G-Sync first impressions

[Falkentyne]

In DirecTX 10 mode, Crysis INCORRECTLY (and I think either Crysis 2 or crysis warhead do the same thing) uses the FIRST AVAILABLE refresh rate possible in the drivers at NATIVE RESOLUTION, instead of 60 hz. There is one other non crysis game that does this, although I don't remember the name. The lowest refresh rate any game should ever try to use is 60 hz, but Crysis uses the first available.

This is an unfixed bug.

If the first refresh rate selectable at 1920x1080 is 24 hz, Crysis will use 24 hz. If the first selectable is 50 hz, Crysis will use 50hz.
Sometimes, switching to a resolution LOWER than the native resolution, *OR* making a custom resolution of 1920x1076 will cause the sub 60hz refresh rates to be unselectable, thus Crysis then uses 60 hz.

There are two ways to fix Crysis DX 10, but I know this is incompatible with Gsync but it works well on AMD cards and should work if you don't use gsync or the Nvidia CP won't interfere:

1) Use Custom resolution utility and delete all "established" and "standard" resolutions. This will cause all of the sub 60 hz refresh rates to drop out.

2) If all the HIGHER refresh rates also vanish, only 60hz appears in the display control panel, and the "use extension block" is checked (assuming 50hz and under vanished like you wanted), then you will need to manually add the 100 hz, 120hz and 144hz refresh rates under "detailed resolutions" in CRU. You can use "manual"(automatic standard may work) for 100 and 120hz, assuming you know the proper horizontal, vertical totals and porch and sync widths, but 144hz needs LCD reduced. If you remove 60hz from detailed resolutions and only have 100, 120hz and 144 hz and NOTHING ELSE in custom resolution utility, then Crysis will run at 100hz in directX 10 and won't switch lower than 100hz. You could also use this trick to force DX10 Crysis to use lightboost also (since in Strobeliight's install, it removes all the refresh rates except the lightboost ones or a non LB one you choose).

[Black Octagon]

If you're surprised by sub-60fps frame rates in Crysis at 1080p, then you shouldn't be. Like I said, the game has a terrible problem with CPU bottlenecks (because it can't multithread), and yes, it can drop as low as ~30fps on a 4GHz 4790k in AI/physics heavy sequences - the resolution is irrelevant..

Ok but again, at what settings? Back when I had a 1080p 120Hz monitor, I rocked a fairly stable 90-100fps with my current rig, i.e., [email protected], 7970@1250/1750. That was admittedly not at absolute 'maximum' settings, but I didn't have to roll back the settings that much. Mainly AA, as I recall, so why would that necessarily mean a CPU bottleneck?

In the case of Crysis 3, a CPU issue definitely exists, but 1? Not so convinced

[Oubadah]

In DirecTX 10 mode, Crysis INCORRECTLY (and I think either Crysis 2 or crysis warhead do the same thing) uses the FIRST AVAILABLE refresh rate possible in the drivers at NATIVE RESOLUTION, instead of 60 hz. There is one other non crysis game that does this, although I don't remember the name. The lowest refresh rate any game should ever try to use is 60 hz, but Crysis uses the first available.

This is an unfixed bug.

If the first refresh rate selectable at 1920x1080 is 24 hz, Crysis will use 24 hz. If the first selectable is 50 hz, Crysis will use 50hz.
Sometimes, switching to a resolution LOWER than the native resolution, *OR* making a custom resolution of 1920x1076 will cause the sub 60hz refresh rates to be unselectable, thus Crysis then uses 60 hz.

There are two ways to fix Crysis DX 10, but I know this is incompatible with Gsync but it works well on AMD cards and should work if you don't use gsync or the Nvidia CP won't interfere:

1) Use Custom resolution utility and delete all "established" and "standard" resolutions. This will cause all of the sub 60 hz refresh rates to drop out.

2) If all the HIGHER refresh rates also vanish, only 60hz appears in the display control panel, and the "use extension block" is checked (assuming 50hz and under vanished like you wanted), then you will need to manually add the 100 hz, 120hz and 144hz refresh rates under "detailed resolutions" in CRU. You can use "manual"(automatic standard may work) for 100 and 120hz, assuming you know the proper horizontal, vertical totals and porch and sync widths, but 144hz needs LCD reduced. If you remove 60hz from detailed resolutions and only have 100, 120hz and 144 hz and NOTHING ELSE in custom resolution utility, then Crysis will run at 100hz in directX 10 and won't switch lower than 100hz. You could also use this trick to force DX10 Crysis to use lightboost also (since in Strobeliight's install, it removes all the refresh rates except the lightboost ones or a non LB one you choose).

I know why that refresh bug happens, and I had considered using CRU, but last time I used CRU (for a different purpose) I found it almost useless because it's settings never stuck. The profile or whatever you call it that CRU alters would inevitably be replaced, and the CRU settings ignored. Has that been fixed?

Also, I think in some cases the nvidia 'force highest refresh' setting can work for this issue. On my 120Hz monitor, Crysis DX10 defaults to 60Hz, but using 'force highest refresh' always made it run at 120Hz. That's not working with my current monitor though.

Ok but again, at what settings? Back when I had a 1080p 120Hz monitor, I rocked a fairly stable 90-100fps with my current rig, i.e., [email protected], 7970@1250/1750. That was admittedly not at absolute 'maximum' settings, but I didn't have to roll back the settings that much. Mainly AA, as I recall, so why would that necessarily mean a CPU bottleneck?

In the case of Crysis 3, a CPU issue definitely exists, but 1? Not so convinced

It's all in the post I linked to. DX10 Very High or DX9 High, either one you will see sub-60 framerates resulting from CPU bottlenecks.

With the 7970, you'll might see GPU bottlenecks as well, especially in the ice maps, but that hasn't been an issue for me at 1080p with the 780 Ti.

I've had this discussion many times, with people struggling to accept the idea that a sustained 60fps still poses a problem for Crysis in 2014. It's the same reason why UT2004 still can't sustain 120fps in anything but small matches. I think people with this misconception have probably just opened the first map and run around there for a few minutes before drawing their conclusions, although even in the first map, if you stand on the cafe roof and look back across the map, the CPU bottleneck is pretty evident. In maps like Assault, it's blatantly obvious, and your framerate will plummet. If a 4GHz Haswell CPU is regularly below 60, then a 4.5Ghz 2500k isn't going to fare much better.

[Black Octagon]

Well, I don't know what else to tell you other than that my experience has been easier going...perhaps I played with the .ini files a bit and that's how I got better frame rates. Can't remember

[Joolsyz]

Yeh, Crysis is still a bugger to run. I have an EVGA 780ti SC and can't get 60 frames at all times with plenty of drops, and that's just at 1080p. Yet to test it out on G-Sync though.

[Oubadah]

Regarding all my difficulty with Crysis stuttering, I was incorrect in blaming G-Sync. The stutter issue is always present, even without G-Sync or V-Sync.

Someone on OCN had some theory that fluctuating GPU clocks might have something to do with it, and although I was skeptical at first, GPU boost is definitely acting strangely with Crysis. The clock exhibits constant minor fluctuations while in-game. Whether this is correlation or causation, I'm not entirely sure.

I've always been suspicious of GPU boost. It's a pointless gimmick, and I wouldn't be surprised if it did have the potential to cause some problem or another.