Certain graphics options cause unexpectedly low performance (UPDATED!)

[D.Va]

EDIT: I'm completely rewriting this thread because the issue is more complicated than it initially appeared.

 

Here's what's going on: I'm playing my standard test scenario which I've been using for years: flying the A-10C over Vegas at low altitude. I'm sporting a 3070 and a 2560x1440/165 monitor. If I run all minimum graphics options I get a solid 165 FPS (technically speaking 162 FPS) with 90% GPU usage exactly as expected.

 

If I set any of these graphics options I get 82 FPS and 15% GPU usage:

• Visib. Range Ultra or Extreme
• MSAA 2X or 4X
• SSAA 1.5X or 2X
• SSAO On

All other graphics options are still absolute minimum. It makes no sense for all of these graphics options to use identical amounts of performance!

 

Obviously, there's some kind of weird bottleneck which is making poor performance happen for no reason.

 

It's not the CPU. It's not the VRAM.

 

EDIT: It appears to be NVidia Control Panel-related... I'm using all standard options except Low Latency Mode Ultra, Max Frame Rate 162 FPS, and Vertical Sync On, which are the optimal choices for G-sync monitor users. I'll continue to investigate.

 

EDIT2: After a lot of fidgeting around the issue is mysteriously gone. As far as I can tell, I still have the exact same NVidia Control Panel and in-game options as when the issue was happening. I'm afraid the only moral of the story is if you don't get >80% GPU usage, it's a fixable problem... I'd recommend reseting and re-setting your NVidia CP.

Edited July 3, 2021 by D.Va

[Blackhaze440]

If you have all the settings on the low end this is probably your issue. Try running on medium to high settings and see if fully utilizes your hardware. I have played quite a few games that ran worse in low settings compared to using higher settings because of it them not wanting to fully use the systems resources on low. Sloppy coding on gaming developers part. Also check to see if you have downloaded any new windows updates. Some of the preview builds are buggy

Edited July 2, 2021 by Blackhaze440

[D.Va]

I have updated this thread with new information.

[Predator-78]

Interesting