Screenshot:

 

http://i.imgur.com/KAEW34B.jpg

 

Seriously?

6% GPU Usage?

17 FPS?

 

Settings were all set to low except character visiblity.

Not like it did any changes.

 

PC:

i5-3570

GTX 970

8GB RAM

OS & SWTOR runs on 840 EVO SSD 250GB

Fresh Win8 x64 install

Did you update your SSD firmware?

 

You realise some of the Samsung firmware has killed the EVO line of SSDs speed.

Check firmware version before doing any upgrade. If it's running fine then there isn't a need to update firmware.

I know far too many people that update no matter what then wonder why things don't work.

 

Try a different GPU driver. The latest isn't always the greatest.

 

What PSU do you run? Is it starving your rig on power?

 

Anti-virus running? Firewall? Spyware? Trojan? Virus? ****? Recording game play? Streaming? What are your background tasks running?

 

 

Hard to diagnose when you only provide basic build and system description.

 

What are your temps? NVM

Any overclock?

 

Did a ram stick fail?

 

What are you GPU settings (desktop)? They default or tweaked for best visual quality or performance?

 

When was the last fresh install of the OS? NVM

 

Did you install the legacy DX9.0c files?

 

What resolution? What Hz? Vsync on or off? AA on or disabled? Try rendering 1 frame in the future.

 

INSTALL WINDOWS 7 64bit. 8 sucks

 

My FX-60 rig with a 9800GTX+ runs better than that and it was built in 2006 on WD Raptors in raid0 and 4 gigs of ram. LoL

Edited March 14, 2015 by Liquor

Did you update your SSD firmware?

 

You realise some of the Samsung firmware has killed the EVO line of SSDs speed.

Check firmware version before doing any upgrade. If it's running fine then there isn't a need to update firmware.

I know far too many people that update no matter what then wonder why things don't work.

 

Try a different GPU driver. The latest isn't always the greatest.

 

What PSU do you run? Is it starving your rig on power?

 

Anti-virus running? Firewall? Spyware? Trojan? Virus? ****? Recording game play? Streaming? What are your background tasks running?

 

 

Hard to diagnose when you only provide basic build and system description.

 

What are your temps? NVM

Any overclock?

 

Did a ram stick fail?

 

What are you GPU settings (desktop)? They default or tweaked for best visual quality or performance?

 

When was the last fresh install of the OS? NVM

 

Did you install the legacy DX9.0c files?

 

What resolution? What Hz? Vsync on or off? AA on or disabled? Try rendering 1 frame in the future.

 

INSTALL WINDOWS 7 64bit. 8 sucks

 

My FX-60 rig with a 9800GTX+ runs better than that and it was built in 2006 on WD Raptors in raid0 and 4 gigs of ram. LoL

 

 

SWTOR runs like this since forever and im getting real tired of it. I thought it was my 560 being weak.

It ran like this on HDD or with my 560.

It ran like this on Win7 x64.

It ran like this on 2 different HDDs and now on this SSD.

I installed DX9 files.

600W PSU is probably more than enough for my rig.

I have latest SSD firmware.

I tried different GPU drivers, but you know with a 970 i can only go back to like '14 September.

Background tasks consists: Skype, Fraps, Daemon Tools and pretty much thats it.

Turning off windows firewall & defender changed nothing.

No extra antivirus, i use my brain.

Shadowplay is off and its off by default anyways.

RAM is in good condition.

Overlock? No.

There is no difference between Vysnc & AA on/off and i tried pre-rendered frames all from 1 to 4.

My monitor is 1080p and 60hz.

I also tried SWTOR Unleashed, didnt help.

 

And the most important:

Any other existing game runs perfectly fine without problems. This is SWTOR only related problem.

 

I max out AC:Unity with TXAA and i stay above 30fps perfectly, DLC area ran mostly at 60fps rather than 30fps.

GW2 ran fine with stable 60fps.

What other game should i list?

I play pretty much every other game at maximum settings without problems.

 

And i love Win8 more than Win7.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Hungarycell

This issue has been a SWTOR problem only since SoR launched.

 

Bioware will not even acknowledge the problem.

This issue has been a SWTOR problem only since SoR launched.

 

Bioware will not even acknowledge the problem.

 

Not really.

I had it before 3.0.

finally got my laptop in and tested SWTOR,

 

dual GT755m GPUs default Nvidia Control Panel settings, Max Settings ingame with AA off.

 

63 FPS on fleet, but during texture loads as I moved to different areas, it would drop to 36 FPS. once the textures loaded, it snapped back to 63 FPS.

 

I have yet to tweak the system yet. I have a long list of things this laptop is getting modified HERE

 

it performed as I expected when compared to my 2 ITX builds from a year ago. but there is room for improvement.

 

I did not experience the FPS drops due to the UI as others and yourself have mentioned.

 

 

your PSU is good as it have more than enough power for your 970. that was my main concern since most people forget about it when troubleshooting. usually its a Dell rig with an upgraded GPU and the PSU is lacking power. <-- example

 

SWTOR is poorly optimized and does have issues on some players systems. which is unfortunate. you have a very nice system and it should in theory run SWTOR fine at more than 60 FPS.

 

maybe try a different rail on the PSU (different power cable connected to your GPU) or different drivers. 334 or 332 driver version.

 

sorry I don't have anything else, you seem to have covered most everything we tend to look at when troubleshooting down poor performing games.

If this is a Swtor problem, why does my game run smooth on lesser hardware?

 

The reason is there are other factors.

 

network speed and quality

possible malware

configuration issues

hardware problems

 

Your hardware is far superior to my

 

i3 4330 3.5 ghz

AMD 7870 2GB

intel 335 series ssd

16GB cheap ram

 

But the difference is, Im hardwired on a very reliable network, Im a computer technican so I know I dont have malware or a misconfiguration and I know my hardware isnt malfunctioning.

 

Thats why my lesser stats can play the game better.

If this is a Swtor problem, why does my game run smooth on lesser hardware?

 

The reason is there are other factors.

 

network speed and quality

possible malware

configuration issues

hardware problems

 

Your hardware is far superior to my

 

i3 4330 3.5 ghz

AMD 7870 2GB

intel 335 series ssd

16GB cheap ram

 

But the difference is, Im hardwired on a very reliable network, Im a computer technican so I know I dont have malware or a misconfiguration and I know my hardware isnt malfunctioning.

 

Thats why my lesser stats can play the game better.

 

I don't have any performance problems with my rig either, however, I'm not willing to rule out the problem could be in the game client yet. You are not incorrect about the other variables you mentioned, but I've seen too many complaints and helped properly troubleshoot these problems too often to dismiss the potential for the problem to be on the game client.

 

I suspect there are a small number of hardware profiles where the manufacturers implemented features in ways that do not allow the client to make the best use of those hardware features. I think all of the things you mentioned need to be taken into consideration first, but I've gone through those steps with several people in the past and still not been able to resolve their problems with proper troubleshooting.

 

As confident as the OP here is in his ability to protect himself from malware, I think that is the first place to begin with his problem. He may be confident in his ability to protect his computer, but the troubleshooting process doesn't leave room for skipping this important step simply because the user has that much confidence in their ability.

What else are you running? SWTOR does not have full multicore support (its designed around the old dual core paradigm) so that much CPU usage seems "odd." Secondly, the game is CPU heavy to boot (as opposed to say a console game). Add up lack of multicore support with CPU heavy and you are running with the minimum of cache to have decent fps (I think that CPU has 6mb of cache). But I would be interested to see why you have so much CPU activity. Edited March 17, 2015 by Ghisallo

For a start, theres more than 10 people on the screen - the game engine can't do anything more than 5 in combat at any given time. Just ask anyone who tried to PvP when Ilum broke.

 

secondly, the game hasn't been optimised. Never has, never will.

To answer the OP/thread title - about six weeks after you unsub, give or take.

It wasn't always like that but never was good performance, and it's getting worse since 3.0. It's clear to all of us that for some people it's ok, no big performance issues but you can't deny after all the complaints that something isn't wrong.

 

Some people are too special, some people can't even see an aoe under the feet and say it's ok, so if you do not see the issue, instead saying "I'm not affected", go out, do something. You're not helping bragging your super computer and/or your super skills.

 

Unless you're a Bioware employee, you can't help or point anything useful.

What else are you running? SWTOR does not have full multicore support (its designed around the old dual core paradigm) so that much CPU usage seems "odd." Secondly, the game is CPU heavy to boot (as opposed to say a console game). Add up lack of multicore support with CPU heavy and you are running with the minimum of cache to have decent fps (I think that CPU has 6mb of cache). But I would be interested to see why you have so much CPU activity.

 

Skype, fraps occasionally Chrome.

Closing any of them doesnt change anything. Believe me i tried way to many things.

I tried giving only 2 cores for both processes or 2 different cores for each process.

 

I get better FPS in WZs than OPS and it bothers me because i rarely play WZs.

 

@Smuglebunny

 

I think i clearly mentioned that only SWTOR has this problem.

I doubt there is malware or hardware problem that will make me run SWTOR bad but not any other MMO or hardware heavy games like AC:Unity.

 

SWTOR can go down to 15FPS.

I cant even remember when i had this low FPS in any game before.

 

My old 560 was producing better FPS on unpatched AC:Unity that was a mess back then.

It's never getting fixed, if they knew how they have done it by now.

I suspect there are a small number of hardware profiles where the manufacturers implemented features in ways that do not allow the client to make the best use of those hardware features. I think all of the things you mentioned need to be taken into consideration first, but I've gone through those steps with several people in the past and still not been able to resolve their problems with proper troubleshooting.

 

This is why I'd love to see the exact build and configuration of their testing machines, since they don't seem to have the problem, and the players' experiences differ greatly in comparable environments and on hardware with supposedly equal performance values.

Edited March 17, 2015 by KyaniteD

This is why I'd love to see the exact build and configuration of their testing machines, since they don't seem to have the problem, and the players' experiences differ greatly in comparable environments and on hardware with supposedly equal performance values.

 

I believe so for 10 years or so : Devs don't always test with the best mix of machines ...

Edited March 17, 2015 by AlrikFassbauer

Stop whining about optimization. All MMOs are heavy on CPU usage, especially when there are lots of players, etc, on screen. In this case, you have 16 players, plus spell effects, plus enemies, etc, for the CPU to handle.

You get these same sorts of posts constantly on GW2 forms and, I assume WoW and other MMOs as well. In the case of GW2, they're always complaining about low fps in WvW (World vs world, PvP), large "events", and crowded towns, which are also times when there are a lot of players, etc, on screen.. (I'm a "technician" on the GW2guru forums.)

 

The answer, quite simply, is that there is no current CPU that can handle all these elements without some reduction in fps - even the latest Haswell-E. (Keep in mind that the CPU cores can't just run full blast all the time - the various elements/threads have to be as co-ordinated as possible.)

 

You could get a bit extra by overclocking the i5-3570, or by upgrading to a newer high-end Haswell, but you're never going to get great results in these cases.

 

And, btw, the GTX-970 is not a limiting factor in this case. A 970 is more than capable of handling the graphics in SWTOR even at 2560x1440 resolution. You'll probably find that the graphics settings make little difference (in these OPs).

Edited March 17, 2015 by JediQuaker

Stop whining about optimization. All MMOs are heavy on CPU usage, especially when there are lots of players, etc, on screen. In this case, you have 16 players, plus spell effects, plus enemies, etc, for the CPU to handle.

You get these same sorts of posts constantly on GW2 forms and, I assume WoW and other MMOs as well. In the case of GW2, they're always complaining about low fps in WvW (World vs world, PvP), large "events", and crowded towns, which are also times when there are a lot of players, etc, on screen.. (I'm a "technician" on the GW2guru forums.)

 

The answer, quite simply, is that there is no current CPU that can handle all these elements without some reduction in fps - even the latest Haswell-E. (Keep in mind that the CPU cores can't just run full blast all the time - the various elements/threads have to be as co-ordinated as possible.)

 

You could get a bit extra by overclocking the i5-3570, or by upgrading to a newer high-end Haswell, but you're never going to get great results in these cases.

 

And, btw, the GTX-970 is not a limiting factor in this case. A 970 is more than capable of handling the graphics in SWTOR even at 2560x1440 resolution. You'll probably find that the graphics settings make little difference (in these OPs).

 

I suggest, instead assuming it's all the same, go play another games. You might be surprised.

Stop whining about optimization. All MMOs are heavy on CPU usage, especially when there are lots of players, etc, on screen. In this case, you have 16 players, plus spell effects, plus enemies, etc, for the CPU to handle.

You get these same sorts of posts constantly on GW2 forms and, I assume WoW and other MMOs as well. In the case of GW2, they're always complaining about low fps in WvW (World vs world, PvP), large "events", and crowded towns, which are also times when there are a lot of players, etc, on screen.. (I'm a "technician" on the GW2guru forums.)

 

The answer, quite simply, is that there is no current CPU that can handle all these elements without some reduction in fps - even the latest Haswell-E. (Keep in mind that the CPU cores can't just run full blast all the time - the various elements/threads have to be as co-ordinated as possible.)

 

You could get a bit extra by overclocking the i5-3570, or by upgrading to a newer high-end Haswell, but you're never going to get great results in these cases.

 

And, btw, the GTX-970 is not a limiting factor in this case. A 970 is more than capable of handling the graphics in SWTOR even at 2560x1440 resolution. You'll probably find that the graphics settings make little difference (in these OPs).

 

Yeah man, sure.

Arma 2-3 runs better with better graphics and probably even more CPU heavy.

There are videos on youtube with weaker CPUs OC'd running it 1700 AI with total war out above 30fps.

AC: Unity with way heavier graphics and tons of AI also runs better and stays above 30fps.

 

Doubt its even comparable.

Lately tried GW2 and Blade&Soul, both runs stable 60fps, exploring, combat, whatever. They do, with better graphics and BnS with better/more fancy with effects combat.

Any other MMO does that i played.

 

SWTOR cant, even without anything going on combat or anything can go under 30 with shadows on high on Rishi.

With Shadows off/low it still cant maintain stable 60fps on Rishi.

IT IS badly optimized.

 

The fact that changing graphics settings from highest to lowest(with shadows low/off) makes MAYBE 5fps difference itself indicates that it is badly optimized.

 

I can put it to 800x600, stay at 1080p or change it 4k with DSR and there is 0 difference. Ok maybe 4k is 5-10FPS less IIRC. But still a joke.

 

 

The fact that devs dont even care makes it worse.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Hungarycell

I suggest, instead assuming it's all the same, go play another games. You might be surprised.

 

He should have said "of the era this engine is from"

 

This is an engine that was started in late 90's. It won trade show awards in 06 but was never finished or used in a game until this one launched. Just about every engine from that early-mid 2000s era that also wanted to be "shiny" with the graphics has this problem (thinking EQ2's proprietary engine, anything built on Gamebryo etc.). WoW is one of the exception from that era because it was designed to be run on a toaster.

 

Why do they have this problem? Because at the time you had Duo-core that was the greatest, and dedicated consumer graphics cards were still kinda toddlers so to speak. So they designed engines that put much of their work on the CPU and that were not designed for multi-core support because of the type of consumer processors available at the time.

 

So he is right for the most part. Most MMOs from say 2012 release and earlier are back boned on these dated engines and changing them to allow for multi-core support is often cost prohibitive. It can require almost as much work as making a new game. Its not as simple as inserting a line of code that says "use all cores."

 

The graphics look good, they are good enough imo that they mask the age of the engine but this game engine is OLD in computer terms.

Skype, fraps occasionally Chrome.

Closing any of them doesnt change anything. Believe me i tried way to many things.

I tried giving only 2 cores for both processes or 2 different cores for each process.

 

I get better FPS in WZs than OPS and it bothers me because i rarely play WZs.

 

@Smuglebunny

 

I think i clearly mentioned that only SWTOR has this problem.

I doubt there is malware or hardware problem that will make me run SWTOR bad but not any other MMO or hardware heavy games like AC:Unity.

 

SWTOR can go down to 15FPS.

I cant even remember when i had this low FPS in any game before.

 

My old 560 was producing better FPS on unpatched AC:Unity that was a mess back then.

 

I don't know the issue then. I get a lot better performance than you do and my rig, which I consider a budget rig

i5-4690K processor

8GB DDR3 memory

AMD Radeon R7 250X graphics

120 GB SSD and 1tb HDD.

Win 8.1

 

Now I made sure my case is upgradable to much better graphics card options etc and it has more fans than most in order to keep it all cool when I do so, but I am uncertain why I would be rarely be dropping below 59-60 fps and I run most settings high to mid range... Nothing off or low.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Ghisallo

He should have said "of the era this engine is from"

 

This is an engine that was started in late 90's. It won trade show awards in 06 but was never finished or used in a game until this one launched. Just about every engine from that early-mid 2000s era that also wanted to be "shiny" with the graphics has this problem (thinking EQ2's proprietary engine, anything built on Gamebryo etc.). WoW is one of the exception from that era because it was designed to be run on a toaster.

 

Why do they have this problem? Because at the time you had Duo-core that was the greatest, and dedicated consumer graphics cards were still kinda toddlers so to speak. So they designed engines that put much of their work on the CPU and that were not designed for multi-core support because of the type of consumer processors available at the time.

 

So he is right for the most part. Most MMOs from say 2012 release and earlier are back boned on these dated engines and changing them to allow for multi-core support is often cost prohibitive. It can require almost as much work as making a new game. Its not as simple as inserting a line of code that says "use all cores."

 

The graphics look good, they are good enough imo that they mask the age of the engine but this game engine is OLD in computer terms.

 

Actually, considering how many people with lesser stats get much better performance shows it is not an optimization issue. Yes, the engine is very quirky and does not do well at all with certain configurations and settings.

 

As an Nvidia user my number one recommendation is to disable any GeForce experience settings. They are horribly set for SWTOR and will degrade your performance. One example is the way it puts the game in full screen mode instead of full screen(windowed) and causes a substantial performance hit.

 

The game is far too picky about settings, but this is just the way it is and I doubt this will change. Your system is more than enough to get good performance and if you want to play you need you need to look at your local machine and not wait for some never-coming mythical engine upgrade.

Actually, considering how many people with lesser stats get much better performance shows it is not an optimization issue. Yes, the engine is very quirky and does not do well at all with certain configurations and settings.

 

As an Nvidia user my number one recommendation is to disable any GeForce experience settings. They are horribly set for SWTOR and will degrade your performance. One example is the way it puts the game in full screen mode instead of full screen(windowed) and causes a substantial performance hit.

 

The game is far too picky about settings, but this is just the way it is and I doubt this will change. Your system is more than enough to get good performance and if you want to play you need you need to look at your local machine and not wait for some never-coming mythical engine upgrade.

 

Who the hell even uses GeForce Experience?

 

Also, could you be more Bioware-like? I wonder.

CS gave me the same answer.

 

"Oh you run everything perfectly well, that isnt our game SWTOR? Well, guess what buddy, your PC has a problem, not our game! You should take a look at that PC because there is nothing to fix in this game!"

 

"oh those few hundred people on CS part of the forum complaining about this? Oh we ignore them, they also have a problem with their PC, SWTOR is fine"

 

Sums it up.

 

"considering how many people with lesser stats get much better performance shows it is not an optimization issue"

 

I guess considering how AC: Unity how well ran on SLI 980s above 100fps its not an optimization issue, you just need better hardware to run that game, because its demanding.

 

I mean clearly, if it runs good on good hardware, it cant have optimziation issues, right?

Or if it runs good on dated hardware, but not on new, its cant have optimization issues either, right?

 

I mean, getting 15fps on a PC that is waaay over the recommended settings just cant be an optimization problem, right? RIGHT?

 

 

 

Im sorry, could you explain your logic again?

Good PC that runs everything fine except SWTOR and the problem is the PC?

Explain please, how not SWTOR is the problem.

Now when you are done explaining your logic to me, then do it to the hundreds of people CS forum having this problem.

If it isn't your settings though how do you explain my experience? These games can be crazy sensitive to settings because they simply can't test to account for every hardware/software configuration.

 

Question how many other MMOs have you/do you play?

If it isn't your settings though how do you explain my experience? These games can be crazy sensitive to settings because they simply can't test to account for every hardware/software configuration.

 

Question how many other MMOs have you/do you play?

 

Lately played GW2 and Blade&Soul.

None of them went under 60fps.

Also played WoW, Silkroad, Lineage 2 and dunno, a bunch of.

 

None. Produced. FPS. Like. SWTOR.

 

 

Also, you basically say that because i had only 2 bugs/glitch since the time i play AC:Unity(thats 4 months so far) that means the game had barely any bugs?

I didnt have any bugs that ever got mentioned apart from the falling into the ground, that was also once only.

I guess Ubisoft then released patches without actual fixes, cuz the game was good, because it runs good for me.

 

I mean the other hundreds or thousands people must have bad settings, am i right?

 

Just like with SWTOR, those few hundreds of people complaining all have bad settings, even though they run everything else fine?

 

 

The majority of players have problems, that means the game is the problem, not their systems, just because it runs good for a few people.

 

 

Yes, game using 6% of my GPU only must be my settings.

Thats why every other game runs fine and actually uses my GPU.

Because my settings. Not because of SWTOR has problems.

Sure.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Hungarycell