Batman Arkham City Performance Question

**RhysJD3** · 01-07-12, 01:07 PM

So, I'm stumped a bit here. I've got the DirectX 11 patch installed but still can't figure out why my performance is low. Anyone else run this game and have any ideas on what my bottleneck is?

i7 920 (according to performance monitor, this isn't heavily tasked when running)
Nvidia 570 (according to EVGA precision utility, usually running between 40-60%)
Nvidia 260 GTX (according to EVGA precision utility, usually running at 5-6% with PhysX at normal and 33% set to high)
6 GB RAM
SSD drive

So I'm getting the following in game benchmark numbers

PhysX Normal (with or without the 260 as dedicated PhysX card)
Low 7
High 58
Average 38

PhysX High
Low 7 (2 without the 260)
High 27
Average 31 (with or without the 260)

So If my CPU and GPU aren't running at 100% and are usually running well under 70% for most of the game, what's the limiting factor? Something in the game itself that isn't allowing faster FPS? Anyone else running into this? Is it pulling stuff off the hard drive too much and isn't running with full processor utilitization?

I'm baffled. Also the memory usuage is only at 50-60%.

**RhysJD3** · 01-07-12, 01:07 PM

Well, Fudge me. Vsync was on. Retrying.

**CivilWars** · 01-07-12, 01:18 PM

I think I read somewhere that the game has issues when using DX11, but maybe I am just imagining that.

**RhysJD3** · 01-07-12, 01:25 PM

OK, my averages only went up 2 FPS with vsync off. My high's were better but doesn't matter if averages aren't different. Still didn't max out CPU or GPU processing. Any ideas on bottleneck?

**RhysJD3** · 01-07-12, 01:31 PM

No, it definitely has directx 11 issues. I've got the first patch and they need a second patch but I'm still not clear why it wouldn't use the CPU or GPU to 100%. Something's gotta be bottlenecking it since it doesn't appear to be FPS capped like some games.

**maximusboomus** · 01-11-12, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by RhysJD3

No, it definitely has directx 11 issues. I've got the first patch and they need a second patch but I'm still not clear why it wouldn't use the CPU or GPU to 100%. Something's gotta be bottlenecking it since it doesn't appear to be FPS capped like some games.

Same here, ATI 5870 can run high all on DX10 (PhysX off) and it runs smooooth! Put DX11 on and it goes all wobbly on me, add PhysX and it dies on me.

**HeavyG** · 01-15-12, 02:02 PM

I have been trying to find the sweet spot for getting the best graphics detail and performance for my system. Let's see what we can come up with...

Constant Settings
GPU: 2 x GTX 570 w/ GTS 450 dedicated PhysX
Resolution: 2560 x 1440
V SYNC: No (for testing purposes only as I actually play with V SYNC on)
Direct X 11 Features: MVSS and HBAO
Direct X Tessellation: High
Detail Level: Extreme

Test 1
PhysX: High
Anti Aliasing: NVIDIA (TM) 16XQ CSAA

Low - 21 FPS
High - 59 FPS
Average - 45 FPS

Test 2
PhysX: Normal
Anti Aliasing: NVIDIA (TM) 16XQ CSAA

Low - 22 FPS
High - 60 FPS
Average - 45 FPS

Test 3
PhysX: High
Anti Aliasing: NVIDIA (TM) 16X CSAA

Low - 26 FPS
High - 94 FPS
Average - 58 FPS

Test 4
PhysX: Normal
Anti Aliasing: NVIDIA (TM) 16X CSAA

Low - 28 FPS
High - 96 FPS
Average - 64 FPS

Conclusions and Assumptions

The challenge I face with most modern games is that I have a high resolution monitor (2560 x 1440), which demands some extra graphics horse power if I want to run the game on higher detail settings). On Batman: Arkham City, my system seems to run at completely playable frame rates with the DX 11 settings and details maxed. Changing PhysX from Normal to High also minimal impact to performance. The amazing thing was the impact of changing the Anti Aliasing settings from 16XQ CSAA to 16X CSAA.

I saw a performance increase of 59% with PhysX on High when dropping the Anti Aliasing to 16X CSAA. With PhysX on Normal, I saw a performance increase of 60%. It is safe to say that the performance killer is not with the DX11 or PhysX settings, but rather with the Anti Aliasing settings.

Those of you that are familiar with adjusting your Anti Aliasing settings, you should know that as you increase the settings, you will typically see an increase in image quality, but decrease in performance. That is exactly what we are seeing with Batman: Arkham City. My recommendation is to start with PhysX on normal (for those with a PhysX card), 8X MSAA, DX 11 features on, but start with "High" detail and tessellation settings, and start to increase the detail and tessellation as far as you can. If still at playable frame rates, start to bump up the Anti Aliasing settings and see where the breaking point is.

For my system, I find that while the 16X CSAA setting give me a superior performance, the frame rates with 16XQ CSAA are still completely playable, and provide an overall better gaming experience because of the superior graphics they deliver. As with everything, your mileage may vary as your system is likely nowhere like mine, but it may help out a little bit.

**RhysJD3** · 01-15-12, 02:30 PM

My question still stands a bit though. When you're running it, what's the workload on the GPU and CPU look like? Are they ever being tasked completely? If not, is there some bandwidth limitation somewhere? What's holding them back?

**HeavyG** · 01-15-12, 07:13 PM

No, none of my GPUs are running at 100%, which is a good thing. I monitored all 3 of mine, and they would spike up and down as they normally should when in use. If ANY game was causing my GPUs to be at a constant 100%, I would be very concerned. The way it should work is that more graphical demanding scenes should push more from your GPU, and less shouldn't require such usage. If your GPU is always at 100%, there are some other problems going on.

**rush2049** · 01-16-12, 02:56 PM

This game is known to have some issues currently with physx performance.......

case and point: using a gtx 590 by itself had better performance then using a gtx 590 + 560 ti for physx....