Really low FPS on Fullscreen?

[ghost521]

I'm trying to run Aion on fullscreen, as AA and AF don't seem to make much difference on Windowed Full Screen. But when i try to run in FS, my FPS drops horribly low, unlike when I run it on WFS. This has been happening to me on some other games [Borderlands, SC2, Darksiders, etc], all of which I had to run on WFS.
So is it a card problem, or a CPU problem? [I have a XFX 5770 HD, and an i3@2.9GHz]
Thanks in advance.

 

[bystander]

Are you using the same resolution when in fullscreen mode?

I see Aion mentioned a lot around here. The game just appears to run badly, so I wouldn't focus on that games performance.

 

[ghost521]

That would be yes, both at 1440x900.
But performance wise, almost all games I've played on this PC has the same problem: A donkey on FS, but a horse on WFS, both maxed out with all settings.

 

[jerreece]

Your ATI 5770 should rock @ 1440x900 resolution. Aion in particular, who knows.

But most other games should run perfectly fine.

However - Starcraft 2 (SC2) has it's known issues. And this game can be CPU bound (note your i3 CPU). Not the best title for gauging system performance honestly.

 

[bystander]

Do you happen to have v-sync on? I believe that could effect fullscreen but not windowed mode. Also, try fullscreen with those settings that are working in windowed mode, turned off on fullscreen. Maybe those settings are giving a big performance hit.

 

[ghost521]

@jereece: that CPU problem you mentioned is very plausible. I might have to reroll an i5 or i7 then.
@bystander: I see your point :] But I'd rather put FS aside now, since it's obvious that the 5770 is able to handle max settings at 1440x900 with WFS, just a hiccup with FS :<
Also, I hardly put V-Sync to work :/

 

[jerreece]

@jereece: that CPU problem you mentioned is very plausible. I might have to reroll an i5 or i7 then.
@bystander: I see your point :] But I'd rather put FS aside now, since it's obvious that the 5770 is able to handle max settings at 1440x900 with WFS, just a hiccup with FS :<
Also, I hardly put V-Sync to work :/

The only i5 worth upgrading to is the i5-750 or i5-760. Both are quad cores, and rock for gaming. Otherwise the other i5's are just dual-core with HyperThreading (which is useless for gaming).

The i7 chips of course are quads and all should be fine for gaming purposes. However, they require (most of them) a 1366 motherboard. Your i3 is likely on an 1156 board, which would require the i5-750, i5-760, or i7-860 chips to be compatible.

 

[ghost521]

A cheer for you jerreece, thanks!

 

[ghost521]

Best answer selected by ghost521.

 

[bystander]

I don't see how the CPU would only effect performance in fullscreen but not in windowed mode.

 

[jerreece]

Nobody said it would. I only brought up the CPU with Starcraft 2 in mind. RTS type games like that can eat up CPU cycles because of how many units can be on screen or in process off screen.

The OP mentioned they might re-roll an i5 or i7, so I just let them know which ones to consider if they chose to do so. LOL Don't want them upgrading from an i3 to a dual-core i5 and getting no real gains.

 

[ghost521]

I'll have to Fraps some for you to see lol. Brb.

 

[jerreece]

If you want to use Fraps to record a video, make sure you tick the box in Fraps to record the FPS in the corner of the video. Also keep in mind, that having Fraps running & recording video will slow things down even more.

If you haven't, definitely try changing your graphic quality settings within each game. Try reducing settings like Anti Aliasing (AA) as this can have a huge affect on performance. That and "Shadows". Those are the two fastest ways to improve performance.

 

[ghost521]

If you want to use Fraps to record a video, make sure you tick the box in Fraps to record the FPS in the corner of the video. Also keep in mind, that having Fraps running & recording video will slow things down even more.

If you haven't, definitely try changing your graphic quality settings within each game. Try reducing settings like Anti Aliasing (AA) as this can have a huge affect on performance. That and "Shadows". Those are the two fastest ways to improve performance.

I can't seem to find a way to Fraps the footage WITH the FPS counter on. The counter while I was playing the video was the counter for the video itself, not from the footage :<

 

[jerreece]

I can't seem to find a way to Fraps the footage WITH the FPS counter on. The counter while I was playing the video was the counter for the video itself, not from the footage :<

Hmm, apparently Fraps only overlays the FPS for screenshots. No option for video. Sorry.