Question on Performance...

[railven]

Not sure if I'm expecting too much, but recently started playing through Dragon Age: O.

System:
i5 2500k @ 4.6Ghz
8GB DDR3 (2x4GB) RAM
HD 7970 @ 1125/1575 (my highest stable OC has been 1265/1700)
Cata 12.7 Beta

I figured DA:O was old and at that optimized as best as possible, so I just through all the CCC overrides on:
8xSSAA/16xAF/AI:HQ/Surface Opt: Off/Tess: App pref

So I was expecting solid 60 FPS, but the game dibs very frequently into the 40-50s.

RAM never climbs over 600MB (not using any mods, stock game), temps never exceed 65C, and load is >85%.

I guess I wasn't expecting this game to be as "demanding" but then again with 8xSSAA - I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[copeman]

Vertical sync on?

 

[Jaydip]

DAO origins or awakening?In awakening there is a severe performance drop in black marsh(I hope it is the right name).They apparently fixed it with a patch.

 

[railven]

V-sync on, and Origins.

I'm not that far into the game yet, but in the Wilds the performance drops to <40FPS easily. In Lothegird (or however it is spelled) it is mostly >55 FPS.

When interacting 1-on-1 with my NPCs it can tank <50FPS without much notice.

Load doesn't seem to spike with the FPS drop from what I'm seeing, so I'm wondering if the game is CPU limited? But at 4.6Ghz I'd figure a i5 2500k wouldn't be the issue.

Did people play DA:O with high levels of SSAA?

EDIT: I actually put my "everyday OC" back when I started playing DA:O. Before this I was playing Torchlight with 8xSSAA forced and hitting 60 FPS locked without issue, so I downlocked to 800/1200 just to reduce watts/heat (summer days - man it's hot.)

Return the clocks to stock was getting 50-55 FPS range in Lothegrin (or however it's spelled) and then I upped my clocks to 1125/1575 which pegged me at 60 FPS, but then I noticed the drop while interacting with my NPCs (during conversations.)

 

[Yuriman]

8xSSAA is extremely hard to render, even for a modern card.

Supersampling is one of the ways of solving this problem. Samples are taken at several instances inside the pixel (not just at the center as default) and an average color value is calculated. This is achieved by rendering the image at a much higher resolution than the one being displayed, then downsampling (shrinking) it to the desired size, using the extra pixels for calculation.

8xSSAA is essentially rendering the game with 8x higher resulotion, so if you're running at 1920x1200, the card is rendering the game at 15,360x9,600 and downsampling it to fit your screen. Try knocking it down to 4xSSAA or using multisampling, which is almost free. SSAA is known to cause blurry textures and other visual anomalies in some instances anyway.

 

[railven]

8xSSAA is extremely hard to render, even for a modern card.



8xSSAA is essentially rendering the game with 8x higher resulotion, so if you're running at 1920x1200, the card is rendering the game at 15,360x9,600 and downsampling it to fit your screen. Try knocking it down to 4xSSAA or using multisampling, which is almost free. SSAA is known to cause blurry textures and other visual anomalies in some instances anyway.

I don't think 8xSSAA renders it that high, but I could be wrong - I thought it had a cap. I'd have to say it's definitely not that high since going from 4xSSAA to 8xSSAA only increases VRAM use by..200 (or less) MBs.

MSAA is so inferior to SSA though, at least with these older titles. 2xSSA > 8xMSAA in my eyes. I've yet to see any blurriness caused by SSAA but I have seen anamolies due to the engine.

Oh well, guess I'll have to settle for 4xSSAA haha.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Disable v sync

 

[railven]

Disable v sync

Not sure what disabling v-sync can do in this situation, but I'll give it a shot when I get home.