Diablo III fps drops

[1Scotty1]

Hello,

 

a friend of mine is having a problem during Diablo III playing. Sometimes the fps dips to 10-11fps and we cant figure out why. He has a 970 but that shouldnt be an issue, because I have a 970 too, play D3 at 4K DSR without issues and he plays it at 1080p and has the issue. Can you think of what could be the problem?

 

Thanks

[Technous285]

What are the specs for your friends system beyond the GTX 970, including if it's single-monitor or multi-monitor. If you can both have a second monitor attached, on the second monitor both run Speccy (set to CPU tab) and GPU-Z (set to Sensors tab), and see what tempts/clocks the CPU gets along with the clocks, temps and memory usage of the GPU.

I have a funny feeling either the CPU or GPU is throttling, or otherwise something is unable to keep up with the action during the dips. And considering Diablo III needs to be pounding the CPU to pound the Internet to talk to Blizzard... >.>

[1Scotty1]

What are the specs for your friends system beyond the GTX 970, including if it's single-monitor or multi-monitor. If you can both have a second monitor attached, on the second monitor both run Speccy (set to CPU tab) and GPU-Z (set to Sensors tab), and see what tempts/clocks the CPU gets along with the clocks, temps and memory usage of the GPU.

I have a funny feeling either the CPU or GPU is throttling, or otherwise something is unable to keep up with the action during the dips. And considering Diablo III needs to be pounding the CPU to pound the Internet to talk to Blizzard... >.>

Specs are - i5-4460, 8Gb of 1600 RAM (kingston), Gainward GTX 970, MSI Z97 PC Mate mobo and a WD Black 1TB drive, plus a single 1080p monitor - he cheaped out on almost every part of the PC... 

[weez]

If not already done, lower the audio channels. For some reason when set at 128 it will bog the system down. Try 32

[Technous285]

Specs are - i5-4460, 8Gb of 1600 RAM (kingston), Gainward GTX 970, MSI Z97 PC Mate mobo and a WD Black 1TB drive, plus a single 1080p monitor - he cheaped out on almost every part of the PC...

I am oh-so-tempted to say "well there's ya problem!" since he cheaped out on so much, but still, if you can hook up a secondary monitor (even if it's an old CRT clunker that needs DVI-I to VGA adapter) to his system and run Speccy & GPU-Z on that whilst he plays Diablo III on the main monitor, I'd be interested in what the two programs say is going on during the drops.

Also, what OS is he running on? Win7, Win8 or Win8.1? In any case, Task Manager set to the Performance tab (whatever it might be called under 8/8.1) could help as it'll show the CPU workload per-core/thread as the game is running... of course it'll only really be useful with a second monitor since he's playing fullscreen 1080p. -.-;

And that post above about the audio channels might help things out a touch as well.

[1Scotty1]

If not already done, lower the audio channels. For some reason when set at 128 it will bog the system down. Try 32

Will suggest him that, thanks.

-snip-

I told him not to cheap out... Even the OS (8.1) is illegal... But will suggest him that and let you know, thanks

[killertek78]

Depends on his connection too, as its constantly talking to Blizz, and slow or choked internet can seem like fps drops. I get them on my system from time to time when it gets real hairy onscreen(T6/Grift25+ DH) with 4790k@4.6-16GB@2133-GTX970@1400-240GB Intel 530 Series. All of a sudden there are many, many mobs onscreen, plus sentries/pets(4pc marauder mmmm). I don't see them all that often, but I do from time to time. I play with DSR on@UHD level. My internet is OK, not great. Also one of the reason HC mode isn't really appealing to me.

[1Scotty1]

-derp-

His connection is not the issue, he is rocking a 40Megabit line... I have a 4Megabit and dont have issues as @Technous285 said, he cheaped out on a lot of components... His loss... And I have yet to receive any response from my friend....

[1Scotty1]

@Technous285 - got a response from my friend... To be honest, he is an ass... He said and I quote - "A PC like that and wont run Diablo at full? Tell him (you) to f*ck off, where have I cheaped out?" and then he told me that he turned off anti-aliasing and for now it works.

So, yeah... Thanks for the help, I told him he acted like an ass

[killertek78]

Just because its a 40Mbit line, doesn't mean it's stable.

 

While not a killer CPU, he doesn't have a terrible CPU. That being said, it is a Blizzard game, and they all seem to be real pigs on CPU power.. Seems odd how just turning AA off helped any, as that doesn't have that much effect on CPU load. But this is a Blizz game lol..

[Technous285]

@1Scotty1 Tell your friend I've dropped around $3000 on system parts and I'm rocking an i7-3770K OC'd at 4.2 GHz, ASRock Z77 Extreme6, EVGA 6GB GTX780 SC ACX (factory-OC with EVGA's custom cooler design), 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3, 16TB of drive space (and about $200 worth of fans), rocking 4K DSR with that 780 gets me ~115fps and even then I can get dips down to <20fps when dealing with a LOT of mobs and effects firing off in a tight area of combat.

But yeah, he's a bloody ass.

[1Scotty1]

But yeah, he's a bloody ass.

Yeah, he cant appreciate help...he has a masters degree in computer studies, yet cant figure out for himself where the problem is and when he receives help, he throws it aside...but thanks, atleast I learned something new

[Technous285]

Yeah, he cant appreciate help...he has a masters degree in computer studies, yet cant figure out for himself where the problem is and when he receives help, he throws it aside...but thanks, atleast I learned something new

"Masters Degree" *ahem* "Well there's ya pro'lem!"

Seriously though, I've been building my own computers since I was 8 with Win95 and a P2, having a piece of paper like a 'masters' degree helps if you're wanting to work in the Upper Echelon ranks (no, not ECHELON, the spying network long before PRISM), but does nothing for you really if you're down working with rigs at the chassis. Basically, it makes you a conceited little prick who can't think for himself or accept outside help from those with hands-on experience!

[1Scotty1]

"Masters Degree" *ahem* "Well there's ya pro'lem!"

Seriously though, I've been building my own computers since I was 8 with Win95 and a P2, having a piece of paper like a 'masters' degree helps if you're wanting to work in the Upper Echelon ranks (no, not ECHELON, the spying network long before PRISM), but does nothing for you really if you're down working with rigs at the chassis. Basically, it makes you a conceited little prick who can't think for himself or accept outside help from those with hands-on experience!

+1, couldnt have put it better myself I have been building PCs for a long time also, so I completely get it. All in all, I troubleshoot all my problems with my PC, and I always find help here on LTT He does not understand english well, that is why I *have* to do it for him...