Dark Souls 3 PC performance thread

Game runs smooth as butter at 1440p everything maxed out, but if i try any DSR setting above 1440p I start seeing dips below 60FPS in some rare instances, especially when there's tons of smoke/fog. So I decided to just disable DSR and stick to 1440p.

This is on a 980Ti/4790K
 
piratepwnsninja said:
980Ti w/347.62
6700k

Last night my game just started crashing. Like, completely rebooting my system crashing. It didn't do this launch day, but it seems like an update to the game happened yesterday. At least when I launched it yesterday, it had to apply something and get ready to play. This was just me walking around, not switching equipment or using bonfires.
Click to expand...

Have you tried the virtual memory work around? My computer was doing something very similar and occasionally it would complain about low memory, increasing virtual memory and using a borderless window mode app fixed the crashes for me. Have only had one random crash since then.
 
I finally had some time to play.

My PC:
i3 2100
Radeon 6850 1GB
8GB RAM
SSD

Game is running fine on 1600 x 900 windowed, with everything off. Framerate is all over the place, but the big slowdowns (to tens) are very rare and a lot of the time, it's running around 40 FPS. Definitely playable. No crashes at all. Thought it would be a lot worse, reading the impressions here.

Still in the first castle, though. Near the
dragon
.
 
Guys I don't have the stutters anymore.
What I did:

Disabled the Steam Overlay and renamed the overlay.dll stuff, if you want to do it do it with Steam opened or the next time you launch Steam it will re-create the dlls

Put a framerate limit of 60fps with RTSS

Updated to the latest nvidia hotfix driver

Smooth as butter now

Edit: Getting small fps dips but not while saving as before, much butter tho.
 
fade_ said:
New hotfix driver released by Nvidia

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4086

Noted improvements on older cards in DS3 are mentioned in the forum.
Click to expand...

To be more precise this is what's mentioned on the forum:
ShotgunSean said: will this driver fix the framerate issue in 600 series cards? across all games? even dark souls 3?

ManuelGuzman said: Yes it includes a fix for the FPS drop.

Zenox29600 said: for the divison SLI ? drop fps ?

ManuelGuzman said: We are still working on a fix for The Division SLI performance after extended period. This driver does fix a bug where users would see a big drop in FPS with the last two drivers.
Click to expand...
They doesn't mention DS3 specifically but it's worth a try for those who had issues with the previous driver version.
 
KingpinZero said:
Performance is great, locked 60fps, just a split second hiccup accessing the inventory.

Everything maxed out, 1080p, on a 970.

Also i'm running it with Rekindled Fire ReShade profile: https://goo.gl/4gwwmY

I'm using nvidia "Vulkan" drivers,364.91 here: https://developer.nvidia.com/win1064bit
Click to expand...

How far into the game are you, though? No spoilers, just beginning, middle, or late game? I had the same experience on a 970 for the first several areas, but some of these mid-game levels cause the FPS to drop to 50, regardless of settings (low vs max). CPU&GPU utilization sit at 60%.
 
Is everyone getting the ambient audio restarting bug? I can't see how this would have anything to do with video card or CPU performance.
 
Quick question: if I cap the game at 30 via Rivatuner and also enable half-refresh rate adaptive vsync (on my 60Hz monitor), am I likely to get a smoother experience than just enabling one of these options?
 
KingpinZero said:
Performance is great, locked 60fps, just a split second hiccup accessing the inventory.

Everything maxed out, 1080p, on a 970.

Also i'm running it with Rekindled Fire ReShade profile: https://goo.gl/4gwwmY

I'm using nvidia "Vulkan" drivers,364.91 here: https://developer.nvidia.com/win1064bit
Click to expand...

Nice, I'd been looking at that but hadn't applied it yet. What are your thoughts on it? From the screenshots/videos it seemed to be a pretty nice improvement visually. Will we get banned from the servers or anything if we apply mods?
 
shiyrley said:
Anyone tried this on a 660ti? how's it?
Click to expand...
i have, coupled with 8GB of RAM and an i5-3550.

Overall, it's very playable per my standards. I was planning on capping the framerate at 30fps, not expecting to play some sections in the consistent high-50s. Overall,m I'm getting a wide range of about 42-60fps with a mix of Medium and High settings (besides DOF, which I've disabled, and Lighting, which i've set to Low to avoid the bonfire crashes).
 
Vibration didn't work for me in Bloodborne (digital copy) since day one, and it doesn't work for me in DkS3 either. Must be tied to frame pacing...can't fix one without having to fix the other!
 
So yeah, I have the game locked at 30fps through stat server, and everything is on highest settings except textures is at high and motion blur is at medium.

I'm still noticing a ton of micro-hitching, but it's not consistent like frame pacing... it's random and occurs every 1-10 seconds. It's super distracting, hoping I can figure out what the deal is.

System:

Win10
970 latest drivers
12 gig ram
 
i7-6700K (stock)
16GB DDR4 3000MHz
7870XT (1100/1500)

Running at a mostly locked 60fps at 1600x900 (looks surprisingly good on my plasma). My suggestion to anyone trying to get that last bit of performance is to turn off motion blur and set shadows to medium.
 
potatohead said:
Cool thanks.
If a 760 standard is comparable, I'm getting 40 to 50 fps in 1080p maxed.

Can't do 1440p though for larger and more detailed areas, chugs at 30 fps or less, often to 20 - 25.
Click to expand...

Same, I have a 760 and I was playing between 40-50fps at 1080p.
BUT! I did have some dips here and there in multiplayer mostly. It got pretty jarring so I just left .. and I can't achieve 60fps on any config, maybe I should just play on a lower res?
 
Finally got a chance to play it and the performance is absolutely lovely, no problems so far.

GTX 780
i5-2500k
8 GB RAM
Windows 10 Home

The only issue I can really see is that there is occasional and very, very minor hiccup when picking up certain items (casual guess - an item that I don't already have one of in my inventory?). It doesn't bother me at all, so whatever.

Otherwise it's been a constant 60 FPS at 1080p. The post-process AA isn't bad at all, and it actually looks sharper at native res than it does downsampled, for some reason. Usually it's the other way around.
 
If you're a Windows 10 user then you may run into framerate drops caused by using an Xbox controller on the PC version. While this is a nuisance to anyone’s gameplay experience, it can easily be remedied with a simple fix. Initially found by reddit user LarryCulpepper, a guide on Reddit details the issue and also provides a solution. According to the post, you need to open up the Device Manager in Windows and find your Xbox controller device. Next, right click it and select 'Update driver software'. When it asks how you would like to update, select "Browse computer for device software" and then select "Let me select from a list of device drivers on my computer", which should show you a list of driver versions. The post says to select version 2.1.0.1349 and then reboot your computer. After all is done, you will be able to play Dark Souls 3 on Windows 10 without any major framerate hiccups.
Click to expand...

Huh - well I guess that explains my performance issues. I'll try this when I'm back home.
 
wheeplash said:
Same, I have a 760 and I was playing between 40-50fps at 1080p.
BUT! I did have some dips here and there in multiplayer mostly. It got pretty jarring so I just left .. and I can't achieve 60fps on any config, maybe I should just play on a lower res?
Click to expand...

I tried 900p windowed which was smoother framerate by like 5 or 10 frames/second but I liked how it was in 1080p more, I don't notice a difference in gameplay between 45ish and 55ish personally.

Just try both and see which one you like better.
 
Exploding8 said:
Have you tried the virtual memory work around? My computer was doing something very similar and occasionally it would complain about low memory, increasing virtual memory and using a borderless window mode app fixed the crashes for me. Have only had one random crash since then.
Click to expand...

What is the virtual memory work around? Thanks for the tips, I'll try the borderless app tonight.
 
If you're a Windows 10 user then you may run into framerate drops caused by using an Xbox controller on the PC version. While this is a nuisance to anyone’s gameplay experience, it can easily be remedied with a simple fix. Initially found by reddit user LarryCulpepper, a guide on Reddit details the issue and also provides a solution. According to the post, you need to open up the Device Manager in Windows and find your Xbox controller device. Next, right click it and select 'Update driver software'. When it asks how you would like to update, select "Browse computer for device software" and then select "Let me select from a list of device drivers on my computer", which should show you a list of driver versions. The post says to select version 2.1.0.1349 and then reboot your computer. After all is done, you will be able to play Dark Souls 3 on Windows 10 without any major framerate hiccups.
Click to expand...

I don't see "2.1.0.1349" in my driver versions. Is there a way to get that driver?

EDIT: Is this fix only for wireless XBox One controllers? I'm using a wired one...
 
CHC said:
Finally got a chance to play it and the performance is absolutely lovely, no problems so far.

GTX 780
i5-2500k
8 GB RAM
Windows 10 Home

The only issue I can really see is that there is occasional and very, very minor hiccup when picking up certain items (casual guess - an item that I don't already have one of in my inventory?). It doesn't bother me at all, so whatever.

Otherwise it's been a constant 60 FPS at 1080p. The post-process AA isn't bad at all, and it actually looks sharper at native res than it does downsampled, for some reason. Usually it's the other way around.
Click to expand...

Hm..I also have a 780, but I'm sitting at 30 FPS in Firelink Shrine (up to 40 depending on where I'm looking, but yeah).

Can I ask what driver versions you're using? What are your in-game settings like? And did you do any black magic (driver settings, disable Steam overlay, etc.)?

I'm on the verge of locking it to 30 FPS, but I feel like it should be running better than it is, and you've given me hope!
 
I've experienced some ridiculous slowdowns.

Are the latest NVIDIA drivers safe to download?

My game stutters incredibly in the Nexus; music skips when I'm in the menus; the cutscene after beating the first proper boss played at 0-5fps. I don't understand. I'm running an i3-2100 with a GTX 960 at 1680x1050 and with modest settings.
 
MrOogieBoogie said:
I've experienced some ridiculous slowdowns.

Are the latest NVIDIA drivers safe to download?

My game stutters incredibly in the Nexus; music skips when I'm in the menus; the cutscene after beating the first proper boss played at 0-5fps. I don't understand. I'm running an i3-2100 with a GTX 960 at 1680x1050 and with modest settings.
Click to expand...

The game is working great with the latest driver for me, it may be worth doing a full DDU clean.

Remember to set max performance in the NVCP when you're done.
 
Adaren said:
Hm..I also have a 780, but I'm sitting at 30 FPS in Firelink Shrine (up to 40 depending on where I'm looking, but yeah).

Can I ask what driver versions you're using? What are your in-game settings like? And did you do any black magic (driver settings, disable Steam overlay, etc.)?

I'm on the verge of locking it to 30 FPS, but I feel like it should be running better than it is, and you've given me hope!
Click to expand...

What's your CPU and clockspeed? I'm CPU-limited in some later areas of the game while pointing the camera in certain directions, and that's on a 5820K @ 4.5Ghz.

MrOogieBoogie said:
I've experienced some ridiculous slowdowns.

Are the latest NVIDIA drivers safe to download?

My game stutters incredibly in the Nexus; music skips when I'm in the menus; the cutscene after beating the first proper boss played at 0-5fps. I don't understand. I'm running an i3-2100 with a GTX 960 at 1680x1050 and with modest settings.
Click to expand...

Are you overclocking that i3 at all? I know it meets the minimum requirements, but I don't know how much testing they've actually done with it. What does your RTSS overlay say? Is your GPU at 100% load when frame rates hit 0-5fps?
 
Adaren said:
Hm..I also have a 780, but I'm sitting at 30 FPS in Firelink Shrine (up to 40 depending on where I'm looking, but yeah).

Can I ask what driver versions you're using? What are your in-game settings like? And did you do any black magic (driver settings, disable Steam overlay, etc.)?

I'm on the verge of locking it to 30 FPS, but I feel like it should be running better than it is, and you've given me hope!
Click to expand...

I haven't played much but the game did run fine (60fps) with my GTX 780. Pretty much everything was at its highest settings with shadows on High. Eventually had to turn lighting to low because of bonfire crashing.

You should probably uninstall your driver with Display Driver Uninstaller and do a fresh driver install. I've been using the most current driver but again, I've only played for about an hour or so. I'm at the beginning area in Lothric
 
I don't know if it was coincidence, but yesterday meanwhile i was playing the game noticed that locked at 30 frames the stuttering doesn't exist. But when locking the framerate to 60 the stutter here and there started to occur. I was locking the frames only via nvidia control panel, not with riva tuner.

Also, i noticed it's more common when you play online. One time i suffered a disconnection and played some minutes offline, seeing the stuter was minor in comparison. Maybe my network was the fault, but it doesn't feel like the only reason.
 
I'm using a 780ti and lightning on High. Playing a Knight, but using several different armor sets (non starter). No crash so far, even when activating bonfires. I always use DDU when updating drivers, and my card is also downclocked (-200 memory, -105 core). The Gigabyte 780ti's are known to be unstable, and i used to have several TDR's (driver crashes) before clocking it down.

Worth a try for people who are crashing, i'd start with using DDU and reinstalling the latest driver.
 
For what it's worth, I don't have any stuttering;

Windows 10
SSD
980Ti (driver is about a month old, will check version)
Steam overlay off
RTSS locked to 60
Xbox One controller, wireless with recent driver update
A profile for DK3 in Nvidia Control Panel with V-Sync set to 'application controlled'
 
Adaren said:
Hm..I also have a 780, but I'm sitting at 30 FPS in Firelink Shrine (up to 40 depending on where I'm looking, but yeah).

Can I ask what driver versions you're using? What are your in-game settings like? And did you do any black magic (driver settings, disable Steam overlay, etc.)?

I'm on the verge of locking it to 30 FPS, but I feel like it should be running better than it is, and you've given me hope!
Click to expand...

Sure. I'm on the latest NVidia drivers (364.72) and I simply put the in-game settings to the preset "Max." Resolution is 1920x1200, but it only renders 16:9 so it's really just 1080p.

I've done nothing else whatsoever externally, other than use DS4Windows in "hide DS4" mode. Experimented with locking to 30 and downsampling but the visual impact isn't enough to give up 60 FPS.

Sorry if it's not too helpful, but yeah, you should definitely be getting better FPS. Right now I'm only on High Wall of Lothric, but I have literally never seen a dip below 60 (aside from sitting at a bonfire, where it might drop to 55 now and then). So I can't imagine you should be getting sustained sub-60 FPS anywhere, really.
 
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