BF3 terrible stutter with new ODE level 4 PC

Battlefield 3 stutters horribly when I play. When I try to turn around a corner, the game framerate bounces up and down.

I haven't made it past the second level in campaign. The game is honestly unplayable.

The crazy thing? I'm playing it on a new ODE level 4 with extra CPU upgrade! This game should be running well.

CPU: Intel 3960X - 6 cores
GPU: 3x SLI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB
RAM: 16 GB @ 1600 MHz

I've followed every suggestion I could find from the Internet. None of them made a difference.

-Disabled Hyperthreading in BIOS
-Set BF3.exe CPU affinity to just core 0 (game crashes)
-Lowered mouse sensitivity
-Disabled Raw Input
-Set RenderDevice.ForceRenderAheadLimit=1
-Set renderdevice.triplebufferingenable=0

I've even tried downgrading video resolution from 1920x1200 (Auto) to 720p (Low) - and the game still stutters!

Any suggestions what to do? Thanks!

It's an issue with the game that can only really be fixed with a patch to the game it's self. There have been known issues like this since launch and there is no word on when they plan on getting them fixed, if ever. It's not your system that's the issue.

Not everyone has issues and there are some "fixes" people have posted but those should always be considered "follow at your own risk". You should not need to disable SLI as the game does support it and it is actually required for your resolution.

The first thing I do before messing with any system settings (as in disabling SLI or Hyper-threading) is lower some of the more resource hungry graphics settings. Turn down things like AA, AF, Shadows, Reflections, Physx (for the games that have it), etc. Don't lower your resolution or detail level but try reducing some of those other things first.

You have more then enough resources then the game could possible use but it may not be using your resources efficiently like it should. That should be a general rule of thumb for any game giving you a problem, reduce those resource hungry settings as you first step in trouble shooting.

Thanks for the tips!

jmaster299: FWIW, I tried setting all visual quality settings to the lowest settings possible and even then, 3x SLI had a significant stutter.

bpratt22: Yep, I had checked Task Manager. Virtually nothing is running on this new PC. Antivirus/malware detection is disabled. The only process taking CPU cycles greater than 1% is BF3.

I wonder if something's wrong with my new PC? Maybe the SLI bridge is bad? I should try other games and see if SLI boosts perf or has similar issues. Any recommendations for good SLI test games?

You could also try some of the Beta drivers for your cards. BF3 has it's own issues that need to be fixed but the GPU manufactures still look for their own solutions. Stability issues like this, especially if it involves SLI, is something you can often see addressed in Beta drivers.

I play BF3 on high setting (not ultra) with a couple of gtx275s in sli.  Everything runs smoothly for the first few hours.  I don't think you should be having that problem with all the hardware you have. 

Hi PixelStix,

If you have the ODE-4 then you should have the 3930K CPU. Do you really have the 3960X? This has nothing to do with your problem.

Did you just receive the system? If you just got it try re-seating your GPU cards and check the SLI Bridge. It doesn't sound like you are getting SLI performance. Call DS, they will help you.

Frank

Thanks everyone. I've contacted Digital Storm to continue the investigation.

I also bought Crysis 2, which has the exact same problem. Without SLI, I get a solid 35 fps in gameplay. With 3-way SLI enabled, fps gets choppy and can drop as low as 9!

It's really starting to look like a hardware problem with the SLI bridge.

Also tried the beta NVIDIA drivers, which appear to break SLI for X79 chipsets. Found that out after installing.

Frank: Yes, I have the 3960X. The 3930K was out of stock when I ordered, so DS offered me a discounted upgrade to accelerate the PC's arrival.

FR3SHM3AT: Thanks for the advice! This is a new PC and SLI never worked from the beginning, so I'm hesitant to reformat.