GTX 560 TI, i7 1st Gen, FPS Optimization

[TingTank 10]

Overview

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The ArmA Engine is famous for FPS Drops and stuttering, I've found a temporarily solution, for the MP.

Maybe it helps for someone, I cant guaranteed it.

It helped me alot with my GTX 560 TI and my i7 870.

Programs

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MSI Afterburner (GPU Usage)

NVIDIA Control Panel (Graphic settings)

Notepad++ (edit .cfg)

Unpark Cores (can improve performance)

First

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Start with these Parameters:

-cpuCount=8 -exThreads=7 -malloc=system -maxmem=6144 -maxvram=1024 -nosplash -skipintro -nobenchmark

cpuCount: 8 for HTT, maybe it helps, exThreads: 7, for quadcores, malloc=system, maybe fps improvements, maxmem and vram depends on graphic card.

You can add -high for high priority. I did it in the task manager.

Graphics Settings:

Distance: 1600m

Object: 650m (needs actually some fine tuning)

AA: 4x (very important GPU usage improvement)

PPAA: FXAA Ultra (you're decision)

ATOC: Disabled (can help)

Post Process: Disabled

HDR: Low (helped me)

Anistropic: Ultra (has no influence)

PIP: Low (Ifrit GMG Gunner..)

Dynamic Lights: Low (I get FPS drops due high settings)

Texture: Very High (GPU Usage improvement, when Ultra available use it)

Objects Details: Ultra (GPU Usage improvement)

Terrain: Standard

Clouds: Disabled (You can enable this option if you really like the ArmA 3 clouds... I'm lying don't do it :rolleyes:)

Shadow: Disabled (for MP)

Particles: Standard (Smoke on very high, fps drops)

Other

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Now, go to you're ArmA 3 Other Profiles path.

Edit with Notepad++ and change the Object Distance to 650m, and View to 1600m.

Actually the Object Distance is up to you.

Now to ArmA 3 and edit the cfg file. Change to GPU_MaxFramesAhead=1;

GPU_DetectedFramesAhead=1; (reduces input lag)

Unpark Cores can improve the performance (look at youtube or google)

Steam:

Dwarden wrote

1. STEM friend-list (even while online, just closing friend-list saves most CPU usage)

2. STEAM chats (the more of them active the worse the overall load)

3. STEAM updating (as uses checksums it needs some CPU and I/O, so make sure nothing is updating)

4. STEAM overlay

5. STEAM IM (switch yourself to OFFLINE for lowest CPU usage)

6. STEAM website (if you keep website open and minimize, it still keeps playing the flash animations for example, so ideally you visit e.g. your profile page as last)

+ set priority of steam to low

Nvidia Settings:

Manage 3d settings, select ArmA 3

Power management mode: Performance

Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration: Single Display

Maybe it can help (not tested) when you change the PhysX setting from Auto to the GPU.

Wasteland: 30-40 fps (depends on server)

ARMA 3 Invade & Annex: 40 fps (depends on server)

Showcases: 60-80 fps

Scenario whole lotta stratis: 50-60 fps

Guides: http://www.day0.com.au/forum/arma/70-arma-3-alpha-performance-tweaks-and-settings-guide

I hope it helps someone.

EDIT:

O&O Defrag can help too. I defragged my D: Partition to access (faster reading).

Edited May 7, 2013 by TingTank

[afp 1]

I have pretty much the same configuration but I think I get somehow slightly better FPS. The multiplayer is not optimized anyway so better consider performances only in single player. Here my comments:

Distance: 1600m

Object: 650m (needs actually some fine tuning)

I went with 2500 / 1200, the 650 for objects is way too low, you may miss vehicles shooting at you at that distance. Unless you're in a city, the performance impact is less that it seems to be.

Objects Details: Ultra (GPU Usage improvement)

Big impact on performance, low visual difference. I ussually keep it "disabled", I change it to "high" if the LOD flickering is too bad.

Clouds: Disabled

I keep it at middle, the sky is really beautifull and performance penalty not that bad. Looks like the higher the level, the more clouds you see, too.

Shadow: Disabled (for MP)

Indeed, this add lot of performance drop but the visuals makes the difference. I have it at "high" or whatever minimum level I can see shapes on the ground.

Particles: Standard (Smoke on very high, fps drops)

Indeed, for better bullets impact effects you need it higher. I think there is not much difference in terms of performance once you go above "standard".

A SSD drive also seems to count.

[TingTank 10]

I have pretty much the same configuration but I think I get somehow slightly better FPS. The multiplayer is not optimized anyway so better consider performances only in single player. Here my comments:

Distance: 1600m

Object: 650m (needs actually some fine tuning)

I went with 2500 / 1200, the 650 for objects is way too low, you may miss vehicles shooting at you at that distance. Unless you're in a city, the performance impact is less that it seems to be.

Objects Details: Ultra (GPU Usage improvement)

Big impact on performance, low visual difference. I ussually keep it "disabled", I change it to "high" if the LOD flickering is too bad.

Clouds: Disabled

I keep it at middle, the sky is really beautifull and performance penalty not that bad. Looks like the higher the level, the more clouds you see, too.

Shadow: Disabled (for MP)

Indeed, this add lot of performance drop but the visuals makes the difference. I have it at "high" or whatever minimum level I can see shapes on the ground.

Particles: Standard (Smoke on very high, fps drops)

Indeed, for better bullets impact effects you need it higher. I think there is not much difference in terms of performance once you go above "standard".

A SSD drive also seems to count.

Thanks for your Graphic Settings, yea right a SSD makes much sense for ArmA but not everyone have one. Like I said, O&O Defrag is with 5 various defrag Options somehow useful. I've to find the best experience for Object Details. 600m is really way too low but gaves me much fps.

[Sneakers O'Toole 2]

so many people have strange values for this:

-maxmem=6144

anything more than 2048 is ignored, the setting itself is needless entropy.

[Leon86 13]

I'd advise not to mess with core parking, if you really want to test this just go to bios and disable all the powersaving, that should do the same.

[xXxatrush1987 10]

set object details to low or normal, as it only affects on which distance things like glas of houses is visualy present,

on i7 920 of one of my clan mates 2,5km viewdistance and 1,3k object distance was no prob in multiplayer

and i7920 should be slightly slower then your i7 870.

also try to get pagefile on different disk as arma3(not partition, physical hard drive if there) so many of the data transport is separated on 2 channels.

cpucount 8 uses 4 cores, for utilizing ht you must set to cpucount 12, this benefits the most with threadparking of, but only 1-2fps.

if no ssd is in the rig, try to make arma 3 partition at the beginning of the harddrive, where it´s the most fast.

my clanmate can play big evo mission with around 30-45fps in agia marina, with ssd it should gain fps alot but he also has none, he uses gtx 560 ti 448 cores which offer maybe slightly more power then normal 560 ti.

me hosting the mission local getting 75-90fps on i7 [email protected] and samsung 830 ssd, and of cause the hd7970 helps alot with 3gb, minimizing streaming as many can held in the graphics ram.

[nikiforos 450]

Low or standard objects detail can result in LOD issues and flickering.

Especially in Agia Marina check out the basket court from distance while moving.

If you put object detail to high the lod and flickering stops. I hope BIS will do something about it.

[ast65 10]

so many people have strange values for this:

anything more than 2048 is ignored, the setting itself is needless entropy.

lol, nice 1 :)

[teejayd 1]

lol, nice 1 :)

He's right

[ast65 10]

He's right

of course,

just liked the expression 'needless entropy' ;)

[NeMeSiS 11]

so many people have strange values for this:

anything more than 2048 is ignored, the setting itself is needless entropy.

2047 actually, but the placebo effect seems awesome. :p

[teejayd 1]

2047 actually, but the placebo effect seems awesome. :p

I swear, all those parameters that have no effect... reminds me of this

http://funroll-loops.info/

[pawelkpl 29]

so many people have strange values for this:

anything more than 2048 is ignored, the setting itself is needless entropy.

Actually it is funny thing, I do host persistent domination server , after 5 days - task manager shows 2 520 000 KB of RAM usage. So it is more than 2047MB...

[babydoc 1]

actually it is funny thing, i do host persistent domination server , after 5 days - task manager shows 2 520 000 kb of ram usage. So it is more than 2047mb...

2460.9375 mb