FPS sometimes takes a huge hit, for no apparent reason...?

[discoslice]

So I got the new Sherlock: Crimes and Punishments game for my PC. I'm running Fraps and I notice sometimes I get 60fps in an area, and sometimes I get 30fps in the same area. I've closed programs in my taskbar that I thought might be making the performance hit but that doesn't solve this mystery. It seems random and not dependent on what I have running.

If I put the game in windowed mode and maximize it, I get full FPS. But in fullscreen mode, sometimes I take this mysterious 50% FPS hit. Any ideas here? I've noticed in general that games run faster in full screen WINDOWED mode (at the same full-screen resolution.) So odd.

I did some searching and elevated my Task Priority to "HIGH" via the Task Manager (for the game) and got a bit of an FPS boost.

Can anyone help me get better FPS all the time here? Thanks!

P.S. I'm running the nVidia GTX 770 OC

 

[ubercake]

First, it sounds like you have V-sync on. When this is on, when your fps capability drops lower than 60fps, you'll get 30fps. Your video card may actually be pumping out 50 fps, but it has dropped below the 60fps mark and so the frame rate output syncs to every other refresh on the monitor at 30 fps. Can you turn V-sync off in that game?

 

[discoslice]

I know about V-sync yeah - when I turn it off it runs smoother but then I get the ugly screen tears. I had V-Sync on while I got 60 FPS before so I don't feel that's the culprit.

 

[viewtyjoe]

Please post full system specs if possible.

 

[ubercake]

I know about V-sync yeah - when I turn it off it runs smoother but then I get the ugly screen tears. I had V-Sync on while I got 60 FPS before so I don't feel that's the culprit.

So you are running with V-sync on when you drop to 30 from 60fps?

 

[discoslice]

What specs exactly do u need? Is there an easy way to copy and paste them?

 

[Entomber]

Like said above, it's just going to be the effect of V-sync. If your GPU or CPU cannot handle 60FPS, then V-sync automatically drops your framerate to 30FPS.

turn V-sync off and see how much variance you have in frames.

 

[discoslice]

I'm not sure why I can run the game sometimes and have no issues and then sometimes have a 50% FPS hit. That hasn't been answered yet. And yes, V-SYNC is on during both occurrences.

Turning v-sync off isn't an option since I hate the screen tearing.

 

[Entomber]

Do you understand what V-sync is? I don't think you comprehend what we're telling you.

 

[Entomber]

A second thought:

since you're running FRAPS, are you constantly recording while you are playing? It's possible that when you hit the button to record that your FPS drops to 30 automatically, especially if you are in a high resolution and your FRAPS settings dictate recording at 30FPS only.

When it drops to 30FPS do the numbers turn red?

 

[ubercake]

Frame output varies constantly based on available resources while playing any game. When you enable v-sync, you limit the frame rate to 60fps if the varying frame rate output by your card is 60 fps or above. If your card is only capable of (even) 59 fps output at a particular point while gaming V-sync cuts the frame rate to 30 fps and leaves it there until your frame rate output by your card goes back to 60 or above.

Taxing sections of a game will force the drop from 60 to 30 when V-sync is on. This is how V-sync functions and is one of the disadvantages of using V-sync. Yeah, there's no tearing with V-sync on, but you also introduce negatives such as the framerate drop described above, input lag, and the occasional flutter in video.

 

[ubercake]

Tearing is the reason people get 2 high-end cards and run SLI setups with 120Hz monitors. Super high frame rates make tearing almost imperceptible. With a high-end SLI setup and 120 or 144Hz monitor, at the higher frame rates (80+) tearing exists, but you don't notice it because of the high refresh rate.

G-sync has come along and solved the tearing problem at lower frame rates and allows smooth performance at lower frame rates.

Many gamers don't favor the use of V-sync because of the negatives, but it is an affordable option to improve video performance, but like I said you give up some other things such as responsiveness in the form of input lag and you get frame rate drops.

 

[discoslice]

Thanks ubercake and all. Can you further explain why I get higher FPS in windowed mode (even at 2k resolution as full screen) than in fullscreen?

also, would u recommend a second GTX 770 to use in SLI (i have a GIGABYTE Z68A-D3H-B3 motherboard) - or should i maybe get one of the new nVidia cards that just came out?

I have the new-ish 30" Dell monitor and run most games at 2560 x 1600 at 60 Hz. I notice that at 2k resolution, I do get hits in framerate, vs. 1k resolution.

I also have a i5-2500k chip @3.3 ghz oc'd to 4.4 ghz. My goal is to play games in 2k with a consistent nice framerate.

 

[ubercake]

Do you have a 2GB 770 or 4GB 770?

 

[Entomber]

If you have the 2GB version, that may not be enough VRAM for more detailed graphics at your resolution 2560x1600.

Higher resolution = more pixels to render = more memory and computing power needed = lower framerate, all other parts being equal