Intermittent FPS drop with SLI enabled post 2.1

[Riv]

The past few days, I've noticed my FPS dropping drastically (from like 100+ down to 30-40) and then right back up over about a 1-2 second time frame. This happens about every 15-30 seconds while in game. It also does not seem to matter what is going on on screen, though obviously I notice it more when I'm running around or in battle (solo or large groups, doesn't matter). It's extremely obvious and very annoying when it happens. The problem only occurs when I'm running in SLI, and I'm not temperature throttling either because the cards are only at about 60C.

I'm using 2 GTX 670 with the most recent drivers (331.82) and it was doing this even before I updated from the previous driver. I wonder if this is happening to anyone else? At first I thought it was my system or my SLI bridge, but every other game is working fine.

Also on an unrelated note, has anyone else noticed the in game frame rate limiter is now broken? I can set it to limit to 30 or 60 but it doesn't work.

Now that I think about it, it actually seems like it's only been doing this since the last hotfix rather than 2.1 itself.

[Shannisaur]

I've been having the exact same issue. After 2.1 my game was fine and ran as normal (about 60-70fps) on highest graphical settings. However, after the hotfix the problem described above has been incredibly prevalent. I'll get a few seconds of alright (50 fps, maybe?) performance and it'll just drop to the point others are jittering across the screen (10 fps). It's especially jarring in dungeons and it's making trying to PvE at all a great pain.

I should note turning settings down fixed nothing.

[r3quiem]

Im having the same issues, Im running two gtx 780s in sli and especially in places like Hakkue Manor Hard Mode. I am hitting almost unplayable FPS to the point where things start stuttering across the screen. This is also true in a lot of PvE content especially dungeons. Like the above post says, turning down the settings doesn't fix the issue.

[klepp0906]

Fwiw it's not your hardware or video lag created via conventional means no matter what square or nvidia may try to tell you. I have 4 titans and the exact same thing happens to me. I've taken screenshots standing still that have gone up to 60 (Vsync) and down to 30 then back up/down/up/down.

I think it has something to do with the drivers incorrectly changing states between P0 and P(whichever is 2D) compounded with windows 8 gay forced metro Vsync) or whatever it is.

I also get abysmal framerates during the startup screen and while loading screens which aren't present when SLI is off. Points to states changing when they shouldn't be again.

At this point I would strongly suggest speaking to nvidia as I have. I had an issue with no SLI at all that would have gone un addressed until I PMd an nvidia employee. They were able to reproduce it in the QA dept and it went on to be fixed via the most recent release.

During our correspondence he mentioned seeing no one else complaining of issues with ffxiv so I'm not sure if he was blind or limited in scope of research but we have to make ourselves heard.

Between Microsofts bs changes and square insisting on an outdated API, nvidia has their work cut out for them. I can only hope we can collectively get these things addressed.

SLI is no longer a rare benchmark only tech and Surround which they pushed for ages is mature and yet full of problems as well. These are all things that woke well in other games yet they treat ffxiv like it's some obscure unpopular indie game based on what I've seen and heard.

It would be nice to have some help. Complain your asses off. Include data and evidence if you have it so you don't seem like some ignorant preteen who is confusing video/network lag with an honest to goodness issue. Complain to square too! If they get sick of it perhaps they will take it up with nvidia at which point they will be forced to act.

I'll keep you posted when I hear more (my contact had his hands tied w CES)

[Teon]

Complain your asses off. Include data and evidence if you have it so you don't seem like some ignorant preteen who is confusing video/network lag with an honest to goodness issue. Complain to square too! If they get sick of it perhaps they will take it up with nvidia at which point they will be forced to act.

How illuded you can be

Just post the bug ingame with details, local time, server time, location where the problem occurs etc. And wait. If lucky, this issue is resolved soon.
For example i had issues logging inside the inn room if logging out from inn room using crossfire, black screen. I had to log disabling crossfire, move out from inn room, re enable crossfire.
24 hours later the problem disappeared. Live hotfix. Fancy huh?

[klepp0906]

How illuded you can be

Just post the bug ingame with details, local time, server time, location where the problem occurs etc. And wait. If lucky, this issue is resolved soon.
For example i had issues logging inside the inn room if logging out from inn room using crossfire, black screen. I had to log disabling crossfire, move out from inn room, re enable crossfire.
24 hours later the problem disappeared. Live hotfix. Fancy huh?

It's not a particular time or place for one. For two it's likely not squares problem, and for three it's exactly how I was able to open a one on one dialogue with an nvidia employee and have my bug patched by the next driver release.

Unfortunately posting along with the other bazillions may or may not help, and if it does it will take god knows how long and will be snuck it at some point with little to know info on if or when it's coming.

I guess people could go your way which is the way people have been going since the beginning of time, the same way I had no SLI at all on a game that's been around in one form or another for years, with a tech that has been around for years, and on an OS that has been around for what's going on... Years now.

The minute I spoke up directly to someone is the point in which it was fixed within weeks. He asked me for details and data which I provided. He asked the questions the QA department needed specific answers to in order to address it, all in contrast to blindly submitting a report.

To be fair, my "call to arms" for lack of a better phrase could be just that. Simply submitting a bug report or making a post. Many people assume they either know about it, or someone else has or is already raising the issue. Nvidia has made it clear several times now, generally they need to hear it en masse before anything is done. It's exactly why ffxiv wasn't even part of GFE until a few weeks back.

Regardless of chosen medium, get it out there. Posting on random forums asking peers for a fix is one thing when it is something potentially fixable by peers, however this is not.