Micro-stutter Fix

[wogz187]

High FPS but stuttering game-play? Tried every solution in the forum to no effect? Try this:

 

When I first installed Fallout 4 I noticed that despite a high frame-rate (50-60 fps, 40 looking down on Diamond City), the display was stuttering all over the place. Walking while moving the camera made everything look like it was jumping around. I may as well have been playing at 10 FPS-- but the computer wasn't even breaking a sweat!

 

Having had similar problems with other Bethesda games I immediately looked to the forums for a solution. The most common solution is setting the Fallout Prefs configuration file (fallout4prefs.ini) "ipresentinerval" to "0" to "unlock" the frame-rate, which it does. However this solution causes ridiculous amounts of screen tearing. Forcing the driver to VSYNC doesn't seem to improve the image much, if at all. So that "solution" was a non-starter-- just one messy screen to another, different, but equally bad messy screen. After trying a few other things I gave up and just dealt with it not displaying properly.

 

Until I found this solution. "ipresentinterval" is in fact the solution but setting it to "0" can cause all kinds of problems-- VSYNC and animation sync not the least of which. The actual solution is to set "ipresentinterval" to a value of "2", which caps the frame-rate at 1/2 your monitor's refresh rate.

 

How the solution works: Fallout can be a demanding game even on high-end hardware so if you system can't maintain a solid 60 fps you will have stuttering. If you are like me and see frame-rates between 40-60, setting "ipresentinterval" to "2" will lock the frame-rate at 30 and present a very consistent and smooth image. Trust me, 30 FPS smooth is better than ~60 FPS and stuttering. Plus the added benefit of putting less strain on your system which is ideal for laptops.

 

There may be other issues setting "ipresentinterval" to 2 but none so far I have determined.

 

Did this work for you?

Did you find any bugs at interval 2?

 

Have fun!

Edited August 19, 2018 by wogz187

[wogz187]

Interesting stuff:

 

Borderless Windowed did not fix this issue.

 

Setting "ipresentinterval" to "0" made much of the game run ~80 FPS with interior cells reaching hundreds of FPS and menus 1000's-- not an efficient use of energy.

 

The default "ipresentinterval" of "1" was not smooth even when the FPS was exactly 60. Going to just about any interior cell would put the frame-rate at a consistent 60 with no variation (spinning around, moving, ect.) however the same "Jumpy" micro-stutters were present. I believe this means that FRAPS is reporting the "average FPS" but within that single second there could have been some frames rendered at 60 FPS and some at ~60 FPS which results in micro-stutter. That said, micro-stuttering was less as the FPS reached a solid 60. So the higher the current FPS the less the perceived stuttering.

 

"ipresentinterval" is a ratio. 1= 1:1 monitor refresh rate. Therefor a 60 Hz monitor at "ipresentinterval= 1" is set to 60 FPS. Using "ipresentinterval= 2" on a 120 Hz monitor should make the cap, again, 60 FPS. This could be helpful if you have a slower PC connected to a nice monitor or TV.

 

It also means you may be able to run Fallout 4 smoothly at 20 FPS on a potato, if you have one. (Change the monitor refresh rate to 40 and set "ipresentinterval= 2" to cap the game at 20 FPS. Same thing applies to a 48 Hz monitor at 24 FPS). Hypothetically, as long as the system can run the game ~25 FPS, this should make the experience feel much smoother.

Edited August 19, 2018 by wogz187

[HyperGenz]

Yes doing this and a few other things fixed my Frame loss but now i have a new issue

Getting frame loss while entering Workbench and
while passing through fluorescent lights i get stuttering
I noticed this in my settlement at the red rocket gas station
I have no mods that are 2k and i only have 5 mods at max

Workbench stutters and drops frames from a good 60 to 30 and even down to 20 for some odd reason
Everything is clean and it's just me and a bed at the gas station

Recap
Workbench fps drop 60 to 20fps
Passing through fluorescent lights, Stuttering

walking outside around the area is a solided 60fps

[HyperGenz]

Am looking for a Fix to this and not comments

Any mods that can fix this ?
Anything that i need to do to the ini ?

PLS help me thank you

[wogz187]

Hey,

 

I'm glad to hear the fix above helped smooth your FPS. If I understand the new problem correctly, you now see a lag/delay/FPS loss when opening workbenches, and FPS loss when you pass through fluorescent lights. These two issue may not be related. I would troubleshoot the one or the other first. When considering the lights, have you recently installed anything that effects lighting/lights or textures? Could you have accidentally changed something to affect those things in the .ini?

 

As far as the workbench is concerned, when did this issue start? Was it a result of implementing the fix above? If the issue pops up all-of-a-sudden, it probably means you've changed something about the configuration.

 

There are a couple articles on this page that seem to touch on your issue. Take a look around NEXUS for a fix.

[HULKHOD3N]

A mod called "Fallout 4 works" is the real answer. This plus iFPSClamp (with some sideeffects) and this game runs silky smooth, accept for 3rd person, this might be f*#@ed forever...

[wogz187]

Hulk,

 

"A mod called "Fallout 4 works" is the real answer. "

 

The real answer to what? This post is the real answer to the original problem and the program you listed is a borderless fullscreen, which is not a solution at all.

[HULKHOD3N]

Well, my game is stutter free with this mod and borderless fullscreen is the way to go... Nothing else helped that much, believe it or not - take it or not.

 

Playing at 30 FPS is not a solution at all.... :-)

Edited November 4, 2018 by HULKHOD3N

[wogz187]

I'm happy to hear that your solution helped your game run smoothly.

 

The only reason I discovered the above solution is because FFS, frame-pacing, ect. didn't work for me. Keep in mind this is a catch-all solution for poor presentation. It works just as well at 60 FPS (on a 120 hz) monitor. So, if I plug my laptop into a external 120 Hz display, it will automatically play at 60 FPS without any further configuration. Regardless of what solution worked for you, this solution is fantastic for people playing on a laptop. Nothing to install, easy to implement, saves on battery, saves strain on the hardware and works on all Bethesda (and likely Gamebryo) games.