Hello! My computer has 8gb of RAM, and my vid card is a GTX 970. So far so good for the witcherings. My processor, however, is an Intel Core i5-3450 (3.1 GHz, 3.5 in Turbo). I realize that this is on the low side, and in fact it may be below the minimum.

The game, however, runs pretty darn well, save for stuttering in combat. It stutters the same exact amount no matter what I do with the settings, oddly enough. For a while I was running on High, but with the frame rate capped at 30. Then I tried that, minus HairWorks. Then I tried Low settings. None of this improved my performance - though I have to admit, I was impressed with how good Low actually looks, with only the texture quality actually driving me nuts.

So my question is this - is there any wizardry I can perform to eke out a slightly better performance, or should I just be grateful for what I have? I don't know if the processor is running in Turbo or not. I investigated that, but I have a custom computer and (I admit with shame) I can't figure out how to get into the darn BIOS to check and/or activate it.

I get that this might be a dead end, but the game has been out for a bit and I don't know if that means the more awesome among the community have discovered any .ini tweaks or made mods or whatever that allow for better performance. Thanks for any help out there!!

Default key for BIOS access is 'F2' or Del in some cases, if not, try the rest of the function keys, Enter or Esc.
Also what motherboard you have?

Here's the lowdown on the motherboard:

EVGA Z77FTW, 151-IB-E699-KR, LGA 1155
o Intel Z778ATA, 6g/s USB 3.0

Thankee!

Good news, now all you need to do is figure out how to get into the BIOS and I can help you from there. Do trial and error, restart the computer, try to smash through the function keys if nothing works.

It was totally F2, you nailed it in your first suggestion! What are your recommendations from there?

Are you even sure the bottleneck is the CPU? Download the free hwmonitor and let it run in the background, it will remember the max achieved values for cpu utilisation (and temperatures, voltages, fan rpms, gpu usage...).

No idea how the BIOS looks like on an EVGA board, but you should see a tab saying something like System Overview, what is the CPU frequency showing there?

CPU frequency is showing as 3100 MHz, so I assume it isn't Turbo'd?

I'm going to have to paste the HWMoniter report over a couple of posts. Apologies.

CPUID HWMonitor Report
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Binaries
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

HWMonitor version 1.2.7.0

Monitoring
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mainboard Model 151-IB-E699 (0x00000269 - 0x0AAB5410)

LPCIO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LPCIO Vendor Fintek
LPCIO Model F71889A
LPCIO Vendor ID 0x1934
LPCIO Chip ID 0x1005
Config Mode I/O address 0x4E
Config Mode LDN 0x4
Config Mode registers
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00 FF FF 00 FF FF FF FF 04 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
10 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
20 10 05 31 19 34 00 00 90 30 00 F0 30 10 08 00 00
30 01 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
40 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
50 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
60 02 95 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
70 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
Register space LPC, base address = 0x0290


Hardware Monitors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hardware monitor Fintek F71889A
Voltage 0 3.33 Volts [0xD0] (+3.3V)
Voltage 1 0.78 Volts [0x42] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage 2 1.49 Volts [0x7E] (DRAM)
Voltage 3 4.96 Volts [0x76] (VCC)
Voltage 4 1.05 Volts [0x68] (PCH)
Voltage 5 1.04 Volts [0x68] (VCCIO)
Voltage 6 12.18 Volts [0xA5] (+12V)
Voltage 7 3.34 Volts [0xD0] (VSB3V)
Voltage 8 3.36 Volts [0xD2] (VBAT)
Temperature 0 89°C (192°F) [0x59] (CPU)
Temperature 1 43°C (109°F) [0x2B] (VREG)
Temperature 2 25°C (77°F) [0x19] (System)
Fan 1 2471 RPM [0x25F] (JPWR)
Fan PWM 0 100 pc [0xFE] (CPU)
Fan PWM 1 25 pc [0x3F] (System Fan 1)
Fan PWM 2 100 pc [0xFF] (System Fan 2)
Register space LPC, base address = 0x0290

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00 FF C3 00 01 01 FF FF 00 00 00 02 00 6F 4C 00 30
10 00 00 00 00 00 00 06 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
20 D0 42 7E 77 68 68 A5 D0 D2 FF FF FF FF FE 3F FF
30 7A D7 FF FF FF FF C9 C8 75 85 FF FF FF FF FF 00
40 44 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
50 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 03 04 10 19 34 FF
60 00 22 02 00 FF FF 02 00 00 00 FF 0E 40 24 FF 00
70 FF FF 59 FF 2B FF 19 FF 59 00 59 59 59 00 00 00
80 FF FF 64 55 64 55 55 46 FF FF FF FF FF FF A8 FF
90 00 05 01 00 24 FF 3D FF 44 02 00 15 15 05 99 1A
A0 0F FF 00 FE 03 41 3C 32 28 1E FE D7 B1 98 7E 0D
B0 02 61 00 3F 01 1F 3C 32 28 1E FF D9 B2 99 80 0E
C0 03 E7 00 FF 03 D7 3C 32 28 1E FF D9 B2 99 80 0F
D0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF 00 00 01 00
F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 31 FF 03 F3 FF 00 FF 00 FF FF

Hardware monitor Nuvoton NCT7802
Voltage 4 2.38 Volts [0x252] (CPU VAXG)
Fan 0 1057 RPM [0x4FD] (JSYS2)
Fan 1 1000 RPM [0x546] (JSYS1)
Register space SMBus, base address = 0x0F000
SMBus request channel 0x0, address 0x2D

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00 00 00 00 00 1A C0 00 00 00 D5 BD 00 43 5E 94 80
10 27 2A FF F8 00 64 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
20 00 01 7F 00 07 03 03 03 00 04 EE 80 F4 32 40 00
30 55 00 55 00 55 00 55 00 55 00 64 64 64 64 64 FF
40 00 FF 00 FF 00 FF 00 CC CC FF FF FF F8 F8 F8 7F
50 3F 07 8F BF 3F 00 3F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00
60 FF FF 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 8C 8C 8C 02 0A 0A
70 7F 84 84 84 53 53 53 30 FF 00 80 00 00 FF FF FF
80 19 23 2D 37 3C 8C AA C8 E6 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
90 19 23 2D 37 3C 8C AA C8 E6 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
A0 19 23 2D 37 3C 8C AA C8 E6 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FF 00 0B
C0 00 3D 3D 3D 00 00 00 39 33 33 FF 00 00 00 40 00
D0 00 AA 0A 0A 0A 0A 02 F2 81 1E 00 18 07 41 7F 70
E0 E4 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 F0
F0 00 30 00 FF 00 05 FF FF 00 08 03 02 FF 50 C3 21

Hardware monitor Nuvoton NCT7802
Voltage 3 3.77 Volts [0x275] (PLL)
Voltage 4 1.90 Volts [0x1DB] (CPU VSA)
Fan 1 669 RPM [0x7E1] (JSYS)
Register space SMBus, base address = 0x0F000
SMBus request channel 0x0, address 0x28

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00 00 00 00 00 22 E0 00 00 00 D6 5D 00 3D 9D 76 C0
10 FF 3F FF F8 00 53 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
20 00 01 7F 00 07 03 03 03 00 04 EE 80 F4 32 40 00
30 55 00 55 00 55 00 55 00 55 00 64 64 64 64 64 FF
40 00 FF 00 FF 00 FF 00 CC CC FF FF FF F8 F8 F8 7F
50 3F 07 8F BF 3F 00 3F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00
60 FF FF 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 8C 8C 8C 02 0A 0A
70 7F 84 84 84 53 53 53 30 FF 00 80 00 00 FF FF FF
80 19 23 2D 37 3C 8C AA C8 E6 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
90 19 23 2D 37 3C 8C AA C8 E6 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
A0 19 23 2D 37 3C 8C AA C8 E6 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FF 00 0B
C0 00 3D 3D 3D 00 00 00 39 33 33 FF 00 00 00 40 00
D0 00 AA 0A 0A 0A 0A 02 F2 81 1E 00 18 07 41 7F 70
E0 E4 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 F0
F0 00 30 00 FF 00 05 FF FF 00 08 02 04 FF 50 C3 21

Hardware monitor CHIL CHL8326
Voltage 0 12.16 Volts [0xD985] (12V ATX CPU)
Voltage 1 1.54 Volts [0x600] (CPU VCORE)

Hardware monitor ACPI
Temperature 0 28°C (82°F) [0xBC2] (TZ00)
Temperature 1 30°C (85°F) [0xBD6] (TZ01)

Hardware monitor NVIDIA NVAPI
Voltage 0 0.86 Volts [0x35E] (VIN0)
Temperature 0 43°C (109°F) [0x2B] (TMPIN0)
Fan 0 1378 RPM [0x562] (FANIN0)
Fan PWM 0 32 pc [0x20] (FANPWMIN0)

Processors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 4

APICs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 0
-- Core 0
-- Thread 0 0
-- Core 1
-- Thread 0 2
-- Core 2
-- Thread 0 4
-- Core 3
-- Thread 0 6

Timers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACPI timer 3.580 MHz
HPET timer 14.318 MHz
Perf timer 3.021 MHz
Sys timer 1.000 KHz


Processors Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 4 (max 8)
Number of threads 4 (max 16)
Name Intel Core i5 3450
Codename Ivy Bridge
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3450 CPU @ 3.10GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 1155 LGA (0x1)
CPUID 6.A.9
Extended CPUID 6.3A
Core Stepping E1/L1
Technology 22 nm
TDP Limit 77.0 Watts
Tjmax 105.0 °C
Core Speed 1596.2 MHz
Multiplier x Bus Speed 16.0 x 99.8 MHz
Stock frequency 3100 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EM64T, VT-x, AES, AVX
L1 Data cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 4 x 256 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L3 cache 6 MBytes, 12-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes


Turbo Mode supported, enabled
Max non-turbo ratio 31x
Max turbo ratio 35x
Max efficiency ratio 16x
Min Power 60 Watts
O/C bins +4
Ratio 1 core 35x
Ratio 2 cores 35x
Ratio 3 cores 34x
Ratio 4 cores 33x
TSC 3093.2 MHz
APERF 3407.2 MHz
MPERF 3015.8 MHz




It doesn't want to post the CPU thread dumps. Let me know if there's something I need to look through them for and report on.

I'm noticing one bit of that says that Turbo mode is both supported, and enabled. And yet the BIOS seems to suggest it's at the default speed? I'm probably just out of my depth.

You don't need any of this really, basic things:

- there should be an option saying Advanced Settings or Overclocking or anything processor-related. Judging by the 'gamer' motherboard name, it will be Overclocking. Try to look for something with ' CPU multiplier' or something along the lines in it, it should be either on 31 or 35 (or auto, set it to manual then)
- don't bother with voltages for now, just try to set it to 35
- boot and report back :)

EDIT: found the motherboard, is your BIOS looking like this?

If it is, go Overclocking> CPU Multiplier Control, set it to manual, set it to 35. Make sure individual cores are set to 35 as well just in case they wouldn't automatically change.

I'm a LITTLE wary of overclocking it. If I'm reading the report right, the CPU got up to 192 degrees Fahrenheit during my test! I don't have anything terribly fancy for cooling, and space in my tower isn't extravagant since I installed the 970.

Is my concern warranted?

You wouldn't overclock it, technically you get the cores to run at 'turbo speed' by default (which are within factory specifications anyway). If you have a stock Intel cooler, disregard everything I just told you as the reason your turbo hasn't kicked in is temperature-related (no turbo boost if there is no thermal headroom). Automatic turbo boost would only get your speeds up to 3.3 anyway (it runs 3.5 on one of the cores only).

Well worth to invest in an aftermarket cooler if the readings are high, although 192 degrees F is well within the factory specifications. It can throttle overall performance if the temps are too high though.

EDIT: clarity

Since his CPU fan is running at ~2500rpm he surely only has the stock fan! Definitely wouldn't recommend overclocking with it. 89°C is way too much already and wil cause throttling. I really assume your problem is the temperature.

Too bad I can't decypher those hex values in your dump. A screnshot of hwmonitor after playing for at least 30 mins would be very helpful.

My CPU ran natively from 3.3GHz to 3.6GHz in turbo mode. Raised the Voltage by 0.1V to be stable at 4GHz (quite a lot but had to be stable in Prime95 28.5). Even in the harshest test I didn't get over ~70°C. While playing the Witcher today my warmest core was at 57°C, All that with Noctua NH-D15S. CPU utilisation didn't exceed 37%.

the simplest way to see if you're getting turbo boost is to open task manager. right click on the task bar and click task manager. you can "alt + tab" while W3 is running and see what freq the cpu is running.

but i doubt your issue has to do with cpu speed. this game should do well 2.8Ghz 4 core intel broadwell cpu.

you mentioned you have gtx 970 but didn't mention which brand and model. I've heard of some factory overclocked 970's have issues not being stable. and some fix them by downclocking.

Where do I find the frequency? Looking around the task manager, both under the Performance tab, and also clicking through to the Resource Monitor, I see that TW3 has used between 58 and 76% of my CPUs resources, and that the rest of my computer is adding very little to that. But I can't see what number that is a percentage -of-.

Here is the card that I have: type for neweggDOTcom, then paste on this: /Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500362 (I can't use links). The ZOTAC ZT-90101-10P is the model, in case that doesn't work.

I want to reiterate that I really appreciate all the feedback so far.

Task Manager only shows you current cpu frequency which changes VERY quickly. Forget abou seeing it after using alt+tab since it depends on the cou utilisation. Hwmonitor I recommended and you used shows you and RECORDS max and min values for frequency of each cpu core (as you can see also on the screenshot I uploaded earlier).