Graphics slow down?

[PatoFacker]

I recently replaced my emachine EL1300G-02w video card because of the awful performance I was getting. Replaced it with the ZOTAC geforce GT 610 1x pci-e. And regardless of what people said: "It will be no better then the on-board card." It worked WAY above those expectations. So I started playing all my favorite games (TF2, Borderlands 2, CS:GO, and so on). Although, while download these games, the frame-rate dropped from 60 to 49 (Not a big difference, but when playing Borderlands 2 it's quite a mess) And the longest I have ever played my games where 2 hours. Is the frame-rate drop because of the hard-drive being full, or it is my system gets to hot while playing these games and makes my card weak?

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

In high action sequences it will hurt frame rate.

 

[photonboy]

Graphics cards don't get "weak" they either work well or they don't. The exception is the new KEPLER GTX600 cards which use a GPU BOOST feature that can increase or decrease performance slightly based on the temperature.

The frame rate in a game ALWAYS varies depending on what's going on. For example, a large explosion might use far more CPU and/or GPU calculations. If your computer can't keep up then it drops from the (capped) 60FPS to 49FPS.

FYI, many games offer or force VSYNC to synchronize your computer with the monitor to avoid SCREEN TEARING.

So again, frame rate drops simply mean your CPU and/or GPU can't keep up with the processing of game data.

Adaptive VSYNC:
I'm not familiar with the GT610 card, but I do know the latest drivers for NVidia support Adaptive VSYNC back several generations of cards. I recommend you enable this (google if need be) for every game.

Adaptive VSYNC will force the normal refresh (usually 60FPS) to avoid screen tearing but will DISABLE VSYNC when you drop below 60FPS. This avoids the sudden DELAY caused by the VSYNC feature trying to resynchronize to 30FPS.

So you get SCREEN TEARING when you drop below 60FPS but not the associated delays (and sluggishness of 30FPS). I don't think the 30FPS transition shows in FRAPS.

*FYI, on a lower-end system like yours you may wish to try the HALF VSYNC option (if available) in the NVidia Control Panel. It will force 30FPS which can feel slightly sluggish but you'll also be able to turn up the quality and remain synched (no screen tearing). Adjust settings using FRAPS so that you NEVER drop below 30FPS. If you don't like this, go back to 60FPS with reduced quality.

Just FYI.

 

[photonboy]

UPDATE:
Okay, the GT610 is a new, but low-end Kepler card. As I said, the card can vary frequency by temperature but the range is not high (5% or so).

So you do have Adaptive VSYNC.

I should summarize your options for B2:
- lower the quality to minimize drops below 60FPS
- enable ADAPTIVE VSYNC to eliminate the stutter caused by dropping below/above 60FPS
- use the VSYNC -> Adaptive (half refresh rate) to synch to 30FPS allowing higher quality (but slight sluggishness of response time)

*You should definitely DISABLE PHYSX with your setup too if you have not done so.

 

[PatoFacker]

Thanks guys you really helped me!

I guess I just have to enable v-sync, lower the settings, and play less!