F5F Stay Refreshed Software PC Gaming Unstable frames per second on older game versions?

Unstable frames per second on older game versions?

Unstable frames per second on older game versions?

X
XDDanyXD
Junior Member
40
08-29-2025, 08:52 PM
#1
Hello once more, I just finished setting up a new PC for the first time. So naturally, I started by playing older games which were once my "challenge". Mostly between 2014 and 2016. I wasn’t expecting much from such a decent machine, so I was unsure what to anticipate. However, in Civilization VI and Dragon Age Inquisition the low frame rates drop sharply to half the average FPS and then quickly recover (g-sync seems to handle it). On Civilization VI it doesn’t matter too much because it’s turn-based, but in Inquisition it really confuses me since titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2 run at full speed on 1080p with 144 fps even with a 1% low. Is this just a difference between games (Frostbite engine?) or am I doing something wrong?
X
XDDanyXD
08-29-2025, 08:52 PM #1

Hello once more, I just finished setting up a new PC for the first time. So naturally, I started by playing older games which were once my "challenge". Mostly between 2014 and 2016. I wasn’t expecting much from such a decent machine, so I was unsure what to anticipate. However, in Civilization VI and Dragon Age Inquisition the low frame rates drop sharply to half the average FPS and then quickly recover (g-sync seems to handle it). On Civilization VI it doesn’t matter too much because it’s turn-based, but in Inquisition it really confuses me since titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2 run at full speed on 1080p with 144 fps even with a 1% low. Is this just a difference between games (Frostbite engine?) or am I doing something wrong?

M
madone10
Junior Member
37
08-30-2025, 10:48 PM
#2
Is this just a game-to-game compatibility approach (using Frostbite Engine)? Or am I making a mistake? Regarding the installers, where did you obtain them from?
M
madone10
08-30-2025, 10:48 PM #2

Is this just a game-to-game compatibility approach (using Frostbite Engine)? Or am I making a mistake? Regarding the installers, where did you obtain them from?

P
PotatoGuru
Junior Member
11
09-02-2025, 03:37 AM
#3
The Steam winter promotion isn't pirated and everything works fine. (I've disabled the extra overlays). It behaves quite similarly overall.
P
PotatoGuru
09-02-2025, 03:37 AM #3

The Steam winter promotion isn't pirated and everything works fine. (I've disabled the extra overlays). It behaves quite similarly overall.

A
169
09-02-2025, 12:18 PM
#4
Older games operate on fewer threads, causing windows to switch between them, leading to unstable frames. Modern games utilize all cores, using lower but steady multicore clocks. You might adjust task manager settings to assign tasks to fewer cores, ensuring higher clock speeds for those cores and reducing core switching. Alternatively, create a batch file to run the game with reduced core usage, allowing experimentation with more cores until optimal performance is achieved.
A
ArianaGrandeJr
09-02-2025, 12:18 PM #4

Older games operate on fewer threads, causing windows to switch between them, leading to unstable frames. Modern games utilize all cores, using lower but steady multicore clocks. You might adjust task manager settings to assign tasks to fewer cores, ensuring higher clock speeds for those cores and reducing core switching. Alternatively, create a batch file to run the game with reduced core usage, allowing experimentation with more cores until optimal performance is achieved.

S
SoulRawr
Member
191
09-02-2025, 05:10 PM
#5
With additional testing, I observed that sometimes just sometimes vsync resolves those rare low frames but in return creates an extremely low latency mode. This makes the 1% lows difficult to connect to the average frame rate. At 144 FPS, the 1% lows occur at 70-80, at 240 FPS they drop to 140-150, and at 360 FPS they reach 220-230.
S
SoulRawr
09-02-2025, 05:10 PM #5

With additional testing, I observed that sometimes just sometimes vsync resolves those rare low frames but in return creates an extremely low latency mode. This makes the 1% lows difficult to connect to the average frame rate. At 144 FPS, the 1% lows occur at 70-80, at 240 FPS they drop to 140-150, and at 360 FPS they reach 220-230.