Quake4 performance

[Goi]

Just wondering what everyone's Quake4 performance is like. Mine seems pretty low considering the benchmarks I've seen elsewhere. I've read that the included Quake4 timedemo command doesn't render textures at full resolution, and hence the scores may be inflated, but with com_showfps 1, sometimes I get framerates in the teens(often when there are many enemies around), which make it pretty much unplayable. This happens even if I disable all advanced options(specular lighting, shadows, FSAA, etc). btw I'm running Q4 at 1024x768.

I have an A64 2.5GHz and a 6800GT clocked to 390/1050 currently, and 1GB memory. Is there a standard timedemo that is run, where results can be compared? AFAIK the game doesn't ship with a timedemo even though the command is there.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Are you running on Ultra quality? Because Ultra for Doom3 and Quake4 needs a 512MB card, otherwise it can chug.

Make sure you have the latest drivers from Nvidia (the 81.85's are working well for me), latest mobo drivers, etc.

 

[Goi]

I don't think it's ultra quality. I just let it auto-detect and then changed the detected resolution from 800x600 to 1024x768, and then disabled those advanced options. I do have the 81.85's and I believe my nforce3-250 platform drivers are pretty new too(1-2 months maybe). What's your system like and how is it doing in Quake4?

 

[Goi]

I just tried medium quality at 800x600 with advanced options all on(except FSAA) and it was still choppy(<20FPs) in some scenes. Is this what a 6800GT should be getting?

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Goi
I just tried medium quality at 800x600 with advanced options all on(except FSAA) and it was still choppy(<20FPs) in some scenes. Is this what a 6800GT should be getting?

Nope, I play at 1680x1050 (no AA) on a 6800GT and I don't think I ever really drop below 30fps much, and certainly not below 20. And I'm still on an Athlon XP too. Not sure what's wrong with your setup...

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
Are you running on Ultra quality? Because Ultra for Doom3 and Quake4 needs a 512MB card, otherwise it can chug.

Make sure you have the latest drivers from Nvidia (the 81.85's are working well for me), latest mobo drivers, etc.

I'm not sure about that. That's what's recommended. But it probably runs fine in a 256MB card. Hi quality runs great on my 6800 128MB with the unlocked pipes/vp

 

[Goi]

So it looks like I'm getting unusually low framerates. What should I check first? btw I was on High Quality(not ultra high) before. How do I do a timedemo since there are no included demos?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Is it just me or does Q4 run remarkably better than D3 even though they are on the same engine?

Like, on Q4 i ran 1280x1204, Ultra High 4xTR SSAA, 8xAF with no stutters throughout the whole game except with some slow downs in area that use alot of lighting effects.
In D3 i would laaaag if i even moved near that resolution with Ultra high.. i couldnt even run AA with it at 1280x1024

 

[Goi]

Well it runs slower than D3 for me. I did a few cfg tweaks and got my scores up a tad, but I'm still experiencing <20FPS sometimes, even single digit on some levels. This is kinda ridiculous. I also downloaded a timedemo by googling around a bit. It's called Necro666 and I got like 40+FPS at 1024x768 medium quality with all advanced options turned on except FSAA. This seems extremely low, especially since the forum that I got the demo from had a bunch of X800 users that were at 1024x768 with 2xFSAA with higher scores than me.

 

[Wedge1]

Originally posted by: AznAnarchy99
Is it just me or does Q4 run remarkably better than D3 even though they are on the same engine?

Nope, it's definitely not just you my friend. I agree with the accuracy of that statement 100%. With Quake 4 I can still get a smooth and stutter-free game even when the frame rates drop near the 30's. Not so with Doom 3. With Doom 3, anything lower than the low 50's is very noticable, begins to get choppy and unpleasant to play.

Goi, I don't know what's up with your rig, but your frames should be MUCH better than what you are seeing.

 

[Goi]

OK, so I uninstalled my existing nf3 platform drivers and installed the new ones released a week ago, and my framerates shoot through the roof. I had the older 6.66 and I don't think I installed the GART driver, since the uninstall menu didn't list it. I guess that must've been my problem. Now I'm getting timedemos in the 100s for Necro666. That's more than a twofold increase

 

[Wedge1]

:thumbsup:

 

[Goi]

Now I'm playing at 1280x1024 high quality with 2xFSAA and all advanced options turned on, and my framerate is stuck at 60FPS most of the time

Anyway, I noticed that after I timedemo, there's no option to go back to main menu. I'm stuck at a console, or I can clock on "OK" which will bring quit the game me back to the desktop with a messed up color/brightness/contrast. Does anyone else experience this?