Framerate issues on monster system

**WhiteKnight** · 10-26-2010, 06:54 PM

Hi,

I think I have a system that is way more than capable of running this game at MAX settings. I can get pretty decent framerates with SSAO set to medium at 8 samples, however, if I set SSAO to High, there are mega framerate issues. When I run FRAPS, even though FRAPS shows the frames dropping to say 51 or 54, from 60, there is a noticeable chop which destroys the immersion. I especially notice this just after loading a game, but there are other times where the frames seem to drop also...usually occurs when I am turning the character one way or the other. I thought framerates above 40 were no different to the human eye than from 60 so why would a drop to low 50's make it chop? Please help.

Here are my system specs:

Intel i7 950 3.06GHz @ stock settings
EVGA x58 FTW3
Corsair Dominator 6GB DDR3 with 8-8-8-20 timings
EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1536MB
Razer DeathAdder 3500DPI 1000Hz polling
CoolerMaster HAF-X
OCZ Vertex 2 SSD Sata II 180GB 285/275
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium Professional Fatal1ty
ASUS 23" LED ML-238H 2ms
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

**Thomas** · 10-27-2010, 07:55 AM

SSAO on high is simply extremely demanding and SSAO on low and with 8 or 16 samples looks good enough. A higher setting is simply overkill.

**WhiteKnight** · 10-27-2010, 07:13 PM

(10-27-2010, 07:55 AM)Thomas Wrote: SSAO on high is simply extremely demanding and SSAO on low and with 8 or 16 samples looks good enough. A higher setting is simply overkill.

Hi Thomas, while that may be true, my system should be way more than capable of running the game at MAX settings with 16 samples and SSAO set to high.

Since I have a dual boot, I tested the game on Windows XP Pro 64-bit with high SSAO and 16 samples and it does seem to run smoother than in Windows 7 ultimate. Why would this be? Is this game not optimized for Windows 7?

**Thomas** · 10-28-2010, 08:49 AM

The game runs fine for me on Windows 7, so I am guessing that it might be some conflict (do you have have Windws Aero or similar on?) or a driver issue.

And SSAO is really not a needed feature. The game was developed at medium. High is really just a "fun extra" Smile

**Yuhaney** · 10-28-2010, 08:58 AM

I didn't really notice huge difference between the SSAO if it was set to 8 samples or the maximum.
Only thing was that it lagged very much on higher SSAO.

**WhiteKnight** · 10-28-2010, 07:29 PM

(10-28-2010, 08:49 AM)Thomas Wrote: The game runs fine for me on Windows 7, so I am guessing that it might be some conflict (do you have have Windws Aero or similar on?) or a driver issue.

And SSAO is really not a needed feature. The game was developed at medium. High is really just a "fun extra"

How do I turn off Aero, by just selecting a Windows 7 Basic theme?

Also, the part I really notice the lag is after I load this particular save game, which is saved just after I enter into the Wine Cellar. As soon as I look around, the game stutters in a few spots, but after a min or less it seems to be better. I noticed this problem even in Windows XP with the same save so not sure if it's something with the save game itself or that particular point in the game. But one thing is for sure, I definately notice more stutters in Win7 than WinXP when SSAO is set to high.

**WhiteKnight** · 11-03-2010, 06:57 PM

Thomas, do you not have any further comments regarding my post above??[/align]

**Thomas** · 11-04-2010, 08:49 AM

Well it might be some problem with a particular save, perhaps some rare physics glitch that made the game lag. But since it seems like your game lags at other places (if I am not mistaken) then that is probably not the case, but just means that something on your system is interfering and makes the game on the verge of lagging all the time.

If loading an older savegame makes the same section not lag, then attach the save game with lag and we will check it out and see if it can be replicated (Savegames are in My Documents/Amnesia/Main/[user name]/)

**WhiteKnight** · 11-04-2010, 06:21 PM

Thanks for replying back. On Windows XP I had not noticed the lag so far with the SSAO set to High, EXCEPT when I load this saved game. Although I am not very far into the game however. However, on Windows 7 the game lags when SSAO is set to High so there seems to be an issue with somethiing in Windows 7. Also, how can I turn off Aero in Windows 7. I selected the Windows 7 Basic theme, does that turn off Aero. Even with Windows 7 Basic theme (and presumably this turns Aero off) the lag exists in Windows 7 with SSAO set to High, but does not lag in XP.

Thanks again. When I get home I will attach the save game that gives me lag even in XP.

**WhiteKnight** · 11-05-2010, 03:34 AM

Hey Thomas,

I've now attached the save game where I get some lag. The frames will drop to like 50-54 from 60 and the screen will chop, seems odd to me that a small drop like that would cause a chop. Anyway, just move to the left and right on that top floor that you start on in the save game. After the first 5 chops or so, the game seems to sort itself FPS-wise.

Please let me know your findings, thanks!

.rar

AutoSave_WineCellar_2010_10_24_17_13_34_0.rar (Size: 119.09 KB / Downloads: 203)