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Dark Souls III - PC Performance article

Sanctuary

Member
It does. It means they send us the code via email so they don't have to send us the disc via post, which costs money.

Not that confusing really.

Usually when something costs postage, the buyer pays for it, not the seller. Even if they are buying physical copies in bulk, they would still have to pay for shipping to where ever they store them. Their disclaimer states that because they are digital, their shipping costs are significantly less. Because their shipping costs are less, the buyer pays less.

Anyway, my point (which should have been easy enough to follow) is that it makes no sense that they would be buying the "physical copies" of the game; aka the actual discs. In fact, it makes more sense that because they are digital, and they don't send out physical copies of the games, they have no need for the actual physical copies, just the inserts or promotional items that come with videocards. I mean, do they just throw away everything else that came with a box if that's the case? This could just be a matter of semantics too; and it's really not a big deal either way.

There's also this article, that makes it seem even less likely that they are actually buying physical copies.

Will be interesting to see if my trusty (old-timey) i7 920 at 3.4Ghz & R9 290X can handle 60fps 1080P, Dark Souls 2 was no problem with highest settings.

It was also a last gen title, but it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to get 60fps, even if that requires turning graphical options down on mid-ranged cards.
 

Buburibon

Member
As you would expect from a mid-tier -- technically speaking of course -- game these days. Scales pretty well up to 4 cores / 8 threads, nothing beyond that. Details will be in my article.

I am sorry about the barrage of questions that will likely be answered in your article, but have you confirmed that there are indeed areas in the game which suffer from poor CPU utilization? I'm wondering how your OCed 5820K fares in those "CPU-limited" scenarios. Thanks!
 

Durante

Member
I am sorry about the barrage of questions that will likely be answered in your article, but have you confirmed that there are indeed areas in the game which suffer from poor CPU utilization? I'm wondering how your OCed 5820K fares in those "CPU-limited" scenarios. Thanks!
I haven't yet seen any area where I can't maintain 60 FPS in terms of CPU load at maximum settings. (Of course, just like in every souls game, there are some stutters on area transitions/loads)

At the settings I actually play at (in 1440p), I am basically 100% GPU limited on my 970.
 
How will fare a PC with a i5 3750 and a Geforce 660 compared to the console version?

You think i can achieve 30fps without major fps drops at console settings?

Probably similar to consoles (closer to the Xbox One I think). So, there will be drops, dunno if huge.

Should be pretty much right there with the PS4 version. The 660 and PS4 are both rated at 1.8TF. Considering the 750Ti normally hangs with the PS4 while only having 1.3TF the 660 should be good to go.
 

Arkanius

Member
I haven't yet seen any area where I can't maintain 60 FPS in terms of CPU load at maximum settings. (Of course, just like in every souls game, there are some stutters on area transitions/loads)

At the settings I actually play at (in 1440p), I am basically 100% GPU limited on my 970.

Even on an SSD?
 

Buburibon

Member
I haven't yet seen any area where I can't maintain 60 FPS in terms of CPU load at maximum settings. (Of course, just like in every souls game, there are some stutters on area transitions/loads)

At the settings I actually play at (in 1440p), I am basically 100% GPU limited on my 970.

That sounds encouraging. Hopefully your experience so far extends to the remainder of the game you have yet to explore. :)
 

Tahnit

Banned
has anyone said anything about frame pacing on pc? It seems as its a bug of the engine so im wondering if it will rear its ugly head on the pc version.
 

Mifec

Member
has anyone said anything about frame pacing on pc? It seems as its a bug of the engine so im wondering if it will rear its ugly head on the pc version.

Even if it did you could fix it in 30 secs. But I don't think anyone had issues so far.
 

Eusis

Member
I feel dumb for not even knowing what gsync is. lol
I think it's easy to lose track of a lot of computer and video technology terms if you're not avidly following this stuff all the time. There's always some new wrinkles when I've researched, hypothetically or for real, building a PC.

Anyways if it can't hold a stable 60 fps (and given the weaker hardware out there) I kind of hope they have a voluntary cap toggle put in. In this case I'd kind of rather be playing essentially PS4+, unlike Dark Souls I where it was more Dark Souls unchained I wanted, not PS3/360+.
 
has anyone said anything about frame pacing on pc? It seems as its a bug of the engine so im wondering if it will rear its ugly head on the pc version.

Watched Giant Bomb play it on PC and it seemed to be running pretty smoothly on a 780ti with everything at max settings at 1080p. The game kept crashing though
 

dreamfall

Member
I have to cancel my CE for the PS4 and just play the game on PC like I always do. It doesn't seem too taxing, and I'm pretty sure it'll be a fantastic experience at 60fps!
 

Dark Matter

Neo Member
Should be pretty much right there with the PS4 version. The 660 and PS4 are both rated at 1.8TF. Considering the 750Ti normally hangs with the PS4 while only having 1.3TF the 660 should be good to go.

Well, the hype had the better of me, and with the reassuring words of you gaffers...I just bought it, fingers crossed.

I will share my experience in case anyone is curious about performance on low tier HW like mine.
 

poodpick

Member
I have to cancel my CE for the PS4 and just play the game on PC like I always do. It doesn't seem too taxing, and I'm pretty sure it'll be a fantastic experience at 60fps!

The DS2 CE goes for $45 on amazon now. I'm getting the PC version and grabbing the CE when its significantly discounted.
 

Chakan

Member
Antialiasing on/off makes no difference?

Even if I set every single graphical option to LOW and OFF, it barely improves performance on the more demanding areas.

Does the game look good enough to merit 40 - 50 fps on a GTX 970?

Not at all. but the game is pretty, has the same graphics from Bloodborne, minus chromatic aberration, thankfully.

Ahh reminds me of Dark Souls 1 on PC. Runs in 60fps in 4K and suddenly you enter an area where FPS tank down to 20 -.- With no reason... Turn settings down -> Nothing changes.

I really hope they do something about it in the next two weeks. But I doubt it. It seems like this is an engine problem.

Goddamn it, From. I want to love you but you keep doing this.

Doubt my 3570k will do any better, then. Maybe it's time to start thinking about overclocking.

It certainly reminds me of that lol

Yeah could be the engine, or something related to optimization and making better use of the hardware.

I mean just look at the tests DF made with the Xbox One version. It runs at 900P and can barely hold 30fps. And that's on the starting area, which doesn't demand a lot from the hardware.

Most PC gamers won't have problems playing at 30fps I believe, but 60fps its another matter.

Maybe the launch drivers that Nvidia will likely release will help, who knows?
 

epmode

Member
I feel dumb for not even knowing what gsync is. lol

From Wikipedia:

G-Sync is a proprietary adaptive sync technology developed by Nvidia aimed primarily to eliminate screen tearing and the need for software deterrents such as Vsync. G-Sync eliminates screen tearing by forcing a video display to adapt to the framerate of the outputting device rather than the other way around, which could traditionally be refreshed halfway through the process of a frame being output by the device, resulting in two or more frames being shown at once. In order for a device to use G-Sync, it must contain a proprietary G-Sync module sold by Nvidia.

It basically allows your video card to tell your monitor when to draw a new frame instead of the old method where your video card tries (and often fails) to keep up with your monitor's refresh rate.

This thread may help too: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=699523

It's a big deal.
 

Durante

Member
I'm still confused by the crashing stories, especially on systems which seem so similar to mine (Nvidia GPU & Win 10 x64). I'm now up to 9 hours playtime, and after the initial BSOD I had which prompted me to update my drivers it has been completely stable.

Does anyone know if those affected were on version 1.01 of the game?
 

Wagram

Member
I'm still confused by the crashing stories, especially on systems which seem so similar to mine (Nvidia GPU & Win 10 x64). I'm now up to 9 hours playtime, and after the initial BSOD I had which prompted me to update my drivers it has been completely stable.

Does anyone know if those affected were on version 1.01 of the game?

Which driver did you have to update? The GPU?
 
What about my....

570?

*hides*

570 was quite a juggernaut (overclocked) until games this generation began needing more and more VRAM. It will run it. I would expect drops from 60 and maybe having to lower settings (textures and resolution especially, depending on the game's VRAM usage).

However, by no means take this as anything near fact. Just my opinion based on the perfomance videos/reports so far.
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age
I realised I shouldn't be as worried for my 280X as I should be for my FX6300 :lol. It does pretty good when core utilization is high but since the IPC is fairly low it doesn't always do well when that's not the case.
 

Eusis

Member
570 was quite a juggernaut (overclocked) until games this generation began needing more and more VRAM. It will run it. I would expect drops from 60 and maybe having to lower settings (textures and resolution especially, depending on the game's VRAM usage).

However, by no means take this as anything near fact. Just my opinion based on the perfomance videos/reports so far.
Yeah, VRAM killed that generation of cards. 560 TI could run Witcher 3 smoothly until random freeze.
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
It'll almost certainly be letterboxed again, as that's what the previous games did.

Fwiw, OG Dark Souls did have a Widescreen profile modded in my the WSGF's crew that allowed arbitrary aspect ratios.
 

borborygmus

Member
I haven't yet seen any area where I can't maintain 60 FPS in terms of CPU load at maximum settings. (Of course, just like in every souls game, there are some stutters on area transitions/loads)

At the settings I actually play at (in 1440p), I am basically 100% GPU limited on my 970.

So it appears that reports about the modesty of GPU requirements may have been a bit off. I'm thinking I should probably aim for 1080p@30fps on my clunker of an HD 6970. This upgrade cycle has been a pain in the ass for people who decided to hold out a bit longer for new GPU tech to hit the market.

By the way, Durante, thanks so much for taking the time to answer questions, not to mention DSFix.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Even 45 FPS is noticeably better than 30 FPS.
If you tend to get drops to around 45 you can just cap it there and it'll be better than 30. People seem stuck on either 60 or 30. I used to cap games at 45 sometimes and didn't notice any problems with stuttering.
Unless you're rocking a g-sync monitor (and then you wouldn't cap it), 45 fps will produce judder with inconsistent frame persistence. I can't stand it personally but some people might prefer it.
 

UnrealEck

Member
Unless you're rocking a g-sync monitor (and then you wouldn't cap it), 45 fps will produce judder with inconsistent frame persistence. I can't stand it personally but some people might prefer it.

I used to cap games at 45 and didn't notice judder.
 

Unstable

Member
I'm still confused by the crashing stories, especially on systems which seem so similar to mine (Nvidia GPU & Win 10 x64). I'm now up to 9 hours playtime, and after the initial BSOD I had which prompted me to update my drivers it has been completely stable.

Does anyone know if those affected were on version 1.01 of the game?

Hmm. Are you using an Xbox One controller by chance? There's a bug in a recent Windows security update that was causing issues in games (such as crashing) when using the X1 controller. Wonder if that's related.
 

pottuvoi

Banned
Unless you're rocking a g-sync monitor (and then you wouldn't cap it), 45 fps will produce judder with inconsistent frame persistence. I can't stand it personally but some people might prefer it.
Agreed.

120hz monitor brings additional stable framerate of 40fps, in which case it is good choice for a cap. (So even then it's not good to use 45fps.)
 
Hmm. Are you using an Xbox One controller by chance? There's a bug in a recent Windows security update that was causing issues in games (such as crashing) when using the X1 controller. Wonder if that's related.

Most recent Insider build (3 days ago) fixed this if people are on that string.
 

Durante

Member
Looks like it's 4K 30 on a 980ti then, oh well.
Do you have a 4k monitor? Because otherwise I'd really prefer 1440p60 on a 980ti.

The game just plays so much better at higher framerates. And aliasing is not a huge problem in it at 1440p.

Hmm. Are you using an Xbox One controller by chance? There's a bug in a recent Windows security update that was causing issues in games (such as crashing) when using the X1 controller. Wonder if that's related.
Using a Steam controller. Maybe that's it.

Unless you're rocking a g-sync monitor (and then you wouldn't cap it), 45 fps will produce judder with inconsistent frame persistence. I can't stand it personally but some people might prefer it.
Personally, I greatly prefer a varying 40-60 FPS with triple buffering (which is what I get with my 970 in DS3 at maximum settings in 1440p) over a locked 30 FPS, simply because I find the controls far more responsive that way. But we've been over that.
 
Do you have a 4k monitor? Because otherwise I'd really prefer 1440p60 on a 980ti.

The game just plays so much better at higher framerates. And aliasing is not a huge problem in it at 1440p.

Yeah, 4K just looks so nice, but like you say 60 on a Souls game is superb. What to do.

Maybe if there's hardly any difference in the medium to high setting and with adaptive v sync, it might get me there.

Plus I've got a good overclock on the card.
 

finley83

Banned
Have a 970 and 8gb ram, but worried I might be limited by my i5 2500k (OC'd at 4gHz). Really hoping I can get 1080p at 60fps!
 

xVodevil

Member
fml gmg is out of stock for Dark Souls 3 Deluxe Edition. Any chances they will have more in stock?

I don't get it ,why go for deluxe, when there is no advantage to it day1.
I don't know the plans for dlc, but I guess there is a good chance to buy the SP on sale sooner, than getting actual content.
By the way GamesPlanetUK has it for a better price.
 

Eusis

Member
I don't get it ,why go for deluxe, when there is no advantage to it day1.
I don't know the plans for dlc, but I guess there is a good chance to buy the SP on sale sooner, than getting actual content.
By the way GamesPlanetUK has it for a better price.
FromSoftware has proven themselves good with DLC so some of us are trusting there. and have discount codes or whatever.
 

Unstable

Member
Here's a question, how hard is it to achieve 1080p 60? My GF is a huge souls fan, and with me being a PC gamer, I couldn't consciously let her play @ 30fps. Currently she has a FX-6300 & 750 Ti. Now I'm fairly certain a 750 Ti is not hitting 60.

Any suggestions on what to upgrade to?
 
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