Exploration highlights in Witcher 3
Exploration highlights in Witcher 3
Despite setting my population density to average, frame drops continue to occur.
This situation shouldn't occur with a 4690k at 4.3 and a GTX 1070 at 2150. What resolution are you using?
1. Ensure you have the newest drivers installed and confirm the game is updated to its latest version.
2. Launch MSI Afterburner and review your GPU usage, temperature readings, CPU load, RAM consumption, GPU memory, and disk space. Experiment with higher settings in demanding areas like Novigrad. If your game drive is full, assets may load too slowly, causing frame drops. ... HOLD ON—are you running NVidia Hairworks? If it's at maximum capacity (Hairworks affects everything), every NPC's hair is rendered instantly, which severely impacts performance. Turning on HairWorks anti-aliasing will only worsen things.
Game and GPU drivers are now updated. I always stay current with drivers. My WD Blue 1TB is widely used and has around 600GB available, so it’s unlikely this is the issue. My RAM usage is minimal, CPU stays around 80-100%, and GPU performance can dip to about 65% when CPU reaches 100%. There are no hardware problems detected, aside from a slight slowdown to 10FPS. I’m currently using 1440p ultra resolution.
Your GPU isn't fully utilizing its capacity, while your CPU is active and you still experience stutter even with solid frame rates. Likely the problem lies with your CPU. You have options like reducing settings or increasing clock speeds. Consider cutting back NPC variety or similar parameters to a medium level. The graphics aren't impressive enough for you either. I use a 4790k at 4.7GHz; even on powerful CPUs like Novagon, it can strain the system and bring minimums down into the low 60s when the GPU isn't fully taxed. It doesn’t seem to be a hardware fault—this feels more like a user issue. Are you new to PC gaming? You might be accustomed to games that don’t overly tax your system, but this one is pushing your current setup. Witcher 3 is particularly demanding. While Intel i5 bottlenecks GPU performance are uncommon in recent years, CPU limitations still seem to restrict smooth gameplay. DX12 was expected to help, but it hasn’t made a noticeable difference. Maybe I’m getting carried away here. It’s late...
Your GPU performance dips to 65% while the CPU reaches full capacity, indicating a CPU limitation.
It’s surprising that a top gaming CPU struggles with a widely played game.
The game pushes my i7 4790K to its limits at certain settings, using all eight threads at 4.4ghz. The main issues are how foliage appears, grass density, and shadows. In the city, these details aren’t noticeable, but in the countryside they become apparent.
Actually, there are more draw calls requiring CPU handling than the GPU is delivering to the 1070. It's really just a fairly demanding task. You might find better results by adjusting settings that reduce NPCs and similar elements, which seems to be the intended approach.