How I managed to get rid of (really bad) stuttering on my 16gb RAM, 6yo PC, 4k Monitor

[Guipa]

This is what worked for me. I don't know if it has any new information, but maybe could help someone. Engine.ini had fix the stuttering issues by itself until the latest patch, when it became unplayable. I couldn't even open another program that consumes a little bit of memory without slowing down my whole computer.

I did the following:

PC Specs:

• Windows 10
  
• 1080ti
  
• i7-6700K
  
• 16GB RAM
  
• 4k monitor
  
• 250 GB SSD (Windows)
  
• 2 Hard Drives (Game installed on HD)

1. Checked memory usage: The game usually consumes 3-9GB of physical RAM, but it uses 17-20+GB of virtual RAM. (You can check your HD usage, using Resource Monitor, by moving/flying around. Mine increases a lot, together with Virtual usage)
   
   
2. Disabled services and startup programs to free a little bit of memory.
   
   
3. Freed up space on the SSD: My SSD had less than 20GB of free space, so I cleared up about 50GB.
   
   
4. Adjusted pagefile management : Disabled the Windows management feature that automatically manages the size of the pagefile on all drives. Enabled the system to manage the size of the pagefile only for the SSD and let the system decide the file size. (It now uses only my SSD for virtual memory. When I open the game it fills with +20gb space)
   
   
5. Clean install of the latest NVidia driver (using DDU)
   
   
6. Edited Engine.ini file (%appdata%\Local\Hogwarts Legacy\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor). Added the following configurations to the end of the file:
   
   

   [SystemSettings]
   r.bForceCPUAccessToGPUSkinVerts=True
   r.GTSyncType=1
   r.OneFrameThreadLag=1
   r.FinishCurrentFrame=0
   r.TextureStreaming=1
   r.Streaming.PoolSize=4096
   r.Streaming.LimitPoolSizeToVRAM=1
   
   [ConsoleVariables]
   AllowAsyncRenderThreadUpdates=1
   AllowAsyncRenderThreadUpdatesDuringGamethreadUpdates=1
   AllowAsyncRenderThreadUpdatesEditor=1
   

   
   
   • r.bForceCPUAccessToGPUSkinVerts=True: Forces the CPU to access the GPU for skin vertex rendering.
     
   • r.GTSyncType=1: Syncs the game thread with the RHI thread to reduce input latency.
     
   • r.OneFrameThreadLag=1: Allows the rendering thread to lag one frame behind the game thread to improve performance.
     
   • r.FinishCurrentFrame=0: Disables the ability to finish rendering the current frame before starting on the next one to reduce stuttering.
     
   • r.TextureStreaming=1: Enables texture streaming to load textures on the fly as they are needed.
     
   • r.Streaming.PoolSize=4096: Sets the size of the texture streaming pool to 4096 MB. This value depends on your GPU VRAM (Mine has 11gb).
     
   • r.Streaming.LimitPoolSizeToVRAM=1: Limits the texture streaming pool size to the available VRAM.
   
   
   
7. Enabled G-Sync: Discovered that NVidia supports FreeSync. (6 years I have this monitor and I never turned it on... I don't remember when NVidia started supporting Freesync. I guess I never look it up after I bought it. It even says in the monitor menu that Freesync only works with AMD). So I enabled G-Sync in the Control Panel and disabled VSync in the game.

I'm running 50 fps exterior on a 4K monitor with a 6 years old GPU. Here are my game settings:

• AMD FSR 2: Balanced
  
• VSync: Disabled
  
• Chromatic Aberration: On
  
• Effects: High
  
• Fog: Low
  
• Sky: Low
  
• Foliage: High
  
• Post Process: Medium
  
• Shadow: High
  
• Texture: High
  
• View Distance: High
  
• Pop Quality: High
  
• Ray tracing: Off

If you're experiencing stuttering, it's could be because of pagefile usage, especially if it is using hard drive.
Even if you have +32GB RAM, it's still worth checking if the game is using pagefile.
I hope this helps someone!

[Guipa]

80+ fps inside of a dungeon. First time since I bought it, that my game goes over 60fps consistently without sttutering ANYWHERE in the game

[Weird Potato]

You should probably free up more than 20gb of space on your SSD. You should have 10% of its total space free or performance is impacted. This is called over provisioning.
You don't need to touch the page file, ever.
If you're using a HDD for gaming, you're doing it wrong.
There are various mostly common sense things to do to improve performance on lower end /older machines, but the loading stutter /fps dips in Hogsmead or the castle are a game /engine issue.

Originally posted by Guipa:

80+ fps inside of a dungeon. First time since I bought it, that my game goes over 60fps consistently without sttutering ANYWHERE in the game

Go to Hogsmead. If you say its perfectly smooth, you're lying.

[Guipa]

Originally posted by Weird Potato:

You should probably free up more than 20gb of space on your SSD. You should have 10% of its total space free or performance is impacted. This is called over provisioning.
You don't need to touch the page file, ever.
If you're using a HDD for gaming, you're doing it wrong.
There are various mostly common sense things to do to improve performance on lower end /older machines, but the loading stutter /fps dips in Hogsmead or the castle are a game /engine issue.

Originally posted by Guipa:

80+ fps inside of a dungeon. First time since I bought it, that my game goes over 60fps consistently without sttutering ANYWHERE in the game

Bull. Go to Hogsmead. If you say its perfectly smooth, you're lying.

I don't know if you read my post, but I freed more than 50gb from my SSD.
The only thing I touched on pagefile is that I told Windows to stop using my (slow) hard drives for pagefile and only use my SSD.

This is not perfect but my game was unplayable after the latest update.
Of course everyone is having issues because of bad engine optimization...
This is something that worked for me, dont need to call anyone a liar.. Jesus christ, I spent almost an hour writing this post to help someone and I get called a liar.

"If you're using a HDD for gaming, you're doing it wrong." I can use whatever I want for gaming.. Not everyone has a 1TB m2 ssd laying around.

[Guipa]

Re-read my post.....
80+ fps inside of a dungeon. First time since I bought it, that my game goes over 60fps consistently without sttutering ANYWHERE (i meant that even if I go to room that has nothing it never stayed consistently over 60fps) in the game.

[Weird Potato]

Originally posted by Guipa:

Re-read my post.....
80+ fps inside of a dungeon. First time since I bought it, that my game goes over 60fps consistently without sttutering ANYWHERE (i meant that even if I go to room that has nothing it never stayed consistently over 60fps) in the game.

What do you mean reread it??? you say "without sttutering ANYWHERE in the game". I'm literally going by what you said.

[Guipa]

Originally posted by Weird Potato:

Originally posted by Guipa:

Re-read my post.....
80+ fps inside of a dungeon. First time since I bought it, that my game goes over 60fps consistently without sttutering ANYWHERE (i meant that even if I go to room that has nothing it never stayed consistently over 60fps) in the game.

What do you mean reread it??? you say "without sttutering ANYWHERE in the game". I'm literally going by what you said.

First, English is not my native language. What I meant is that since I bought the game, I have never consistently achieved over 60fps in the game, regardless of where I am (whether inside a closed room with nothing inside, or in the middle of Hogsmeade). Even with the Engine.ini fix, prior to the last patch, it only maxed out around 45fps. I even specified that I was inside a dungeon and not outside.

Secondly, I never stated in my original post that the game goes above 60fps in exterior locations (including Hogsmeade). If you read my original post, I said I currently get around 50fps, with those settings, on a 4k monitor and a 6 years old GPU, without stuttering. Of course, when changing zones I have stuttering, but nothing compared to before.

I never claimed that this solution will work for everyone. I only said that it worked for me, and that I hoped it would work for someone else. Most people who are experiencing issues have lower/older machines, and not everyone is as "tech savvy" as you. I made it clear that this solution worked for me, and I created this guide by compiling some information I found online in different places.

Virtual memory usage is not something that everyone is familiar with. In my searches for a fix, I didn't even see a post mentioning it. I may experience the worst stuttering, but my GPU usage is at 50%, CPU at 40%, and memory at 60%. It is not immediately apparent that the game is reserving over 20gb of virtual memory. The pagefile settings were not configured this way before (with the system controlling the page file for all drives and dividing usage between two hard drives).

When I searched online, I only found people complaining and hating, but no solutions. This possible fix is for people that, like me, had a completely unplayable game. And I'm not even talking inside Hogwarts or Hogsmead, I'm saying anywhere in the game, specially after the latest patch.
At least, now, the game is playable for me. Obviously, would be better if Avalanche released a new patch fixing all these issues...

Next time, please try to be a little less rude when talking with people. Nothing that I stated in my post will harm other people's computer, and it might help someone with issues similar to mine... Messing with the pagefile system might bring issues only if people have super low disk space and low memory. But these people wouldnt be playing Hogwarts Legacy, would they?

[DeMo]

thanks for your method

At least this method can just help people who have this problem

[SeaGoblin]

Originally posted by Weird Potato:

You should probably free up more than 20gb of space on your SSD. You should have 10% of its total space free or performance is impacted. This is called over provisioning.
You don't need to touch the page file, ever.
If you're using a HDD for gaming, you're doing it wrong.

good thing you said this lol cuz i read his post and was coming to say this same thing

[AKIHABARA]

Originally posted by Guipa:

Originally posted by Weird Potato:

What do you mean reread it??? you say "without sttutering ANYWHERE in the game". I'm literally going by what you said.

First, English is not my native language. What I meant is that since I bought the game, I have never consistently achieved over 60fps in the game, regardless of where I am (whether inside a closed room with nothing inside, or in the middle of Hogsmeade). Even with the Engine.ini fix, prior to the last patch, it only maxed out around 45fps. I even specified that I was inside a dungeon and not outside.

Secondly, I never stated in my original post that the game goes above 60fps in exterior locations (including Hogsmeade). If you read my original post, I said I currently get around 50fps, with those settings, on a 4k monitor and a 6 years old GPU, without stuttering. Of course, when changing zones I have stuttering, but nothing compared to before.

I never claimed that this solution will work for everyone. I only said that it worked for me, and that I hoped it would work for someone else. Most people who are experiencing issues have lower/older machines, and not everyone is as "tech savvy" as you. I made it clear that this solution worked for me, and I created this guide by compiling some information I found online in different places.

Virtual memory usage is not something that everyone is familiar with. In my searches for a fix, I didn't even see a post mentioning it. I may experience the worst stuttering, but my GPU usage is at 50%, CPU at 40%, and memory at 60%. It is not immediately apparent that the game is reserving over 20gb of virtual memory. The pagefile settings were not configured this way before (with the system controlling the page file for all drives and dividing usage between two hard drives).

When I search online, I only find people complaining and hating, but no solutions. This possible fix is for people, that like me, had a completely unplayable game. And I'm not even talking inside Hogwarts or Hogsmead, I'm saying anywhere in the game, specially after the latest patch.
At least, now, the game is playable for me. Obviously, would be better if Avalanche released a new patch fixing all these issues...

Next time, please try to be a little less rude when talking with people. Nothing that I stated in my post will harm other people's computer, and it might help someone with issues similar to mine... Messing with the pagefile system might bring issues only if people have super low disk space and low memory. But these people wouldnt be playing Hogwarts Legacy, would they?

Thank you for providing help to people struggling. as far as that one particular forum poster— he’s constantly engaging in in trolling and generally being rude. Just report his posts so hopefully others won’t have to see his bile.

[Auriden]

Nothing more convinces me that this game is not fully optimized. I have a rig over the minimum so it was supposed to run at least at 30 fps at 720p in low. No matter what I do, even in the worst possible config at 720p, the stuttering remains. The irony is that I get more stutterings inside the castle rather than on the open world where it should be heavier.

Games like RDR 2, RE Village and Spiderman are way heavier than this game and I can run them on medium with a steady 60 fps frame rate. But this game? Oh this game... despite being way lighter than the previous ones continues with these unexplainable frame drops no matter the config you put.

Just for reference I have an i7 3770, GTX 1060 6 GB, 16 GB RAM.

[Guipa]

Originally posted by Auriden:

Nothing more convinces me that this game is not fully optimized. I have a rig over the minimum so it was supposed to run at least at 30 fps at 720p in low. No matter what I do, even in the worst possible config at 720p, the stuttering remains. The irony is that I get more stutterings inside the castle rather than on the open world where it should be heavier.

Games like RDR 2, RE Village and Spiderman are way heavier than this game and I can run them on medium with a steady 60 fps frame rate. But this game? Oh this game... despite being way lighter than the previous ones continues with these unexplainable frame drops no matter the config you put.

Just for reference I have an i7 3770, GTX 1060 6 GB, 16 GB RAM.

RDR2, Spiderman, RE Villa, games used their own engine, not Unreal Engine like Hogwarts Legacy. Also, this game is not really light. It is a open world, very detailed game. Doesnt excuse the bad optimization, of course. I think it is worse inside the castle because it probably is loading a lot of assets by proximity. The castle has different floors and rooms, and it must be loading objects, even if its behind walls. When you get close to a door to a differnt zone (outside or another area inside the castle), even if you are not going to open it, it already is loading stuff.


-----

Just a little bit of more speculative info :):

If you have 16gb ram that means it probably is using mostly virtual memory. For me - and my settings - it peaks at around 28gb of total memory (around ~8gb physical and ~20gb virtual).

I can only assume some (not everyone with +16GB RAM is having issues) people with better RAM also has better hardware and uses higher settings.
Perhaps, it peaks higher and it has to use more than 32gb of memory, specially when loading a zone, i.e Hogsmead) causing the stutter.
Maybe this also happens because the game, on these peaks, suddenly has to write and load all this stuff on/from disk, since it wasn't using it because of higher ram capacity.

I can't be sure because I don't have a computer like that. For this kind of people, a possible fix is checking if it is using virtual memory, which disk is being used, check if its a ssd (doesnt mean that it is as fast as memory, but its way better than hd), try to free more memory, etc..

Some people said that increasing the amount of RAM solved their issue. Maybe these people are using lower settings (texture, view distance, pop quality, etc..), have higher RAM (64GB RAM, for example) or have a fast SSD with Windows correctly using it for pagefile (I say correctly in the context of gaming).

Usually, what causes this kind of stuttering, (moving the camera it stutters but if you stay still, it stops or at least improves - still has stuff hapening around you), is reading/loading and unloading from a hd/ssd (virtual memory or normal file reading).
Hogwarts Legacy has a lot going on all the times, it is a open, high detailed world, and a lot of these loading and unloading happens, or tries to happen, on memory because its faster..

Lower, "consistent", framerate usually happens because of insufficient system resources, badly optimized game thread, high settings, etc. CPU/GPU stuff.

Again just to be clear, this is all speculation of other people experiences and the way the game works. I haven't look it up properly.

[gingerbreadman]

Originally posted by Weird Potato:

If you're using a HDD for gaming, you're doing it wrong.

If you think an ssd is required to play games, you are doing it wrong

[Caduryn]

Originally posted by Gingerbreadman:

Originally posted by Weird Potato:

If you're using a HDD for gaming, you're doing it wrong.

If you think an ssd is required to play games, you are doing it wrong

Well.... depending on the Game, it makes things insanely better.

Star Citizen went from stutter and crash 20fps to stable 60fps zero crashes by just changing to SSD

[gingerbreadman]

Originally posted by Caduryn:

Originally posted by Gingerbreadman:

If you think an ssd is required to play games, you are doing it wrong

Well.... depending on the Game, it makes things insanely better.

Star Citizen went from stutter and crash 20fps to stable 60fps zero crashes by just changing to SSD

Yeah obviously its a case by case kinda thing.

The thing is that it isn’t the rule, so to make an absolute statement like that is misleading

[Medniy Kuporoz]

Horrable stutters time, almast all new games is a mess, while ps5 version frame spikes free.
Cmon, 2000$ pc and freaking wait for patches for month