Additional Data Needed Regarding GPU Utilization Issues

[dark494]

1) GTX 980, same card since 2.0
2) Borderless Windowed, 2560 x 1440, High (Desktop), 50-60 fps before and after. Even in an Inn Room by myself. Only goes down when other players are present obviously.
3) GPU is always at 100% no matter what fps I get, and there's been no change in fps
4) 100% of the time while the game is running no matter where/what
5) No
6) Changed all graphical settings. The only thing that lowers GPU utilization is the frame rate limit option, however these options do not work correctly.

• If I have 60 fps with 100% utilization then if I:
  • Limit it to 30 fps I will get 30 fps with 36% GPU utilization
  • Limit it to 15 fps I will get 15 fps with 27% GPU utilization
• If I have 55 fps with 100% utilization (like anywhere with other players) then if I:
  • Limit it to 30 fps I will get 19 fps with 36% GPU utilization
  • Limit it to 15 fps I will get 11 fps with 27% GPU utilization

There's clearly something wrong with the graphical engine for this game since it can't even respect the 30 or 15 fps limit if I can't even get 30 or 15 on those settings if I don't have 60 at 60. If I have more than 30 then if I limit it to 30 I should get 30, not 19. This is indicative of a problematic implementation in the engine code.

[RobbieH]

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

To get a better understanding of the issue, I'd like to ask a few questions:

1) What Graphics Card are you using?
2) What is the resolution, graphical setting, and frame rate you are getting (both pre and post patch)?
3) Some of you have reported major dips in frame rate, does your GPU utilization reach 100% at this time?
4) Does this happen constantly or is it restricted to only a few areas?
5) Is this accompanied by any graphical glitches?
6) Please list everything you have tried to alleviate the issue

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

1) GTX1080
2) 2560x1440, Custom settings, mostly everything max with Occlusion Culling enabled, FPS i don't know but feels like it's a big difference.
3) Yes, it goes all the way up to max usage.
4) I need more testing as i haven't been playing the game i logged in for patch but is mostly to keep my House, however i remember very well it was never this bad, i can't even stream at all because the performance gets another hit from streaming which is barely noticeable in any other games i play and also on this game, i've tried other games just in case and they perform fine, games that are also more demanding.
5) No graphical glitches that i've noticed.
6) Install an older driver after cleaning with DDU, change Power Plan to max, i play with FPS lock of 60 as always did since my Monitor is 60Hz only anyway, i've tried removing the FPS limiter and the FPS is worse than it used to be. I also Disabled FullScreen Optimizations in compatibility options for the executable, disabled GameDVR.

PS: I'm on Windows 10 version 1803 and this is a fresh install not an update through Windows update.

Here's a few screenshots as example:

It goes up to 30% usage just on main menu: https://i.imgur.com/RoBlXdq.jpg

Limsa 60FPS with lots of people 75% Usage: https://i.imgur.com/qkMuNUZ.jpg

Lavender Beds no one around 75% usage: https://i.imgur.com/zvPYE96.jpg

[Einmimiria]

1) GTX 980, same card since 2.0
2) Borderless Windowed, 2560 x 1440, High (Desktop), 50-60 fps before and after. Even in an Inn Room by myself. Only goes down when other players are present obviously.
3) GPU is always at 100% no matter what fps I get, and there's been no change in fps
4) 100% of the time while the game is running no matter where/what
5) No
6) Changed all graphical settings. The only thing that lowers GPU utilization is the frame rate limit option, however these options do not work correctly.

• If I have 60 fps with 100% utilization then if I:
  • Limit it to 30 fps I will get 30 fps with 36% GPU utilization
  • Limit it to 15 fps I will get 15 fps with 27% GPU utilization
• If I have 55 fps with 100% utilization (like anywhere with other players) then if I:
  • Limit it to 30 fps I will get 19 fps with 36% GPU utilization
  • Limit it to 15 fps I will get 11 fps with 27% GPU utilization

There's clearly something wrong with the graphical engine for this game since it can't even respect the 30 or 15 fps limit if I can't even get 30 or 15 on those settings if I don't have 60 at 60. If I have more than 30 then if I limit it to 30 I should get 30, not 19. This is indicative of a problematic implementation in the engine code.

Thank you for the information dark494.

You mentioned you are getting 50-60 fps before and after the patch. Does it dip below this? Getting these frame rates with the graphical settings and card you have sounds about right. Although lowering the graphics preset should affect the GPU utilization. Does this same thing happen if you are using Fullscreen (not borderless)?

As for the frame rate cap, can you go into the Nvidia Control Panel, find Final Fantasy XIV and in the V-Sync section, select Adaptive (half refresh rate)? Keep the in-game frame limit at 60. Does this have the same result as capping the frame rate in-game?

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

[dark494]

Thank you for the information dark494.

You mentioned you are getting 50-60 fps before and after the patch. Does it dip below this? Getting these frame rates with the graphical settings and card you have sounds about right. Although lowering the graphics preset should affect the GPU utilization. Does this same thing happen if you are using Fullscreen (not borderless)?

As for the frame rate cap, can you go into the Nvidia Control Panel, find Final Fantasy XIV and in the V-Sync section, select Adaptive (half refresh rate)? Keep the in-game frame limit at 60. Does this have the same result as capping the frame rate in-game?

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

It already is adaptive, and yes it's the same when fullscreen.

[RareItems]

Hi, since the patch, Hunts are popular again, I noticed stuttering and extreme lag happening randomly (meaning not on every mob) mostly on S rank mobs thou. The game freezes to 1 FPS, sound cuts off, then it just shuts down with a message "FFXIV has encountered a unexpected error. Shutting down".

It does not matter if its Dx9 or Dx11, or if I lower the settings it still does it xD and I think its getting worse, now i'm getting game crashes just standing at the marketboard in Kugane xD.

Here are the things I tried to fix it.
1.) Installed Latest Nvidia Drivers.
2.) Windows compatibility mode.
3.) Reinstalled Direct X9
3.) Running it on Administrator.
4.) Running a full scan on my antivirus 5 times.

Doing a fresh reinstall at the moment hope it fixes the problem. This has occurred before in Eureka when i'm near a large group of players and they start moving I thought I fixed it with a driver update but I guess not xD.

[Einmimiria]

It already is adaptive, and yes it's the same when fullscreen.

Sorry, I should have clarified. I wanted you to select the option "Adaptive (half refresh rate)." This should cap the frame rate at 30 if your monitor is 60hz. I wanted to see if an external frame rate limiter would have similar results as the in-game one.

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

[Einmimiria]

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

How frequently does this error occur? Is it only in certain areas or can it happen anywhere that has a large number of people?

Can you submit a FFXIV system report? Simply go to the 'Config' option on the Final Fantasy XIV launcher and to the right of 'System Information' click on 'Display.'

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

[linnyxito7]

Thanks for looking into this. I'm not good with computers, but here are my findings:

1) Nvidia GTX970M

2) Resolution pre and post patch: 1280 x 720.
Graphical settings pre and post patch: Standard (Laptop) settings. Frame rate pre patch: consistent and smooth 60 fps when the frame rate limit was set to 60 fps (refresh rate 1/1). When disbling the limit, the fps stayed between 100-120 fps.
Frame rate post patch: 60 fps with the frame rate limit set to 60 fps, but with several drops per minute to 40-50 fps. (The game appears to freeze briefly.) When disabling the frame rate limit, the fps stayed between 100-120 fps as before, but with drops to around 90 fps several times per minute. (The game freezes briefly here as well.)

3) When I limit my fps to 60, the GPU utilization is between 50-70% (see left side of the below screencap). When I remove the limit, it's at 100% regardless of which zone I'm in (see right side of the below screencap).

The above screencap was taken when I was in my character's apartment without moving. Here is another screencap that I took during a fight (set to 60 fps), where the GPU utilization seems to spike (?) before dropping:


4) The spikes occur in every/any in-game area.

5) This is not accompanied by any graphical glitches. Aside from the stutters, the game runs very smoothly. However, if I use a spell or skill at the same time as a stutter happens, the skill/spell won't register and I'll have to use it again.

6) Everything I've tried to alleviate the issue:

• Cleaning the fans of my computer (the avg. temperature is under 50 degrees celcius now, and when the GPU utilization reaches 100% the max temperature is 64 degrees celcius.

• Checking all drivers and all Windows Updates (everything is up to date).

• Changing settings related to FFXIV in NVIDIA Control Panel.

• Overclocking the graphics card.

• Restarting the game and the computer.

• Shutting down other apps and programs (and game mode).

• Switched between DirctX9 and DirectX11 at game startup (the problem persisted in both).

• Changed the frame rate limit in-game between 15 fps to 120 fps (the fps still dropped/skipped many times per minute, whether the fps was high or low).

• Changed the graphics settings from lowest to highest, and back to lowest.

• Tried Windowed mode, Borderless Windowed mode, and Full Screen mode (the problem persisted in all three modes).

• In the FFXIV Launcher under Settings, I tried to reset the system settings.

• I freed up some space on the SSD where FFXIV is installed.

None of the above helped prevent/remove the stuttering. I feel that I need to underline that the game runs very smoothly all the time (or has, until now), but after the patch, these "skips" interrupt the otherwise smooth gameplay many times a minute. If I click something right at the same time as one of these "skips" happen, the button I click won't register, and I have to click it again.

Sorry if I included too much (or did I maybe miss something?).

[dark494]

Sorry, I should have clarified. I wanted you to select the option "Adaptive (half refresh rate)." This should cap the frame rate at 30 if your monitor is 60hz. I wanted to see if an external frame rate limiter would have similar results as the in-game one.

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

The nvidia settings keeps the framerate hard-capped at a constant 30fps, even on maximum graphic settings, but also keeps the GPU at 50% utilization. As soon as I revert everything back to normal the same issue persists. In-game framerate cap set to 30 fps, I get 20 fps and 35% GPU utilization. 60 or no limit GPU usage goes back to 100% utilization. Even in an inn-room by myself I'm at 60fps but at 100%.

[Einmimiria]

Thank you for the update linnyxito7, this information was very helpful.

If I'm understanding you correctly, the game stutters and the frame rate dips momentarily, then goes back to normal a moment later? This seems to drop 10-20 fps relative to the max FPS (so if you have 100 FPS, it will drop to 90-ish, if it's maxed at 60, it will drop to 40-50).

Open the Nvidia Control Panel, find FFXIV and in the V-Sync options, select "On" or "Override Application" (this should lock it to 60). Or select "Adaptive (half refresh rate)" to lock it at 30. Keep the in-game limiter off. I'd like to see how this affects the stuttering, since the game is not listening to the in-game frame rate limiter in a few of these cases.

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