FPS problem

[john_X]

Hi, i'm experiencing an unpleasant problem with FC3. Flying F-15, Su25/27/33 and A10 really kills my computer more exactly my video card.After upgrading from a Nvidia GTX 9800 to GT630 v2 all i can have is a 10 FPS in any cockpit, excepting the old Mig-29. Having into account that the recomended video card by ED is a GTX560 which is supposed to be less performant than mine, i'd like to know where is the problem, or is it normal a 10 FPS using medium settings? One more question i have is how is going EDGE to work using my GT630v2?

[blackbelter]

Nope, 630 is not meant to deliver better performance than 560. It may support newer technologies, which is indicated by the first digit (6 vs 5). But performancewise, the second digit is more relevant. Any NVidia card with the second digit in its name less than 6 is not good for gaming. So next time, aim for X60 or above.

Edited December 31, 2014 by blackbelter
Too many typos! Touch screen keyboard sucks!

[john_X]

Nope, 630 is not meant to deliver better performance than 560 does. It may support newer technologies, which is indicated by the first digit (6 vs 5). But performancewise, the second digit is more relevant. Any NVidia card with the second digit in its name less than 6 is not good for gaming. So next, aim of X60 or above.

 

I didn't know that, that's an information you don't find everywhere. I still have my GTX9800, would it work better than GT630?

[shagrat]

Unfortunately correct! The GT 630 aims at casual gaming, watching video, and office use... especially the GT opposed to GTX is an important indicator (X in Nvidia names is for 'extreme' as in 'high end gaming')

Also consider a card with more than 2GB RAM, if you plan on using texture mods or higher resolutions (DSR feature for 1.5x FullHD for example).

A good upgrade card is the GTX 760/770, IF(!) your power supply can support it! Usually 650watt minimum, better 700watt.

Use a power calculator ( http://www.extreme.outervision.com) as each system is different...

 

If money is a big problem, the GTX 660 ti is a good option, although it usually comes with 2GB, but it worked for me with high settings and ground texture mods at about 30-40 fps on airfields and cities.

 

...and sorry to have this tip only after you bought the card, always look at the Nvidia page and compare models. Especially number of shader units, core and memory clock speeds etc.

That is what defines the gaming performance. GT = casual gaming, GT'X' = high end gaming - fast 3D performance, first number 9xx card generation (usually better chips), second number x7x performance a 6, 7 or 8 recommended, a 'ti' at the end usually indicates a 'tweaked' card with enhanced speed compared to the 'stock' version. Consider RAM for resolution or excessive texture use (lots of objects, hi resolution textures etc.)

 

Hope this helps.

[john_X]

Yes, it is bad news for me. The reason i bought the GT630v2 was the 8gb RAM it came with. Never thought it won't be enough for gaming. Looking on the internet today for a comparison between my old GTX9800 and my new GT630v2 it seems i may return at my old videocard for the moment as it's way better for gaming. This is a big lesson for me, i am going to research alot in the future when deciding to buy anything.

[shagrat]

If you are unsure, you may also ask on the forum.

People can give you feedback on their experience with their cards and if it comes to DCS it is feedback from people playing the same stuff, so rather - "xyz" is the fastest card - you get some real answers how it runs on a i5 3.4GHz with 8GB and a GTX 660 ti...

Or what to expect from an upgrade to i7, overclocking to 4.4 GHz, 16GB and a GTX 960 so if the performance gain is worth it or not.

[Arcto10]

Also, aim for DDR5 memory in a card.

 

1GB DDR5 is better than 2GB DDR3 in a GPU.

[john_X]

I understand that a high RAM memory value allows to load many objects in the scene, which feature is directly responsible for a low FPS, or what else matters when choosing a videocard, excepting the RAM?

[shagrat]

Depends on two factors. The overall resolution the card renders require a certain amount of vRAM for the framebuffer (caching the rendered screens) and then vRAM is affected by "larger" (more detailed) textures that need to be processed. The later is not a limit, as it would start swapping textures to "normal" RAM, but that swapping can have a negative impact on fps, as it uses performance on the memory bus controller...

In general with more vRAM you can run higher resolutions, and/or use more and more detailed textures before affecting performance.

Currently with a DSR resolution of 1.5x 1080p (25xx / 15xx) plus ground texture mods (towns and villages plus low 'n' slow terrain, HD overhaul of City buildings and Ranger79s Objects) I have a RAM usage of nearly 2.9GB!

 

In general with FullHD 1080p, stock textures and high settings, 2GB will be enough, though!

 

Yet 1GB is pushing vRAM limits and may result in swapping, where it doesn't matter if vRAM is GDDR5 as the normal RAM and bus speed is the bottleneck. If it is 2GB the GDDR5 RAM is superior, though.

My advise is to look for at least 2GB vRAM, if the price difference is not much opt for 3 or 4GB.

If you think about using higher resolutions in the future (DSR or especially 4K monitor) consider 4GB...

Edited December 31, 2014 by shagrat

[Mustang]

For a brief time earlier this month i was forced to use my old 6850 1gb card after my 7850 2gb packed up on me, it was shocking to see how crippled DCS becomes with a 1gb card!

[JNASova]

Great posts shagrat:thumbup:.This will help a large number of people.

[shagrat]

Thanks! Hope it will... Graphics cards getting ever more diverse and difficult to compare.

The times where "higher number equals better performance" are no more, unfortunately... :D