FPS drops / lag spikes on max and low

[Legic]

Hi,

I wonder if maybe someone has a solution or a fix for a lag problem I've got. Usually game runs at 60 fps, but sometimes it stutters and dips for a second. It's really annoying, especially since otherwise game is gorgeous.

Game is on m.2 drive. Lags happen on max settings and on low, there is no difference. I think my setup should be able to handle it? :)

My spec
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME A320M-K Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($61.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory
Storage: Kingston - A400 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Plextor - M8Pe 256 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Storage: Toshiba - 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GAMING Video Card
Case: Fractal Design - Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

Thank you!

Edit:
Playing on 1080p

[Legic]

Yes, sorry, 1080 p. Hardware info was copied from site.

[τsu]

Sorry to resurrect this post, but I have this exactly same issue since I bought the game and I've tried bilions and bilions of workarounds in the internet (it seems to be a known issue about DS3 that happens reagardless PC's settings) and never ever could get rid of this annoying stuttering/FPS drops. So, almost 1 year later I wanna know if there are any news about it. Did you manage to fix your problem?

[Playerjjjj]

I'm curious about how frequently this problem appears for people. I definitely get the occasional lag spike, but it has a clear cause: the game loading and unloading nearby areas when you get close to them. It does that to improve performance without having to separate areas with loading screens. You can see this in action very easily by going to Irythll Dungeon and walking toward the window overlooking the Profaned Capital. The game has to load in the whole first section of the capital, which always causes a spike on my system, and since you tend to go from on end of the Dungeon to the other it happens multiple times per playthrough.

My point is, is this happening for people randomly? Like, if you waited long enough would you get a lag spike while standing still? Because if not, this is almost certainly the cause, and it's probably only fixable by getting a beefier system.

[τsu]

Originally posted by Playerjjjj:

I'm curious about how frequently this problem appears for people. I definitely get the occasional lag spike, but it has a clear cause: the game loading and unloading nearby areas when you get close to them. It does that to improve performance without having to separate areas with loading screens. You can see this in action very easily by going to Irythll Dungeon and walking toward the window overlooking the Profaned Capital. The game has to load in the whole first section of the capital, which always causes a spike on my system, and since you tend to go from on end of the Dungeon to the other it happens multiple times per playthrough.

My point is, is this happening for people randomly? Like, if you waited long enough would you get a lag spike while standing still? Because if not, this is almost certainly the cause, and it's probably only fixable by getting a beefier system.

Nah, it's completely random. Doenst matter your rig (there are posts here in Steam which people complaining about the same issue in theirs gtx 1080ti and 16 Gb), doesnt matter if you are playing at max or min, doesnt matter resolution, in which area of the game you are, which action are you doing, etc. You play 99% of the time at steady 60 fps then suddenly the stutter happens.
This video kinda shows it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8KQg8zeY0g

[Gabriel]

This stuff really bothers me in games, no matter how good is your hardware the game engine limitation will show up at some point, dark souls 3 is no exception, but I would not call this issue a stutter because does not happen often, it only happens when a new cell is loading, you will notice this specially on the dungeon are of the game, the game freeze/stutter for like a split second to load the new cell, this can be ignored very easy if you dont pay to much attention, but for ppl who are very sensitive when they want a smooth frame rate... well dark souls 3 is not gonna ever have a smooth framerate even if you have 2x super rtx titan in SLI and a i9 9900k, because engine :)

Best way to test if you have this issue and fasest: go to Lothric castle bonfire, than move towards the wooden balcony, jiggle your camera right and left a little while doing so to notice it, when you arrive at balcony you might see the camera "stutter' for a second or less.

[Anri of Astora]

never install DS3 on SSD, this is why you get stuttering

[Legic]

Originally posted by Mordecai:

never install DS3 on SSD, this is why you get stuttering

Why not on SSD?

[Anri of Astora]

Originally posted by Legic:

Originally posted by Mordecai:

never install DS3 on SSD, this is why you get stuttering

Why not on SSD?

can you f****ng read?

[Legic]

Originally posted by Mordecai:

Originally posted by Legic:

Why not on SSD?

can you f****ng read?

I was wondering what's the issue with SSD, you dumb ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Makes no sense.

[Anri of Astora]

Originally posted by Legic:

Originally posted by Mordecai:

can you f****ng read?

I was wondering what's the issue with SSD, you dumb ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Makes no sense.

I will explain only because I am in a good mood. DS3 uses 10 years old engine which doesnt support solid drive technology (probably cannnot make proper event queue for uploading textures from your drive to memory/videocard - dunno, ask IT guys if you want more info)
I only know for sure DS3 lags as hell when I install it on C:\ (my SSD) and runs very smooth on D:\ (my HDD). You can test it yourself if you want.

[Legic]

Thank you for clarification. Will check and see. I had no idea SSD could be a problem. Sorry for outburst. Cheers.

[Joséphine]

Try setting the pre-rendered frames to one and performance settings on best performance on the nVidia settings.

[τsu]

Originally posted by Legic:

Thank you for clarification. Will check and see. I had no idea SSD could be a problem. Sorry for outburst. Cheers.

Dont bother, what he said does not make any sense.
I had DS3 intalled in a HD and the FPS drops was there, swapped to a SSD and guess what? Yup, same drops, no changing.
Furthermore installing the game in a SSD is one of the various solutions suggested for this issue around the internet.

Originally posted by ckelas:

Try setting the pre-rendered frames to one and performance settings on best performance on the nVidia settings.

Thanks, but it's the standard workaround to this issue found in a google search. Works for some people, does not for the most.

@Legic
This article summarize all the solutions I've tried to fix this, try them you too and see if any helps you.
https://appuals.com/fix-dark-souls-3-stuttering/

[The Lost Atom]

I can second this, usually i will be playing just fine, and then the next thing i know? BAM instant lag spike where it is completely random at how long it will last. Doesn't matter the location, and usually it drops so bad the game forces me out, and pushes me into offline mode. I most definitely have the hardware to support this, as i am running 60 fps whenever this does not happen. I updated my driver and fixed my resolution, and this decreased how often it happened. But i still do get the occasional spike. For me, it usually will lock around 10-18 fps and then the game will kick me out.

[Helghast Trooper]

Same issue here