Persistent Frame Rate Dips

[dexterbreedlove]

Hey guys,

 

Just wanted to put to put my call for help on the forum to see if there is any hope in salvaging Warframe for me. 
I'm not sure about the source of the problem, but I can definitely rule out internet connectivity.

 

 Anyway, upon first logging in (I used my fps in the liset as a constant method for comparison; Using my fps in missions wouldn't be a good basis for comparison as there would be too many variables that could affect fps) my fps would average around 250. However, after the first minute, fps drops to around 40fps (still on the liset) and it consistently stays that way for the rest of that login duration.
 

 I've tried to go into a mission and returning to the liset, but fps still stays at 40fps.

I'm currently using the lowest possible settings too, and have tried unparking CPUs and updating GPU drivers and reinstalling Warframe (basically, I've tried all the solutions that I'd found while researching about the problem) but to no avail. The problem only started happening in the update before 2015.03.11.21.02.

 

  My concern isn't really with the framerate dip itself but more of how my laptop was able to run Warframe no problem on the same settings, staying at least 70fps on missions and 200+fps on the liset, and suddenly how fps dropped.

 Any suggestions would be most welcome, thank you very much! :-)

 

[Z1B1]

well first graphic settings are really vague since they only controll the detail of your frame (not enviroment), try disabling PhysiX it makes graphics cards cry because particles are very un-optimised currently in warframe and optimising game cache from launcher also helps with performance

 

other than that i blame Birdlifter update

Edited March 16, 2015 by Z1B1

[dexterbreedlove]

well first graphic settings are really vague since they only controll the detail of your frame (not enviroment), try disabling PhysiX it makes graphics cards cry because particles are very un-optimised currently in warframe and optimising game cache from launcher also helps with performance

 

other than that i blame Birdlifter update

 

Sorry bout that, I'm far from knowledgeable about these things :S

Yup I've already disabled PhysiX but that doesn't seem to help, lowering the graphic settings doesn't seem to help at all for me

Were there any graphic updates in the newest update that could have led to my problem?

[Cydro_]

Do you have vsync turned on? It limits your FPS to your monitor's refresh rate

[AdunSaveMe]

Are you playing fullscreen? And what kind of card do you have?

 

I have an AMD card and I've had nothing but fps improvements as the updates have gone on, but my framerate dips significantly if I play in Borderless (which unfortunately is the only way I can avoid that loading screen that kills my driver, most of the time :/ ).

[Miracue]

Try disabling ambient occlusion and dynamic exposure, those were recent additions that may lag your GPU. Also, try lowering particle quality, disable character shadows and local reflections.

Lowering your screen resolution could also work, its worth a shot :)

[dexterbreedlove]

Try disabling ambient occlusion and dynamic exposure, those were recent additions that may lag your GPU. Also, try lowering particle quality, disable character shadows and local reflections.

Lowering your screen resolution could also work, its worth a shot :)

I've already disabled both of those options, and have the rest to lowest but the problem still persists.

I haven't tried lowering screen resolution, will definitely give it a try, thanks! :-)

 

Are you playing fullscreen? And what kind of card do you have?

 

I have an AMD card and I've had nothing but fps improvements as the updates have gone on, but my framerate dips significantly if I play in Borderless (which unfortunately is the only way I can avoid that loading screen that kills my driver, most of the time :/ ).

Yes I am, and have a nvidia GeForce 840M which I don't think is THAT bad? :S

 

Ah I see, that's interesting... alright thanks! :-)

 

Do you have vsync turned on? It limits your FPS to your monitor's refresh rate

 

Nope turned off, that's how I was able to get to 250+ fps on the liset in the first place :-P

[Cydro_]

Nope turned off, that's how I was able to get to 250+ fps on the liset in the first place :-P

Yes I figured, just wanted to rule it out since its steady 40 ;D

[MillbrookWest]

I'm gunna take a stab and say your system is overheating.

 

Running without V-sync means (where possible) your system will render as many frames as it can possibly manage; It will not limit it's workload. Instead, running your components to their limit in a manner akin to a stress test.

 

I can suggest two ways of testing it. One more through than the other. (the first should suffice in all likelihood)

 

First one is easier.

Download Core temp:

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

 

Next download GPU-Z

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

 

Run both at the same time.

 

Boot up Warframe and keep them both running in the background.

 

Leave it until the frame-rates drop, give it a few seconds, and alt-tab out of warframe and record your MAX temperatures on these components.

 

More thorough way to determine heat:

Download this hardware monitoring tool:

http://www.hwinfo.com/download.php

64-bit, or 32-bit depending on your OS, highly likely to be 64-bit.

 

You only need the portable version. No hassle of installing and un-installing.

 

Unpack it somewhere (i usually use the desktop for things im going to throw away)

 

Run the app. It should come up with a little "welcome" window with "Run" on it. Don't click run yet.

 

instead there is a little check box to the left, you only need the 'sensor' readouts. So make sure that is checked.

 

Click run and wait for it to load. Once its open you should have a table with a bunch of readouts, find the readout for your CPU and open it's graph by double clicking on its readings. (you can stretch the graph horizontally to increase the time it logs data) - NOTE: Finding your CPU temp shouldn't be too difficult, it's labelled "CPU" and has a little picture of a thermometer beside it ;)

 

Do the same for your GPU.

 

You should also bring up the graphs for your components (CPU & GPU) clock speed (this will tell you if heat is a problem). It should be labelled "Clock" in the respective sections of the table.

 

Let it run in the background and boot warframe. 

 

Now, run warframe, wait for it to drop in FPS, give is a few seconds, alt tab out of Warframe and check if everything is as it should be. Check your Temps, and clocks, are good.

 

If either of the clock speeds drop, your system may be throttling the components to stop them burning out. (NOTE: Your clock speeds will naturally drop when you alt-tab out of Warframe, just be aware of that. If you line your graphs up you should be able to see when the program starts logging the desktop values)

This second one will allow you to check lots of other things too. RAM, Disk activity, Page file usage etcetera. But for just heat checking, the first method should be good.

 

For the CPU and GPU temps (assuming intel/Nvidia combo):

70C is fine

80C is worrying

90C is bad

100C is critical

 

[dexterbreedlove]

I'm gunna take a stab and say your system is overheating.

 

Running without V-sync means (where possible) your system will render as many frames as it can possibly manage; It will not limit it's workload. Instead, running your components to their limit in a manner akin to a stress test.

 

I can suggest two ways of testing it. One more through than the other. (the first should suffice in all likelihood)

 

First one is easier.

Download Core temp:

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

 

Next download GPU-Z

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

 

Run both at the same time.

 

Boot up Warframe and keep them both running in the background.

 

Leave it until the frame-rates drop, give it a few seconds, and alt-tab out of warframe and record your MAX temperatures on these components.

 

More thorough way to determine heat:

Download this hardware monitoring tool:

http://www.hwinfo.com/download.php

64-bit, or 32-bit depending on your OS, highly likely to be 64-bit.

 

You only need the portable version. No hassle of installing and un-installing.

 

Unpack it somewhere (i usually use the desktop for things im going to throw away)

 

Run the app. It should come up with a little "welcome" window with "Run" on it. Don't click run yet.

 

instead there is a little check box to the left, you only need the 'sensor' readouts. So make sure that is checked.

 

Click run and wait for it to load. Once its open you should have a table with a bunch of readouts, find the readout for your CPU and open it's graph by double clicking on its readings. (you can stretch the graph horizontally to increase the time it logs data) - NOTE: Finding your CPU temp shouldn't be too difficult, it's labelled "CPU" and has a little picture of a thermometer beside it ;)

 

Do the same for your GPU.

 

You should also bring up the graphs for your components (CPU & GPU) clock speed (this will tell you if heat is a problem). It should be labelled "Clock" in the respective sections of the table.

 

Let it run in the background and boot warframe. 

 

Now, run warframe, wait for it to drop in FPS, give is a few seconds, alt tab out of Warframe and check if everything is as it should be. Check your Temps, and clocks, are good.

 

If either of the clock speeds drop, your system may be throttling the components to stop them burning out. (NOTE: Your clock speeds will naturally drop when you alt-tab out of Warframe, just be aware of that. If you line your graphs up you should be able to see when the program starts logging the desktop values)

This second one will allow you to check lots of other things too. RAM, Disk activity, Page file usage etcetera. But for just heat checking, the first method should be good.

 

For the CPU and GPU temps (assuming intel/Nvidia combo):

70C is fine

80C is worrying

90C is bad

100C is critical

Hey man, 

I tried your first suggestion, got a max core and GPU temp of 63C. Is this like my cores and GPU being underutilised?

 

Anyway thanks so much again for your suggestions!

[MillbrookWest]

Hey man, 

I tried your first suggestion, got a max core and GPU temp of 63C. Is this like my cores and GPU being underutilised?

 

Anyway thanks so much again for your suggestions!

What CPU and GPU are you using?

 

To be clear, these are the values you want from the programs:

CPU temp:

 

GPU temp:

(you have to click on the temerature readout for it to cycle through min, max, avg temps)

 

If you can provide screen shots, that would be even better ;)

[dexterbreedlove]

What CPU and GPU are you using?

 

To be clear, these are the values you want from the programs:

CPU temp:

 

GPU temp:

(you have to click on the temerature readout for it to cycle through min, max, avg temps)

 

If you can provide screen shots, that would be even better ;)

CPU: Intel® Core i7-4510U

GPU: GeForce 840M

 

[MillbrookWest]

CPU: Intel® Core i7-4510U

GPU: GeForce 840M

 

Your temps look fine, But im curious why the GPU load remains high after you close Warframe? I'm assuming you closed it where the clock speeds drop, but the load on the GPU keeps going for a handful of seconds after that.

 

Is the PerfCap readout saying anything? As i understand, it pulls that info from the driver. It may just be rudimentary info though.

 

I would try with HWinfo, in tandem with Fraps too.

http://www.fraps.com/download.php

 

With Fraps running before you start HWinfo, you can log your frame rates.

 

For example:

 

You can see in the graph above the exact point i enable V-sync and how that change corresponds with changes to the graphs i have open.

 

I would suggest playing around with various graphs for clock speed, temps, memory usage etc. lining them up and seeing what is happening when your Frame rates drop.

 

 

Failing anything on the hardware side, it may be a display driver issue (incorrect limits and targets), or a windows issue.

 

NOTE:

To get HWinfo to read out the frame-rates from fraps. Start fraps first. Then open up HWinfo. The section of the table for fraps will have no readings. Just open a personal video and fraps will start logging data which HWinfo will pick up on. You can then open up the graph and align it like i've done ;)

[dexterbreedlove]

Your temps look fine, But im curious why the GPU load remains high after you close Warframe? I'm assuming you closed it where the clock speeds drop, but the load on the GPU keeps going for a handful of seconds after that.

 

Is the PerfCap readout saying anything? As i understand, it pulls that info from the driver. It may just be rudimentary info though.

 

I would try with HWinfo, in tandem with Fraps too.

http://www.fraps.com/download.php

 

With Fraps running before you start HWinfo, you can log your frame rates.

 

For example:

 

You can see in the graph above the exact point i enable V-sync and how that change corresponds with changes to the graphs i have open.

 

I would suggest playing around with various graphs for clock speed, temps, memory usage etc. lining them up and seeing what is happening when your Frame rates drop.

 

 

Failing anything on the hardware side, it may be a display driver issue (incorrect limits and targets), or a windows issue.

 

NOTE:

To get HWinfo to read out the frame-rates from fraps. Start fraps first. Then open up HWinfo. The section of the table for fraps will have no readings. Just open a personal video and fraps will start logging data which HWinfo will pick up on. You can then open up the graph and align it like i've done ;)

:O Wow, I really appreciate your effort and suggestions man! Will try them out soon :-)

Anyway, I've realised that a sure-fire way of getting my fps to dip from 250+ to 40~ is to open up the pathway on the liset from the navigation to the arsenal area, as well as opening navigation. Could this mean anything?