Anyone experiencing smoke problems with Nvidia cards?

[AzN]

I recently got GRID and it performs well except for the fact that when tires smoke all over the screen my frame rates drop to 10-15fps while the actually game play averages over 40fps. This isn't the only game that chokes with smoke either. In bf2 when artillery is blasting on my screen with smoke it drops to 30fps or so in some intense situations. I also noticed this on my 8600gts and now 8800gs.

I've had a 1950pro and it didn't drop the frame rates like this not to a point it becomes a slide show. Is this a problem associated with Nvidia cards?

If you have a modern ATI card would you mind giving some feedback?

 

[taltamir]

to my knowledge that is what smoke does in those games, it kills your frame rate, no matter what card you have. You can lower overall settings to the point where smoke makes it drop from 120 fps to 40fps and live with it, or you can play a better coded game.

 

[n7]

Yeah smoke kills my fps on my 8800 GTX.

Fps death by particles!

Anyone with an AMD card care to chime in on the smoke issue in GRID?

 

[AzN]

I remember playing with a 1950pro in bf2. The artillery smoke never made it choke like 8600gts did. 8800gs cleared up bf2 but in GRID it still chokes hard. Good thing it's just for a second or 2 when you crash and burn.

Anyone with a ATI card have any experience with GRID?

 

[error8]

It's normal. You have so many particles that the card has to render at the same time, so it's going to choke. This was also found in NFS games, so I never look at it like being a bad thing. Maybe the physix stuff will solve it. :laugh:

 

[Cookie Monster]

Seeing as a 8600GTS is slower than the X1950pro i wouldn't be surprised if it crawled during those scenes. That was one crap-tastic card.

 

[AzN]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Seeing as a 8600GTS is slower than the X1950pro i wouldn't be surprised if it crawled during those scenes. That was one crap-tastic card.

Come on it wasn't that bad. Sure it was overpriced for what it is but it was equivalent to 1950pro performance. 8600gts have better image quality to boot. I didn't pay for it anyway. I got it as a replacement when the pro broke.

 

[AzN]

Originally posted by: error8
It's normal. You have so many particles that the card has to render at the same time, so it's going to choke. This was also found in NFS games, so I never look at it like being a bad thing. Maybe the physix stuff will solve it. :laugh:

Funny you mention NFS because ATI card didn't have a problem with this game. But the 8600gts would make fps jerk even when settings were lower.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: Azn

Originally posted by: error8
It's normal. You have so many particles that the card has to render at the same time, so it's going to choke. This was also found in NFS games, so I never look at it like being a bad thing. Maybe the physix stuff will solve it. :laugh:

Funny you mention NFS because ATI card didn't have a problem with this game. But the 8600gts would make fps jerk even when settings were lower.

Well, NFS gave me smoke stuttering on slower cards like 7600GT and 6600 GT, but never on 8800 GT. The last one has this problem only in GRID.

 

[BenSkywalker]

Funny you mention NFS because ATI card didn't have a problem with this game.

Hmmm, who made the Radeon 1800xtx? Because I have one of those and it did have serious slow down issues with heavy smoke in the newer NFS games(as in PU and up). I always thought it was ATi, must have been wrong.

I also used to have massive slowdown in Counterstrike with my R9800Pro when someone set off a smoke grenade.

 

[Razorfist]

I have owned both ATI and NVIDIA cards. Both companies' cards work just about the same. Most graphics effects are handled equally by the cards. However there are certain games that handle better overall because of coding. I believe smoke is not part of this coding specific handling.

In 3D, Smoke is really dense, because objects are able to move through it, so it must have density of particles. Regular objects merely have a texture, an outer edge or skin, over a wireframe.

Using an 8800GT and an e8400, playing Command and Conquer 3 at max all settings:

In one of the early GDI missions you get squads of grenadiers. When I used them all together to blow up buildings the resultings black smoke would result in 4 seconds of 5 fps until the smoke cleared. I was able to pinpoint some graphics settings which I could sacrifice so that I would not have to deal with this whenever things smoked, while maintaining the overall high settings.

Try to find settings that reduce the smoke density or if all you have is a big bar saying "high gfx - low gfx" you're outta luck.

 

[BassBomb]

GRID like DIRT is very very CPU intensive, it may not be the GPU's fault

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: error8
This was also found in NFS games, so I never look at it like being a bad thing.

Ugh, don't even mention that game. My card just wants to keel over dead whenever I play NFS:C. At 1680x1050, I'm lucky to get over 20 fps at times with the eye candy effects and world quality turned up to high. I'm pretty sure I have all the settings turned down to lowest, and the framerates are just *acceptable*. NFS:MW wasn't nearly that bad, even with all settings at high.

Guess we'll see how the 4870 does when I get one.

 

[ajaidevsingh]

I had this problem with 6800 Ultra AGP and 7800 GS APG but did not have such a problem when i went from a 7800 to a X1950 XT AGP this was with all games that used smoke and number of objects.


The system was a state of art "Athlon 64Bit"

EDIT:- I have time now i will test the X1950 and 6800 Ultra today on my P4 PC and tell you the result on DiRT and NFS..."I dont have GRID"

 

[BassBomb]

Originally posted by: ajaidevsingh
I had this problem with 6800 Ultra AGP and 7800 GS APG but did not have such a problem when i went from a 7800 to a X1950 XT AGP this was with all games that used smoke and number of objects.


The system was a state of art "Athlon 64Bit"

EDIT:- I have time now i will test the X1950 and 6800 Ultra today on my P4 PC and tell you the result on DiRT and NFS..."I dont have GRID"

Those seem like unfair comparisons considering how much better a x1950 xt is compared toa 6800U

 

[Martimus]

Originally posted by: Razorfist
I have owned both ATI and NVIDIA cards. Both companies' cards work just about the same. Most graphics effects are handled equally by the cards. However there are certain games that handle better overall because of coding. I believe smoke is not part of this coding specific handling.

In 3D, Smoke is really dense, because objects are able to move through it, so it must have density of particles. Regular objects merely have a texture, an outer edge or skin, over a wireframe.

Using an 8800GT and an e8400, playing Command and Conquer 3 at max all settings:

In one of the early GDI missions you get squads of grenadiers. When I used them all together to blow up buildings the resultings black smoke would result in 4 seconds of 5 fps until the smoke cleared. I was able to pinpoint some graphics settings which I could sacrifice so that I would not have to deal with this whenever things smoked, while maintaining the overall high settings.

Try to find settings that reduce the smoke density or if all you have is a big bar saying "high gfx - low gfx" you're outta luck.

Smoke doesn't slow down my computer in C&C 3 with my X2 4200 and HD 3850, but I play at 1280x1024 on all high settings. The only other game I play that has a lot of smoke, Call of Juarez, also doesn't slow down much when a lot of smoke is in the frame, although it can make hitting the guys behind the smoke a pain (since they are harder to see). So I guess it could be the G80/G92 architecture, but I couldn't tell you for sure. Plus I don't have GRID to test that particular game.

 

[ajaidevsingh]

Originally posted by: BassBomb

Originally posted by: ajaidevsingh
I had this problem with 6800 Ultra AGP and 7800 GS APG but did not have such a problem when i went from a 7800 to a X1950 XT AGP this was with all games that used smoke and number of objects.


The system was a state of art "Athlon 64Bit"

EDIT:- I have time now i will test the X1950 and 6800 Ultra today on my P4 PC and tell you the result on DiRT and NFS..."I dont have GRID"

Those seem like unfair comparisons considering how much better a x1950 xt is compared toa 6800U

Ya u r right, i sold my 7800 to buy the x1950. I will try and get a x800 GT AIW from my friends place.

 

[TC91]

hmm in GRID i always thought it was my card's lack of vram, but some of you guys with 512mb+ cards are having the same issue too. I've reduced the problem in GRID by lowering the shadow quality to "medium" though; its not as bad as before but its still there.

 

[SniperDaws]

im playing GRID at the moment but ive not noticed any slow downs at all, ill install Fraps and see .

 

[AzN]

try a drifting competition and you will know what I'm talking about.

 

[AzN]

Originally posted by: BenSkywalker

Funny you mention NFS because ATI card didn't have a problem with this game.

Hmmm, who made the Radeon 1800xtx? Because I have one of those and it did have serious slow down issues with heavy smoke in the newer NFS games(as in PU and up). I always thought it was ATi, must have been wrong.

I also used to have massive slowdown in Counterstrike with my R9800Pro when someone set off a smoke grenade.

I don't know that's why I'm asking people if they have a problem with modern ATI GPU with GRID. I remember the counter strike ordeal. I think that was a driver problem that was cleared up.

When I had a 1950pro and later 8600gts the 1950pro handled smoke better than 8600gts. Of course it dip dip but not to a point of single digit frame rates. Although for a split second it did make me lose control all over the road in NFS carbon.

 

[Rhoxed]

I get minor hits in GRID with tons of smoke, but its not noticeable unless you really look for it or check FPS

I play in 1920 x 1080 with 2x3870 crossfire and Phenom @ 3.0

 

[AzN]

So it's not just Nvidia cards?

 

[imported_Shaq]

no slowdowns with the GX2 either. I can do a e-brake donut and fill the screen with smoke and it is still okay.