Weirdly specific FPS drops in borderless windowed mode.

GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060 (Driver version 416.94)
CPU: Ryzen 5 1600
RAM: 8 GB x 2
OS: Windows 10 Home (Build 1809)

So basically, I can run the game at a smooth 60 FPS in borderless windowed almost everywhere except for the usual player-heavy areas.

However, there are also a few, very specific zones or even just small parts of zones that cause my FPS to tank down to as low as 45 FPS even if no players are around and also spikes the GPU usage up to nearly 100%. Enabling Occlusion Culling and LOD does reduce how much of a hit I take, but it's still noticeable and not worth the graphical downgrade it causes everywhere else.

The most annoying spot is in the Ruby Sea, where Onokoro and Heaven-on-High cause a significant FPS loss if they're ever visible in the distance. Up close, no such issues occur.

Another weirdly specific spot is if I'm standing south of the Forgotten Springs aetheryte and facing it from from maybe 20-30 yards away. It's only when facing it from the south and at that specific distance. Moving closer and/or facing it from a different direction causes no issues.

Lastly, the East Shroud in general has multiple FPS killers scattered about, such as west of the Hawthorne Hut facing the aetheryte, facing NE at Little Solace, or pretty much the Sylphlands in general.


I just find it really abnormal that I can get 60 FPS in places like Kugane and Ishgard, but these few specific spots ruin my FPS for whatever reason. Knowing whether or not others with similar or better builds struggle in the same spots would give me some relief, though my GPU has been showing signs of failing anyhow (It becomes unstable and sometimes crashes if the temps linger just in the 70 C+ range, which is not okay).

So, it turns out these places are actually lagging me out even in full screen mode too.

I feel like there's an issue with some settings somewhere or the GPU has just gone south.

Good afternoon and thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

I'm assuming you are running the game at the highest setting, correct? A GTX 1060 will suffice if you are trying to run the game at 60 FPS at 1080p, but it can drop in a few areas like you mentioned. Running the game in borderless fullscreen does make the performance of your card a bit less efficient, but as you said, it can happen in fullscreen as well.

It might not affect the frame rate too much, but you can try updating the graphics card drivers (the most recent version is 419.67) and disabling any overlays if they are present.

You mentioned that your GPU has some issues if the temperature goes above 70C, correct? Normally, modern GPUs can go upwards of 90C and still be operable. Is this a normal occurrence with your GPU? I can't tell for certain, but your GPU may be running the game a bit slower because of this. Even if this isn't the case, the frame rates you are describing aren't exactly out of the ordinary.

We hope we can be of assistance in helping you enjoy the exciting world of Final Fantasy XIV!

I guess a new GPU would probably fix the issues. It's likely damaged anyways as it wasn't having issues running at temps of 70C+ up until only recently.

The settings are all maxed, save for ambient occlusion which I left at Strong as I didn't feel like the visual improvement from the settings above that was worth the FPS loss.

Okay, nevermind.

I just logged in today after more troubleshooting (I've been having issues with my display freezing or turning off abruptly), and now I'm getting a smooth 60 FPS even in the places I mentioned were lagging me out earlier. The GPU load is also about 30% lower then it normally is.

There's clearly something weird going on here, but whether it's hardware or software related is beyond me.

It seems like the GPU just doesn't work properly when I boot up the PC sometimes, which results in poor FPS and instability that potentially causes it to shut off regardless of how high/low the temperatures are.

EDIT: I think figured out the issue. The motherboard is sometimes misdetecting my GPU as an PCIE x1 card instead of a x16, which naturally would cause performance issues and likely also explains the random shutdowns as it's probably not allocating enough resources to the GPU for it to function properly. Just gonna have to keep checking the detected setting with GPU-Z before I start playing so I don't run into unexpected crashes, at least until I can resolve the issue and/or get a new GPU/motherboard.

Thank you for the update KageTokage.

I'm glad you were able to find a solution to the issue. If you experience any more problems, please create a new thread.

This thread will be moved to the 'Closed Concerns' subforum as the issue has been resolved.

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