I am running an Asus G73JH laptop with:
Windows 7 64-bit
Intel i7-720QM
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1GB (Catalyst 10.12 latest)
8GB DDR3 RAM
Anyway, I played DA:O over a year ago on my Nvidia desktop, and the performance was generally fine, but occasionally I would get slowdown lag or stutter in some areas when looting, switching between characters in my party, or especially when holding down TAB to highlight objects.
On my current laptop, I have a fresh install of Windows 7 with latest drivers, including ATI catalyst, DirectX, PhysX, Intel chipset, Realtek audio, etc. I have the Steam version of the Dragon Age Ultimate Edition installed and registered. All DLC were registered and installed fine, and no problems with anything there.
However, since starting a new character from the beginning, I noticed (especially in the Tower of Ishal and in Lothering fighting area) that my game will slowdown at some parts. When I hold TAB, switch between characters, or when looting, the game lags and is slow to respond or will stutter often.
I have the in-game graphics set to high for everything, including AA 8x. My catalyst options are all set to default. I tried lowering settings or turning V-sync off/on, but this does nothing to the performance issues.
This issue seems like someone everyone is experiencing, and I was wondering if there is something I should set to alleviate these problems? Maybe a catalyst setting? Does Catalyst AI have anything to do with it? AA? AF? What can I do?
Poor Stuttering Performance on ATI Video
Débuté par
Guest_Draetor_*
, janv. 12 2011 06:04
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#2
Posté 12 janvier 2011 - 08:05
Lord_Saulot
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What resolution are you playing at?
#3
Guest_Draetor_*
Posté 13 janvier 2011 - 12:38
Guest_Draetor_*
Guest_Draetor_*
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1920x1080. The native resolution for my laptop. When I played on my older Nvidia desktop, I played at 1680x1050.
#4
Posté 13 janvier 2011 - 02:47
P.Jay
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Dragon Age playes really well on my desktop sytem at 1920x1080 with an ATI 5750, an i5 processor and 4Gb memory(all of which are noticably lower spec. than your laptop!) so I doubt that it's the gfx card that's the problem (I'm running 10.12 too).
Do you have a virus checker running as these can sometimes cause issues (my Kaspersky has a game mode but even so did cause problems with Half-Life 2).
Do you have a virus checker running as these can sometimes cause issues (my Kaspersky has a game mode but even so did cause problems with Half-Life 2).
#5
Guest_Draetor_*
Posté 13 janvier 2011 - 03:31
Guest_Draetor_*
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I use Microsoft Security Essentials, which is such a low resource simple application. It's never given me issues with any game before.
I've experienced these same slow-downs with my Nvidia desktop (GTX 260 Core 216 card) about a year ago too, and in the same areas mostly. Given this, I believe it's a game-related problem, but I was just wondering if there were settings I could do to alleviate the problem and improve performance.
Other than this, I can run the game with 16x AF, 8x AA, and very high graphics and still maintain a reasonable framerate of 40-50 on average. It's only when this slow-down bug kicks in, what happens is the framerate drops to 0 then back to 50 really quick, sort of like a hiccup when switching characters, hitting TAB, or looting.
I've experienced these same slow-downs with my Nvidia desktop (GTX 260 Core 216 card) about a year ago too, and in the same areas mostly. Given this, I believe it's a game-related problem, but I was just wondering if there were settings I could do to alleviate the problem and improve performance.
Other than this, I can run the game with 16x AF, 8x AA, and very high graphics and still maintain a reasonable framerate of 40-50 on average. It's only when this slow-down bug kicks in, what happens is the framerate drops to 0 then back to 50 really quick, sort of like a hiccup when switching characters, hitting TAB, or looting.
#6
Posté 13 janvier 2011 - 04:14
P.Jay
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Again, I doubt it's the gfx card, a 5870 is well above the recommended specs. and you're not exactly underpowered in any other departments either with a quad core i7 and 8 gigs of ram. It could be a bug I suppose. Are you patched up to v1.4 as that should help cut down on issues (and I think that there was something in the patch file about memory leaks). Other than that I'm not sure what's going on. There's often something going on in the background as games run in Windows these days, but again I can't imagine anything that'll tax an i7 (although it might be worth defragmenting the harddrive). I hope you get it sorted.
#7
Posté 13 janvier 2011 - 07:58
Bfler
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I have the stutter issue when I highlight objects after battles since release of the game. It must be a game bug because in the meantime I bought a new PC but the stutter problem is the same and if you do a quicksave and reload from the menu the stuttering is away until the next larger battle.
Modifié par Bfler, 13 janvier 2011 - 08:00 .
#8
Guest_Draetor_*
Posté 14 janvier 2011 - 02:50
Guest_Draetor_*
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My hard drive is defragged all the time, and I make sure all maintenance is covered. My Windows environment is as clean as it can get. I'm running the Ultimate Ed off Steam, so it's patched up with all DLC and expansion authorized and running.
I just got out of a game after finishing Warden's Keep, and after I completed the whole thing, it seemed whenever I went shopping with Bodahn, or initiated conversations in camp, there was a long pause/delay. It was that weird stutter lag again. Sometimes it goes away normally when changing areas, and other times I just close and start the game back up as if to dump the memory.
I just got out of a game after finishing Warden's Keep, and after I completed the whole thing, it seemed whenever I went shopping with Bodahn, or initiated conversations in camp, there was a long pause/delay. It was that weird stutter lag again. Sometimes it goes away normally when changing areas, and other times I just close and start the game back up as if to dump the memory.
#9
Posté 14 janvier 2011 - 10:22
Ryzaki
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It might be the 10.12 drivers
I have the exact same system and once I upgraded the drivers I started getting lags, random shutdowns, my fan started blasting like crazy.
I just rolled back to 10.9 just not worth the hassle.
That said I do get the crazy framerate drops but it's always with one place. When I start a convo with Sten. That's the only place I get the framrate drop and lag. Hm...
I have the exact same system and once I upgraded the drivers I started getting lags, random shutdowns, my fan started blasting like crazy.
I just rolled back to 10.9 just not worth the hassle.
That said I do get the crazy framerate drops but it's always with one place. When I start a convo with Sten. That's the only place I get the framrate drop and lag. Hm...
Modifié par Ryzaki, 14 janvier 2011 - 10:24 .
#10
Posté 14 janvier 2011 - 11:09
abaris
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Ryzaki wrote...
It might be the 10.12 drivers
I have the exact same system and once I upgraded the drivers I started getting lags, random shutdowns, my fan started blasting like crazy.
That's why I usually say, never change a winning team.
I'm far below the above specs with my rather old ATI 3870 and the game runs just fine at 1440x900, which is the maximum resolution for my screen.
Only upgrade drivers if there's a real reason to do so.
#11
Posté 14 janvier 2011 - 02:44
ShinsFortress
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I've not seen any Mobility chipsets (thoguh have not checked one as 'high' as a 5870) work perfectly with DragonAge. There seems to be something that they don't do that a proper full sized graphics card in a desk-top or tower does. Unless your laptop is giantsize (?!) then you don't really need that x8AA or even that res for a game. Try making it easier for the processor in there and then work forwards, checking symptoms.
While it might be the drivers, I have an ATI card with the same drivers and it works fine. However, that may be because it a different model.
While it might be the drivers, I have an ATI card with the same drivers and it works fine. However, that may be because it a different model.
Modifié par ShinsFortress, 14 janvier 2011 - 02:46 .
#12
Guest_Draetor_*
Posté 15 janvier 2011 - 03:36
Guest_Draetor_*
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Guys, you are not understanding the purpose of this post. As I've mentioned, I've gotten the same lag stuttering slowdowns with my Nvidia desktop 1 year ago as I now do with my ATI laptop 1 year later. I'm 99% sure it's the game in this case, because it's the exact same problem in the exact same areas, doing the exact same things to cause the problem.
I was only looking for possible improvements with an ATI card, like changing some Catalyst setting, or in-game setting that is somehow known as being buggy.
Anyway, don't worry about it. The game is playable, and when I get these laggy slowdowns, changing areas usually fixes it.
I was only looking for possible improvements with an ATI card, like changing some Catalyst setting, or in-game setting that is somehow known as being buggy.
Anyway, don't worry about it. The game is playable, and when I get these laggy slowdowns, changing areas usually fixes it.
#13
Posté 15 janvier 2011 - 06:58
ShinsFortress
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Understood (now). Sorry for the mis-conception.
#14
Posté 17 janvier 2011 - 06:05
Ryzaki
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Oh yeah sorry about that.
Though odd I don't get many of the errors you're talking about.
Though odd I don't get many of the errors you're talking about.
#15
Guest_Draetor_*
Posté 19 janvier 2011 - 05:02
Guest_Draetor_*
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After experimenting a lot through my curent playthrough, I've found this...
There is no way to eliminate the problem. The lag/stutter often occurs after combat, and in certain areas only (seems to be the same areas I noticed after multiple playthroughs of this game). It causes lag when switching characters, initiating conversations (the dialogue options menu lags before popping up), holding down TAB, and looting. I believe the bodies of dead enemies and a lot of flashy objects on the screen to interact with causes this lag the most.
The reason for the lag/stutter problem is that the framerate seems to jump all over in spikes. Turning on v-sync might help alleviate the problem (you'd think) because it sits the framerate at a constant 30fps for the most part. This isn't the case though, showing further proof it's a game issue causing the framerate skipping.
The problem fixes itself randomly. Sometimes when changing areas, sometimes when equipping new items, moving around naturally, etc.
Now for the only clausible fix I've found is to remove AA while playing. Now normally while playing with AA and all video options maxed, I can play perfectly fine. Once this lag/stutter hits, my framerate skips around so low, that it's painful to play. By removing AA, my natural framerate is increased a lot, leaving a "buffer" zone for the framerate drop once the lag/stutter hits. This way, I can feel it slightly, but the game is still at a playable fps.
There is no way to eliminate the problem. The lag/stutter often occurs after combat, and in certain areas only (seems to be the same areas I noticed after multiple playthroughs of this game). It causes lag when switching characters, initiating conversations (the dialogue options menu lags before popping up), holding down TAB, and looting. I believe the bodies of dead enemies and a lot of flashy objects on the screen to interact with causes this lag the most.
The reason for the lag/stutter problem is that the framerate seems to jump all over in spikes. Turning on v-sync might help alleviate the problem (you'd think) because it sits the framerate at a constant 30fps for the most part. This isn't the case though, showing further proof it's a game issue causing the framerate skipping.
The problem fixes itself randomly. Sometimes when changing areas, sometimes when equipping new items, moving around naturally, etc.
Now for the only clausible fix I've found is to remove AA while playing. Now normally while playing with AA and all video options maxed, I can play perfectly fine. Once this lag/stutter hits, my framerate skips around so low, that it's painful to play. By removing AA, my natural framerate is increased a lot, leaving a "buffer" zone for the framerate drop once the lag/stutter hits. This way, I can feel it slightly, but the game is still at a playable fps.
