Low frame rates, but not much GPU memory being used

[AUTISTIC BISCUIT]

I have a GTX 760 with 4 gigs of video memory. By using EVGA percison x software I can monitor details about the GPU. While playing Far cry 3, I am drawing about 30-40 FPS on ultra settings @ 1080p res. However, the GPU memory usage never goes up to 4 gigs, it's stays around 1500-2000MB. I think that if the GPU is not using that much memory then it's not working very hard, but I am getting low frame rates so the GPU must be overloaded with textures and graphics. Any ideas or is this normal? Also the bus width is 256bit

[rotNdude]

Post your computer specs and what you are willing to spend on components.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

30-40 fps in maxed out Far Cry 3 with GTX 760 sounds pretty normal.
This card is not exactly GTX 770 or 780 that it would run modern games all maxed out at 60 fps.

[time goblin]

the memory buffer doesnt much to do with the actual gpu core you are getting fps that is just about right.

[AUTISTIC BISCUIT]

What I am asking is would'nt the GPU be using all of it's memory when it's struggling to draw frames, but my GPU is only using around 2 gigs of memory. I would like to see all 4 gigs used.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

4 Gb on GTX 760 is more like useless sales gimmick then actually good thing.
GTX 760 is not powerful enough card to actually make use of all that VRAM.
4 Gb on GTX 770 for instance makes lot more sense.

[_I_]

any games that can use 4g of vram will need a much faster gpu

[AUTISTIC BISCUIT]

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

4 Gb on GTX 760 is more like useless sales gimmick then actually good thing.
GTX 760 is not powerful enough card to actually make use of all that VRAM.
4 Gb on GTX 770 for instance makes lot more sense.

So maybe if I overclocked it I could get more usage out of the memory

[Dr. Gregory House, M.D.]

Okay, I have a 2GB 760 and I get the same fps on those settings. However, the reason your usage doesn't go up to 4GB is because the game doesn't need all 4GB. It's like saying you have 64GB of RAM and you have a game that only uses 4GB of that, the game only uses as much as it needs.

If you want 60fps on FC3 turn down the settings to med/high

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Originally posted by jackson921191:

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

4 Gb on GTX 760 is more like useless sales gimmick then actually good thing.
GTX 760 is not powerful enough card to actually make use of all that VRAM.
4 Gb on GTX 770 for instance makes lot more sense.

So maybe if I overclocked it I could get more usage out of the memory

Nah, doubtful it would help much at all in that regard. It would gain you 5 fps maybe but not much more.

[Azza ☠]

What resolution do you have your monitor set at?

I can get a smooth 60fps+ out of Far Cry 3, even in high action, but if your using Ultra textures with extremely high AA on top it could lag a bit.

Recommend downloading Geforce Experience:
http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience/

This will keep your graphic card drivers up-to-date, which includes selected game boosts - Farcry 3 is one of them. Also, it will apply the best settings for quality vs performance possible for your calculated hardware. This is the quickest option rather than manually tweaking, they have done all the dirty work for you.

[Dr. Gregory House, M.D.]

Originally posted by Azza ☠:

but if your using Ultra textures with extremely high AA on top it could lag a bit.

Textures won't cause low FPS. especially with 4GB of VRam. Textures will never directly affect fps, they might cause stuttering if there's not enough Vram to accomadate all the textures.

[Azza ☠]

Originally posted by DomCobb1:

Originally posted by Azza ☠:

but if your using Ultra textures with extremely high AA on top it could lag a bit.

Textures won't cause low FPS. especially with 4GB of VRam. Textures will never directly affect fps, they might cause stuttering if there's not enough Vram to accomadate all the textures.

Yes, Ultra Texture will happily fit in the 4GB of VRam, however I meant with high AA on top of that. AA = Anti Alising, which is a method a reducing how jagged an image looks. You could set that to do it 8 or more times, it draws over and over on those textures multiple times per frame, which mostly uses GPU but also stuck up the CPU power. Some might suffer significant performance degradation at a certain level of Antialiasing, so it's a good idea to see if turning it down could help. You might not even noticed much of a quality difference, from 1 or 2 down, but huge boost in FPS.

Also, disable the VSync unless you have screen ripping or out of synchronization, as that locks the FPS to a limit.

Particle Count is another which weights down on CPU power, it might not be the graphics card but rather the CPU peaking and bottlenecking.

[Dr. Gregory House, M.D.]

Originally posted by Azza ☠:

Originally posted by DomCobb1:

Textures won't cause low FPS. especially with 4GB of VRam. Textures will never directly affect fps, they might cause stuttering if there's not enough Vram to accomadate all the textures.

Yes, Ultra Texture will happily fit in the 4GB of VRam, however I meant with high AA on top of that. AA = Anti Alising, which is a method a reducing how jagged an image looks. You could set that to do it 8 or more times, which mostly uses GPU but also the CPU power. Some might suffer significant performance degradation at a certain level of Antialiasing, so it's a good idea to see if turning it down could help. You might not even noticed much of a quality difference, from 1 or 2 down, but huge boost in FPS.

Also, disable the VSync unless you have screen ripping or out of synchronization, as that locks the FPS to a limit.

Particle Count is another which weights down on CPU power, it might not be the graphics card but rather the CPU peaking and bottlenecking.

I don't think that's how it works. If someone want to point out my error or point me to website with fact go ahead, but I'm 99% sure AA has to do with the models themselves, not textures. For example, say you have a tree in FC3. Depending on what you set textures to, the pixel density of the textures on that tree will go down (if lower) or up (if higher). However, that would not affect AA itself, since the texture density of that model is not what is causing jaggies. The model of your player and the tree meeting in the 2D space of your screen is what does. Hence why AA would not be affected by textures.

Btw, I notice pretty much no fps drop with 2x and the jaggies are nearly gone so I'd say that's the sweet spot for MSAA at least.

For Vsync, adaptive is best.

[_I_]

adaptive is not the best vsync option for low-mid gpus
with adaptive, off is fps is below refresh rate, on when above

just set it to on and it will stay on and never tear

[Dr. Gregory House, M.D.]

Originally posted by _I_:

adaptive is not the best vsync option for low-mid gpus
with adaptive, off is fps is below refresh rate, on when above

just set it to on and it will stay on and never tear

Depends on what OP prioritizes. Vsync means better image quality, adaptive is performance.

I'd think on a lower end build adaptive is best, since I'd rather have 45ish fps with a bit of tearing than 35-30 and input lag

I think the few extra frames are pretty vital in competitive MP