Disappointing Frame Rates (FPS)

[Pillendreher]

I've upgraded my 6850 1 GB VRAM to a R9 380 4 GB VRAM, but the performance gain isn't nearly as big as I hoped. I noticed gigantic macro stuttering after installing the card, so I "stripped down the game" to find the culprit.

 

I've started with the Vanilla Game+HighResDLC. With everything set to ultra and VSync off, I'm getting 41/81/60,3 fps during the first minute of the intro (with my FX-8320@stock). This just seems off based on these Skyrim Benchmark results:

 

https://www.hardwareluxx.de/index.php/artikel/hardware/grafikkarten/35903-drei-modelle-der-radeon-r9-380-im-test.html?start=9

https://www.pcgameshardware.de/AMD-Radeon-Grafikkarte-255597/Specials/Radeon-R9-390X-Test-1162303/

 

The card itself is working fine since I'm getting results via the Heaven Engine benchmarks that match those by other R9 380 owners.

The FX-8320 is working at 3,7 GHz (Turbo) at 1,4V. My fps dropped even further while running the CPU at 3,7 GHz (No Turbo, OC via BIOS) at 1,35V (solid 13% drop even though the clock speed is the same). - How is that possible?

 

Before I start tackling the stutter issue again - is that kind of performance normal? I mean we're talking about a 4 year old game with no mods whatsoever barely hitting 60 fps. My fps near Whiterun aren't better mind you.

[Pillendreher]

Strangely enough, my fps dropped with ENBoost enabled during the Vanilla intro.

 

Avg: 46.991 - Min: 27 - Max: 63

 

 

 

Running around inside of Dragonsreach nets me this:

 

Avg: 58.368 - Min: 41 - Max: 64

 

 

 

Running around Whiterun:

 

Avg: 54.140 - Min: 32 - Max: 64

 

 

 

Running around Solitude:

 

Avg: 52.699 - Min: 24 - Max: 64

 

Exiting Solitude through the front gate:

 

Avg: 55.906 - Min: 46 - Max: 64

 

As you can see, I'm getting those lag spikes in different settings even on Vanilla.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Pillendreher

[z929669]

This was my intro ride with the settings posted above, Vanilla and the HRDLC:

 

Avg: 49.377 - Min: 30 - Max: 63

 

As you can see, it was not a steady experience:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is my intro ride with my SRLE+x setup without my BashedPatch in order to avoid timescale problems. I got that weird bug that my character appears next to the cart and the intro doesn't start; starting a new game for the 2nd time solves this, but my point of view isn't the same as with the vanilla intro => I had to adjust it as best as I could.

 

Avg: 28.629 - Min: 0 - Max: 52

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BTW: I forgot to run enboost during the vanilla run. Shouldn't have an impact on performance with no mods, right?

No. ENBoost is required to get vsync ... never run without it. You should not see FPS above your monitor refresh rate (probably 60 Hz or 60 FPS) with vsync enabled (you are showing max = 63). You should also see less variation in FPS, and it should smooth the graphics if there is any stuttering. You will need to run again to get the right numbers and experience (and comparing above vanilla chart with the new one will be informative).

[z929669]

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Strangely enough, my fps dropped with ENBoost enabled during the Vanilla intro.

 

Avg: 46.991 - Min: 27 - Max: 63

 

 

 

Running around inside of Dragonsreach nets me this:

 

Avg: 58.368 - Min: 41 - Max: 64

 

 

 

Running around Whiterun:

 

Avg: 54.140 - Min: 32 - Max: 64

 

 

 

Running around Solitude:

 

Avg: 52.699 - Min: 24 - Max: 64

 

Exiting Solitude through the front gate:

 

Avg: 55.906 - Min: 46 - Max: 64

 

As you can see, I'm getting those lag spikes in different settings even on Vanilla.

Not sure why we are seeing FPS > 60 if ENBoost is 1) active, 2) working, and 3) ENBoost vsync is enabled. My guess is that one of these 3 possibilities is not true. You should be able to confirm 1 and 3, but 2 depends on the version of ENB you are running, so you might want to experiment with other versions.

​

​Post in the ENBoost forums so that someone current with ENB troubleshooting can assist you in determining if ENBoost is running and how to toggle vsync on/off with a KB shortcut if possible. Be certain iPresentInterval is set to '1' in your skyrim.ini. ... I have been away from ENB testing for awhile, and am not up on current dev.

[Pillendreher]

I think that's just FRAPS not working properly.

iPresentInterval is indeed set to "1" in my skyrim.ini and I see the the ENB message in the left corner after starting Skyrim. I have EnableVSync set to "true" in my enblocal.ini and Wait for vertical refresh is set to "off, unless application specifies" via CCC per STEP settings.

 

I'm gonna let afterburner log fps next time as well, just to confirm is FRAPS is working properply or not.

[hishutup]

Last time I used the fps monitoring from msi, the game crashes.

[z929669]

I would be more suspicious of certain ENB versions. You might try the latest build for Skyrim or some previous version a few iterations back to be sure. FPS should max at 60, and I use FRAPS historically with no issues.

[Pillendreher]

OK, will do. I'm using ENB v.279 and FRAPS 3.5.99. I'm gonna monitor FPS with HWiNFO and Afterburner as well just to be safe.

[Pillendreher]

OK, both Afterburner and FRAPS are going above 60. I've disabled the Turbo option in my UEFI and I've lost a little bit of performance due to lower core speed, but that's ok for now.

 

FRAPS: Avg: 47.850 - Min: 28 - Max: 63

Afterburner: Avg: 48,0- Min: 29,4 - Max: 62,7

 

 

I've just checked with CCC - my monitor is running at 60hz.

[ToggleAI]

Last time I used the fps monitoring from msi, the game crashes.

This should be fixed now. I record for YouTube and have just made a switch over to MSI Afterburner. I can run ENBoost, Performance Monitor, and MSI Afterburner + plus record at the same time without crashing. Maybe once every 5 tries you might get a crash but that was typically only when coc'ing into an intense area with DynDOLOD on High.

 

I did see the crashing mentioned in the forums but I haven't had the problem.

[hishutup]

you'll have to observe the memory blocks to see if heap 1 maxes, heap 2 doesnt matter.

Skyrim shouldnt crash, my case was an issue with ENB and rivatuner(MSI AB)

[ToggleAI]

Ok, I've been running various tests all week so I think I can give you some decent input. My specs:

Intel Xeon E3-1241 V3, 3.5GHz Quad Core

Asus Z97-A motherboard

G. Skill Ares Series 16GB DDR3-1600 Memory

Asus R9 280, 3GB

Skyrim is stored on a WD Black Series 2TB, 7200RPM HDD

Windows 8.1 64 bit

AMD Driver 15.9.1 Beta

 

Testing with: vanilla ini's + Skyrim set to Ultra + Bethesda Hi-Res DLC Optimized (1K full replacer version) + all unofficial patches (except high-res dlc) + DynDOLOD on High + ENBoost... I get a consistent 60 fps no matter where I go in the world running at a full sprint the entire time. The only exception is when I 'coc Whiterun' and run past the companions fight with the giant. That scripted fight will drop fps by 3-5 even when on a pure vanilla setup.

 

I would suggest you change your testing method. The intro sequence is known to be heavily scripted and I believe even disable objects during it. Try this instead:

On the start screen enter the console (press ~) and type 'coc whiterun'.

Once there, turn around towards Whiterun, give things a minute to load then enter the console again and type 'tgm' to toggle god mode so you can sprint indefinitely.

Take off in a full sprint down the road past the companions fight and when you reach the stables turn to run into the plains area. Just run through there a while and monitor your fps and let us know what you get.

 

I would also suggest, as was already stated by z929669, to refresh your ini's to get vanilla ones. I would uninstall ENB and ENBoost just to narrow down any issues and to rule them out as a cause. I would even run the game directly through the launcher to narrow it down even more. Keep Vsync ON (see note #2) during this test run. Let the launcher detect your video settings and do not worry about a Catalyst Control profile for Skyrim at the moment. It's just one more thing to take out of the equation. Once we have you up and running in a pure vanilla setup, then we can go with the STEP recommended Catalyst Control settings and see what happens there... then ENB... then anything else. One step at a time is what we want to shoot for here. 

 

Note #1: Since some recent driver update (not sure which one but it was pretty recent), I have started to experience the graphical issue where I get black lines around fires and fire spells. Check for this by running over to a giant camp and looking above the fire during the day. It's easy to spot if it's there. To fix it, lower your AA from 8 to 4. 

 

Note #2: I think Skyrim is not the best choice to test out your new card's abilities due to it apparently needing Vsync enabled. There are plenty of threads discussing how physics and everything else gets all jacked up when it is turned off. See here. I'm assuming this really has a huge impact on the intro scene. I would try to do a comparison on a different game.

Edited October 11, 2015 by ToggleAI

[winflakes]

First off, this is a new PC and fresh Skyrim install. I finished the PC last weekend and started installing Skyrim and STEP this week. Here are the specs:

 

CPU        - i5660K 3.5GHz

Ram        - 16 Gig DDR5

GPU         - 690GTX running driver 355.98

HD            - 250Gig M.2 Solid State with Skyrim + mods

Monitor - 1920*1080 @ 120Hertz

 

First round of Benchmarks were done after INI tweaks and Nvidia Inspector modifications. Here's where it gets odd. for the first 45 seconds I aver age 40.022 FPS, then it it spikes to 60 and stays at or close to (few dips to 45 etc) for 120 seconds averaging 58.21. after that it drops to 40 again for another 45 seconds averaging 40 exactly, then 10 seconds closer to 60 averaging 54.2, then right back down to 40. Based on the other benchmarks, it doesn't appear to always drop to 40 FPS for 45 seconds, but when it does drop it stays there for an extended period. I'm attaching my benchmark spreadsheet for review as well.

 

SKYRIM BENCHMARKS.xlsx

 

The fact that it drops to 40 and stays steady there for an extended period makes no sense. Especially when the max GPU load% was 55 with an average of 35, so ihave plenty of headroom. As of now here are my averages for secions 1.E, 2.C, and 2.D (each averaging 3 benchmarks): 

1.E - GPU Load=36.26@46.39 FPS

2.C - GPU Load=37.23@49.94FPS

2.D - GPU Load=36.30@50.22FPS

 

So far I have stuck to the STEP (adding in the 3 non-core fixes) except for these mods: Falskaar, Wyrmstooth, Wintermyst, Thunderchild, Perkus Maximus, Apocalypse. Though I only added these mods during the 2.D install, so 1.E and 2.C were strictly STEP.

 

Please let me know what else I can/should provide to help me figure out this issue.

 

 - Winflakes

[Greg]

If this is the initial cart ride into Helgen, look at the CPU load because the initial cart ride is script intensive and doesn't really use the GPU much. For a better feel for the game overall, coc whiterun and run towards Whiterun to see how well your FPS holds up here. The terrain (water and mountains) should exercise the GPU a lot more without all the excessive scripts so you can get a feel for what to expect in the rest of the game.

 

I think another good area is running from Markarth to Solitude.

[winflakes]

Yeah, you may be right. Right now I'm simply running the benchmark set suggested in the STEP. When I look at TechAngel85's benchmarks he is running 52-55 FPS after fixes, and by his system specs, i should be able to have better performance than him at that stage. I don't want to create a save to run around and test different areas, I just want to compare apples to apples to so i can make sure I haven't buggered something badly. Which, as of right now, it looks like i have since i appear to be way below where I should be. That's what I'm trying to fix right now.

[Pretendeavor]

I think you should expect 40-60 fps in exteriors with a modded Skyrim. Don't waste too many hours trying to make it run smoothly at 60 fps, turn off the fps counter and start playing ;)