Battlefiled 4 Crazy CPU Spikes

apcs13 · Jan 27, 2014

I think it's a safe to say that even now BF4 is still big-riddled and fairly poorly optimized, but I also feel that there should be a solution to a certain issue I am having with this game. I used to think there was an issue with my GPU not being strong enough, or not having enough VRAM, but after a bunch of rigorous testing and analysis, I concluded that I shouldn't have any issues in either area, and was dumbfounded until I looked at the in-game chart for GPU and CPU usage and saw my CPU usage drastically spiking very frequently.

You can very easily tell by looking at the green (GPU) and yellow (CPU) usage lines that the CPU is spiking all over the place, and it makes the game near unplayable when it happens. Does anyone know how to fix this issue? I have used a few different display drivers with fresh clean installs each time, reinstalled BF4 twice, and done a few other "solutions" like manually installing DirectX from the BF4 _Installer directory, none of it to any avail! My specs are on my profile and in my signature, and a link to a specific example (ignore bad gameplay) is below. Thank you!

Link to video: http://youtu.be/BNf1NM3ma8o

HEXiT · Jan 27, 2014

could be down to the fact you have a 6 core/3module cpu which is the equivalent of a tri core cpu of a more traditional architecture.
you can reduce some of the cpu spikes by enabling net smoothing.
the 1 time i have seen a cpu bounce like this was in bfbc2 when a mate tried to run it with a dual core athlon x2 6400 and 260gt. the system was reasonably well(little gfx heavy) balanced for its day but bounced the fps from 5-50 constantly. turns out it was a cpu bottlneck. he moved to a quad and the problem went away.

*EDIT*after looking at your vid you have a similar looking issue.

apcs13 · Jan 27, 2014

HEXiT :

It's using hyperthreading, so it is operating as a 6-core CPU, and I have seen the same thing in people with other CPU's like FX-8350, i5 3570K, even i7 CPU's, so it is not the quality of my CPU that is the issue, it is actually even above the recommended BF4 specs. I have also seen people get smoother framerates with worse components than me, and its very confusing.

HEXiT · Jan 28, 2014

its the ballance between the cpu and gpu im getting at mate. you have paired a high end gpu with a mid level cpu. some of the perfomance problems lie in that the fpu is shared by 2 cpu cores so there are 3 total. the fpu handles the heavy math of basic map positional data and because your sharing the fpu you can get a situation where 2 cores are trying to use the fpu at the same time which results in a wait for 1 of them.
simple test. is if your cpu is at stock then oc it (if you have the cooling)200-400 mhz would be enough to run the test.
if the cpu is the problem you should see a dramatic improvement in fps.
or if you cant oc. turn down the gfx, if you dont get a bump in fps again your cpu is the issue.
same issue cripples intel cpu's as well especially the 4 core 4 thread 1s all be it to a lesser degree.

if you can turn down the fsaa,msaa from 8 to 4 maximum you wont see any difference but will get an fps boost.
if you cant or are already at x4aa then turn it off completely and use an fxaa injector instead. it will do the same job but at a much lower cost to the gpu.(punkbuster safe versions only)

killakallies · Jan 28, 2014

Correct me if I'm wrong but the FX-6350 is in fact a 6 core 6 thread processor, note that hyper threading is an Intel feature to processors. From what I know AMD has not used 'hyper threading' for some time now. I will say that your CPU is definitely powerful enough to run BF4 at max settings I wouldn't be surprised if the issue lies elsewhere, though I'm not certain as to what it is. I have had such issues where the game will lag and then CPU usage will ramp up in order to catch up but this has only been when accidentally joining a server with high ping and attempting to play through it.

FX-6350:
http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Bulldozer/AMD-FX-Series%20FX-6350.html

TriBeard · Jan 28, 2014

Check your thermals. Use something like hardware monitor running in the background, then play for a little bit and then look at what your max temp was.

slimething · Jan 28, 2014

Install MSI Afterburner and set OSD to monitor gpu/cpu while playing.

Try capping your FPS in console or by using BF4 Editor.

apcs13 · Jan 28, 2014

HEXiT :

As you can see in my signature, I already do have the CPU overclocked to 4.4 GHz (200 MHz higher than the standard maximum turbo boost clock). I understand what you are saying, but I know for a fact that the CPU isn't the problem, I have seen people with even more powerful CPU's, such as the 8350 or i5 4670K or i7 3770K paired with the same GPU and even less, specifically a GTX 670, and they have the same issue, so it is not a CPU bottlenecking issue if that is what you are thinking. It also has nothing to do with my graphics card, I have seen users report a minimum of 55 FPS with the same exact card I have in the game, the only difference in our systems being an SSD and Windows 8/ 8.1, which is why I thought getting that may be the fix, but some Windows 8 users say that updating their OS did nothing to help whatsoever. Plus, you can clearly see in the video that the fluctuation in the chart whenever there is a stutter is with the yellow line, which represents the CPU. The problem, whatever it is, is in relation to the CPU, I can at least tell that. Even all settings on low, lowered resolution, lowered resolution scale, I still get a stable 200 FPS or whatever, but I STILL get those stutters, and while it only drops to like 130-150, it is the same exact effect of making the game look like it stops for a second. It does not matter graphical settings whatsoever.

apcs13 · Jan 28, 2014

killakallies :

It seems as though you are correct, I originally thought that the FX-6350 was a six-core but then read somewhere that it is actually 3- core and uses hyper-threading, but thinking back, I am not sure on the credibility of the source and do agree that hyper-threading is an Intel thing. Plus, your source and online retailers do say it is six cores with six threads.

I always try to play on low ping servers, especially when monitoring these CPU jumps, just to rule out the possibility of server/connection lag, and I believe on this particular game I had around a ping time or whatever of 30 ms, which I believe to be fairly good.

apcs13 · Jan 28, 2014

TriBeard :

My CPU temp never rises above 50C while playing, and my GPU usually stays below 60C, although the max temp was 62 C on the instance I tested it on. CPU cooler is Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, and I have the Windforce 3x cooling system on my GTX 770.

killakallies · Jan 28, 2014

Have you tried any of the fixes described in this post?
http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf4/forum/threadview/2955065219324626233/

apcs13 · Jan 28, 2014

slimething :

Been installed since I built the PC my friend. CPU and GPU monitoring included. Capping the FPS helped at first, but my FPS was overall lower (not because of the cap, ex. in an area with the cap I got 50 or below FPS, while with the cap off for some reason I got over 60 FPS in the same area, same conditions.

GPU and CPU monitoring show consistent clock and memory speeds, plus consistent usage par the CPU from the game.

ElMoIsEviL · Jan 28, 2014

Ahh...

I've posted about this in another thread and nobody even bothered to read what I posted. Here is the issue you're having: HardOCP.

If you are looking towards the perfect video card for this game right now, it seems AMD video cards do have the advantage under Windows 8.1. We experienced overall smoother performance, especially during the performance drops or dips that happened from explosions, debris, or lots of smoke.

Much like with TITAN, the GeForce GTX 780 also experienced significant frame rate drops during the run-through, while the R9 290 did not.

When playing at the 4X MSAA level on TITAN, we noticed that the frame rate would take a significant dive when there was a lot of action happening on the screen. During the frame rate dive, the experience remained playable, however, with such big drops occurring we feel that 2X MSAA is the safer option.

Much like TITAN and the GTX 780, the GTX 770 and GTX 760 also experienced the significant fluctuation in frame rate when there was a lot happening on the screen.

What was more disconcerting was the inconsistent performance between AMD and NVIDIA cards. Overall, AMD cards tended to perform better than the NVIDIA counterpart at the particular price point, with the exception of the GeForce GTX 760 vs. the Radeon R9 270X.

With each NVIDIA card, we observed frame rates to be far more varied than AMD based cards over the course of playing the game with them. It almost seems that the performance concerns that we had with NVIDIA cards during our Beta evaluation have only been partially fixed at this point.

It's an nVIDIA driver issue. Not a DICE issue. Not an AMD CPU issue (AMD CPUs do well in this game). Not a buggy game issue either. It is an nVIDIA driver issue. Now I wish people would accept that. Almost makes me think that NV fans are a lot like Apple fans. Never accepting that their preferred product has "issues". Like the iPhone 4 antennae issue for example: "You're holding it wrong".

apcs13 · Jan 28, 2014

killakallies :

No, I did see that thread before, but some comments reported no help or even worse performance, and a relative of mine told me that he wouldn't recommend modifying the page file unless there is a really important reason, so I think I might want to leave that part alone. I do have 8GB RAM though.

apcs13 · Jan 28, 2014

ElMoIsEviL :

You can trust me when I say I am NOT an Nvidia fanboy, I do like their products but before my AMD GPU failed me out of the box I was much more pro-AMD, and after trying to get another 280X, a GTX 770 was a lot cheaper, so I went with that. Actually, up until I got my 770, I was kind of against Nvidia, mostly because a friend of mine talked them up so much and bashed AMD. But, you can see I have an AMD CPU, so I clearly have nothing against AMD.

I didn't really think much about it being a driver issue due to it being CPU spikes, but I did see that a new Nvidia beta driver was released today and some users (especially those with GTX 760's and 770's) got a lot of improvements with the stuttering issue I have. However, equally many have had other issues with the beta driver, so I am reluctant to opt into this particular beta. Do you think it is worth it to try?

Also, I don't know if this would help, but what about updating my chipset drivers? My current ones are the ones that came with my motherboard, version 6.1.7600.16385 , but I think the newest version is 8.0.9.... something. Would updating that help at all? Also, how would I go about doing that? I went to AMD's site but it seemed to either try to get me to download graphics drivers or just SATA and USB drivers (which I updated and didn't change the chip driver version). Thank you!

ElMoIsEviL · Jan 28, 2014

apcs13 :

ElMoIsEviL :

You can trust me when I say I am NOT an Nvidia fanboy, I do like their products but before my AMD GPU failed me out of the box I was much more pro-AMD, and after trying to get another 280X, a GTX 770 was a lot cheaper, so I went with that. Actually, up until I got my 770, I was kind of against Nvidia, mostly because a friend of mine talked them up so much and bashed AMD. But, you can see I have an AMD CPU, so I clearly have nothing against AMD.

I didn't really think much about it being a driver issue due to it being CPU spikes, but I did see that a new Nvidia beta driver was released today and some users (especially those with GTX 760's and 770's) got a lot of improvements with the stuttering issue I have. However, equally many have had other issues with the beta driver, so I am reluctant to opt into this particular beta. Do you think it is worth it to try?

Also, I don't know if this would help, but what about updating my chipset drivers? My current ones are the ones that came with my motherboard, version 6.1.7600.16385 , but I think the newest version is 8.0.9.... something. Would updating that help at all? Also, how would I go about doing that? I went to AMD's site but it seemed to either try to get me to download graphics drivers or just SATA and USB drivers (which I updated and didn't change the chip driver version). Thank you!

I'm not calling you a fanboi

It was a general comment mean't to voice my frustrations towards many folks, not yourself, who ignore this review by HardOCP yet exhibit much of the same symptoms.

AMD Chipset Drivers: HERE

The CPU spikes only happen to people running nVIDIA Graphics cards (for the most part you will notice). It occurs on all kinds of CPUs from either Intel or AMD... all the way up to even the 3930K. This would indicate, to me, that the issue is not CPU related. It does not happen for users of AMD R9 cards (for example) who use the same CPUs.

It could be that the game is too demanding on the Compute capabilities or that the nVIDIA driver just has issues with some of the compute code (not properly optimized yet). Either way it appears to have been documented by HardOCP.

killakallies · Jan 28, 2014

Make sure all of the drivers for your system are up to date, many problems have been solved by updating the drivers. The AMD Catalyst Control center packages all the drivers for their products so you would want to download Catalyst to update any AMD provided drivers on your system. Also note there is nothing wrong with modifying the page file as long as you are not using all the RAM in your system. Also if you are using an SSD it's good to check to ensure your SSD is not being used for virtual memory!

apcs13 · Jan 28, 2014

killakallies :

I have an Nvidia GPU (GTX 770) and an AMD CPU(FX-6350), so Catalyst doesn't help me, as that seems to only be about video/display drivers and not chipset or anything like that. I have the latest WHQL drivers from Nvidia, however they just released a new Beta driver today that some people, especially on GTX 760's and 770's see good things in, but a good amount of others have a lot of issues with it or saw no performance gain, so I am on the fence about getting it. Also, no SSD, just a standard 1TB HDD, so I will have to look into that page-file stuff I guess. But I think the best question at this point is: is the new beta 334.67 driver from Nvidia worth using not just for BF4, but for other games as well?

killakallies · Jan 28, 2014

You can always install it and if it's a bust uninstall it and install the most recent non-beta version. If some people said it helped them at this point then there is a possibility it could help you. If it was a more extreme recommendation I would say no but at this point any little fix that can easily be reverted is worth a shot!

apcs13 · Jan 29, 2014

killakallies :

New drivers seem to be working okay, and after installing it, BF4 seems to be a little more stable, but when I set it to low priority in task manager, it is really smooth 90% of the time! I have only played one round on one map, so I will have to test more before being sure though.

ElMoIsEviL · Jan 29, 2014

apcs13 :

killakallies :

New drivers seem to be working okay, and after installing it, BF4 seems to be a little more stable, but when I set it to low priority in task manager, it is really smooth 90% of the time! I have only played one round on one map, so I will have to test more before being sure though.

Bang on

slimething · Jan 29, 2014

ElMoIsEviL :

apcs13 :

I'm not calling you a fanboi

It was a general comment mean't to voice my frustrations towards many folks, not yourself, who ignore this review by HardOCP yet exhibit much of the same symptoms.

AMD Chipset Drivers: HERE

The CPU spikes only happen to people running nVIDIA Graphics cards (for the most part you will notice). It occurs on all kinds of CPUs from either Intel or AMD... all the way up to even the 3930K. This would indicate, to me, that the issue is not CPU related. It does not happen for users of AMD R9 cards (for example) who use the same CPUs.

It could be that the game is too demanding on the Compute capabilities or that the nVIDIA driver just has issues with some of the compute code (not properly optimized yet). Either way it appears to have been documented by HardOCP.

That is exactly why I sent the 770 back and got the 280x, using i7 4770k. I didn't wait around for nVidia to fix it.

With the inflated prices for the 280x (paid $300 in Nov) these days however.....

apcs13 · Jan 29, 2014

slimething :

ElMoIsEviL :

apcs13 :

I'm not calling you a fanboi

It was a general comment mean't to voice my frustrations towards many folks, not yourself, who ignore this review by HardOCP yet exhibit much of the same symptoms.

AMD Chipset Drivers: HERE

The CPU spikes only happen to people running nVIDIA Graphics cards (for the most part you will notice). It occurs on all kinds of CPUs from either Intel or AMD... all the way up to even the 3930K. This would indicate, to me, that the issue is not CPU related. It does not happen for users of AMD R9 cards (for example) who use the same CPUs.

It could be that the game is too demanding on the Compute capabilities or that the nVIDIA driver just has issues with some of the compute code (not properly optimized yet). Either way it appears to have been documented by HardOCP.

That is exactly why I sent the 770 back and got the 280x, using i7 4770k. I didn't wait around for nVidia to fix it.

With the inflated prices for the 280x (paid $300 in Nov) these days however.....

I actually did the exact reverse... XD
My 280X was broken, and I heard that tons of users went through 2-7 cards before they got a working one, and I had neither the time, patience, or willingness to foot the shipping bill that many times (yes, the company made me pay shipping return, and it was a reputable company too), so I got the GTX 770 instead. The only game I have had issues with is BF4, ever other game runs smooth as anything, I love my GTX 770.

Mousemonkey · Jan 29, 2014

As BF4 is an AMD sponsored title and "only" has issues on Nvida cards maybe its being nobbled on purpose.

apcs13 · Jan 29, 2014

Mousemonkey :

You know, I wouldn't put it past them, corporate greed knows no bounds. However, I have found something that helps a lot for now: With the new beta drivers, once you are in game, set bf4.exe to low priority in task manager. You may have heard of this before, but for me personally, it never helped before these drivers. Now I am usually problem/stuttering free 85% of the time while playing, so it is a good temporary fix. I hope DICE and Nvidia figure something out, I really want to play 95% or better smoothly!

Battlefiled 4 Crazy CPU Spikes

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