7970, low memory usage in BF3?

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 20:57

Today when I booted up BF3 for the first time, and about 5minutes in, I get a DX error, stating something along the lines of "OUT OF MEMORY". I didn't quite catch it, but I wish I had screencapped it.

I went back into the game, hoping it was just a fluke and that it wouldn't happen again. It didn't happen again, however, I was running Afterburner overlay this time and noticed something odd, the game was using a really low memory usage! 500-600MB, most I seen was 710MB in a 64 server, as a result, I can certainly tell my frames have dropped significantly as a result. I just can't seem to get that error again though. I've ran Afterburner in the past, and I'm certain I've seen it use well over a 1GB before.

My GPU has 3GB VRAM, so there should be more than enough for it, I only play at 1920x1080. I haven't changed anything on my system since, apart from lowering my CPU voltage, which hasn't shown any problems during stress testing or any other use.

What is the problem?

EDIT: the error looked something like this http://williamwendland.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/desktop_2012_11_12_22_07_28_437.jpg (of course, my GPU is an AMD 7970)

d_brennen · 17 Jun 2013 at 20:57

Have you messed with your Windows pagefile?

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:02

Haven't touched it. Didn't have this issue yesterday

james_2k · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:05

broken link?

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:08

Fixed, sorry

james_2k · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:16

ok well.. i just cranked bf3 on a 64 player map (the subway one?) to check, and its using 2gigs of vram on both cores. which is pretty much all of it

this is at 1440p but at 1080p yes i would think it would still be over a gig.

have you reinstalled drivers etc?

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:17

No, should I try?

james_2k · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:19

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:40

Tried it. No change, still the problem persists

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:45

Just tried a 64 man Metro the server (the subway map you're referring to), not getting anything more than 600MB usage.

james_2k · 17 Jun 2013 at 21:46

hmm.. i assume all the options in the settings menu are the same?

how are other games running?

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 22:00

Yeah, all ultra minus anti-aliasing, ambien occ and some more.

In other games, I'm not sure. I was just playing GRID2, which is using just under 1GB, 945MB to be precise, which I've maxed out.

james_2k · 17 Jun 2013 at 22:11

if other games are using more vram and running fine, esp high end games such as crysis. then i would say its likely to be a corrupt file or two in your bf3 installation.

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 22:16

I just asked my friend with a 7970 to use Afterburner and tell me his results. He said his was using 1485 mb consistently! I must have a problem

pprest123 · 17 Jun 2013 at 23:38

Just booted up Crysis 3, that game is eating up 1.5GB of my VRAM easily. http://i.imgur.com/GAcDY4A.jpg

Rusty0611 · 18 Jun 2013 at 00:06

Re-install the game.

PaulyD · 18 Jun 2013 at 10:11

I would try a repair installation of the game prior to reinstalling it. Its a hefty download if you don't have a disc version

Havana_UK · 18 Jun 2013 at 10:20

For reference I find BF3 uses about 1.5-1.8Gb VRAM at 1920x1200, with all settings (including MSAA) maxed. If re-installing the GPU drivers hasn't worked then try re-installing the game as others have suggested.

chief barker · 18 Jun 2013 at 11:11

I've just loaded up BF3 and I'm using ~2400MB V-RAM.

I did notice that the V-RAM usage went up as I went to a new area. It started off at about 1400MB and slowly crept up.

Is this normal for the game to slowly load the textures to V-RAM on the fly? as I noticed very small stuttering when it was filling up.

james_2k · 18 Jun 2013 at 12:58

its normal yes, but i dont think it should stutter. mine doesnt.

and yes +1 on reinstalling if crysis works fine!