Fallout 4 Performance Problems

[djwhitfield]

I'm pretty sure this topic has been beaten like a dead horse on this forum, but I wanted to get everythings thoughts before I give up on this entirely.

 

I upgraded my PC last year specificlly to get Fallout 4 running at max settings as smoothly as possible. I did a lot of research and found that Fallout 4 needs more CPU and RAM than it does GPU.

With the research into RAM frequencies and timing, Fallout 4 runs better on higher frequencies and lower timings. Not total RAM Capacity. 3600mhz was almost the sweetspot, but I wanted more. So I purchased the following.

 

Geforce GTX 1080 8GB at 1911Mhz Core and 5005Mhz Memory

i7 7700k at 4.5Ghz

16GB Gskill RGB 4133mhz 19-19-19-39 1.35v

Maximus 9 Hero ROG

 

Unforunately, no matter how hard I tweak my BIOs I can't get the ram to boot at 4133Mhz as advertised, even 3600Mhz is unstable. So I resorted to downclock at 3200Mhz 14-14-14-33.

 

Regardless of this, Fallout 4 on Ultra is just not getting the FPS I desire. In areas like Vault 111 I'm getting 120fps (I know it shouldn't go above 60fps, its just for benchmarking)

But in Boston itself its going as low as 24fps. The most weird thing is the GPU and CPU usage. My GPU is at 30% usage while my CPU with all core hovers around 50%. My only theory is that the RAM is not giving enough to the CPU. But I got the RAM as good as I can get it (Unless anyone has some suggestions)

 

So with a lot of tweaking and using ShadowBoost, I'm still getting about 90fps around exterior of Diamond City but with a lot of stuttering and dropping to 30fps nearly Boston Commons.

The idea of testing at these high FPS is to see if I can get the game capped at 60fps constantly with no issues.

 

I don't mind the odd frame drop but its when it keeps happening that it gets on my nerves.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

No matter how little they might be, I would still like to hear them, I just recently found out I had my 1080GTX installed in the PCI x8 slot instead of the x16 slot, thats how dumb I am sometimes ahaha!

 

Thanks guys!

 

Take Care!

 

*UPDATE Potential Fix*

Ok, so I overclocked my CPU to 4.8Ghz and I got my RAM to 3466Mhz at 15-15-15-36. It made some performance difference, but then I started searching on youtube to find this video...

 

 

At first I thought can't see much of a FPS difference. But then I saw this in the comments.

 

"If you think that's bad, try testing in the downtown area surrounding Diamond City. In my experience, I usually averaged around 50 and dropped no lower than 40 in the heaviest areas with it enabled, and averaged around 20 and dropped no lower than 10 with it disabled. The aesthetics you gain are just not even slightly worth the performance you lose. Thanks for making this, it's nice to have something concrete to point to when its performance impact is brought up."

 

Anyway, I changed bUseCombinedObjects=1 and then suddenly. Almost 100% 60fps lock. It was so smooth I turned EVERYTHING up to Ultra and saw no sign of it breaking the 60fps lock, just the odd stutter here and there.

 

I then decided to install texture packs and Vivid Weathers, still barely and drop. Its at the point I'm running from Diamond City to Boston Commons with only slight drops. I'm so happy with the turn out.

 

Just thought I would let you all know incase you struggle with the performance yourselfs.

[HeyYou]

What O/S? What else is running in the background? (things like your virus scanner, any facebook apps, onedrive, googledrive, etc.)

[iXenite]

Fallout 4 renders every shadow in the game on a single core of the CPU. That is why the areas close to downtown Boston are so demanding, even on very high end hardware. If you were to set your shadow render distance to Medium - you should see an increase in performance.

 

Lowering shadow quality should also help. The bottom line is this - Fallout 4 is a horribly optimized game due to the ancient engine architecture used by Bethesda in this title.

 

Have you tried capping the framerate at 60fps while doing these tests? The game engine is not really meant to played at framerates higher than 60 - the higher framerate in general is another thing that puts strain on your CPU.

 

Even with Shadow Boost - the framerate will always dip. However, your dips are pretty harsh (harsher than they perhaps should be). I will leave a video on Shadow Boost (you may have even seen it already) so you can see how you may want your settings in Shadow Boost.

 

Fallout 4 Mod Clinic - Shadow Boost:

 

 

Edited August 25, 2017 by DaddyDirection

[djwhitfield]

What O/S? What else is running in the background? (things like your virus scanner, any facebook apps, onedrive, googledrive, etc.)

 

Good question, Windows 10 Pro 64bit, I have Mod Organizer, Steam, Avast, Spybot and Malwarebytes running in the background.

 

Thanks again

[djwhitfield]

Fallout 4 renders every shadow in the game on a single core of the CPU. That is why the areas close to downtown Boston are so demanding, even on very high end hardware. If you were to set your shadow render distance to Medium - you should see an increase in performance.

 

Lowering shadow quality should also help. The bottom line is this - Fallout 4 is a horribly optimized game due to the ancient engine architecture used by Bethesda in this title.

 

Have you tried capping the framerate at 60fps while doing these tests? The game engine is not really meant to played at framerates higher than 60 - the higher framerate in general is another thing that puts strain on your CPU.

 

Even with Shadow Boost - the framerate will always dip. However, your dips are pretty harsh (harsher than they perhaps should be). I will leave a video on Shadow Boost (you may have even seen it already) so you can see how you may want your settings in Shadow Boost.

 

Fallout 4 Mod Clinic - Shadow Boost:

 

 

 

I'm currently using Medium Shadows,

Yeah, I understand the engine hates above 60fps but it was more for testing. I was attempting to put the strain on the CPU to see if RAM would end up playing a part.

However I did indeed Cap the framerate at 60fps and I still get nasty FPS drops.

Big fan of Gopher and its also how I come to learn of Shadowboost, but I will rewatch the video to see if there is any details I missed.

 

Thanks again

[iXenite]

Does any other game have such low GPU usage from your rig? I just looked back at your original post, and that is very low usage. You will want to completely turn off all of your background programs while playing the game though. That is eating up your RAM when you need it most. What is your RAM usage at when playing? Numbers for around the city (or even in it) and numbers for being around Sanctuary or other less demanding places would be ideal for comparison.

[sopmac45]

One thing is very true, Fallout 4 does not care about how good our rig is ... is just simple like that !!

 

I do have the Nvidia 1070, 16gb RAM, SSD and i7-6700 and still I am having fps drops in those places where I am supposed to have them, still I am getting CTD's once in a while ... AND, AND .... do not have any texture mod installed, my AA is off, Godrays is off, motion blur is off and shadows in medium ...

 

... I just learned to live with it and accepted Fallout 4 they way it is ... I only have 90 mods and my priority in my game is combat on the top of everything else so my main mod is WOTC ( War of the commonwealth ) and it is setup above the default and the author of this mod has advised to all of us that we will get some CTD's ... so they are welcome and as far as I can play without stuttering and constant CTD's, then I do not really care because there is nothing I can do to fix the terrible Fallout 4 engine.

[djwhitfield]

Does any other game have such low GPU usage from your rig? I just looked back at your original post, and that is very low usage. You will want to completely turn off all of your background programs while playing the game though. That is eating up your RAM when you need it most. What is your RAM usage at when playing? Numbers for around the city (or even in it) and numbers for being around Sanctuary or other less demanding places would be ideal for comparison.

 

I never have such low usage during any games but Fallout 4. Witcher 3 is on ultra and Im getting 140fps in places.

In Boston its about 10GB of Ram and less places its about 8GB.

 

However I think I found a soluation, I'm gonna post it on my OP.

[djwhitfield]

One thing is very true, Fallout 4 does not care about how good our rig is ... is just simple like that !!

 

I do have the Nvidia 1070, 16gb RAM, SSD and i7-6700 and still I am having fps drops in those places where I am supposed to have them, still I am getting CTD's once in a while ... AND, AND .... do not have any texture mod installed, my AA is off, Godrays is off, motion blur is off and shadows in medium ...

 

... I just learned to live with it and accepted Fallout 4 they way it is ... I only have 90 mods and my priority in my game is combat on the top of everything else so my main mod is WOTC ( War of the commonwealth ) and it is setup above the default and the author of this mod has advised to all of us that we will get some CTD's ... so they are welcome and as far as I can play without stuttering and constant CTD's, then I do not really care because there is nothing I can do to fix the terrible Fallout 4 engine.

 

I think I might have found a fix, I will post it in my OP if your interested my friend.