Terrible Metro 2033 performance

[teppic]

I'm experimenting with 670 SLI, but I'm getting really awful stuttering in Metro 2033. Not just microstutter but clear pauses, whether FPS is high or low. Happens in both Windows 7 and 8. I'm running this on a 4670K at 4.5GHz with 16GB RAM.

Are results like this from the benchmark normal?

 

[LtMatt]

Sorry Teppic can't help you.

Forgive the OT question but when did you get a second 670 you sly dog?

 

[Suarez7]

Stuttering just in the benchmark or in game as well? The benchmark always ran dodgy on my 7970, haven't tried it on 780 yet.

 

[teppic]

Sorry Teppic can't help you.

Forgive the OT question but when did you get a second 670 you sly dog?

A couple of days ago. I was trying to keep my shame secret I figured I'd give it a go instead of selling the one I'd got while prices are so low.

 

[LtMatt]

A couple of days ago. I was trying to keep my shame secret I figured I'd give it a go instead of selling the one I'd got while prices are so low.

Makes perfect sense.

 

[teppic]

Stuttering just in the benchmark or in game as well? The benchmark always ran dodgy on my 7970, haven't tried it on 780 yet.

I've not played the game really yet - had it ages but I knew it needed a lot of GPU grunt. From the little I've played it's definitely not 60hz smooth.

 

[teppic]

Makes perfect sense.

I also figure nvidia prices hold well so I can upgrade to a 290X later when the prices drop.

I'm still not convinced though if I'm constantly hitting under 10fps in this game even with SLI.

 

[LtMatt]

You can test Battlefield 4 vram usage and performance on your 670 SLI. setup.

Shame you're only at 1080p though.

Try Physx off?

I have that bench so can run a comparison if you want, though if i try running Physx on im afraid my pc might blow up.

 

[teppic]

You can test Battlefield 4 vram usage and performance on your 670 SLI. setup.

Shame you're only at 1080p though.

Try Physx off?

I have that bench so can run a comparison if you want.

Please do

1200p thank you very much!

I tried with PhysX off, still get the stutters.

 

[LtMatt]

Will do it tomorrow mate. Time to deliver some LT loving to the other half.

 

[teppic]

Will do it tomorrow mate. Time to deliver some LT loving to the other half.

This has conjured up all sorts of unwanted pictures in my mind

 

[MeMeMeMe]

There are some config settings that may be set incorrectly in Metro 2033. I'm not sure how it happens, but it sometimes does.

You need to edit a file called user.cfg:

First look for it in your metro 2033 config folder:
* username\AppData\Local\4A Games\Metro 2033\user.cfg

Look for each of the following lines, and change them:

Search for "r_dx11_dof" and set it to 0 ("r_dx11_dof 0")
Search for "r_gi" and set it to 0.
Search for "r_vsync" and set it to on (r_vsync on) - yes, I know that's the opposite of what you expect.
You might also want to search for "sick_fov" and change it from 45 to 60.

It's suggested that putting vsync_on disables some of the code relating to 3d display tech, which is active even if not used. (It also doesn't actually turn vsync on - if you want it, you need to enable it in the in-game settings or in your driver!)
That change, and r_gi, stabilised my performance and the latter removes some graphic anomalies (strange red blocks on the screen when using laser sights).

After you save those files, copy the user.cfg to this location:
* Steam\Userdata\[folderwithnumbers]\43110\remote\
(If you don't change the file in both locations, your changes will be undone after you run Metro).

Finally look in this location
* Steam\Steamapps\common\Metro 2033\.
If there's a user.cfg file there, delete it.

Hopefully this will solve your performance problem.

 

[teppic]

Thanks for the suggestions. Those values are already in the user.cfg in all places, I guess Steam already makes those changes.

 

[LtMatt]

I'm experimenting with 670 SLI, but I'm getting really awful stuttering in Metro 2033. Not just microstutter but clear pauses, whether FPS is high or low. Happens in both Windows 7 and 8. I'm running this on a 4670K at 4.5GHz with 16GB RAM.

Are results like this from the benchmark normal?

Ran two tests. Clocks of cpu/gpu's in my sig. One with same settings as you but DOF enabled (first screen) and second was with matched settings. (DOF disabled - second screen)

Why do you disable DOF? I find it increases the cpu bottleneck for me. In that second run my gpu usage was dropping more despite higher fps.

I also uploaded the first run through and recorded it on youtube. Definitely no stutter on either run with either setting, so i think you should try turning Physx off and see if it becomes smooth.

DOF Enabled

Same Settings As you

Sorry about the background noise in the video, had a fan on.

 

[teppic]

No problems there. Hmm.

This is PhysX off, DOF on.

Stuttery mess still.

 

[LtMatt]

I guess those fps drops are what the black lines are?

Honestly at this stage ive no idea. Have you tried overclocking your cards?

 

[teppic]

Yeah, each black line going down means it's freezing briefly.

Same results with the cards stock or overclocked.

Just tried it on low settings - same results. Grr.

 

[LtMatt]

Yeah, each black line going down means it's freezing briefly.

Same results with the cards stock or overclocked.

Just tried it on low settings - same results. Grr.

Other than trying different drivers, im out of ideas. I'll leave it to someone using SLI to try and help.

I'm out.

 

[teppic]

Other than trying different drivers, im out of ideas. I'll leave it to someone using SLI to try and help.

I'm out.

Could be that you've got an i7. I'll stick my 4770K in this later and try.

 

[VincentHanna]

Could try turning off Hyper-threading in the BIOS and see it if helps.

Some older games work better without it.