Why is my FPS so low?

eleavitt · Aug 2, 2014

I was playing on Dark Souls and I caught my fps on fraps at around 15fps. Why is it so low? My pc specs are as follows:

GPU: R9 280

CPU: i3 4150

patrick47018 · Aug 2, 2014

Likely your dual core i3 is the bottleneck

kapitalistas · Aug 2, 2014

some games have that down in some particular places levels.

TechyInAZ · Aug 2, 2014

i3 won't bottleneck that bad, try upgrading the graphics drivers and tweaking the games graphics.

eleavitt · Aug 2, 2014

TechyInAZ :

I have tried to update the graphics drivers but I come up with an instalation error whenever I try

viewtyjoe · Aug 2, 2014

The PC port of the original Dark Souls is built to run at 30fps and is capped at that, and is so poorly optimized that you'll get 15fps or lower in certain areas (Blighttown)

patrick47018 · Aug 2, 2014

Are you downloading your drivers from here?: http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop?os=Windows%207%20-%2064

Eduello · Aug 2, 2014

viewtyjoe :

This. Try downloading DSfix: http://blog.metaclassofnil.com/?tag=dsfix
You can use it to set the fps cap to 60, which might help a bit.

Beware, this will modify the code of the game and might get you a ban from Steam/GFWL since it's technically considered cheating.

eleavitt · Aug 2, 2014

patrick47018 :

yes I tried downloading that driver and came up with this "application Install: install package failure!"

eleavitt · Aug 2, 2014

Eduello :

Will I still be able to use Steam/GFWL? What will happen when I download this?

Eduello · Aug 2, 2014

eleavitt :

Downloading/using it won't get you banned if you don't change the frame cap (and even if you change it, you might not get banned, but there's always the possibility). It also has lots of other features that might make the gameplay smoother, so go ahead and try it out.

eleavitt · Aug 2, 2014

Eduello :

eleavitt :

Downloading/using it won't get you banned if you don't change the frame cap (and even if you change it, you might not get banned, but there's always the possibility). It also has lots of other features that might make the gameplay smoother, so go ahead and try it out.

I downloaded it how do I make it work now?

Denis Stoikovski · Aug 2, 2014

patrick47018 :

Nah it itsn't ! the i3 is similiar to my i5 3350p even better my 770 and i5 are getting 60fps on ultra in d souls.

Eduello · Aug 2, 2014

How do I use it?
1) Delete previous version of the mod if you have any
2) Place the contents of the .zip into the game's binary directory. (The place where DARKSOULS.exe is)
(this may be something like C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition\DATA)
3) Adjust the settings in DSfix.ini as desired
4) Adjust the keybindings in DSfixKeys.ini as desired
IMPORTANT: turn OFF the in-game AA option, otherwise you *will* get graphical issues
See DSfixKeys.ini for a list of keybindable actions, including screenshots.

http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/19/?

eleavitt · Aug 2, 2014

Eduello :

I downloaded it and unlocked the fps but my game still doesn't get anything above 15 fps

Eduello · Aug 2, 2014

Try turning down the quality settings in the .ini file.

eleavitt · Aug 2, 2014

Eduello :

Ok yeah I get like 25 fps now and it runs a lot smoother but its in a small screen

Eduello · Aug 2, 2014

Hmm, that does sound quite bad, try the solution of this thread, it might help with the driver issue: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1875663/amd-catalyst-drivers-installing-application-install-install-package-failure.html

eleavitt · Aug 2, 2014

Eduello :

Thanks so much for helping me! I might have found a solution to the problem. I have a really old monitor a dell SE178WFP which only has an VGA cable. So I plugged it into my motherboard instead of my graphics card.

Eduello · Aug 3, 2014

Well it should work better if you plugged it into the GPU, and if it doesn't, you're probably dealing with a faulty GPU.

eleavitt · Aug 3, 2014

Eduello :

I bought a DVI-A to VGA adapter today plugged it into my graphics card and I get a black screen. My monitor has power because I can see the orange LED. And when I plug the VGA cable into the motherboards I/O ports it runs fine. I also plugged my brothers monitor into the graphics card and the same thing persists even though I know that his monitor works on his computer. Do I have a faulty graphics card? Any ideas?

Eduello · Aug 3, 2014

You might have a faulty graphics card, or then it may be some other component. What are the full specs of your system? Did you plug the power cables from the PSU to the GPU?

eleavitt · Aug 3, 2014

Eduello :

Pretty sure I installed it correctly because the fans are running on it.

Full pc specs:

CPU: intel i3 4150
Mobo: Asrock h81M-HDS
Memory: 8GB kingston ram
GPU: R9 280
PSU: Thermaltake 550W
OS: Windows 8.1

Eduello · Aug 3, 2014

Try using the card in some other PC, that way you can see whether or not it's faulty.

eleavitt · Aug 3, 2014

Eduello :

I feel so stupid right now. I didn't have one of the PCI-E slots connected to my graphics card. I didn't know it would make that much of a difference. I then went to AMD's website and updated the drivers and I am now maxed out in dark souls with a full 60fps! Thank you soooooo much for helping me!

Why is my FPS so low?

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