Inconsistent FPS in FarCry 3

[chrischan0323]

Here's my problem, I can maintain the FPS 55-80 for 1-2 minutes. After that, it suddenly drops to 25-35 for some reason even I'm not in an intense fighting then jumps to 55-80 repeatedly every 20-30 seconds. I just explore the jungle, appreciate the beauty of Far cry 3 then BAM, FPS drops again. It's not unplayable but rather than that it's extremely annoying. 🙁

Here's my spec:
i5-2500K 3.30GHz
GTX 560
8GB RAM

Options: 1440X900, Directx 9, all max settings except shadow(medium) and post fx(false).

I have updated my driver to WHQL 310.90, limited the FPS, reinstalled, changed to low settings and still have this issue.
Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Edit:I use MSI Afterburner to check GPU usage. Strange, it's unstable because it drops to 50-60% from 80-90%.

 

[chrischan0323]

Have already reinstalled the game and windows and the latest patch is 1.04. Still doesn't fix my abysmal problem 🙁 I have stated my problem to Ubisoft support but all of their methods given are useless to me.

 

[chrischan0323]

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!
After searching and testing for many goddammit week, the effort has finally paid off!
Here's what I did to the final result, maximum pre-rendered frames 1, triple buffering enabled and FXAA off through the NVCP, v-sync ingame on and PostFxQuality="false".

I can't f***ing believe I have made it!!! Now I can play FAR CRY 3 with smooth FPS 50-60!!! I hope this can help you guys who have the same issue with me.

 

[chrischan0323]

Update:
Bad new:Still doesn't fix FPS and GPU usage drops entirely...... 🙁

Good new: FPS and GPU usage seem more stable than before, at least it's playable for me......

SIGH......

 

[Guest]

Hi ppl, i´ve managed to solve a problem that been driving me crasy about Far Cry 3 on nvidia geforce gpu:
PROBLEM:
Whatever resolution or video option create a lag during play
SOLUCION:
Install last beta nvidia driver 313.96
It is running smothest than ever.
PS: ask for proofs (images os settings that i´ll post here)

My rig:
Q6600
Gtx 260
4gb ram 1333mhz
1680x1050
windows 7 64 bit

 

[Fejer Karcsi]

had the same problem with amd fx 8350 and amd radeon r9 270 x..... and i removed the side panel and ..magic constant fps ..no more drops!

 

[mraudio]

I have found that Far Cry3 is not the greatest game for testing out a GPU because the game's load changes SIGNIFICANTLY especially as the time of day changes. I used to think that there was something wrong with my GPU and even CPU. I would boot the game up and get amazing FPS and then boot it up at a later time and my FPS would be seemingly cut in half. There would also be places that the game doesn't look anymore resource intensive and I drop 6 to 7 frames in just a small area and then they would go back up again. Note that this is not caused by the game loading a new mission but rather just by walking through certain areas. Then there are the cinematic sequences where the frame rate often gets chopped unless you're able to run the cut-scene at over 60 FPS.

I am running a GTX 650 1GB overclocked to 1228MHz coupled with 4 gigs of RAM and a Core i3 2120 CPU. I have replaced the GPU twice with a Radeon HD 7770 and a Radeon R7 250 before I ended up with the GTX 650 mainly because of this problem. Now I know that the 7770 is noticeably faster but the GTX 650 only cost me 35 dollars brand new (pricing error at a computer store). I have experienced huge frame rate inconsistencies playing Far Cry 3 on all of these cards. Also I run the game at 1024X768. Here are my findings:

1. The frame rates drop almost everywhere on the map when the sun goes down and before the moon comes out. I don't know why this is, but that's how it is. The game's internal clock advances only when you're moving, meaning that the time will NOT change if you're just standing still. Anyway with Afterburner recording my frame rate I I can just tap "W" and "S" really fast to create movement and literally watch my FPS change as the sun goes down and the moon comes up while being in the same spot and looking in the same direction.

2. This is the big one. Shadows on Ultra or Very High settings will tank your FPS depending on where you're at in the map. When you put the shadows on any of those two settings the game is softening the shadows depending upon how far the object that is casting the shadow is from the ground. Even though the shadows on the high setting still look fantastic, on the ultra setting they just look too damn pretty and realistic. There is a pretty heavy price to pay when it comes to frames though. There is no difference that I can see frame rate wise between shadows being set to very high or ultra, so don't think that very high shadows will give you any more performance than ultra. Everyone thinks that Post FX is a resource hog but it doesn't hold a candle to ultra shadows. Also depending on the time of day also determines how GPU heavy the shadows are. In all of my testing the ultra shadows are THE NUMBER 1 reason for inconsistent frame rates. If you are running the "all ultra" profile and are having massive frame rate dips, change shadows to high. In one of the locations during the evening time my frames dipped from 25 to 15 frames all of the sudden. I turned the shadows to high from ultra and gained 9 of them back instantly.

3. Cut scenes run in full v-sync no matter if you have v-sync set to off or adaptive. I think if I remember correctly it doesn't even matter if you have enabled triple buffering which means if your card can't keep up with your display's refresh rate the frame rate will be cut in half during the cut-scene and then return to normal after it's done. This is most likely because the game was ported from the console version and the console versions go into full v-sync in the cut-scenes as well.

So there are the 3 main reasons you will see frame rate dips in Far Cry 3. If you want to boost overall frame rate make sure you keep MSAA off and keep post FX to medium of course or even low. One setting that can help tremendously even though I don't like setting it lower than ultra is geometry. I don't like this even on high because the distance vs. detail is still too close IMO but if you can stand it it will give you back about 6 frames. But as I said before if you're fighting inconsistent frame rates set the the shadows to high or even medium but don't go any lower than that because low shadows are kinda ugly.

 

[supermangeek]

Here's my problem, I can maintain the FPS 55-80 for 1-2 minutes. After that, it suddenly drops to 25-35 for some reason even I'm not in an intense fighting then jumps to 55-80 repeatedly every 20-30 seconds. I just explore the jungle, appreciate the beauty of Far cry 3 then BAM, FPS drops again. It's not unplayable but rather than that it's extremely annoying. 🙁

Here's my spec:
i5-2500K 3.30GHz
GTX 560
8GB RAM

Options: 1440X900, Directx 9, all max settings except shadow(medium) and post fx(false).

I have updated my driver to WHQL 310.90, limited the FPS, reinstalled, changed to low settings and still have this issue.
Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Edit:I use MSI Afterburner to check GPU usage. Strange, it's unstable because it drops to 50-60% from 80-90%.

 

[supermangeek]

hello
my system is pretty much the same as yours core i5 2500 . amd 6000 series video card . far cry 4 was lagging very bad. my fix was this. temp. disable antivirus>go to your video card makers websight> download latest drivers for your graphics card> this fixed my problem. I have no trouble playing far cry 4 at all. good luck

 

[davcsw]

Reduce or remove MSAA completely. I experience dips when set at 4X, but not at 2X. And I'm running on a 970 GTX.