AC ORIGINS BAD FRAME RATE IN CITIES

[The Mojenator]

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME. I have a nvidia gtx1060 graphics card and an intel xeon 2.40 GHz processor. I sometimes get up to 60 fps in the desert but I'm getting awful frame rates around 33-39 frames in cities like alexandria, so I have capped my fps at 45 frames per second but even that sometimes doesn't stay consistent and I have unstable performance. I really don't understand why, with my specs, the game runs so badly. Somebody please tell me how I can improve the performance of my game
Forgot to mention my Xeon is a quad core processor and I have 24 gb of ECC RAM which roughly equates to 16.4 DDR4 RAM

[Zangato]

AC Games are knows for bad optimization. Its something that will never changed.

[Zorro]

Not to be a jerk but half the threads in this forum are about performance. Surely you noticed?

[The Mojenator]

Originally posted by Zorro:

Not to be a jerk but half the threads in this forum are about performance. Surely you noticed?

No I know of course but nothing I could find seemed to match my situation, with many people saying their 'bad' framerates were around 45-55, which to me is good frame rates. I've also seen on other sites that having a gtx 1060 with settings on high and an i5 can get stable 60 fps but I can't get this on my xeon

[O_o]

2.40 GHz processor , u need a faster cpu

[Zorro]

Originally posted by 4_l:

2.40 GHz processor , u need a faster cpu

No he doesn't. He needs more cores. This game was designed for the 8 core PS4 Pro and Xbox One X consoles. They only clock 2.13Ghz (PS4 Pro) and 2.3Ghz (Xbox One X). The game likes CPU threads - lots of them - and needs lots of memory bandwidth to handle the needs of the threads. Also note that the consoles only run at 30 FPS. I play on 4k at 30 FPS and it's way smoother than even the consoles once you normalize your frametimes. Use https://www.vsynctester.com/index.html to find your monitor's exact refresh rate, then use RTSS to set the max framerate to 0.05 [ish] FPS less than half your refresh rate. My RTSS setting is 29970 (29.970 FPS). Now set vsync to half refresh rate in Nvidia control panel's AC:O profile. Set the game to Ultra settings in your applicable resolution (I run 2560x1440 and set resolution modifier to 160% to get 4k render quality) and enjoy. Don't use the in-game FPS limiter - let RTSS do it. 30 FPS is very playable if you get consistent frametimes. Just because it's rendering 30 frames per second doesn't mean all 30 frames are evenly spaced on that one second timeline. Get the frames evenly spaced (i.e. normalized) and the game looks as smooth as the console versions. Your 1060 should be able to render 30 FPS ultra settings in 1080p without issue (I would guess it'd even handle 30 FPS 1440p ultra). I run an old i7 2600k from 2011 (bought to play Skyrim) OC to 4.6Ghz, 8 GB 1333Mhz RAM OC to 2133Mhz, 11GB GTX 1080ti, SSD, Windows 7.

[The Mojenator]

Originally posted by Zorro:

Originally posted by 4_l:

2.40 GHz processor , u need a faster cpu

No he doesn't. He needs more cores. This game was designed for the 8 core PS4 Pro and Xbox One X consoles. They only clock 2.13Ghz (PS4 Pro) and 2.3Ghz (Xbox One X). The game likes CPU threads - lots of them - and needs lots of memory bandwidth to handle the needs of the threads. Also note that the consoles only run at 30 FPS. I play on 4k at 30 FPS and it's way smoother than even the consoles once you normalize your frametimes. Use https://www.vsynctester.com/index.html to find your monitor's exact refresh rate, then use RTSS to set the max framerate to 0.05 [ish] FPS less than half your refresh rate. My RTSS setting is 29970 (29.970 FPS). Now set vsync to half refresh rate in Nvidia control panel's AC:O profile. Set the game to Ultra settings in your applicable resolution (I run 2560x1440 and set resolution modifier to 160% to get 4k render quality) and enjoy. Don't use the in-game FPS limiter - let RTSS do it. 30 FPS is very playable if you get consistent frametimes. Just because it's rendering 30 frames per second doesn't mean all 30 frames are evenly spaced on that one second timeline. Get the frames evenly spaced (i.e. normalized) and the game looks as smooth as the console versions. Your 1060 should be able to render 30 FPS ultra settings in 1080p without issue (I would guess it'd even handle 30 FPS 1440p ultra). I run an old i7 2600k from 2011 (bought to play Skyrim) OC to 4.6Ghz, 8 GB 1333Mhz RAM OC to 2133Mhz, 11GB GTX 1080ti, SSD, Windows 7.

I am fairly new to the pc scene so I don't have RTSS. I think I tried to install it recently but I wasn't sure I was doing it right and gave up. I think I technically have 8 cores in my pc, as this is how many are shown in my device manager. Most of my settings are on either high or medium and even so I get fairly terrible, and very unstable frame rates. I'll have another look at installing RTSS and try to follow this and I'll let you know

I have now tried to do this but I can't install it as the apparently the server is active and I have no clue how to fix this

[Zorro]

Originally posted by The Mojenator:

Originally posted by Zorro:

No he doesn't. He needs more cores. This game was designed for the 8 core PS4 Pro and Xbox One X consoles. They only clock 2.13Ghz (PS4 Pro) and 2.3Ghz (Xbox One X). The game likes CPU threads - lots of them - and needs lots of memory bandwidth to handle the needs of the threads. Also note that the consoles only run at 30 FPS. I play on 4k at 30 FPS and it's way smoother than even the consoles once you normalize your frametimes. Use https://www.vsynctester.com/index.html to find your monitor's exact refresh rate, then use RTSS to set the max framerate to 0.05 [ish] FPS less than half your refresh rate. My RTSS setting is 29970 (29.970 FPS). Now set vsync to half refresh rate in Nvidia control panel's AC:O profile. Set the game to Ultra settings in your applicable resolution (I run 2560x1440 and set resolution modifier to 160% to get 4k render quality) and enjoy. Don't use the in-game FPS limiter - let RTSS do it. 30 FPS is very playable if you get consistent frametimes. Just because it's rendering 30 frames per second doesn't mean all 30 frames are evenly spaced on that one second timeline. Get the frames evenly spaced (i.e. normalized) and the game looks as smooth as the console versions. Your 1060 should be able to render 30 FPS ultra settings in 1080p without issue (I would guess it'd even handle 30 FPS 1440p ultra). I run an old i7 2600k from 2011 (bought to play Skyrim) OC to 4.6Ghz, 8 GB 1333Mhz RAM OC to 2133Mhz, 11GB GTX 1080ti, SSD, Windows 7.

I am fairly new to the pc scene so I don't have RTSS. I think I tried to install it recently but I wasn't sure I was doing it right and gave up. I think I technically have 8 cores in my pc, as this is how many are shown in my device manager. Most of my settings are on either high or medium and even so I get fairly terrible, and very unstable frame rates. I'll have another look at installing RTSS and try to follow this and I'll let you know

I have now tried to do this but I can't install it as the apparently the server is active and I have no clue how to fix this

https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/rivatuner-v2-07.255207/page-4#post-2622501

Just make sure none of your currently opened windows have RT or RivaTuner in the title. :-)

[Zorro]

Once RTSS is installed/running, create a profile for AC:O by clicking the "Add" button. Then navigate to the ACOrigins.exe, which is likely located in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Assassins Creed Origins\ACOrigins.exe

1. Once AC:O profile is added, open Notepad and edit: C:\Program Files (x86)\RivaTuner Statistics Server\Profiles\ACOrigins.exe.cfg.

2. Find the "[Framerate]" section and you'll see "Limit=#" - set it to 29970 (which means 29.970). On the next line below Limit=29970, set the LimitDenominator=1000. The 29970 number may need tweaked depending on your monitor's exact refresh rate. Don't use a decimal point (LimitDenominator=1000 handles that). Save the changes.

3. Go to the Nvidia Control Panel and go to "Manage 3D Settings -> Program Settings -> Assassin's Creed: Origins". Adjust the following:

Maxiumum Pre-rendered Frames: 1
Texture filtering- Negative LOD bias: Clamp
Threaded optimization: on (some with quad core CPUs may get better results with this "off")
Vertical sync: Adaptive (half refresh rate)

4. Now make sure you disable the frame rate limiter in AC:O's settings. RTSS will handle everything for that from now on (make sure RTSS icon appears next to your clock and other icons in Windows - it's usually a little blue monitor looking thing). Make sure that icon is there before you launch AC:O.

Generally you can crank up most of the graphics settings when running at 30 FPS. I run everything in Ultra with 160% resolution modifier in 2560x1440 (basically 4k quality with 160% modifier) but I run an 11GB GTX 1080ti. But those with a GTX 1060 or better can likely turn up most of the settings (but may not be able to crank up the resolution modifier). You shouldn't ever get stutters if you set RTSS correctly. If you see a frame or two skip in regular intervals [i.e. every 3 or 5 seconds], it means you likely need to tweak your RTSS number since you want it around 0.05 FPS below half your monitor's refresh rate (assuming you have a 60Hz monitor).

Also, many of today's LCD monitors will have an "overdrive" setting (the actual name of the setting may vary by manufacturer). You want this "off" if possible (or as low as it'll let you go). Overdrive basically allows the monitor to increase the voltage it sends to the liquid crystals in the panel. Its primary purpose is to prevent "ghosting" but it usually isn't needed, especially at 30 FPS. If the overdrive setting is too high, the monitor will send too much voltage to the crystals which results in them overshooting their intended color. This can make lower framerates look really "flashy." If your monitor has overdrive, always turn it off or as low as your monitor will let it go. A good way to test your monitor's quality is to play AC:O at 30 FPS when the gameworld is nightime. Darker colors don't require as much voltage so if 30 FPS looks significantly smoother when the gameworld is at night instead of in day, it means your monitor may be sending too much voltage to the daytime (i.e brighter) colors. There's not really much you can do to fix that past lowering the overdrive but it generally shouldn't be too big of a problem.

[Dr Spaceman]

Cap-lock tends to affect framerate in most games.

[The Mojenator]

Originally posted by Zorro:

Once RTSS is installed/running, create a profile for AC:O by clicking the "Add" button. Then navigate to the ACOrigins.exe, which is likely located in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Assassins Creed Origins\ACOrigins.exe

1. Once AC:O profile is added, open Notepad and edit: C:\Program Files (x86)\RivaTuner Statistics Server\Profiles\ACOrigins.exe.cfg.

2. Find the "[Framerate]" section and you'll see "Limit=#" - set it to 29970 (which means 29.970). On the next line below Limit=29970, set the LimitDenominator=1000. The 29970 number may need tweaked depending on your monitor's exact refresh rate. Don't use a decimal point (LimitDenominator=1000 handles that). Save the changes.

3. Go to the Nvidia Control Panel and go to "Manage 3D Settings -> Program Settings -> Assassin's Creed: Origins". Adjust the following:

Maxiumum Pre-rendered Frames: 1
Texture filtering- Negative LOD bias: Clamp
Threaded optimization: on (some with quad core CPUs may get better results with this "off")
Vertical sync: Adaptive (half refresh rate)

4. Now make sure you disable the frame rate limiter in AC:O's settings. RTSS will handle everything for that from now on (make sure RTSS icon appears next to your clock and other icons in Windows - it's usually a little blue monitor looking thing). Make sure that icon is there before you launch AC:O.

Generally you can crank up most of the graphics settings when running at 30 FPS. I run everything in Ultra with 160% resolution modifier in 2560x1440 (basically 4k quality with 160% modifier) but I run an 11GB GTX 1080ti. But those with a GTX 1060 or better can likely turn up most of the settings (but may not be able to crank up the resolution modifier). You shouldn't ever get stutters if you set RTSS correctly. If you see a frame or two skip in regular intervals [i.e. every 3 or 5 seconds], it means you likely need to tweak your RTSS number since you want it around 0.05 FPS below half your monitor's refresh rate (assuming you have a 60Hz monitor).

Also, many of today's LCD monitors will have an "overdrive" setting (the actual name of the setting may vary by manufacturer). You want this "off" if possible (or as low as it'll let you go). Overdrive basically allows the monitor to increase the voltage it sends to the liquid crystals in the panel. Its primary purpose is to prevent "ghosting" but it usually isn't needed, especially at 30 FPS. If the overdrive setting is too high, the monitor will send too much voltage to the crystals which results in them overshooting their intended color. This can make lower framerates look really "flashy." If your monitor has overdrive, always turn it off or as low as your monitor will let it go. A good way to test your monitor's quality is to play AC:O at 30 FPS when the gameworld is nightime. Darker colors don't require as much voltage so if 30 FPS looks significantly smoother when the gameworld is at night instead of in day, it means your monitor may be sending too much voltage to the daytime (i.e brighter) colors. There's not really much you can do to fix that past lowering the overdrive but it generally shouldn't be too big of a problem.

I've got it work and I'm at the changing the frame limit part but I don't have a line saying LimitDenominator, is this something to do with the fact I bought this through ubisoft and not steam?

[Zorro]

Originally posted by The Mojenator:

Originally posted by Zorro:

Once RTSS is installed/running, create a profile for AC:O by clicking the "Add" button. Then navigate to the ACOrigins.exe, which is likely located in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Assassins Creed Origins\ACOrigins.exe

1. Once AC:O profile is added, open Notepad and edit: C:\Program Files (x86)\RivaTuner Statistics Server\Profiles\ACOrigins.exe.cfg.

2. Find the "[Framerate]" section and you'll see "Limit=#" - set it to 29970 (which means 29.970). On the next line below Limit=29970, set the LimitDenominator=1000. The 29970 number may need tweaked depending on your monitor's exact refresh rate. Don't use a decimal point (LimitDenominator=1000 handles that). Save the changes.

3. Go to the Nvidia Control Panel and go to "Manage 3D Settings -> Program Settings -> Assassin's Creed: Origins". Adjust the following:

Maxiumum Pre-rendered Frames: 1
Texture filtering- Negative LOD bias: Clamp
Threaded optimization: on (some with quad core CPUs may get better results with this "off")
Vertical sync: Adaptive (half refresh rate)

4. Now make sure you disable the frame rate limiter in AC:O's settings. RTSS will handle everything for that from now on (make sure RTSS icon appears next to your clock and other icons in Windows - it's usually a little blue monitor looking thing). Make sure that icon is there before you launch AC:O.

Generally you can crank up most of the graphics settings when running at 30 FPS. I run everything in Ultra with 160% resolution modifier in 2560x1440 (basically 4k quality with 160% modifier) but I run an 11GB GTX 1080ti. But those with a GTX 1060 or better can likely turn up most of the settings (but may not be able to crank up the resolution modifier). You shouldn't ever get stutters if you set RTSS correctly. If you see a frame or two skip in regular intervals [i.e. every 3 or 5 seconds], it means you likely need to tweak your RTSS number since you want it around 0.05 FPS below half your monitor's refresh rate (assuming you have a 60Hz monitor).

Also, many of today's LCD monitors will have an "overdrive" setting (the actual name of the setting may vary by manufacturer). You want this "off" if possible (or as low as it'll let you go). Overdrive basically allows the monitor to increase the voltage it sends to the liquid crystals in the panel. Its primary purpose is to prevent "ghosting" but it usually isn't needed, especially at 30 FPS. If the overdrive setting is too high, the monitor will send too much voltage to the crystals which results in them overshooting their intended color. This can make lower framerates look really "flashy." If your monitor has overdrive, always turn it off or as low as your monitor will let it go. A good way to test your monitor's quality is to play AC:O at 30 FPS when the gameworld is nightime. Darker colors don't require as much voltage so if 30 FPS looks significantly smoother when the gameworld is at night instead of in day, it means your monitor may be sending too much voltage to the daytime (i.e brighter) colors. There's not really much you can do to fix that past lowering the overdrive but it generally shouldn't be too big of a problem.

I've got it work and I'm at the changing the frame limit part but I don't have a line saying LimitDenominator, is this something to do with the fact I bought this through ubisoft and not steam?

Just add it if it doesn't exist. It's a newer feature to recent RTSS versions so may not be there by default. What version of RTSS did you install? Anywho... Add LimitDenominator=1000 on the line below Limit=####, so it looks something like:

... Other settings ...
[Framerate]
Limit=29970
LimitDenominator=1000
... Other settings...

Since you bought it via Ubisoft obviously you may need to adjust some of the paths I've put in my previous post. Other than that it shouldn't make a difference. Cheers!

[Zorro]

Deleted. Sorry double post.

[The Mojenator]

Originally posted by Zorro:

Originally posted by The Mojenator:

I've got it work and I'm at the changing the frame limit part but I don't have a line saying LimitDenominator, is this something to do with the fact I bought this through ubisoft and not steam?

Just add it if it doesn't exist. It's a newer feature to recent RTSS versions so may not be there by default. What version of RTSS did you install? Anywho... Add LimitDenominator=1000 on the line below Limit=####, so it looks something like:

... Other settings ...
[Framerate]
Limit=29970
LimitDenominator=1000
... Other settings...

Since you bought it via Ubisoft obviously you may need to adjust some of the paths I've put in my previous post. Other than that it shouldn't make a difference. Cheers!

I've done all of this and I am indeed getting a consistent 30 fps now, but my frame time has decreased drasticly, giving much more microstutter which I don't know how to fix, but I can't see what I'm missing. If you have any advice on this it would also be much appreciated

[Zorro]

The GPU frametime will appear to go up when you use Nvidia's half refresh rate vsync because the game's benchmarking tool doesn't know Nvidia is "spacing" the rendered frames as evenly as it can. In a perfect world, a flawless GPU frame time at 30 FPS would always be 33.3ms. However, that's impossible to get since every frame will have different levels of complexity, so Nvidia's half refresh rate vsync tries to spread the frames out evenly, which will appear to increase the GPU frame time (but it's really not increased, it's just spaced out). A good 30 FPS will look something like this in the game's benchmarking tool. Ignore any red - the game simply doesn't know it's being limited by RTSS and Nvidia's half refresh rate vsync.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1397488162

I can't stress enough - ignore the red. Something like that is what you want to see.

As to your microstuttering. Can you give a description of it? Is it something that occurs constantly or at specific intervals (i.e. every 5 seconds you get a small, short stutter; while inbetween stutters it's perfect...)? The 29970 number I gave you may need adjusted. That was for my specific monitor's refresh rate. Every 60hz monitor's refresh rate will vary slightly, and getting the RTSS number correct will usually fix microstutters if they occur at regular, very consistent, intervals. You basically want it around 0.05 FPS below half your monitor's exact refresh rate. If you were aiming for 60 FPS then it'd usually be betwen 0.07 and 0.15 FPS below the refresh rate, but we're aiming at half the refresh rate. So try tweaking the number a bit. The one I gave you is 29.970 FPS, which is slightly less than half my monitor's refresh rate. If experimenting that number doesn't fix the microstutters, you might want to disable CPU core parking and disable the HPET (High Precision Event Timer) - both of these adjustments can be done in Windows (although you can usually disable HPET on a hardware level via the bios if you want to). For games that heavily use multiple CPU threads, it's oftentimes best to just disable core parking that way you don't have to worry about Windows trying to micromanage your core speeds.

[The Mojenator]

Originally posted by Zorro:

The GPU frametime will appear to go up when you use Nvidia's half refresh rate vsync because the game's benchmarking tool doesn't know Nvidia is "spacing" the rendered frames as evenly as it can. In a perfect world, a flawless GPU frame time at 30 FPS would always be 33.3ms. However, that's impossible to get since every frame will have different levels of complexity, so Nvidia's half refresh rate vsync tries to spread the frames out evenly, which will appear to increase the GPU frame time (but it's really not increased, it's just spaced out). A good 30 FPS will look something like this in the game's benchmarking tool. Ignore any red - the game simply doesn't know it's being limited by RTSS and Nvidia's half refresh rate vsync.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1397488162

I can't stress enough - ignore the red. Something like that is what you want to see.

As to your microstuttering. Can you give a description of it? Is it something that occurs constantly or at specific intervals (i.e. every 5 seconds you get a small, short stutter; while inbetween stutters it's perfect...)? The 29970 number I gave you may need adjusted. That was for my specific monitor's refresh rate. Every 60hz monitor's refresh rate will vary slightly, and getting the RTSS number correct will usually fix microstutters if they occur at regular, very consistent, intervals. You basically want it around 0.05 FPS below half your monitor's exact refresh rate. If you were aiming for 60 FPS then it'd usually be betwen 0.07 and 0.15 FPS below the refresh rate, but we're aiming at half the refresh rate. So try tweaking the number a bit. The one I gave you is 29.970 FPS, which is slightly less than half my monitor's refresh rate. If experimenting that number doesn't fix the microstutters, you might want to disable CPU core parking and disable the HPET (High Precision Event Timer) - both of these adjustments can be done in Windows (although you can usually disable HPET on a hardware level via the bios if you want to). For games that heavily use multiple CPU threads, it's oftentimes best to just disable core parking that way you don't have to worry about Windows trying to micromanage your core speeds.

It's not that the frametime has increased, merely that it is incredibly uneven and choppy. It hasn't normalized and provides gameplay that is stuttering and unevenly runs from looking smooth to looking very choppy whilst remaining at 30 fps