1. #1

    Triple buffering is not working correctly with fullscreen - cause of fps issues?

    Posted this on official tech support forum as well, but figured it would be good to raise awareness here since so many are having fps issues.

    Win 10, i7 4930k @ 4.2ghz, gtx 970, 16gb ram, 1080p @ 120hz
    Using latest Nvidia drivers
    Tested without any addons installed
    Tested with deleting my entire WTF folder and starting fresh

    Since the patch, triple buffering seems to be extremely buggy and not working correctly while in fullscreen mode. Normally when running with triple buffering and vsync enabled, it is supposed to give you your full range of fps up to your monitor's refresh rate. In my case that is 120 since I have a 120hz monitor. Normally when vsync is enabled, but triple buffering is disabled, your fps will be capped in steps of something like 30/60/120 - so if you're viewing a scene and you're only able to get 45 fps, you would be capped at 30 until you are able to reach 60 fps again. This can cause HUGE stuttering depending on what you're viewing as you could be jumping from 30 to 60 fps constantly (in my case it's usually 60 and 120) which is why triple buffering is recommended when using vsync.

    Before the patch, triple buffering worked perfectly and there were no issues - I got my full range of 1-120 fps, but now my fps will constantly snap to EXACTLY 60 fps when I'm actually getting something around 80-100 (checked by turning vsync/triple buffering off) as if I have triple buffering turned off. It'll be working fine one second and my fps will be fluctuating normally around 80-120 fps and then all of a sudden it will snap all the way down to exactly 60 and stay there as if it was being capped by triple buffering. It is extremely weird - as if triple buffering is randomly turning on and off.

    This only happens in fullscreen mode. Windowed fullscreen seems fine, but I'd really prefer to play in fullscreen mode like I was doing and still do with all my other games (due to unrelated stuff with my setup).

    I tested all the different graphic options - disabling each on by one etc, but could not find any link to this issue. I also tried forcing triple buffering on via Nvidia control panel just to ensure it was on, but that didn't do anything either - probably because it actually is enabled just fine ingame, just not working right since the patch.
    Last edited by Ickz; 2016-07-23 at 01:48 AM.

  2. #2
    Deleted
    There seems to be many FPS issues. I have vsync and triple buffering disabled and I'm still experiencing FPS drops. No addons.

  3. #3
    Deleted
    I noticed the exact same issue you mentioned after the patch. I also prefer to play with VSync + Triple Buffering both on and it was working fine before the patch (except for the fact that I had to alt + tab out and back in everytime I logged in to make Triple Buffering "kick in", which seems to be a problem not specific to WoW and iirc is related to DirectX games running in 64bit mode).

    Now it seems clear that triple buffering is not working because I either get 30 or 60fps and nothing in between (my monitor runs @60hz).

    I filed an in-game bug last night and really hope they fix it fast, the patch features are looking great !!

    May I suggest you also file an in-game bug in order to hopefully make them more aware of the issue? Cheers!

  4. #4
    Triple buffering hasn't been working correctly since the release of WoD and it doesn't activate properly when you first log in if you have it enabled. In order to have triple buffering actually work you need to do an alt-tab in and out after you login and it will work correctly, this needs to happen every time you relog.

  5. #5
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Isheria View Post
    Triple buffering hasn't been working correctly since the release of WoD and it doesn't activate properly when you first log in if you have it enabled. In order to have triple buffering actually work you need to do an alt-tab in and out after you login and it will work correctly, this needs to happen every time you relog.
    Mate, did you read my post above?

  6. #6
    Actually i didn't, only read the first post but now i see that you mentioned the bandaid fix already so my post is kind of redundant.

  7. #7
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Isheria View Post
    Actually i didn't, only read the first post but now i see that you mentioned the bandaid fix already so my post is kind of redundant.
    No biggie, just wanted to make clear that I already tried that after the patch and it's not working anymore

  8. #8
    Deleted
    I have huge stutters after patch :/ before everything was fine... it's unplayable :|

  9. #9
    Deleted
    Still not fixed after last night hotfixes

  10. #10
    Yeah, I noticed the alt-tab thing in WoD too. Probably should've mentioned that. My post on the tech support forums got no replies, so I'm not sure if this only affects a small amount of users because of a certain hardware/driver issue or something, or if many people just don't use vsync/triple buffering. Very frustrating because WoW used to be one of those games that I never had any issues with whatsoever and it always "just worked".

  11. #11
    Deleted
    I feel ya mate, still hoping they fix this issue but not much info or people reporting about the same. The game worked fine before the patch and I really rather play with vsync+tb on. Think I'll try tweeting @WarcraftDevs to see if we can get any luck.

  12. #12
    I also have this problem.

    I found running fullscreen (windowed) helps, but it still is not doing what triple buffering should be. It caps my FPS at 45FPS all the dang time, but if I disable vsync my FPS goes up to 58 or so. Triple buffering is suppose to prevent that.
    Last edited by tyrindor; 2016-07-24 at 01:24 PM.

  13. #13
    Deleted
    Yeah, from what I found out if you run in fullscreen windowed you get vsync+tb from Windows itself since you basically rendering WoW and your desktop at the same time (which also means it's not as performant as running in normal fullscreen). But from your report it seems not even that is working correctly something's fishy going on...

    - - - Updated - - -

    Tweeted Blizzard CS, let's hope they fwd it to the tech team. If you guys could do the same could increase our chances to get an answer! Thanks!

  14. #14
    Deleted
    Does anyone have any news regarding this matter?

    Thanks in advance!

  15. #15
    Deleted
    Anyone seeing any improvements after last night's patch ?

  16. #16
    Deleted
    Read about some people reporting that switching from DX11 to DX9 and then back to DX11 helped with their FPS problems. Tried the same but didn't help regarding this triple buffering problem In fact tried resetting everything just in case (removing WTF, Interface and Cache folders) but also didn't work (like already was reported).

    One weird thing I noticed is that, since the pre-exp patch, when you do a full reset like I mentioned above, the "Graphics API" setting comes with "Custom" by default (I don't have a clue of what that means since the only options are "DX9" and "DX11"). Before the pre-exp patch, when you did a full reset it would default to "DX11" which is what I use. I don't know if this has anything to do with the triple buffering problem...

    Anyway, I tried to tweet @WarcraftDevs as well to see if I can grab the attention of a dev so they can look into this issue (if they aren't already).

    Fingers crossed

  17. #17
    Deleted
    Just read something over on the official forums regarding some people getting Error 132 when logging in the game after Windows Anniversary Update. There's a sticky with the solution here: http://us.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/20748004624

    My computer hasn't updated to the Anniversay update yet but I remember briefly getting a Game DVR "Windows + G" pop-up notification when starting the game right after a Cache/Interface/WTF wipe when the cinematic starts. I also remember reading through the Anniversary update notes that Game DVR has been updated to support more games INCLUDING World of Warcraft...

    I always thought Game DVR didn't do anything unless you pressed the "rec" button and start recording... but I wonder if it's "active" in some sort of way when you play WoW even if you're not recording anything. And if that's the case, I wonder if that's what causing the Triple Buffering problems...

    Anyway, will try to turn it off like the blue post says and see if it makes any difference. Fingers crossed

    - - - Updated - - -

    Nope, no luck

    Disabled Game DVR and Triple Buffering still not working

    C'mon Blizz, the 30th is almost here!

  18. #18
    Deleted
    Ok, so I did a clean install of Windows 10 Anniversary Update, newest NVidia drivers and WoW. Everything stayed the same regarding the issue reported in this thread

    One thing I noticed though: there are some places where vsync+tb seems to work fine for me like before, for instance the new Dalaran-over-Karazhan or even Stormwind. In those places I can indeed see FPS values like 50, 52, 48fps for example. But in the large majority of places like Draenor zones or garrison for instance it's still either 30fps or 60fps and nothing else (indicating that triple buffering isn't working properly).

    Can this be tied to some new tech that Blizz is only using in the new zones or zones with the new phasing system?

    I really can't get what changed after 7.0.3 but something did because the engine seems to be ignoring triple buffering most of the time :S

  19. #19
    Deleted
    Just wanted to post an update on this and say that I decided to switch to windowed (fullscreen) mode for the moment which doesn't have the vsync+triple buffering issue like the OP mentioned.

    Thanks a lot @Ickz for the advice and pointing me in the right direction!

    Windowed (fullscreen) even has some advantages like the faster alt-tabbing and the fact that it no longer forces you to alt-tab out and back in again on first login like you had to do in exclusive fullscreen to make the triple buffering "kick-in". It does have an impact on performance though but how big or small that depends on your system.

    I'm currently playing with in-game vsync and triple buffering both off and a max foreground and background fps of 60 (since I have a 60hz screen) and it works great!

    Please note that, even though you should not have any screen tearing at all since in windowed mode since the DWM (Desktop Window Manager) takes over and enforces vsync, if you play on Windows 10 Anniversary Update and you're still getting screen tearing you need to turn off Game DVR! I made a PSA about this here: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-windowed-mode

    If you want to learn more about playing in windowed mode and the DWM these threads have lots of good info:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/co..._forced_vsync/
    https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/c.../forced_vsync/
    http://superuser.com/questions/55800.../684102#684102

    I decided to post this so it could help people that like to play in exclusive fullscreen and might be having the same problem with vsync + triple buffering reported in this thread in order to let them know you have an alternative in windowed (fullscreen) mode (and with the above links you can make an educated decision).

    Enjoy and have fun in Legion!
    Last edited by mmoc5d438eda33; 2016-08-30 at 04:20 PM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •