*OFFICIAL* Game Settings, Tweaks and Tips Thread

Hello fellow Alienwareres,

Every time there’s a new game (or we’ve got a desire to play an old one for what matters) and things don’t go as we expect we start posting random threads seeking much needed help. With everyone’s contribution we could make this a main thread in which we all share our settings, tips, and tricks for those who are in need of help, or still aren’t able to enjoy a particular game with maxed-out graphics. For instance, what CPU or GPU overclock is working best for you? How do you set that particular game for achieving maximum fps and smoothness? What are your Windows settings? What are your NVIDA or AMD control panel settings?

Every participant should use the following format in order to keep the prompt organized and easy and quick to check:

• System Operating version and your tips (software you may be using or startup items, and service you disable in order to increase performance, etc).
• GPU clocks (and vbios utilized if flashed)
• CPU clocks
• AMD/NVIDIA Control Panel settings tips and screen (if possible)
• Game settings, tips, and tricks you’re using (cVars, game.cfgs, etc)

Below you will find some useful links to threads that have been discussing game issues and settings. You can suggest threads you find or have participated, so we can add them to the list.

Forum Games Thread Links

Crysis 3 Performance

Far Cry 3 Performance

Wicher 2 Performance

Crysis 2 Performance

Crysis 2 Texture Patch and DX11

Assassin Creed: Brotherhood Performance

Rage Performance

Skyrim Performance

Ghost Recon Future Soldier (low) Performance

Batman Arkham Asylum Performance

Batman Arkham City Performance

Black Ops II Performance

Tomb Rider Thread

Battlefield 3 Discussion

Bioshock Infinite Performance

Metro: Last Light Performance

Sleeping Dogs Performance

Total War: Rome 2 Performance

Battlefield 4 Performance

Thief Performance

----Borderlands 2 sub-thread----

Borderlands 2 - Question
Borderlands 2 - Physx
Borderlands 2 - 7970 (Flickering)

-------------------------------------

More will follow...

 

Utility ------------------------------	Description ---------------------------------	Link ----------
Dell M18x Drivers	Drivers for Alienware M18x R2	Download
Dell Alienware 18 Drivers	Drivers for new Alienware 18	Download
NVIDIA Drivers Page	GTX/GT Drivers	Download
NVIDIA Inspector	game profiler/3D settings	Download
NVIDIA GeForce Experience	game graphic settings optimizer	Download
AMD Drivers Page	Drivers & Support	Download
AMD RadeonPro	game profiler/3D settings	Download
AMD Catalyst Game Profiles	Link to download page ---->	Download
Razer Game Booster	Windows Tweaking	Download
Crysis 3 Patch 1.2 - MaLDoHD 4.0 Mod	Crysis 3 Graphic Tool v.3	Download
Direct 3D Overrider DX11 (*)	Guru3D.com Graphic Utility	Download
MSI Afterburner 3.0.0 Beta 19	Overclocking Utility	Download
EVGA Precision X 4.2.1	Overclocking Utility (Guru.com link)	Download
Display Driver Uninstaller Download 12.7.1.0	Uninstaller for AMD/NVIDIA graphics card drivers	Download

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More will follow...








( *) Direct 3D Overrider is part of the RivaTuner Tool and it is authored and distributed by Guru3D.com

 

Thanks for your input. I am sure everyone appreciates your new 'thread'. I believe it’s a wonderful idea to keep anything related to games on one thread and make it user friendly for everyone's test. +1 rep

 

Thanks juliant +rep back

I just added a spoiler with a detailed list of Crysis 3 cVar settings to use and add in the game system.cfg and autoexec.cfg files respectively. Tinkering with these may really give a change to experience the game better.

I posted some info and link for the newly released Crytek official Crysis 3 cvar configurator. You'll find the post here.

 

Great idea for this thread. I made it a sticky. We needed a repository for folks to post their special tips, tweaks and settings help others get the most from their gaming experience. Nice job, rafix73. +1

---

Here a fix for Skyrim flickering and jerking issues. It was a real nightmare for me with 7970M CrossFire, but this did the trick...

 

Awesome. Thanks for your contribution, encouragement, and precious feedback, Mr. Fox. +1 rep back.

 

+1 Rep from me also, rafix73! - great idea for a thread and I'm sure it will help everyone get the best enjoyment from their favourite titles. Well done so far, Bro. :thumbsup:

 

Thanks, mate, much appreciated. Repped you back

 

Rafix73 +1 rep

Great idea for a thread! I'm sure a lot of us will be frequenting it :thumbsup:

 

Thanks, man We own the most amazing and technologically advanced "mobile" gaming machine, we need one place where we can find links, sources, tweaking, and discussions about games.

 

Good idea with this thread, I am overclocked and have been playing NS2 quite a bit, I wanted to relay what kind of temperatures I am seeing and how I am keeping them relatively low.

The GPU's are overclocked to 958/1150 (+200 core, 500 memory) at .987 V.

CPU is at 42x4, 7 Flex VID, original BIOS, no other changes.

I use Throttlestop while web browsing with multipliers at factory levels.

To address heating I have replaced thermal compound on CPU and GPU's with IC Diamond, am using Hwinfo64 fan control and have back of laptop elevated ~2 inches.

Hwinfo64 fan control settings and max temps after 4 hours of playing NS2, with 85% core and 99% memory peak utilization shown in following snapshot. Room temperature, ~65 F.

In game settings: 1920x1080, SSAO: High/Rich, particle effects, basically everything turned all the way up. I mostly see 60 FPS with dips into the sub 40's in full rooms. Not bad and typical of high end GPU set-ups for this game. For reference, with the GPU and CPU clocks above it pulled 47k GPU in 3DMarkVantage.



Typical temperatures with the above cooling method in other games, same clocks:

Batman: AC: 80 C CPU, 60,55 C GPU, all settings maxed including DX11, avg. 60 FPS, minimum 35 FPS

Skyrim+ENB, 80 C CPU, 70, 64 C GPU, all settings maxed plus ENB, avg 55 FPS, minimum 40 FPS.

When I first received my R2, with only the back elevated 2 inches I was seeing temps that were actually a little higher on factory clocks, ~35k GPU 3DMarkVantage. I have considered maxing out the GPU clocks with a more aggressive vbios at 1.1 V but I am not to sure how long the hardware would last considering I am not solely benching at these clocks but gaming around 4 hours daily. I think keeping the GPU temps under 75 C is important.

There is also a program for those with green hardware that automatically optimizes games depending on your hardware configuration, I have used it and was unaware that PhysX in Batman: AC was set to low, which Geforce Experience prompted me to change:

Tweak your Game Settings Automatically | GeForce Experience | GeForce

 

Thank you for sharing your settings in such detailed manner vulcan78!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

TY for starting a much needed thread Rafix73!

 

Here is what is working nicely for me with Crysis 3. I will try some of the other suggested tweaks as well.

Spoiler

For some reason none of my Crysis franchise games are detected by the GeForce Experience utility, even after launching the game as suggested, but the optimized settings are listed so they can be set manually in the NVIDIA Control Panel.

 

Check this out:

Crysis 3 gets unofficial OnTheFly utility - tweak graphics in-game with a single button press | Mods, News | PC Gamer

and have the rope issues been resolved?

Crysis 3 performance issues caused by ropey physics | News | PC Gamer

I anticipated Crysis 3 last year, along with Dead Space 3, but I am really still enjoying Natural Selection 2, Batman: AC, GTA 4+Icenhancer 2.1, and Skyrim+ENB. I will wait until these two games go on sale down the road, $60. is a lot to fork out for a game that I will likely only attend to a little considering I am positively hooked on NS2.

 

Cool thread!

My recommendation for optimum performance and stability over long periods of game-play is: cooling the system and keeping temperatures down. Cool ambient temperature (room temperature) helps a lot. Lifting up the system itself, so air can flow beneath it is going to help a lot as well. Having a cooling pad does help, as long as the ambient temperature is cool and air flow is consistent.

Keeping the temperatures down as much as possible will increase the overall life of the system, and will positively impact system performance.

 

That OnTheFly utility looks pretty sweet. I'm going to see how well that works. Thanks for the link, Brother Vulcan.

---

Edit: This does FANTABULOUS. Have a peek at what my results are now. I am using the "recommended" setting and I did not change any in-game settings from what I had posted with my previous Fraps benchmark results. The game still looks really great with the exception of some flickering in water I saw just in one location. I am not at the 8 hour mark and just got killed when a ramp for an elevator I was supposed to get on came down and crushed me. And, darn it, I had just made it past all of the fire-breathing Ceph beasts.

BEFORE	AFTER
​

Fraps says my minimum FPS was 36, but I do not remember seeing anything below 60 FPS in my on-screen display monitor. Smooth as glass, too.

........System Configuration........	Custom Settings
3920XM	4.0GHz (40x4)
680M SLI	+250/+275 (1008/1038)
MaLDO OnTheFly Utility........	"Recommended" config profile

Graphics Options	In-Game Settings
Resolution	1920x1080 (Full Screen)
Anti-Aliasing	SMAA LOW (1X)
Texture Resolution	High
V-Synch	No
System Spec	Very High
Advanced Graphics Options	In-Game Settings
Game Effects	Very High
Object	Very High
Particles	Very High
Post Processing	Very High
Shading	Very High
Water	Very High
Anisotropic Filtering	16X
Motion Blur	Disabled
Lens Flares	No

 

Whenever I see a new thread that's game related I am going to add it here on our list in the first post, so it will be easier to spot and check it out. I just added the new thread about Ghost Recon low performance recently started. Thanks, folks.

 

This really is a great concept for a thread. I imagine it will help cut down on a lot of randomness and hopefully everyone will frequent this thread to find performance hints/tips/discussion on their favourite games. Once again, well done Brother Rafix! (I'd rep ya again but need to share the luuurve about first )

 

Just added Batman Arkham series and Black Ops II

Thanks, brother Stevie

I plan on including a side section with links to useful game tweaking utilities and both cards drivers soon. So, we would have most of what we need to optimize our games in one place. Stay tuned, gents...

 

Added new Crysis 3 results with custom settings in post #197 here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/709199-m18x-crysis-3-performance-20.html#post9106534

 

Ciao gents,

I made the second post a perma-link where we can find and add tools, config utilities, and various tweaking programs and mods for our games. I'll keep adding more as we go. Stay tuned...

In the thread post I added the link for Rage and a section for Borderlands 2.

 

Here is a popular thread for your index: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/619966-battlefield-3-m18x-discussion-thread.html

 

Thanks, Brother Fox. Done :thumbsup:

 

Great source of info !

 

Any good information on optimizing Natural Selection 2 for 680 SLI owners? I have experimented with "texture streaming" but couldn't discern an improvement, and my SSD was humming pretty violently so I turned it off. Any information about NS2 greatly appreciated.

I want to relay my results with overclocking and Skyrim+ENB.

I have all of the settings Ultra/maxed, 1920x1080, Ugridstoload+7 (default is 5, 7 basically loads larger areas thereby increasing the view distance), Vurts Flora Overhaul, 2k HD texture overhaul, and Realistic Lighting Overhaul among many other visual and content mods.

I experimented with only overclocking the GPU's and overclocking the GPU's in conjunction with overclocking the CPU last night.

Overclocking the GPU's alone, with the clocks at +250 core/ +500 memory it really only seemed to boost my FPS by 5-7, they basically went from 45-50 in a particular scene in a heavily wooded environment (indoors mostly vsync limited 60 no matter%2

I want to relay my results with overclocking and Skyrim+ENB.

I have all of the settings Ultra/maxed, 1920x1080, Ugridstoload+7 (default is 5, 7 basically loads larger areas thereby increasing the view distance), Vurts Flora Overhaul, 2k HD texture overhaul, and Realistic Lighting Overhaul among many other visual and content mods.

I experimented with only overclocking the GPU's last night, and with the clocks at +250 core/ +500 memory it really only seemed to boost my FPS by 5-7, they basically went from 45-50 in a particular scene in a heavily wooded environment (indoors mostly vsync limited 60 no matter what). The CPU multipliers were only at the default non-OC levels: 38,37,36,36. The observed temperature was only in the high 60's (without Hwinfo64 fan control) I ran around for about 5 minutes to really put a good load on the system.

I then upped the multipliers to 45, 45, 44, 44, basically what I used to attain the Vantage bench score in my signature and I instantly gained another 10 FPS in this scene, from 50 to 60, possibly more as 60 is the Vsync cap. I ran a similar route that I had done just previously trying to discern the FPS difference and in areas that were only 40 before were now over 50, so I have to conclude that the CPU is a tremendous bottleneck in Skyrim and that using higher clocks is essential to maintaining acceptable frames when graphically maxed. Even the various Skyrim optimization articles state this.

I wish I had this to bolster my argument on here a few months ago of the "real world" practical benefit of an aggressive overclock in gaming, with the opposing view holding that only bench-marking really benefits.

With Hwinfo64 fan control the CPU temps didn't exceed 75C. Unfortunately, I had the fans set to respond to the primary GPU which spins all of the fans at 4200 RPM at 70 C, meaning they were running full bore and generating a bit of noise. If you use a headset like I do and are prepared for pre-mature failure of your fans with extended use at 4200 RPM, and don't mind spending maybe a few hundred dollars every other year or so to replace them, then by all means this is a practical solution.

For those using an ENB with Skyrim I believe that overclocking the CPU is essential to smooth performance, it wasn't just a 10 FPS difference, the majority of micro-stutter seen at 45 FPS was eliminated, making it appear to run 5x smoother.

This is the ENB I am currently using, I've tried a few, to include Sharpshooters "extreme graphics" ENB and find that this one more faithfully retains the original artistic color palette and atmosphere with a superior ENB:

SkyRealism - ENB Evolved at Skyrim Nexus - Skyrim mods and community

Here is a good optimization guide for Skyrim, including on how to adjust Ugrids:

Optimize : Five Fast Skyrim Tweaks Guaranteed To Make Your Game Look Better | GeForce

Here are my Hwinfo64 fan settings, and as you can see from the pic, I am at 4.5 Ghz. Using ThrottleStop I have other much less aggressive profiles, including one at 42x4, another at 38,37,36,36 and one for battery use/web browsing at 31x4.



If anyone requires any assistance with any of this don't hesitate to ask here or PM me.

 

Very nice and helpful post, brother vulcan. +1 rep :thumbsup:

 

A tip here for Sniper V2 Elite players. The same trick works if you have the Nazi Zombie spin off game too.

Since the game natively runs at 30fps (why oh why?!)

Create your own shortcut to the.exe. Then enclose the path location in " " then add -60Hz on the end.

example:
"c:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Sniper Elite V2\bin\SniperEliteV2.exe " -60Hz

Then enjoy the game the way it should be, yet wasn't intended to be played

 

World of tanks? Any tricks? I have maxed out settings and run 55ish average fps with vsync. Sometimes get a drop to 30.... thought this beast would absolutly destroy this game. Have to use the vsync otherwise I get horrid screen tear.

 

Wonder if that would work for the NFS titles? They are tons of fun, but locked FPS with no way to disable v-sync diminishes the fun a little bit.

 

It's definitely worth a shot. There are some other titles I believe it works on. It's criminal having a car game running at 30fps. It really annoys me when devs do this, especially when it's so easy for them to do otherwise.

 

They probably do it so people that play with crappy under-powered systems can run the game and have it look better than a slide show. But, not having a way to change the settings is sinister.

 

hello just wanted to know if you guys have any tips for planetside 2

 

I picked up Tomb Raider on sale a few days ago. Getting really good results with these settings and averaging insane framerates.

 

Absolutely monster FPS there Mr Fox, you've got tons to spare!

 

That's Insane Mr.Fox!

How's the game btw? Worth buying?

How well do you think it will perform on a single 680m?

 

I am a first-person shooter addict and not a big fan of this genre. It's more like an interactive movie than an action game. It feels like more time is spent watching than playing. However, the game looks amazing and it is pretty decent to play. I got it for like $25 so yeah, worth every penny. I think it would play quite well with a single 680M. I have not tried it with the TressFX enabled. That setting might be a little too much for one GPU... not sure. But with Hair Quality set on "Normal" I bet it would do 60 to 90 FPS without difficulty.

This is kind of interesting... looks like Lara is aging gracefully, LOL... improving over time, like a fine wine.



Edit: I just finished uploading this video...

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Hi Mr. Fox. What program did you use to record the game session? Is it Afterburner maybe?

 

Most of my videos in my YouTube channel are recorded with Afterburner, but the more recent (including TR on the previous post) are recorded with Fraps because I use EVGA Precision and it does not include video capture.

The video below is recorded with Fraps. I uploaded it a day or two back.

<iframe width='853' height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/W-NvLW8bhAQ?rel=0" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

I asked that because Afterburner is the only one that actually allows to capture the OSD and I think that for our purposes it's always better to have it for all to see. I recorded my last Metro LL clip with Bendicam, which although it's easy to use and has YouTube ready profiles (460/780/1080) it doesn't capture the OSD. Since I use EVGA PrecisionX for GPU OC linked to HWINFO64 for more accurate OSD temps, switching to Afterburner causes a little OSD conflict that I'd have to solve it by stopping the services and a couple of reboots, and honestly I didn't do it that for laziness

I guess that Afterburner is the only viable way to go, so I'll have to adapt. Thanks for your reply, brother Fox.

 

Fraps works with OSD from EVGA Precision X just fine. I have no problems with it. The Tomb Raider video mentioned is recorded with Fraps with the OSD info display coming from EVGA Precision X. I like MSI Afterburner just fine also. The main reason I switched to EVGA Precision is because it has twice as many profile storage spots and I like the UI a little better. Otherwise, they are about the same except for the benefit of video capture with Afterburner.

 

Yes, I like PrecisionX for the same reason, in fact. So, when you record with Fraps, in the OSD PrecisionX setting do you let HWINFO64 take care of the sensor monitoring as usual or for the occasion you temporarily switch to 'Show Own Statistics'?

 

Yes, I use that option in OSD and use HWiNFO64 to push the CPU statistics.

 

Yes, thought so, thanks Mr Fox.

 

Hello fellow Alienwarers,

I just wanted to inform you that the new Afterburner 3.0.0 Beta 11 just came out. Those interested in trying it will find the link in the graphic utilities download section of this thread HERE.


As well, I have fixed all the broken download links and updated them to their last versions, and added a new link to the Alienware 18 drivers.

 

The way it's meant to be played. Both games produce a solid 75-100 FPS experience with GTX 780M SLI... no real surprise.

Lossless RGB recording is still as smooth as silk with about a 50% reduction in FPS.

 

Hey, did you guys see this yet? Should be interesting. Might be worth checking out if it somehow supports everything in my Steam Library. It's a Linux variant, so I'm not sure about that.

Anyway, I am glad there might be an alternative to Windows 8... if it turns out to be good that would be pretty amazing.

Steam is coming to a new operating system | SteamOS

 

That's pretty sweet. It seems to be a simplified OS, just like that proprietary system installed in modern tv? "Living room machine" is pretty generic. Meaning you can install a dedicated PC with Steam OS and leave it plugged to your tv?

if it's actually going to be an alternative OS dedicated for gamers, it's going to make many people happy.

Edit: never mind, I found the answer. "SteamOS will be available soon as a free download for users and as a freely licensable operating system for manufacturers. Stay tuned in the coming days for more information."

 

Yeah, I'm going to have to key an eye on that for when it is released. I have a feeling it is only going to support the crappy Linux games selection on Steam, but I am crossing my fingers and hoping they figured out an reliable way to make all Steam Windows games work perfectly on their Linux variant. I'm not optimistic that is going to happen, but I would like nothing better to be surprised otherwise. Especially so if it has SLI support. For now, watch and wait.

 

I'd love to see steam hit a home run with this. I'd love a dedicated OS for gaming, especially if it meant some kind of optimization - the mind boggles at the possibilities. I also have my doubts that this OS will be able to effectively run/emulate or whatever is necessary direct X games. Hopefully at the very least it'll make devs take non-windows based gaming more seriously.