FEAR Combat Drama

System configuration:

T7100 1.8 Ghz
2GB RAM
8600M GT GDDR2 512
163.44 Beta "Bioshock" Drivers
Vista x64
(Other irrelevant stuff)

So, I recently installed FEAR Combat and have played it a handful of times. Note that I have no prior experience with this game, as my old computer was too underpowered to play, and that I installed the game after upgrading to 163.44.

My settings are pretty conservative. I stepped down into med/high territory after experiencing the problem I am about to describe from the settings used by other 8600M GT GDDR2 users.

Everything is medium except certain texture options at max, resolution at 12x8, filtering set to 2x AF (trilinear has the same issue).

Basically, when I start playing my FPS will be a solid 70-100. Only in intense firefights do I dip into the 60 FPS, and only barely. In other words, its equisitely playable. However, after playing for several minutes, the FPS drops to 25. The FPS will hover around 25, with occasional dips to 20 during firefights. One thing that is extremely interesting is that the FPS will also drop to this same range in the menu, which usually operates at 400 odd FPS.

I was planning on posting benchmarking stats from FRAPS, but for some reason the default benchmarking setting is to do nothing, so I have nothing for you guys ATM in terms of SS or benchies, unless you want to see a screenshot of me looking at a dead body with 100+ FPS.

From what I can tell, the FPS starts to dip when I enter the options menu. However, I haven't really confirmed this with testing. What I am planning to do is this:

Monitor GPU and CPU clocks to make sure there isn't throttling.

I have done:

Tested with laptop cooler to make sure it isn't overheating.

Basically, my questions are twofold:

Has anyone experienced this same problem, and what solution did you use (if any)?

What else should I try in order to troubleshoot?

Thanks for help in advance.

 

Are you using a logitech G5/G7/G9 mouse or the G15 keyboard? Because those cause issues with FEAR

 

I am using a logitech mouse, actually. However, I don't have setpoint or drivers installed- would it still screw with my compatibility? Also, my mouse is not one of the G series.

It can't hurt to try- i'll get back to you all tomorrow after more testing. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

So thats why fear has been running so slow. The G7 is worth it tho

 

My G7 would not work with FEAR at all, frustrating...I prefer my G5 anyways, =)

 

Lame. Unplugging my Logitech mouse had no affect on the sudden ramerate drops- frankly, they are making the game unplayable.

I did notice that they are not tied to accessing the menu, as I once thought- now it seems like seemingly random spikes of framerate drops can set them off, and the framerate will not recover from a fall.

Anybody have any other ideas?

 

Well it does not hurt to try this even if you don't have a G series....I had the exact same problem as you and this fuxed it.

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=3&c=12&t=13307

 

I have no experience with 8600 and FEAR but I know xfire makes FEAR Combat unplayable even on lowest settings. The solution is to disable FEAR in xfire, so it will not be accessible within the game.

From my long experience in gaming/overclocking/undervolting on notebooks - this looks like overheating to me. If other games run well - then forget about this.

Could be the issue with Logitech though.

Cheers,

Ivan