30fps on PC?

[jimbroski]

My PC is most likely not strong enough to run Fallout 4 on 1080p and 60fps. So what I want to do is to lock the fps at 30. But since I just can't achieve the smoothness of 30fps like on consoles, I'm actually considering buying it on PS4.

FX-8350
R9 270x
970a-g43
EVGA 750 B2
Windows 7

I'm wondering if any of you have any idea how to run a steady 30fps like on console.

And by that, I mean that when you slowly look around while your framerate being locked at 30, there are small stutterings that make the whole experience feel "juddery" and really unpleasant.

I tested this with Far Cry 4 on PS4 vs The Witcher 3, Fallout 3 and Skyrim on PC at 30fps and they all have the same problem (I use RadeonPro and RivaTuner to limit the fps) while Far Cry 4 feels smooth like butter. All the tests were made on the same HDTV, with the same controller type (Dualshock 4) and the difference was day and night.

The only way I found to "fix" this is the set the refresh rate at 30hz (in RadeonPro) but the input lag makes the games unplayable.


And I actually searched a lot on this but couldn't find anything useful.

Thank you!

 

[Jimmy_6]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8vPXJUHQYM

- This is a video with your graphic card on Far Cry 4 and it runs 60 FPS on high settings...

 

[jimbroski]

I play with Vsync on, I cannot bear screen tearing.

 

[boju]

Have you tried the 1fps trick? Limit the fps 1 frame less than the refresh rate, that should reduce input lag with Vsync on. It works at 60Hz (59fps), i guess it should work at 30Hz (29fps) as well, but never tried it.

 

[gopher1369]

Why would you only consider running the game at either 60 or 30 FPS, why not somewhere in-between?


This might help: http://www.pcgamer.com/durantes-witcher-3-analysis-the-alchemy-of-smoothness/

 

[jimbroski]

Well at 30hz, the games are really smooth, exactly like on consoles, but the problem is really the huge input lag. It's ridiculous.

And I tried that with 60hz 29fps, 30fps and 31fps but the problem was still there.

I really don't get why current gen consoles can get extremely smooth framerate with a refresh rate of 60hz, while on PC this seems to be impossible.

 

[jimbroski]

Why would you only consider running the game at either 60 or 30 FPS, why not somewhere in-between?


This might help: http://www.pcgamer.com/durantes-witcher-3-analysis-the-alchemy-of-smoothness/

Because I really hate fluctuating frame rate. I want it to be lock at either 60 or 30. I'd take 30fps over 40-60fps anyday.

 

[boju]

Screen tear happens when you put out more fps than the monitors refresh rate, think you know that.

So theres the tear problem.

To fix tearing you turn on Vsync but that induces input lag.

So which problem is still there, the input lag?

For 30Hz to work, you need Vsync on and not adaptive. Limit the FPS to 29fps, that will forcibly act as a buffer, similar to frame buffering but works better. It needs to be less not more, not 31 32 etc, that's not how Vsync works. Vsync syncs the monitor and fps in your case at either 30/60Hz. When Vsync caps the fps to 30/60 to the monitor's maximum refresh results in input lag. That's where the 1 frame less comes in to play, giving that bit extra does help.

So try
Monitor @ 30Hz - limit 29fps
also try
Monitor @ 60Hz - limit to 59fps

With Vsync on, not adaptive.

 

[boju]

Can also try turning off Vsync all together if you do limit the fps less than the monitors refresh. Might still get tiny bit of tear as the fps fluctuates but nothing compared to if you were displaying over 60hz frequently.

 

[boju]

Also to help with frame jitters which can be the result of excess Vram usage, swapping data between System memory and Vram will certainly cause undesirable performance.

If the game doesn't have a Vram usage bar (Ie; GTA5), use a Vram diagnostics tool to get an idea what the game is demanding. 2GB your 270x has? is not a great deal lot so lowering AA and being moderate with graphic settings will go a long way.

 

[boju]

As well with your question with consoles, everything i have talked about would be in someway or another the reason they seem smoother, but you can get the same performance if not better on PC. Long as your system is pretty lean on background running processes and have an understanding of PC's nature of being universal. While many games play fine, sometimes it will be up to you and sometimes not a fault of your own but the software devs and testers.

 

[jimbroski]

Alright, I did everything you told me to and unfortunately I end up with the same results:

in 30hz 30fps: the game feels smooth as I want it to be, but the input lag makes it unplayable;

in 30hz 29fps: for some reasons, when I change the framerate, I cannot use Vsync (in Skyrim with RadeonPro) and even though the frame rate is below the refresh rate, I get huge screen tearing so it's impossible for me to play without Vsync;

in 60hz 30fps: the input lag is gone, but the game jitters. It's really noticeable when you slowly rotate the camera, it feels like stuttering. While rotating the camera, it's smooth, then it stutters, smooth then it stutters. Like if the game was skipping frames and it makes the whole experience feel rubish (this is the problem console games don't have and they run in 60hz 30fps). It's not my Vram because this happens even if I set everything to low and even in games like Fallout 3.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=825247

This guy does an excellent job in explaining the issue, however, like other people mentioned in the thread, it doesn't explain while console games can run at 60hz and 30fps without any "stuttering".

I'd like to mention again that both my console and PC are hooked up on the same HDTV and I'm testing both systems with the same controller.

 

[boju]

Seems like its not a case of 30Hz vs 60Hz, more so theres something else going on. 270X is quite decent and shouldn't be giving you micro stutter problems.

I would look at RadeonPro as being a possible problem in the program itself and incompatibilities with certain games. I'm not saying it is the problem but something to be mindful about.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18499549

Not sure the extent of settings you've tried in RadeonPro but see if the above post helps some. I haven't used it at all but seems some variations of RadeonPro with some features might react differently to just having CCC.

 

[gopher1369]

Because I really hate fluctuating frame rate. I want it to be lock at either 60 or 30. I'd take 30fps over 40-60fps anyday.

I wasn't very clear in my original question, I'll rephrase: Why not use Rivatuner to lock the frame rate at a constant 40FPS, or 50fps? Why are you only considering locked 30 or locked 60 as your only 2 options?