The DX11 version is more stuttery for me?

[SiberianLeon]

There are specific spots in the game, such as the corridor in the East Wing near the toilets, where the frametime graph becomes very inconsistent every second in the DX11 version. In the DX12 only version the frametime graph is only slightly inconsistent and doesn't feel jarring with a VRR-capable monitor, and it's silky smooth when the textures are set to Low (0 GB).

My PC's specs:
OS: Windows 11 25H2
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6600
RAM: 32GB DDR4 3200MHz
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH

The game is installed on a 1TB SATA SSD for storing games, and I observed the same pattern on CachyOS.

Here are some of the screenshots with additional commentary:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785324241
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785324992
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785326136
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785326654
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785327302
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785328001
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785329633

A few months ago I noticed a similar behavior akin to RE2R's DX12 version in RE4R with High (1 GB) when standing in the doorway of the first house you enter, and at the start of Chapter 2 when you pick up a kitchen knife and stand in a specific spot of the stairs, so I suspect every Resident Evil game made in the RE Engine on PC has moments like these.

From what I've gathered from Steam forums and comments on Digital Foundry's video covering the DX12 update, everyone is saying the DX11 version runs better, but for me personally these frametime spikes are way more distracting than lower performance that I tested myself between the two versions.

I'm curious if there are people who prefer the DX12 version for this reason. Yes, it has lower performance and maybe has less mods, but in my case it's much more consistent and more enjoyable to play, and my monitor's VRR helps keep the experience smooth.

[Narrowmind]

They mainly would prefer the 12 for potential graphics improvement. There have been some nice mods released recently for 12, but the vast majority are for 11. I'm glad you found a solution to your issue, though. I've had others, but it was my hardware causing it. Generally speaking, RE Engine games run well on a wide variety of potatoes. Your situation sounds unique, but I can't say for sure.

[SiberianLeon]

Originally posted by Narrowmind:

They mainly would prefer the 12 for potential graphics improvement. There have been some nice mods released recently for 12, but the vast majority are for 11. I'm glad you found a solution to your issue, though. I've had others, but it was my hardware causing it. Generally speaking, RE Engine games run well on a wide variety of potatoes. Your situation sounds unique, but I can't say for sure.

The game ran quite well the first time I played it on my laptop (i7-10750H, GTX 1660 Ti, and 16GB RAM, now it belongs to my sister) back in November 2023, which was the DX12 version.

It feels odd when RE9 runs more consistently on my PC than RE2R on DX11 that predates the former by 7 years.

Edit: One funny thing I noticed is that the foreground rain animation in the main menu is tied to your framerate. If you cap the game to 30 FPS in the options, the rain will look slowed down; 60 FPS is when the rain looks correct; with 120 FPS the rain isn't as extreme, and going any higher will gradually reduce the amount of rain particles: at 500 FPS they're almost gone aside from the background ones.

[SiberianLeon]

I think I found the culprit. In that particular corridor, if the area where Elliot dies is not yet loaded then the frametime looks fine, but then if it's loaded then it gets pretty ugly.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785404937
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3785405066
I learned about it using REFramework's FreeCam. Something is rotten in that place that causes bad frametimes.

Edit: The lighting also changes slightly when transitioning to that area, further proving my point.