GTX 580 and maxing Diablo 3 in 3D

[xsistor]

My 580 in 3D with all on max (High shadows) drops to 30FPS :/ but without 3D it's more like 85-90FPS... With med shadows and in 3D it is 60FPS (Vsync capped) while in 2D mode it is 120fps (vsync capped).

That loss from 60 to 30 fps in 3D seems like a substantial loss. I also notice that my GPU usage lingers at around 60-80% in this so it seems like it's an optimization issue. I'm using Forceware 301.24. Is anyone playing Diablo 3 in 3D with similar issues?

I hate to think I need to upgrade a 580 already to play a Blizzard game. And really I want to wait for GK110.

 

[Rusty0611]

You definitely don't need to upgrade. The engine is pretty basic and as you say, it isn't even fully using your 580.

I have a 680 and am using maximum settings. Tonight on Nightmare mode Act III I had some terrible slow down. I think it's the high settings for shadows causing it. Could you not just run with medium shadows as it works OK like that?

There isn't that much difference.

 

[Michaeljcox24]

Dude 3D Vision is known to half your fps on most modern games. For all the bells and whistles on most modern games, you need SLI to run at 60fps

Source: Currently running 3D Vision 2 and found out the hard way that 1 580 doesn't cut the mustard.

 

[HeX]

I think D3 has a memory leak or something, as over time I find that the game will reach a point where it starts to slow down and my fps starts to drop, but then if I ALT+TAB out and back again performance will return to normal.

 

[Barry1987]

My FPS goes down from 60+ to 30 when using 3D on BF3. It's normal.

 

[Mole]

My 580 in 3D with all on max (High shadows) drops to 30FPS :/ but without 3D it's more like 85-90FPS... With med shadows and in 3D it is 60FPS (Vsync capped) while in 2D mode it is 120fps (vsync capped).

Sounds like a normal V-Sync issue to me. I assume you cannot run 3D without V-Sync. However, can you enable triple buffering, eg using D3Doverrider? I don't use 3D so I don't know what is still allowed compared to 2D. Given the GPU usage, I would expect to see between 37 and 50 FPS.

Martin

 

[Rusty0611]

I think you're all missing the issue. He gets 60 FPS with medium shadows on (3D vsync capped) but 30 with high shadows on. Re-read the original post. It's not the halving he's questioning, it's the substantial loss in FPS from going from medium -> high (at least I think! )

 

[xsistor]

~Except FPS isn't halving. It's more than halving. It drops from 80ish to 30fps max when in 3D mode. Also my GPU usage lingers at 60-80% which is definitely an optimization issue. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience iwth any drivers (beta or otherwise) which fix this issue.

 

[xsistor]

And this:

I think you're all missing the issue. He gets 60 FPS with medium shadows on (3D vsync capped) but 30 with high shadows on. Re-read the original post. It's not the halving he's questioning, it's the substantial loss in FPS from going from medium -> high (at least I think! )

Which I find rather curious.

 

[Mole]

~Except FPS isn't halving. It's more than halving. It drops from 80ish to 30fps max when in 3D mode. Also my GPU usage lingers at 60-80% which is definitely an optimization issue. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience iwth any drivers (beta or otherwise) which fix this issue.

Not quite... this is what I meant by my first post...

You are going from 80ish uncapped (is this with VSync on or off?) at 100% GPU usage (I assume) to a capped 30 FPS with GPU usage at between 60 to 80%.

I don't know how the nVidia drivers deal with 3D mode and VSync. If each 'eye' is given its own apparent 60Hz monitor, then with double buffering I would expect to see any FPS below 60 (per eye) to drop instantly to 30 (per eye) due to the normal VSync frame rate reduction. GPU usage will reduce as a result, since the card is capable of between 37 and 50 FPS (estimate based on 60 to 80% GPU usage reported).

In 2D world with a 60Hz monitor and VSync, the only way to increase this would be to enable triple buffering. However, as I say, I don't know the limitations of the nVidia 3D driver. If you can enable triple buffering (per eye), I would expect you could achieve 40ish FPS with full GPU utilisation.

Of course, this still doesn't explain why one simple change from medium to full shadows causes such a large dip in FPS... that one is probably down to game optimisation or overzealous use of shadow technologies in high mode?!?

Out of interest, what is the GPU usage with medium shadows in 2D mode at 120Hz (VSync capped)? Or, what FPS do you get with VSync disabled with these settings?

Martin

 

[Gregster]

You have to remember that the frames shown is halved. So 80fps will show as 40fps (at least with fraps this is true). You do lose a few fps because of the extra effort required I guess. I notice a frame rate drop of around 3-5fps using 3D. 80fps = 37fps when in 3D

 

[xsistor]

Not quite... this is what I meant by my first post...

You are going from 80ish uncapped (is this with VSync on or off?) at 100% GPU usage (I assume) to a capped 30 FPS with GPU usage at between 60 to 80%.

I don't know how the nVidia drivers deal with 3D mode and VSync. If each 'eye' is given its own apparent 60Hz monitor, then with double buffering I would expect to see any FPS below 60 (per eye) to drop instantly to 30 (per eye) due to the normal VSync frame rate reduction. GPU usage will reduce as a result, since the card is capable of between 37 and 50 FPS (estimate based on 60 to 80% GPU usage reported).

In 2D world with a 60Hz monitor and VSync, the only way to increase this would be to enable triple buffering. However, as I say, I don't know the limitations of the nVidia 3D driver. If you can enable triple buffering (per eye), I would expect you could achieve 40ish FPS with full GPU utilisation.

Of course, this still doesn't explain why one simple change from medium to full shadows causes such a large dip in FPS... that one is probably down to game optimisation or overzealous use of shadow technologies in high mode?!?

Out of interest, what is the GPU usage with medium shadows in 2D mode at 120Hz (VSync capped)? Or, what FPS do you get with VSync disabled with these settings?

Martin

I know perfectly well how 3D works and I know that's not the issue here.
80-90 is with VSync on . I find higher GPU usage this way. Close to 90% whereas with it capped and in 3D The GPU usage clearly indicates that it's not being utilised anywhere near the levels it should. wHich would account for the 30 or lower fps.

What I'd like to know is if users with a 580 are getting better framerates and if so, with what drivers. I use Foreceware 301.24.

 

[mmj_uk]

Can't you disable v-sync and then it won't jump down to 30fps?

Without 3D you said you get 85-90fps, half of that (with 3D) is 42.5-45fps which with v-sync enabled will drop the frame rate to 30fps and hence your GPU is being under-utilised.

Also shadows on highest used to rape WoW frame-rate so I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same with Diablo.

 

[Mole]

Without 3D you said you get 85-90fps, half of that (with 3D) is 42.5-45fps which with v-sync enabled will drop the frame rate to 30fps and hence your GPU is being under-utilised.

That's what I was suggesting, but xsistor says this is not the case.

I look forward to seeing if this gets solved/answered... sorry I couldn't help.

Martin

 

[bee]

vsync in 3D works like triple buffered vsync, your framerate doesn't drop from 60 -> 30 -> 15 like normal vsync