Paradox titles are stuttering

[Torne]

Two paradox titles, Europa Universalis 4 and Crusader Kings 2, have been having some performance problems. They both lose like five to ten frames when played at normal speed every day (the equivalent of a turn). At the slowest speed it is still noticeable, and at the fastest, my fps drops to 20. They used to play fine, but I first noticed the problem with EU4, then the problem spread to CK2. I have tried verifying the game's cache, re-installing, tried it on a ssd and hdd, and have messed with the graphic options. Nothing I do seems to make a difference.

System Specs

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k @3.4ghtz

GPU: MSI 660 ti PE edition

RAM: 8 gb of g.skill ripjaws

OS: Windows 7 64-bit

 

[Torne]

Bump

 

[swiftleeo]

Maybe your card is failing.

 

[Torne]

But every other game works fine

 

[swiftleeo]

But every other game works fine

Hmm... Have the games gotten any updates? It could be a bug. or you may have malware?

 

[Torne]

I'm pretty sure I don't have malware, and the games are on steam, so they update automatically.

 

[swiftleeo]

I'm pretty sure I don't have malware, and the games are on steam, so they update automatically.

It could very well be an update that caused the problem if it was working fine at one time and now it does that. Not to mention they are from the same gaming company so maybe they just did a mass update or something.

 

[Torne]

I just tested that theory. I wen't into the eu4 game properties, and I told it to revert back to patch 1.3.2. It didn't change anything.

 

[swiftleeo]

I just tested that theory. I wen't into the eu4 game properties, and I told it to revert back to patch 1.3.2. It didn't change anything.

Okay so if it isn't the version, and your card works fine, and you dont have malware... I'm lost. It makes absolutely no sense (to me anyway) why it is doing what it is doing if it worked fine at one point and is doing this now... The last thing I can think of is updating (or reverting) your GPU's drivers. Maybe the drivers cause problems with games (such as the paradox titles you play) and you don't notice it on other games because they are not affected by whatever was changed.

Have you tested the games in question with a similar GPU to see if it is just a card malfunction ?

And while I hate to say the term "bottlenecking", have you tried overclocking your CPU up a few notches? Are the paradox titles CPU intensive?

Also, you mentioned you messed with the graphics options. Was this in-game or the actual GPU driver?

 

[Torne]

I only have one graphics card, that being the 660 ti. And I have never tried overclocking my cpu, I'm afraid I might set my computer on fire xD. The graphic options were in-game.

 

[Torne]

Also, I use geforce experience to update my gpu. I would have no idea how to "revert" my drivers.

 

[swiftleeo]

I only have one graphics card, that being the 660 ti. And I have never tried overclocking my cpu, I'm afraid I might set my computer on fire xD. The graphic options were in-game.

I would either update your drivers if possible, or downgrade if your at max, because thats all I can think of. I did a little research on the first title and it seems that it can be a bit CPU intensive. Overclocking for the most part is easy, and as long as you don't go crazy with voltages or clock speeds, you can easily overclock your cpu. How much you'll be able to overclock depends on the CPU you get, but usually you should try doing it in 100mhz steps until you feel comfortable with the performance and temps alike. I wouldn't recommend overclocking on stock cooling, so if you do decide to overclock and you have a roomy case, get the cooler master hyper 212 evo and some Arctic MX-2 thermal paste. MX-4 is better but the price difference on newegg right now is around 15 dollars.

I can also help you with your overclocking experience through PM if you need it, so if you decide to try it, let me know.

Your CPU is a good one, and since you have a 'k' version overclocking is made easy.

Also, to revert your drivers:

1. Find the current version

2. Uninstall it

3. Go on NVIDIA's site

4. Find the drivers for your product model

5. Install an older version (check dates. If you remember a time when it worked fine, go for the driver that is closest to that time period).

6. If step 5 is not available (if NVIDIA only has current versions on the official site), search elsewhere.