Random fps drops that make no sense

[ksn0va]

So I just built a new pc a month ago and have been playing a bunch of games that missed out(Control, Metro, RDR 2, FF 15, etc.). Recently I decided to boot this game up for old times sake. I haven't played GTA V/Online in 3 years. I can play this at 144+ fps now so I thought it would be sweet.

For the most part it runs fine. About 110-160 all over the map. It drops to 80 in grassy areas but it's no prob since gsync smooths things out anyway. Problem is every 10-15 mins it just spazzes out all of a sudden. Drops to as low as 50. Accompanied by a second long stutter. At first I thought the framerate might be too high so I capped it to 125 but it was still happening.

GTA V is the oldest game I tested on my system. Maybe it's just an issue with this engine not running well on newer systems. I just wanted to reminisce anyway so it's probably not as big of an issue if I can't play this game anymore. But playing this at 120+ makes me wanna replay it again. It's almost a new experience compared to the 60fps I played this at all those years ago.

PC:
i5 12400f
RTX 3060 TI
32 GB Ram
Installed on an SSD

[Gabber420]

Less powefull pc same issue.
Try lower grass settings
lover drawing distance or removing bloom schuld help. Private lobby have +10 fps. maybe worth trying.

[AllergicToBrainRot]

are you playing single player or online? Did you use mods and forgot you were using mods? Checked temps?

[macatak]

the game doesn't like frame rates above 160, caps fps to 144

[ksn0va]

Originally posted by FEAR:

are you playing single player or online? Did you use mods and forgot you were using mods? Checked temps?

Both single player and online. No mods. This is a fresh install on a newly built pc. Temps are not an issue. I would've caught that during the first week. I'm still at the phase where I run afterburner to check every game I run.

[ksn0va]

Originally posted by macatak:

the game doesn't like frame rates above 160, caps fps to 144

I know the hard cap is 188 but I already tried 125. I'm gonna try 90 next just to be sure.

[D.O.A.]

I get the same stutter occassionally, but I learned to live with it. Mine also will peridoically crash back to the desktop if I run it at 164 Hz. VSync. I have since lowered the refresh to 60 Hz. VSync and it hasn't crashed to the desktop once since doing that.

Asus ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming mobo, Intel Core i7 10700K @ 5.2 GHz. CPU, 4x8 GBs. Crucial Vengeance RGB Pro 4000 MHz. RAM, EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra Gaming 8GB, Noctua NH-D15 chromix.black heatsink, Samsung 850 Pro SSD 1 TB (boot), WD Gold 4 TB HD (data), Two WD Gold 4 TB HD's (backup 1 & 2), Seasonic Platinum 1200 watt PSU, SilverStone TJ11 case, Dell S3220DGF monitor (Displayport), Windows 10 Professional (64-bit)

[ksn0va]

Originally posted by GTA AFK Grinder:

I get the same stutter occassionally, but I learned to live with it. Mine also will peridoically crash back to the desktop if I run it at 164 Hz. VSync. I have since lowered the refresh to 60 Hz. VSync and it hasn't crashed to the desktop once since doing that.

Asus ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming mobo, Intel Core i7 10700K @ 5.2 GHz. CPU, 4x8 GBs. Crucial Vengeance RGB Pro 4000 MHz. RAM, EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra Gaming 8GB, Noctua NH-D15 chromix.black heatsink, Samsung 850 Pro SSD 1 TB (boot), WD Gold 4 TB HD (data), Two WD Gold 4 TB HD's (backup 1 & 2), Seasonic Platinum 1200 watt PSU, SilverStone TJ11 case, Dell S3220DGF monitor (Displayport), Windows 10 Professional (64-bit)

Normally it's not a problem cause it happens infrequently enough to not cause to much trouble. It can happen at the worst time tho. Like when I'm selling stock and it spazzes causing me to crash into something. I figured it's all the updates over time making the game super unstable. I remember GTA Online running like a well oiled machine during the first 3 years since launch.

[ksn0va]

Originally posted by Jack:

@ksn0va

It's got nothing to do with your setup.

It's a well known issue that Rockstar hasn't bothered to fix. It's more common with AMD Setups but most likely is what is affecting you as well.

Basically, check the in-game timing when you have different FPS Drops. During the day from (6am-7pm), your FPS will most likely be consistent. Once it hits 7pm to 6am. More than likely your FPS will have dropped signifcantly.

If you drop your WATER SETTINGS to MEDIUM. It will give you abit of an increase of FPS.

Also as a side note. Since Rockstar has introduced a couple of Security Updates a few months ago. The Game will periodically check for any 3rd Party Apps that are being overlayed within GTA. So on PC, you will encounter minor stutters, whether on a 4090, whether on a GTX 1070.

My Game runs consistently 165 to match my monitor. Once the ingame hits 7pm, it drops to 130 and when I look in specific directions(especially looking towards the ocean), it drops to 110.

Hopefully you find a good balance of FPS. Ive spoken to several Rockstar Reps about FPS issues. They recommend NO VPN. NO THIRD PARTY APPS. And making sure youre FIREWALL SETTINGS are okay.

Hope this helps in some way

Thx, R* really dropped the ball when it comes to optimizing their game in recent years. They just keep adding stuff on top of stuff without much thought.

[slimak]

gtx 1080
I have suspision that these random framedrops have somethign to do with MSAA in game.
with MSAA ON it runs buttersmooth and frames drop like CRAZY out of the sudden
without MSAA ( FXAA only ) it runs supersmooth again.

I think its poor optimization in game in some places that gives gpu too much work that isnt even visible on screen, thats why these frame drops occur.
OR try not to use this extended scale rendering in from advanced grapnic settings that migh also have some impact

[Jonh Pork is calling]

Does this drop of frames, accompanied by a frize, happen to you in a closed or by invitation session created by you?

[slimak]

whatever rows your boat, man

[elBartoDR]

I've had framedrops also (unmodded install), I have 3080, the problem was that the card wouldn't boost to higher clockspeeds in fullscreenmode. I've switched to borderless windowedmode and now my card boosts to full speeds. No more framedrops and I have modded it with alot of graphicsmods and the settings are maxxed out.

[slimak]

okay, i kinda ffkd around with settings and figured that on MY machine, very fast cpu, gtx 1080, these noticable frame drops, (75% or 50% of expected framerate) were present with this duo : post fx ultra AND msaa on. its always VERY CLOSELY around ~30 fps, either ~45 fps or ~ 52 fps, no other fps rates at these moments really)

generally my aim is 60 stable + gsync enabled, but I guess these info applies to everyone.

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post fx ultra, msaa off - works good
post fx very high, msaa 2x + txaa off - works still good, slightly worse tho
post fx very high, msaa 2x + txaa on - performance cut by half

so its like post fx ultra VS msaa on - they dont work well together performance wise

oh, by "works good" I mean stutters so small that they are not noticable, but they are still there. its messed up. you should be able to recognize stutter moments by frame pacing being "off" in some moments. (it in my case also getting down to 47 fps for a moment)

IMPORTANT - it only happens in SOME locations and RANDOMLY IN OTHERS. crazy huh. game's erratic performance is very INCONSISTENT.

anyway, I hope that helps someone.

======= ======= =======
======= ======= =======

THIS IS WORKAROUND ONLY that makes framedrops less noticable or unnoticable if low framerate threshold is above monitor refresh rate, like with frame cap or gsync, but under the hood the fps drops will still occur (fps cap / gsync scenario ) and will surface with uncapped framerate and vsync off.

======= ======= ======= :/

ps. its even hard to make an educated guess on what exactly is the cause, invisible stuff most likely but which one, impossible to be sure. maybe grass, maybe somehting else, as i had these estutters also on city where there is none of that massive amounts of this forest grass that (supposedly) kills performance when msaa is applied to it.

weird thing is that NOT ALL AREAS WITH DENSE GRASS KILL THE PERFORMANCE - as some such areas run great while others that look exactly the same run at half the framerate, becuse reasons. so its not directly grass but something else behind it.

also in this game these drops occur counter intuitively one moment is super smooth and next moment framerate is cut by half witn NO VISIBLE REASON. also performace degradations have nothing to do with any framerate cap or freesync. latency mode in drivers set to enabled (not ultra).

overall - lousy optimization - it always comes down to every single detail - and performance is not a detail, its an elephant in the room especially then traversing outside the city and out the sudden it works like cr@p for no apparent reason.
they still sell it, people still play it, and rockstar dont even care.