Frame Rate Throttled for NVIDIA, not for ATI

[Xyy]

I've been doing some system upgrades over the past few weeks and have run into this issue. No matter which NVIDIA card I try, my frame rate is capped at 46 FPS. It never goes above that. However, swapping in a lower end ATI card, with maxed graphic settings, I'm sustaining 230 FPS. Sync with refresh rate is Off.

My current setup is an Ivy Bridge i3 CPU, 8GB RAM, and a GTX 660Ti. This rig has plenty of power to give high frame rates. From lowest to highest settings, it sustains 46 FPS. I have tried a GTX 550Ti with similar results although sometimes FPS would drop. A GT440 on lowest settings would max at 46 FPS as well. On the other hand, an ATI 7770HD sustains 230 FPS with this rig.

The picture quality I have with the ATI card is not very good on my monitor. Text in particular is not well rendered. It also cannot run at 1920x1080 for very long if at all (Bad card, old monitor, something else). On the other hand, the smoothness of the extra 15 FPS (monitor limits to 60) that I see is a huge improvement.

Does anyone have any ideas why this is or how to fix it?

[Xyy]

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/14/2012, 10:57:31
Machine name:
Operating System: Windows 8 Release Preview 64-bit (6.2, Build 8400) (8400.winmain_win8rc.120518-1423)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System Model: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
BIOS: BIOS Date: 06/15/12 14:32:36 Ver: 04.06.05
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3225 CPU @ 3.30GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.3GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8086MB RAM
Page File: 2398MB used, 13879MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.02.8400.0000 64bit Unicode
------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)
---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 660 Ti
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Type: Full Device
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1183&SUBSYS_100010DE&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4042 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1994 MB
Shared Memory: 2047 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (59Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: LVM-37w1
Monitor Id: WDE3701
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (59.934Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,n vwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver File Version: 9.18.0013.0697 (English)
Driver Version: 9.18.13.697
DDI Version: 11
Feature Levels: 11.0,10.1,10.0,9.3,9.2,9.1
Driver Model: WDDM 1.2
Graphics Preemption: DMA
Compute Preemption: DMA
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/2/2012 15:21:00, 18252136 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-52C3-11CF-D771-0D301CC2C435}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x1183
SubSys ID: 0x100010DE
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Driver Strong Name: oem2.inf:0f066de34a948e92:Section066:9.18.13.697ci\ven_10de&dev_1183
Rank Of Driver: 00E02001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeVC1_C ModeWMV9_C
DXVA2 Modes: DXVA2_ModeMPEG2_IDCT DXVA2_ModeMPEG2_VLD DXVA2_ModeVC1_VLD DXVA2_ModeVC1_IDCT DXVA2_ModeWMV9_IDCT DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_NoFGT
D3D9 Overlay: Supported
DXVA-HD: Supported
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

[Xyy]

BTW, bump with some more info:

VGA=45fps , 1080p=45fps
DirectX9=45fps , DirectX11=45fps

[Fejj]

This may or may not apply to your card.

But Nvidea has a "Vsync" setting which will artifically cap your framerates. Setting this to Adaptive or turning it off may help with your problem.

I don't pretend to be an expert, I just hit google and this setting came up.

[scoobmx]

must be a win8 problem. i have always used Nvidia and I can see in-game that my FPS is uncapped. in low-population areas i get over 100 FPS. i'm on win7

[twigzz]

must be a win8 problem.

That'd be my guess too.

[fco-karatekid]

must be a win8 problem. i have always used Nvidia and I can see in-game that my FPS is uncapped. in low-population areas i get over 100 FPS. i'm on win7

This for me running dx9 + wine + linux - I've seen spikes to 180's, but usually 120's or so - avg in the 80's-90's recently. Check your advanced settings in the nvidia control panel and make sure you've disabled sync to framerate.