Fallout New Vegas worse performance, low gpu usage after upgrading card

[k4ever]

Specs: i3-2120, 6GB RAM.
Used to play the game on High video settings with an HD 6670 and averaged 60fps everywhere. I was even using some texture mods.
Now I bought a 7870 XT card and when I try to play on ultra settings the game will just drop frames everywhere. I used gpu-z to check my gpu usage and it said its using around 25-35% of the gpu output. Sometimes it even drops to 0%.
How can I optimize the game to use all the gpu power?
I already read that the engine the game uses is an old one that doesnt use gpus efficiently, and that there is nothing I can do. I really wish there is a solution for this.

 

[edogawa]

Go to your documents folder and delete files that relate to game settings such as the .ini/pref, and be careful not to delete your saves too, I believe they are stored in the same area.

Do a steam integrity check of the files afterwards. After that load the launcher and reconfigure your settings.

Doing this has fixed issues with Bethesda games for me sometimes.

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Did you also install the latest drivers for your graphics card?

 

[k4ever]

In some areas the game seems to skip a good chunk of frames and looks really choppy. Is this the famous microstuttering problem everyone talks about?
Anyways, I reduced the problem by lowering my video settings from ultra to high, and also disabling vsync. Its a shame this game doesnt use the full power of my gpu. I can run the new tomb raider at ultra settings with an average of 60 fps, and I cant run this old game any better.

 

[edogawa]

In some areas the game seems to skip a good chunk of frames and looks really choppy. Is this the famous microstuttering problem everyone talks about?
Anyways, I reduced the problem by lowering my video settings from ultra to high, and also disabling vsync. Its a shame this game doesnt use the full power of my gpu. I can run the new tomb raider at ultra settings with an average of 60 fps, and I cant run this old game any better.

Try this mod:
http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/34832
You will need this too:
http://nvse.silverlock.org/

 

[k4ever]

In some areas the game seems to skip a good chunk of frames and looks really choppy. Is this the famous microstuttering problem everyone talks about?
Anyways, I reduced the problem by lowering my video settings from ultra to high, and also disabling vsync. Its a shame this game doesnt use the full power of my gpu. I can run the new tomb raider at ultra settings with an average of 60 fps, and I cant run this old game any better.

Try this mod:
http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/34832
You will need this too:
http://nvse.silverlock.org/

Thanks for the link, but I already tried doing that. It helped a lil bit and finally I get 60fps here and there, but in some areas, especially where there is a lot of lightning I still get the frame drops. Thanks again for the help.

 

[HEXiT]

try turning hyperthreading off. if your cpu supports it. what your seing is a dual core bottlencking because of the hyperthreading it wont competley stop the stutter but it should go a way to smoothing it out.
the reason for it is when the cpu is sharing a gfx intensive task the shared resorces halve the cpu's overall single threaded performance. this will result in higher spread of minimum and maxium fps and steeper drops between the 2 disabling the hyperthreading should in theory smooth out the drops so instead of getting an instant 50-10 fps droop you may only drop from 50-40. it could be enough to smooth out most of the jerkeyness.
the game does work best on a quad core but works well enough on dials but does have issues with 2x2 duals. the only difference in real terms is hyperthreading... so to me its at least worth trying.

its also an opportunity to see if your cpu is now a bottleneck. check the gpu is you start getting 50% usage but your cpu is nearly maced out and your fps is bouncing form 5-50 every few seconds. then you have a fair idea the cpu is bottlenecking the gfx.