Saints Row Third poor FPS

vorticalspace · 26 Jan 2012 at 09:24

Hi

Playing this game a lot lately but getting low FPS (high 20's to low 30's)

I am aware that there are known performance issues but the interesting thing is that even at such low FPS, the actual game play seems very smooth to the point where if I didn't check After Burner, I wouldn't know :confused:

No stuttering when panning & when driving at speed, all feels great.

Running game fully maxed on DX10/11, the GPU is always at 99% useage and with desk top composition disabled, using around 1000mb Vram.

So all in all, crap FPS but IMO a perfectly playable game.

Now compare this to Crysis at similar FPS and that felt much less smooth :confused:

Witcher1979 · 26 Jan 2012 at 10:06

Yeah I don't know how it all works. I don't have FPS issues with Saints Row but from what I understand most if not all console games run at 30fps and they feel OK. But running a PC game on the same screen at 30fps feels somewhat jerky. I don't really understand it all tbh. I don't know how consoles can run games pretty smooth at that framerate, maybe it is all in my head and PC games at 30fps play exactly the same.

vorticalspace · 26 Jan 2012 at 11:00

I think the point with Saints Row is that even at <30fps, it still feels smooth unlike some other PC games at similar fps :confused:

Yes, the graphics IMO look quite good and their is generally quite a lot going on, but I don't think they are <30fps good, IYKWIM

Its not even the case that you can greatly increase the fps by throwing more GPU power at the situation so i'm really interested to know how this game engine is producing a reasonable gaming experience at such low fps.

It's almost as if there is some fps limiter in place, or its fooling After Burner etc.

Very Strange

Kosmiche · 26 Jan 2012 at 11:19

vorticalspace said:
Yes, the graphics IMO look quite good and their is generally quite a lot going on, but I don't think they are <30fps good, IYKWIM

vorticalspace said:
...on, but I don't think they are <30fps good, IYKWIM

vorticalspace said:
..IYKWIM...

vorticalspace said:
..IYKWIM...

Christ.

Enjoyed my time with SR3, it was like the true sequel to san andreas I'd been waiting for.

Didn't like the "seriousness" of gta 4 so this was more up my alley, quick hijacks remain hilarious!

vorticalspace · 26 Jan 2012 at 11:33

Eames said:
Christ.

Certainly His Resurrection Is Supreme Truth

Nice one, but not sure how this has any relevance to Saints Row though

Kosmiche · 26 Jan 2012 at 11:39

Made it relevant for ya

vorticalspace · 26 Jan 2012 at 11:50

So Eames,

Got any thoughts on the low frames per second (fps) situation with Saints Row Third??

It doesn't appear to make much sense, If You Know What I Mean

Kosmiche · 26 Jan 2012 at 12:09

Yes, don't be a graphics whore and tone the settings down a bit?

All you need is the lowest anti aliasing setting for example. Shadows can be turned down for minimal image quality drop and this usually results in a big gain in performance.

You don't need to be at the bleeding edge to have a pretty looking game.

It doesn't perform fantastically because its a massive game with massive areas without much loading. A game of this sheer size and scale you can expect to not perform as well as a closed in game like call of duty for example.

vorticalspace · 26 Jan 2012 at 12:24

Eames said:
Yes, don't be a graphics whore and tone the settings down a bit?

All you need is the lowest anti aliasing setting for example. Shadows can be turned down for minimal image quality drop and this usually results in a big gain in performance.

You don't need to be at the bleeding edge to have a pretty looking game.

It doesn't perform fantastically because its a massive game with massive areas without much loading. A game of this sheer size and scale you can expect to not perform as well as a closed in game like call of duty for example.

Interesting, thanks

But in my experience and as stated in the OP, although the fps are low, the game plays smoothly, although I fully understand that "smoothness" in a gaming context can be a subjective, user specific issue.

I'll experiment later with the graphic settings, maybe dropping all to minimum to establish a base frame rate.

I may also tweak them in the config file as I believe you can adjust individual elements which may be grouped together within the game menu.

Thanks

grudas · 26 Jan 2012 at 12:30

for me its unplayable.. no matter what settings i use - low or ultra i still get the SAME fps and still get the same stuttering that no matter what i do i cant get rid of :S

weyland yutani · 26 Jan 2012 at 12:44

I dont have this game but I do agree on the peculiarity of 30fps looking smoother on console than it does on pc.

Dead Space 2 is a good example. With vsync on it's capped at 30fps and looks extremely choppy but when I played it on the 360 it looked fine.

vorticalspace · 26 Jan 2012 at 12:55

weyland yutani said:
I dont have this game but I do agree on the peculiarity of 30fps looking smoother on console than it does on pc.

Dead Space 2 is a good example. With vsync on it's capped at 30fps and looks extremely choppy but when I played it on the 360 it looked fine.

That's something else I can try.
I always run with vsync as I can't stand tearing but I'll turn off to see if it makes any difference.

Thanks

vorticalspace · 26 Jan 2012 at 13:00

grudas said:
for me its unplayable.. no matter what settings i use - low or ultra i still get the SAME fps and still get the same stuttering that no matter what i do i cant get rid of :S

Hi
Out of interest, what fps are you getting?

Also, single or dual GPU

Thanks

Mark3h · 26 Jan 2012 at 14:24

You should be getting much better FPS than that.
I ran the game maxed out at 1680x1050 on a i7 920 @ 4.0 and a slightly OC'd GTX 560 ti.

Was very rare that I got noticeable frame rate drop.

vorticalspace · 26 Jan 2012 at 17:04

Mark3h said:
You should be getting much better FPS than that.
I ran the game maxed out at 1680x1050 on a i7 920 @ 4.0 and a slightly OC'd GTX 560 ti.

Was very rare that I got noticeable frame rate drop.

Buts that the point, i'm not, or nothing noticeable anyway

Just getting low fps which doesn't really translate into poor game play as you would expect?

What fps were you showing at 1680?

Thanks

Witcher1979 · 26 Jan 2012 at 17:17

Mine was 50-60 on ultra/highest with the rig in my sig if I remember.

Mark3h · 26 Jan 2012 at 17:20

just did about 10 mins worth of messing about, graphics highest as can be at the res I mentioned.
Lowest I seen the fps go was 40, otherwise it sat around 50-70 with vsync off.

i7 920 @ 4.0, GTX560ti with overclock.

Can't figure out why you are getting such poor fps.

Witcher1979 · 26 Jan 2012 at 18:00

Mark3h said:
just did about 10 mins worth of messing about, graphics highest as can be at the res I mentioned.
Lowest I seen the fps go was 40, otherwise it sat around 50-70 with vsync off.

i7 920 @ 4.0, GTX560ti with overclock.

Can't figure out why you are getting such poor fps.

He did say he had v-sync on, so that does explain it I think. I am sure the game does cap at 30fps with that on and if there is dips it will go below 30. Once he turns that off he will be laughing.

grudas · 26 Jan 2012 at 18:38

vorticalspace said:
Hi
Out of interest, what fps are you getting?

Also, single or dual GPU

Thanks

5850 1gb single - get between 12(when the stutter hits) and 50 - now i wouldn't feel the so called "lag/choppyness" but when it stutters out of nowhere even standing still looking at an empty wall it still does that and i have no idea what causes it..

weyland yutani · 26 Jan 2012 at 18:45

voorhees1979 said:
He did say he had v-sync on, so that does explain it I think. I am sure the game does cap at 30fps with that on and if there is dips it will go below 30. Once he turns that off he will be laughing.

When I used D3DOverrider to force vsync in Dead Space 2 instead of ingame vsync my capped fps doubled to 60