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StarCraft II FPS drops on GTX 970

Forum Index > Tech Support
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Tryneus
Profile Joined June 2014
24 Posts
August 30 2016 13:55 GMT
#1
Hi
I bought new computer half year ago and now I installed starcraft II legacy of the void to test it out. And I got horrible fps drops. With v-sync enabled I suppose to have 60 fps all the time, but for example few minutes after game starts I got random 30-40 fps. No difference if I am in battle or I just watching some game landscapes.

The game says I should play on 1920x1080 on everything set at extreme. But I rather play on everything on medium (more clear) and problem with fps drops still occurs ...

This is my specification:
Motherboard: MSI B85-G43
CPU: Intel Core i5 4590 3,7GHz
GPU: Asus GTX 970
RAM: 8GB RAM DDR3 1600MHz
HDD: Seagate 1TB
PSU: Thermaltake SE 530W
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64 bit

Computer is clean of viruses or other stuff, graphic drivers are up to date.

For example:
Witcher 3 on full hd everything on high detail - constant 60fps
Starcraft 2 medium detail - fps drops from 60 to 40 wtf!?

Energy management (system and graphic card) set to maximum performance. Disk defragmented, memory tested. No random programs in autostart. No problems with other games only with starcraft 2.

I tested both x32 and x64 sc2.exe, vsync enabled / disabled. Nothing helps.

If anyone can help me - appreciate it.
You raped her! You murdered her! You killed her children! - Prince Oberyn Martell
Dumbledore
Profile Joined April 2011
Sweden725 Posts
August 30 2016 17:15 GMT
#2
1v1?
Have a nice day ;)
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-08-30 18:42:07
August 30 2016 18:34 GMT
#3
SC2 is more CPU demanding than witcher 3, it also has highly inconsistent CPU-limited frametimes which make Vsync unusable
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12906 Posts
August 30 2016 20:15 GMT
#4
Try lowering CPU hindering options first in the graphics section, as well as disabling v-sync and see if it helps. You can do the same in the sound section if that's not enough.
WriterMaru
Tryneus
Profile Joined June 2014
24 Posts
August 31 2016 10:51 GMT
#5
^Thank you man

It seems that option in graphics called "physics" ruined my fps, I simply turned it off and everything seems fine now.

Not sure about turning off v-sync, I got like 200fps when it is disabled and then fps drops till 80 in late game, also screen seems to stutter or smth (not fps drop but something different). I am kinda afraid of overheating my gpu so I guess I need to play with vsync turned on.
You raped her! You murdered her! You killed her children! - Prince Oberyn Martell
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-08-31 12:29:58
August 31 2016 12:29 GMT
#6
Not sure about turning off v-sync, I got like 200fps when it is disabled and then fps drops till 80 in late game


SC2 frames are very unevenly distributed. You need FPS to be triple digit 100% of the time to maintain a 60hz vsync and even then it won't be the best. There's no CPU that can keep FPS high enough a large % of the time unless you want to get vsync stutter when your opponents build zerglings
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Tryneus
Profile Joined June 2014
24 Posts
August 31 2016 13:14 GMT
#7
So what you say is that vsync off is the way to go? Isnt enabling vsync and triple buffering increases fps ingame?
By the way how can I cap fps when vsync is off? For example I always want 60fps when vsync is disabled but when I turn it off I got 200 fps at game start for couple of minutes.
You raped her! You murdered her! You killed her children! - Prince Oberyn Martell
Divine-Sneaker
Profile Joined August 2010
Denmark1225 Posts
August 31 2016 13:22 GMT
#8
You can use 3rd party software to cap fps without vsync. Things like MSI afterburner/Rivatuner. Nvidia controlpanel might be able to? There are probably others as well.
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
August 31 2016 22:22 GMT
#9
So what you say is that vsync off is the way to go? Isnt enabling vsync and triple buffering increases fps ingame?


nop
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
jimminy_kriket
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
Canada5522 Posts
August 31 2016 22:53 GMT
#10
make sure sc II is using your GTX970 instead of the intel integrated gfx as well
life of lively to live to life of full life thx to shield battery
digmouse
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
China6330 Posts
September 01 2016 08:38 GMT
#11
There is nothing you can do with the low fps and stutter, there is no hardware that can eliminate that, SC2's engine have significant multi-threading utilization issue and severe framepacing issues, which won't change regardless of your hardware.
TranslatorIf you want to ask anything about Chinese esports, send me a PM or follow me @nerddigmouse.
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
September 01 2016 09:42 GMT
#12
^faster hardware does help though, higher performanace per clock, clock speed, fast RAM etc. It'll just always run badly with hundreds of units in the game.

It's actually pretty funny, because of the way the engine works if your opponent has a large zergling-heavy army you can tell when they're moving and when they're stood still by the performance of the game even if they're in the fog of war
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12906 Posts
September 01 2016 11:21 GMT
#13
On September 01 2016 18:42 Cyro wrote:
^faster hardware does help though, higher performanace per clock, clock speed, fast RAM etc. It'll just always run badly with hundreds of units in the game.

It's actually pretty funny, because of the way the engine works if your opponent has a large zergling-heavy army you can tell when they're moving and when they're stood still by the performance of the game even if they're in the fog of war

So you can know your drops are spotted just by looking at the FPS? Amazing
WriterMaru
hadster
Profile Joined September 2016
5 Posts
September 01 2016 14:39 GMT
#14
HELP FROM YOU GUYS WOULD BE MASSIVELY APPRECIATED! =)

So glad I have come across this thread.

I am having a very similar issue.

I have bought quite a high spec laptop (i7 4700 MQ 2.4GHz, 16GB RAM). It has 2 video cards - an integrated intel one, and nvidia 700M. nvidia driver updated. Playing the game at LOW settings (even though its suggested extreme)

Starting the game is ok FPS, but once more units start being made after about 5 minutes, FPS starts to drops massively.

It's weird, because there are some intermittent moments when the FPS will suddenly become perfect, even deep in battle with high demanding graphics. These moments will last for around 20-30 seconds (I noticed that during these moments, the laptop's fan is quite loud), and then it will suddenly revert back to constant awful FPS. I haven't formally measured it, but we're talking 2 or 3 frames per second in the late game.

As someone mentioned above, I am quite convinced that it is using my darned intel integrated video card, rather than my nVidia. But I have no idea how to check this, or how to force it to use nvidia.

It's so frustrating as my much lower spec old PC had far superior gameplay compared to this.

I would REALLY appreciate anybody's help or advice, as this is really bringing me down! Unplayable =(

Thanks for reading
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
September 01 2016 16:45 GMT
#15
Check your CPU temperatures and clock speed under load, it may be throttling
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Tryneus
Profile Joined June 2014
24 Posts
September 04 2016 11:48 GMT
#16
I wonder if there is a way to completely get rid of fps drops problem. I have watched streams of many players, some of them play on monster configurations (gtx 980, 1070, 1080) but still got fps drops in late game. Some of them play on LOW settings everything and still got fps drops. I mean wtf!? What cpu should I have to not worry about fps drops???
You raped her! You murdered her! You killed her children! - Prince Oberyn Martell
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12906 Posts
September 04 2016 11:50 GMT
#17
On September 04 2016 20:48 Tryneus wrote:
I wonder if there is a way to completely get rid of fps drops problem. I have watched streams of many players, some of them play on monster configurations (gtx 980, 1070, 1080) but still got fps drops in late game. Some of them play on LOW settings everything and still got fps drops. I mean wtf!? What cpu should I have to not worry about fps drops???

Afaik, none, the game optimisation isn't good and even "high" FPS feels sluggish :/.
WriterMaru
Wpcwe
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Russian Federation126 Posts
September 04 2016 13:46 GMT
#18
evga gtx 970.
i7 2600
8gb ram

witcher 3 - ultra 60 fps. battelfield1 beta ulta-high 50-60fps. sc2 medium 1vs1 35-60fps.
evga support can't help me.
magic.
everybody hates wpcwe*
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-09-04 23:57:15
September 04 2016 23:47 GMT
#19
All CPU's run the game badly at times, especially with lots of units. Good CPU's run many times faster than bad ones though.

You should have an OC'd 6600k with very fast RAM (3000mhz dual channel at least, likely significant benefits up to 4000+)

evga support can't help me.


EVGA isn't related to your CPU. Your gtx970 is probably at like 10% load because it has no frames to render.

Physics off, effects medium; fast CPU. Not much else that you can do. If you have a good system then the other dude is almost certainly experiencing worse performance

and even "high" FPS feels sluggish


A static FPS display like "60fps" is only really useful if you assume that every frame is evenly spaced out throughout the second, in this case each frame being 1/60'th of a second apart.

In most games that's not quite true though it's a close enough approximation for most people. In starcraft 2 it's not even remotely close to true; 22 of the frames per second take a very long time to be displayed so they can take longer than 1/60'th of a second even when your FPS is at 90+.

some of them play on monster configurations (gtx 980, 1070, 1080) but still got fps drops in late game. Some of them play on LOW settings everything and still got fps drops.


You're putting way too much emphasis on the graphics card. Even a gtx950 will easily run sc2 just as well, especially on low settings. A 1080 will just sit idle. Performance is almost the same on both low and max settings as well as long as the CPU settings are not raised.
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
PharaphobiaSC
Profile Joined April 2016
Czech Republic457 Posts
September 06 2016 19:46 GMT
#20
I have a guest PC in my house with following specs:

Core i7 - 6700(non k) 3,5Ghz
16GB DDR4 2133Mhz
ASUS STRIX GTX970 4GB
2x Samsung EVO 850 SSD 512GB in RAID0

SC2 Runs between 70-100 fps on Extreme in 1v1 and 2v2
If I load my gfx config from my RIG (setup for half blinded guy) Medium/Low I start with 190fps and dropping to 140 in 1v1 and around 100 in 2v2... So 970 is not a problem for sure
twitch.tv/pharaphobia
jimminy_kriket
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
Canada5522 Posts
September 06 2016 20:10 GMT
#21
What is RIG?
life of lively to live to life of full life thx to shield battery
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
September 07 2016 05:23 GMT
#22
Those FPS values will get much lower if there are a lot of units on the map
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
PharaphobiaSC
Profile Joined April 2016
Czech Republic457 Posts
September 07 2016 06:55 GMT
#23
On September 07 2016 14:23 Cyro wrote:
Those FPS values will get much lower if there are a lot of units on the map


But not that much to be completly uplayable
twitch.tv/pharaphobia
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-09-07 13:36:27
September 07 2016 13:22 GMT
#24
On September 07 2016 15:55 PharaphobiaSC wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 07 2016 14:23 Cyro wrote:
Those FPS values will get much lower if there are a lot of units on the map


But not that much to be completly uplayable


Slowest frames can easily take 1/50'th of a second in a 1v1 battle with some of the heaviest ones that i've seen sitting around 1/20'th of a second on the fastest cpu's (amove two maxed ling/marine blobs into eachother, fighting over a ton of missile turrets etc - stuff that hurts performance a lot)

Not completely unplayable but just nowhere near the smooth dream even if performance were to double for free overnight
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
PharaphobiaSC
Profile Joined April 2016
Czech Republic457 Posts
September 07 2016 13:55 GMT
#25
As I said even with 144hz monitors, my SC2 is completly fine on that 970 PC o.o
twitch.tv/pharaphobia
Bastinian
Profile Joined October 2014
Serbia177 Posts
September 07 2016 16:35 GMT
#26
FPS started dropping for me lately too! Before latest major patch, it worked on +40 FPS, but now on massive fights it drops below 25 FPS... There is a problem in game, not in hardware, that Blizzard needs to fix...
Tryhard, road to pro-gamer! :) | twitter.com/bastiniansc2 | twitch.tv/bastinian |
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
September 07 2016 16:48 GMT
#27
On September 08 2016 01:35 Bastinian wrote:
FPS started dropping for me lately too! Before latest major patch, it worked on +40 FPS, but now on massive fights it drops below 25 FPS... There is a problem in game, not in hardware, that Blizzard needs to fix...


post replays of both situations
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
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