CPU Bound in AC

[EIF]

I have just bought a 144Hz 1080p monitor and have great, very smooth performance alone in a practice session. 120 to 141 fps and max gpu usage.

However In a race against AI my fps drops to 60-100 and gpu usage is only between 50-70%. Even with gsync enabled it still looks choppy as well. In Render stats the Main_T is begged at around 95%, actual cpu usage is less though at around 65-85

I believe this has always been an issue with AC but until now I played at 60Hz vsynced so it wasn't as noticable, but pushing high fps at a relatively low resolution is making things even worse now. Other sims like AMS2 are gpu bound on my system but I still get nice high framerates above 100 and against AI, races actually feel smoother than in AC.

I'm using a 9 year old system, i5 2500K 8GB DDR3 GTX1060 6GB with AC installed on a Samsung 850 SSD. Does anyone have experience with AC on more modern cpu platforms like Ryzen or latest Intel? I've read about users with 8700K or Ryzen 3600X having the exact same issues so I'm concerned about spending on hardware upgrades that will not show much improvement. Sim racing is all I care about gaming wise these days with AC still my main sim after 7 years, so looking for a upgrade that will benefit it.

Any advice on settings to improve things? Ive tried running AC vanilla without cm/csp/sol etc or even additional apps without luck.

 

[McGherkin]

I can do 80-90AI on my 5800x no problem.

 

[EIF]

Yeah my gpu copes pretty well with AC, especially in a session on my own. Its the addition of AI that makes things a bit more choppy.

The 3700x can be found for the same price as a 5600x and has 2 more cores but 8 cores isn't really required for my needs and the IPC of the 5600x is supposedly better.

 

[EIF]

I can do 80-90AI on my 5800x no problem.

Wow thats nuts! I tried 50 at Le Mans once on my current system, brought AC to a standstill ha

 

[McGherkin]

Wow thats nuts! I tried 50 at Le Mans once on my current system, brought AC to a standstill ha

I regularly do full 56 car grids at Le Mans, it's my favourite race on earth and probably the only reason I have a 5800x tbh.

@RasmusP any chance of screenshotting that page on CSP settings?

 

[RasmusP]

Yeah my gpu copes pretty well with AC, especially in a session on my own. Its the addition of AI that makes things a bit more choppy.

The 3700x can be found for the same price as a 5600x and has 2 more cores but 8 cores isn't really required for my needs and the IPC of the 5600x is supposedly better.

GPU massively depends on the resolution you're using. Triple-Screen 2560x1440 is a completely different thing than singlescreen 1920x1080.
My GTX 1070 shredded through everything on my old 1920x1080 monitor but was crying for help when I upgraded to 3440x1440.
Also graphics settings are nicely adjustable. If your CPU is limiting, you're basically screwed.

Don't get the 3700x! You can see the differences on my overview. 5600x vs 5800x barely makes a difference. The 3600x has roughly the same performance as the 3700x and as you can see, is a good amount worse for applications like AC.

I regularly do full 56 car grids at Le Mans, it's my favourite race on earth and probably the only reason I have a 5800x tbh.

@RasmusP any chance of screenshotting that page on CSP settings?

Yep, sure! Here's my "Don't change anything but give me the free FPS"-CSP settings and MY config I'm using:

Drop this into:
C:\Users\RasmusP\AppData\Local\AcTools Content Manager\Presets\Custom Shaders Patch Presets

Save your current settings as a preset, then load mine.
It's not complicated though. Most extensions completely disabled and everything at default. Version 1.60.

Only this one is changed from the default:

I'm not using SOL right now, since I only race in the RD club events.


Btw here's what Custom Font Rendering and the optimizations do to MAIN_T and the FPS vs no CSP. All 3 screenshots took at the start of the race, not in the GPU limit so my 10600k was definitely the limiting factor:

My HUD and full view:

The Render Stats comparison, fps limit set to 90 fps but you can see the main_t differences!

No CSP:

Custom Font Rendering only:

All optimizations:

With smart shadows, extraFX, GrassFX and reflectionsFX:

 

[dwightyone]

@Rasmus - that's racing against the AI I'm guessing - how many cars are you racing against?

Andddd - can you not use Sol with your RD races -is there a problem why you can't, as in, it doesn't work or something - querying because I have issues with weatherfx on for my LAN in my house with race cancelled

 

[RasmusP]

@Rasmus - that's racing against the AI I'm guessing - how many cars are you racing against?

Andddd - can you not use Sol with your RD races -is there a problem why you can't, as in, it doesn't work or something - querying because I have issues with weatherfx on for my LAN in my house with race cancelled

That were 49 AI at Road Atlanta. Full GT3 grid, live race, no replay.

To use SOL online you need a good server admin. RD isn't using it (yet) and I didn't really see a difference with the sol standard weathers but a slight performance decrease so I decided to not use it for now.

I sadly can't help you with your issues.. Normally sol should simply be using a standard weather when joining a non-sol server instead of a custom one.

 

[dwightyone]

49 AI wow - I think one my CPU's would drop dead on the spot with that amount! Anyhoo - the quest for answers goes on and on...

 

[RasmusP]

49 AI wow - I think one my CPU's would drop dead on the spot with that amount! Anyhoo - the quest for answers goes on and on...

Hehe yeah 49 ai was just to force my cpu to its knees. Normally I'm only racing online with 15-30 others

As you can see my fps are dropping below 60 without csp but with the optimizations (especially custom font rendering), it's quite okay!
Instead of custom font rendering you could also disable all apps but.. I need some hud.. Sidekick, helicorsa, livetiming as the bare minimum

 

[dwightyone]

Yep, custom font rendering alone knocks 10 of my main t just like that.