Stuttering issues

[Jan Mikuž]

I just installed the latest drivers for my gpu(R7 250X a.k.a. 7770) and did a quick test of the game.
The game ran smooth as butter for 10 minutes, then all of a sudden it began to stutter randomly ?
What can cause/trigger this ?

This was a test day V12@Montreal. Ultra preset, 4x AF, VSync on with stable 60fps (even when stutters occur), supersampling and 4xAA in Catalyst.

Thanks

 

[Insert Coin]

Heat perhaps (on CPU or GPU)? This will throttle the CPU/GPU clock down to let it cool, which results in stutter. Check for dust in your PC.
Or background programs which 'consume' the CPU?

 

[Jan Mikuž]

CPU temp atm doesn't go over 35-40 and Gpu max while playing for an hour was 59, so it's not that.
Other than system apps, I had Afterburner, Bandicam , Steam, Catalyst open(in tray). Maybe windows update or security essentials activity causes the stuttering.

So the stuttering can be either Cpu or gpu related ? What's the most likely cause, now that overheating is excluded ?

 

[Insert Coin]

Did you overclock your CPU or GPU? If so, disable overclocking, just to see if this is the cause.

 

[Jan Mikuž]

No, all stock. CPU is a G1610, I have 4gb ram and I'm on Win 7.

 

[Insert Coin]

Did the stutter occur on the old video driver?

 

[Kevin Pheiffer]

Sometimes, turning off "Record replays" helps.
4gig of ram isn't much and depends if you running 64 bit windows.

Also, the cpu you are using is a Celeron 2,6gig. Bit slow for modern games.
Try turning down the shadows as well.

 

[Jan Mikuž]

Yes, pretty similar issues. Will run smooth, then the stutters begin occurring and the objects move past me slower (just slightly, but it's noticeable).

I wish there was some way of checking if the performance does really slow down or I'm just not used to such a high graphical de

 

[Kevin Pheiffer]

All I can suggest is to turn ALL graphics to their lowest and run the game.
If smooth, set a few things on medium and try again.
Still smooth?
Now up them again in stages. Keep doing that until you see the stutter again and go back one click on the last setting. Shadows will kill your FPS on that card.

 

[Insert Coin]

Since you have Afterburner on your PC: you can let it sample the FPS e.g. twice per second. This will give you a nice graph and may show you if the FPS really drops.

 

[Jan Mikuž]

Thanks for your kind and swift assistance, guys.
Still not satisfied with the results. Testing the penultimate driver version now and same results.
I expected great results after switching to a modern gpu , but now i seem to be having trouble getting used to this new visual experience/performance.
Never had such a weird stuttery feeling when driving before on my old 8800gt. Here's my findings:

To see if there really are stutters i even drove a couple of laps at 30kmh. And i could hardly see any, i tried hard to notice any twitching, but the objects, tarmac patterns, environment seemed to move at a constant linear speed, without any twitching. I then sped up and began driving at race speed and the twitchy/stuttery sensation immediately reappeared...

So my guess is that it's just me who perceives the performance as stuttering/fps drops, but in reality it is running smooth and it's actually just the camera movements caused by bumps, curbs and other interference + perhaps coupled with uneven tarmac patterns that i seem to perceive as stutters. Not yet sure...
FPS shows stable 60fps, CPU is unloaded, CPU/GPU temp is ok, everything seems fine and i should have no such issues. I'm a bit lost atm...
I get the same visual experience and performance(from cockpit view) on any graphics preset i choose.

@Insert Coin
Please tell me how do i enable Afterburner on-screen display in GSC ?
The values don't show in game. I currently use Bandicam for fps reading.

 

[Jan Mikuž]

Tried a couple of full grid Marcas AI races@Bologna on high preset, 4xAF.
Constant 60fps, no noticeable stutter. Even got to see the off-line dust coming up, hehe.
Hm, this should be even more graphically demanding than solo racing, but it felt smooth...
Even watching replay i get 60 for much of the lap, only at certain spots and with many cars in view it drops. But hardly any sign of that annoying stuttering/twitching.

A very enjoyable experience, i must say. And the AI is high quality, as well, as one would expect from Reiza. They even attack the curbs.

 

[JoelGL]

@Insert Coin
Please tell me how do i enable Afterburner on-screen display in GSC ?
The values don't show in game. I currently use Bandicam for fps reading.

I believe you have to install RivaTunerStatisticsServer (w/c came with the Afterburner installation) to do that.

 

[Insert Coin]

I don't know how to enable the on-screen FPS counter. I always look at the Afterburner graph when I have closed the game.

 

[Msportdan]

correct install riva application, then click on screen display support, ten you can tinker with size colour etc of the display.

 

[Jan Mikuž]

I'm currently testing a different monitor -19in (1440x900/75Hz) and apparently this card can handle it on Ultra/4xAA/8xAF at stable VSynced 75. This is driving solo ofcourse, it drops watching TV replay understandably. Bonnet cam and other lower fov ones at 75. Have not yet tried with multi grid...
And i've only noticed maybe a couple minor stutters in the last hour of testing on various tracks.
So it's definitely not the hardware that's holding me back...

It must have been some technical issue with the monitor i was using before(don't know how old no name LCD 17'' monitor/1280x1024/60Hz), some refresh rate/resolution issue or smth else...I don't know.

So far, so good with this new one. Hopefully it stays like this. I guess there's no reason really for the performance to deteriorate all of a sudden. If it works, it works, right ?

 

[Jan Mikuž]

Kart tracks stutter very noticeably. Seem to be more graphically heavy or smth...
Had to lower graphics quite a bit. Especially Floripa is terrible - twitches every second or so (the objects move in skippy, spazzy manner towards me), which makes it unplayable. CPU is unloaded, fps counter shows 75.

Update:
Lowered the graphics to normal preset/2xAA...much smoother now

 

[Insert Coin]

Turn vsync off, that may help.

 

[Msportdan]

either or all..

-Turn time scale to none.
-Change all replay features in PLR file to their minimum. (i.e.: length 10 sec, save to memory, record hotlaps off, record 0 replays per track etc)
-In PLR file. Find garage LOD detail (something like that) should be at 0.6000 - set to 0.2000.

I was getting stuttering at certain low evening levels and certain pit straights, the above pretty much smooths out even with DSRx2 full gfx.

 

[Jan Mikuž]

But i want my replays... Thx for the tips, will keep that in mind.
VSync off causes unplayable stutter and fluctuation of fps. As i said, atm performance seemed to have stabilized quite a bit with the new monitor. Only kart tracks seem to be more heavy on the system and i need to lower graphics preset considerably (normal preset/2AA seems to work ok for now).