Please support old Intel CPUs for DX12

[stuvi]

I am referring to this issue:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - PC | Technical Support — CD PROJEKT RED

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A lot of us have dated PCs with old Intel CPUs and would like to run the DX12 version of Witcher 3. A lot of games I have run fine with RT and DLSS except Witcher 3.

Yes I know I can run the DX11 version but then I don't get RT.

Thanks.

 

[R4zen_Hose_Tony]

DX12 mode is broken and is not optimized, has low cpu thread usage, lower from 20 to 50% less fps compered to DX11 and tuning On RT cause vmemory leak, making game unplayable in demanding areas (like Novigrad etc) even for rtx 3080 or 3090.

Without RT there is almost w No visual differences between dx11. Thats why using dx12 Mode on Old slow cpu is pointless.

 

[Nival973]

@Hose_Tony : RT is above all a GPU stuff, so I'm afraid it's more your answer which is "pointless". :/

There are very capable old CPUs and many recent games work fine with such procs, when they are paired with strong GPU, even with RT (my case ; probably the @stuvi's case ; and probably the case of many others (and not your case, I understood)).

So if it's possible that to be worry about RT is currently "pointless" because of lots of technical issues, this has nothing to do with the problem of the DX12 version not launching with old processors. (Especially since, contrary to your innuendo, many people enjoy the RT in the current version of Thre Withcher 3, even if no free from technical shortcomings.)

 

[John_Russell]

RT also takes extra CPU power which is why you have to pair up a 4090 with the latest Intel or AMD most powerful CPUs or it just won't reach it's full potential even at 4K

Actually the reason RT is pointless is tied to the issue you are experiencing in that the Game Engine isn't properly programmed to use the DX12 threading model correctly so even on a new high end CPU it is maxing out the 2 main threads at 100% quite often so it's probably taking your older CPU to 100% all the time and thus just pukes on startup. In other words if they fix the threading problem to spread the load across more cores which will also fix most of the RT problems then it will likely make your older CPU work again.

Unfortunately I don't expect that to happen until the Cyberpunk DLC drops and they can bring over a couple of the main players from the Cyberpunk game engine team to see what they can do to fix it. While that kind of sucks for us you really can't expect them to pull off people working on a PAID DLC to work on a free update for another game, that would be irresponsible from a business management standpoint

 

[Nival973]

It's stil two independent issues ...
And it's not because you hope one specific issue will be fix that you don't hope that another major issue will be fix too.

In the meantime, I sent an email to technical support and here is their answer (about the support of old CPUs) :

We have no information to share on that matter.

...

 

[John_Russell]

No it's not two separate issues, it's a CPU issue .... If the Threading is broken it's going to cause even more problems with older weaker CPUs that don't have as good single core performance because they are going to be at 100% more often and for longer periods of time .... Fixing the threading problem will likely automatically fix your problem and most likely your problem can't be fixed until they do fix the threading problem

They need to fix the main threading issue first and foremost because it will effect every other part of the game .... Anything less will be like sticking a band aid on an amputated limb

In the meantime just roll back to 1.32 if you want to play the game

 

[Nival973]

If the Threading is broken it's going to cause even more problems with older weaker CPUs that don't have as good single core performance because they are going to be at 100% more often and for longer periods of time

.... which has still nothing to do with old CPUs that can't launch the game ...
(which is definitively another and separate issue)

Fixing the threading problem will likely automatically fix your problem

Absolutely not ...
(because it has still nothing to do with performance issues)

Anyway, thanks for participating.

 

[John_Russell]

Start up problems are a performance problem ..... Anything and everything CPU related that isn't working correctly breaks every other aspect of a game or piece of software ..... Troubleshooting 101 - Fix the biggest and most obvious problem(s) first and most of the rest will fix themselves .... Right now this game is like a V-8 engine running on only 2 cylinders so of course it's going to have startup problems

But what would I know about computers, I've only been a Electronics Engineer since 1993 and before that I worked as a components tester for Gateway Computers back in the Wild West days of the IBM Compatible PCs

 

[Malautomedontolo]

Start up problems are a performance problem ..... Anything and everything CPU related that isn't working correctly breaks every other aspect of a game or piece of software ..... Troubleshooting 101 - Fix the biggest and most obvious problem(s) first and most of the rest will fix themselves .... Right now this game is like a V-8 engine running on only 2 cylinders so of course it's going to have startup problems

But what would I know about computers, I've only been a Electronics Engineer since 1993 and before that I worked as a components tester for Gateway Computers back in the Wild West days of the IBM Compatible PCs

Yeah you explained to him the situation and all you get is that somewhat pretentious answer lol. Thanks for participating btw!

Believe me nival, you don't wanna run the game on an older unsupported cpu until they fix the code and actually support dx12 multithreading properly, if they ever will. on my 10700k is a sh*tshow with rt on, so i can only imagine how it would be on even older gens. The game runs better on latest cpus because of the higher clocks and ipc, but it's still a mess cause it only relies on 2 cores tops. And DLSS3 improves the situation further by reducing the CPU bottleneck. So either you overcome the situation through overly expensive HW, or you get rid of DX12/RT altogether until it eventually gets better.

 

[Nival973]

@John_Russell @Malautomedontolo

Sorry but still no .

The game which doesn't launch problem with old CPU is a compatibility problem, that has still nothing to do with the performance issue.

Of course I won't enjoy the game if the current performance issue remains. But currently, enven if this will be fixed, the launching issue will still remain if not also fixed.

Because ... it's still and definitively an independant issue.

Sorry to hear that just explaining the actual situation can be considered as giving a "pretentious answer" .... But keep convincing yourself of what you want even if it's wrong if you want.

 

[UteausMuenchen]

Honestly: I would be happy if the game would run at least smoothly on DX11 - which it does not at all.
Even with DX 11 I suffer FPS drops below 30 and bad stuttering all the time.
I would play under any settings - what I want is simply to find any setting in which this awful Next Gen runs as smoothly as the GOTY before.
This is the one and only wish I have as Photo mode is not working anyway and I do not get the Thousand flowers armor for not using GOG and as I hate the Netflix stuff anyway. All I want is to be able to play my favorite game again as smoothly as it was before it was messed up.

 

[John_Russell]

OK let's try an analogy to explain the situation

You have a car with a blown up engine and you try to engage the starter and all it does is click. There are two possible things you can do

1. Install a new starter .... but chances are it's still going to do nothing but click because the engine is blown

2. Rebuild the blown engine .... chances are you can put the old starter on the rebuilt motor and it'll work just fine

 

[Nival973]

So ... you just still don't understand that the current game launching issue with old CPUs has still nothing to do with performance issues...

Let's try your analogy to explain the current situation : you have a car with a blown up engine AND a broken starter. Fix / replace the engine and the car will still never start if you don't also fix / replace the starter.

(For the umpteenth time : the launching problem issue with old CPUs is a pure compatibility issue.)

Is it clearer right now ? :/

 

[UteausMuenchen]

Yes I know I can run the DX11 version but then I don't get RT.

My PC meets just the recommended system requirements and I play on DirectX 11 and therefore without RT. But the game is still ruined by stuttering and low FPS. It's next to unplayable. I therefore really do not care about RT, all I want is the possibility to play my favorite game without getting a headache after 15 minutes.
At the moment, I am so frustrated, that I think about deinstalling it for good.

 

[stamddd]

It's stil two independent issues ...
And it's not because you hope one specific issue will be fix that you don't hope that another major issue will be fix too.

In the meantime, I sent an email to technical support and here is their answer (about the support of old CPUs) :

...

CDProject fix the AVX requirement!!!! Please make the game playable on older CPUs!!! This is outrageous!!! So many modern games uses DX12 and RTS at the same time!!! Like Cyberpunk, Plague Tale Requiem etc!!!

 

[stuvi]

FYI, Patch 4.01 fixed this issue. I can now play in DX12 with ray tracing turned on, with my 10 year old Sandy Bridge CPU and RTX 2070 at around 40 fps. Without RT and with DLSS, I get about 60-70 fps.

Thanks CDPR for addressing this issue promptly.