Massive FPS Drop for a Well-Built Computer - Planetside 2

[peppyrook]

Problem
Currently I'm trying to run Planetside 2, yet big and intensive battles will generally set me at 30 FPS, but can go as low as 20 FPS; walking around and small skirmishes will have my FPS sit between 55~60, but it fluctuates often between that range. My graphics settings currently is all High and a 1960x1080 resolution; my issue is that a friend who runs a build that's weaker - almost significantly - is running Planetside 2 at the same settings, yet he runs at a steady 60 FPS regardless of the situations.

Anyone have any solutions?

Attempted Solutions

Spoiler

- Updating all drivers
- Updating my BIOS
- Enabling settings on my BIOS to have my motherboard provide more performance - specifically for gaming (it's a feature that comes with my motherboard)
- Getting a new power supply to provide more amps to my GPU
- Overclocking my GPU a bit

Computer Info
Air flow is great, GPU is clocked at 1420 while the memory is at 7600.

Listed below are all my parts via the dxdiag.

Things that aren't listed in spoilers:
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-A LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNova G2 850W 80+ Gold

CPU

Spoiler

Time of this report: 1/7/2015, 00:25:41
Machine name: M-PC
Operating System: Windows 8.1 64-bit (6.3, Build 9600) (9600.winblue_r4.141028-1500)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: ASUS
System Model: All Series
BIOS: BIOS Date: 05/08/14 10:52:00 Ver: 09.01
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790K CPU @ 4.00GHz (8 CPUs), ~4.0GHz
Memory: 16384MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 16326MB RAM
Page File: 6550MB used, 12718MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.03.9600.17415 64bit Unicode

GPU and other display info

Spoiler

---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 970
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Type: Full Device
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_13C2&SUBSYS_85081043&REV_A1
Display Memory: 12068 MB
Dedicated Memory: 3906 MB
Shared Memory: 8162 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: HP 2511x LED Backlit LCD Monitor
Monitor Model: HP 2511
Monitor Id: HWP293C
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver File Version: 9.18.0013.4709 (English)
Driver Version: 9.18.13.4709
DDI Version: 11.1
Feature Levels: 11.1,11.0,10.1,10.0,9.3,9.2,9.1
Driver Model: WDDM 1.3

Thanks for any help.

 

[cindylo]

Ok so essentially without writing pages about PS2s engine is VERY single thread oriented. While it does have several that it runs on it has a main one that has the majority of the load. Given that you do have a intel CPU and a nice one at that I would recommend checking voltages and temps during gaming. Easiest way to do so would be to setup a second monitor and run hwmonitor from CPUID on the 2nd one and watch the temps and voltages. Or if that isn't an option you can try when the game slows down alt-tabing to check the current temps for your GPU and CPU. Both of which like to underclock to lower the temps, and they do so drastically to get fast results.

 

[renz496]

in big battles frame rate drop is to be expected. CPU bottleneck issue. this happen even if you got high end CPU.

 

[peppyrook]

Temps on both the GPU and CPU are fine as well as the voltage for both. Seems my hardware still looks fine.

@renz: It's a significant drop that doesn't make sense for my system build. I shouldn't be getting 10-15FPS in an intense battle. Even a FPS of 30 wouldn't make sense, but it would be much more reasonable. I can't even get my FPS to stay at a constant 60 when I'm out of battle.

 

[renz496]

Temps on both the GPU and CPU are fine as well as the voltage for both. Seems my hardware still looks fine.

@renz: It's a significant drop that doesn't make sense for my system build. I shouldn't be getting 10-15FPS in an intense battle. Even a FPS of 30 wouldn't make sense, but it would be much more reasonable. I can't even get my FPS to stay at a constant 60 when I'm out of battle.

i would't say 30FPS doesn't make sense. i play the game since they launch it. in area where it really is crowded i've usually got network problem. game still running but latency can shoot up in the thousands. if my system can still cope with it the FPS usually in the mid 30 or even lower. sometimes even not in big battles itself but 'near' to it my FPS will drop well below 50. i think this is the nature of the game. and my 660SLI just a bit below 970 in performance

 

[renz496]

just log in the performance really is bad. yesterday the performance was OK before the maintenance. so maybe the new patch break something.

 

[cindylo]

It could very well be a patch, if your temps are good and voltages as well I would see if anyone else has had the issue on the forums. The i7 you have and that card should pull at least 30 in a battle if not 45+. Mine does 30-35 and I have a FX 6300 and a GTX 760, definitely slower than what you have.

 

[peppyrook]

Ping is always around 50-70, so it's not a latency issue.

This has been an issue before the patch. I'll get micro-stuttering, too.

I unparked all my cores, and managed to get a consistent 59 FPS when out of battles or in small battles that don't include a bunch of explosions.

Still getting considerable FPS drops, though, when in populated battle.

 

[renz496]

It could very well be a patch, if your temps are good and voltages as well I would see if anyone else has had the issue on the forums. The i7 you have and that card should pull at least 30 in a battle if not 45+. Mine does 30-35 and I have a FX 6300 and a GTX 760, definitely slower than what you have.

GPU usage was lower than usual (both in SLI and single GPU mode). tried 344.75 and 347.09 problem still the same. i think that's why the frame rates drop massively. i monitor my gpu stat in most games that i played. so if there is performance issue i would look at it first.

 

[cindylo]

If the FPS is fine in other games you could try reinstalling it. The engine on which planetside 2, h1z1, and everquest next run on is incredibly unoptimized in its current state. It ran better in it's infancy than it does now by far. They've found that out while putting planetside 2 on the PS4, and hopefully the changes they make there to make it run well will make it over to the PC. Outside of reinstalling the game or windows itself there's not much you can do. Unparking your cores does help to an extent but it produces more heat and instability at times, hence why they're parked.

 

[peppyrook]

Yeah I remember running it on my Sapphire 7850 a long while ago, and I never got an FPS drop that was so drastic.

Guess the game is just semi-permanently throw into disarray.