Tips and Tricks for older PCs

Hello guys.

Before you run to the shop for new computer, I would like to share few simple tips how to improve game performance, and avoid some performance issues.

My Hardware:
AMD Phenom II x6 1090t @ 3800Mhz
AMD R9 Fury X (stock settings)
32gb DDR3 @ 1600 MHz
Windows 7 x64

My CPU is ages old (2010), while GPU offers above average results. Its important to note, that game (as by version 1.3.3) is one of the few titles actually able to fully utilize all 6 CPU cores. Game usually runs between 30-60 fps, which is not perfect, but definitely playable.

However i encountered few issues which are either related to software optimizations, or simply to fact that game would run better on CPU with higher computing power. (Keep in mind that newer does not automatically mean more performance). Therefore here are few tips which helped me to get better and more stable performance.

  1. Set either Borderless or Windowed game mode.
    This is one of the performance issues i mentioned earlier. In fullscreen, loading takes much more time. Loading of the game allows me to end the intro at stage where is mentioned frivolous life of King Wenceslas IV. In Borderless or windowed mode, game is loaded when 2nd sentence describing reign of Charles IV is mentioned .
  • I would like to point devs to thie problem, and attempt to reproduce it.
  1. Set resolution 2560 x 1440
    Even when graphic drivers usually offer GPU scaling, its quite obvious that best FPS is archieved at mentioned resolution.

  2. Set Physics to Medium or Low
    Those tasks are usually handled by CPU. In cases if those were handled by GPU (PhysX or CUDA) some people might experience FPS drops.

If you want to verify that you have been affected by this performance issue, just drop many objects near the hill and watch them fall. If FPS drops as well, try lower setting.

  1. Set Shadows to Medium or Low
    Shadows uses methods known as raytracing and these are operated by CPUs. At medium details its almost impossible to recognize that quality has been lowered. For my specific system, this was the most FPS killer.

If you want to verify that you are affected by this, simply use a torch, and see if FPS went down. If yes, try lower setting.

Hope this helps.

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