Retroarch slowing down every few seconds after GPU upgrade

RetroArch Windows devices
#1

I just upgraded my GPU from a HD5870 1GB to a GTX 1060 3GB and my RAM from 6GB to 8GB DDR3.

Just launched Retroarch after this and I’m having a strange issue. It happens in some games, in others it doesn’t. It’s happening in MAME, FBA and Mednafen PSX, as far as I perceived.

The games launch fine, but after some seconds of gameplay, the framerate drops from 60 to 30 FPS and gameplay becomes sssslllloooowww. This instantly goes away if I go to the XMB and then back to the game, but after a few seconds, the slowdown kicks in again.

What could be doing this? It all ran just fine before with the old card and the same settings.

#2

It seems to be related to V-Sync.

V-Sync off, the problem is gone, but I get lots of tearing.

V-Sync off in Retroarch, on in NVidia CP, the problem reappears.

V-Sync off in Retroarch, set to adaptive in NVidia CP, problem gone, some tearing (better than no V-Sync at all though).

#3

Try invoking V-sync through the Nvidia control panel instead of through Retroarch. This was mandatory for me with N64 emulation because I was getting major frame drops unless I disabled V-sync. I then turned V-sync on in the control panel and everything has been fine since. I have a GTX 950.

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#4

Try making a preset for RA in Nvidia panel with Power Management on “Prefer max perf”.

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#5

Hey thanks! The power management thing did the trick, problem solved. Even Retroarch’s own V-Sync is working again, no stuttering.

Now I’m thinking… Wouldn’t I benefit if I just turn this option to “prefer max performance” in every single game I have? I’m betting I would see less framerate drops overall, wouldn’t I?

#6

That’s possible, it will eat a bit more power though.
In retroarch that’s about +40W~50W consumption on a GTX 770 and SNES emus I tested.
That allows more aggressive timings (Hard sync 0 and higher “frame delay” values) to reduce input lag, and heavy shaders to run fine.

#7

I had the same problem. Here is my take on the power management settings.

  • Optimal Power - absolutely trash. maybe ok on a laptop where you really want to extend battery. This should NOT be the default on Nvidia drivers, no idea what they were thinking.
  • Adaptive - A good default choice, works well with most games.
  • Max Perf - Some games/emulators don’t run well with Adaptive so I manually toggle Max Perf for those.
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#8

+40-50W is considerable, but the 1060 has a TDP of only 120W and my consumption on Retroarch with max performance practically locks at 25% TDP. Doesn’t look too bad. It could definitely be an issue with more demanding games though.

Thank you for the heads-up. Changed my global setting to adaptive just in case.