll need a sportscar. If I buy a sportscar...I can't haul weight. Different engines, different machines, different purposes.

The same is true of TW3's engine. Complex, RPG engines are not "built for speed"; they're built to haul an enormous amount of data around. There's far more going on in games like TW3, Skyrim, and Dragon Age than simply processing triangles, HT&L, and filters. That's why many of these games are hard-capped at 60 FPS or less.

 

[Daniel_Munford]

Flawless = no errors. If the performance does not fluctuate even a single frame up or down, that's flawless performance. It's not "blazing" performance; it's rock-solid performance at 48 FPS. Think of it as the difference between a massive truck and a sportscar:

If I buy a truck and try to race it, I'll be woefully disappointed -- even though the truck is performing flawlessly as a truck. It's not meant for racing. In order to race, I'll need a sportscar. If I buy a sportscar...I can't haul weight. Different engines, different machines, different purposes.

The same is true of TW3's engine. Complex, RPG engines are not "built for speed"; they're built to haul an enormous amount of data around. There's far more going on in games like TW3, Skyrim, and Dragon Age than simply processing triangles, HT&L, and filters. That's why many of these games are hard-capped at 60 FPS or less.

It is interesting to see that the game really causes little stuttering in this amount of fps, but to my eyes it seems to be in "slow motion", maybe it's because I'm not used to it, anyway, is this the only way to solve this problem?

 

[SigilFey]

It is interesting to see that the game really causes little stuttering in this amount of fps, but to my eyes it seems to be in "slow motion", maybe it's because I'm not used to it, anyway, is this the only way to solve this problem?

Heh...even this is not "guaranteed" to fix anything. Depends on your system. But yes, frame-timing is very often the reason a game will stutter, not low FPS or a lack of processing power.