OFFICIAL: BF4 Mantle Cat 14.1 Performance and Feedback Thread

Excellent. I'll update and try it out later and do another round of testing.
 
ah ah i wouldn t wanna be a bf4 reviewer right now.
*throws pc with old bf4 bench data out the window*
 
I got the patch, I re-enabled "Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000" in the device manager, load up the BF4 Test Range, and the game still crashes when accessing options.

#facepalm

They have what must be an obvious bug in the device/API enumeration code, and it's still there weeks in. WEEKS!
 
Ok, much less hitching on my 7850 with the new patch, but overall performance is still worse. Still have to play at half the resolution I play with D3D for it to even be playable.
 
My post-Feb13-patch results havent improved any. If anything, it's worse. The hiccups/stutters started immediately. Freshly rebooted. No change in settings other than to Mantle API. Full Siege of Shanghai server, just after the building went down.
i5-2500K @ 4.3Ghz
8Gig 1866MHz DDR3
Radeon HD7950 @1100MHz/1250MHz

Frame Time: min/max/avg = 10.78/708.29/21.02 --> FPS = 1.41/92.76/47.57 min/max/avg
mantle%20frame%20time%20Feb13%20patch.png


CPU Time: min/max/avg = 5/689.62/20.95 --> FPS = 1.45/200/47.74 min/max/avg
mantle%20cpu%20time%20Feb13%20patch.png


GPU Time: min/max/avg = 10.59/46.38/19.62 --> FPS = 21.56/94.43/50.97 min/max/avg
mantle%20gpu%20time%20Feb13%20patch.png


VRAM Usage: Max'd out 3G card (DX11 only uses about 2200MB)
mantle%20vram%20feb13%20patch.png
 
[L]imey;1040623240 said:
I don't play BF4 much, how can I check that it's updated? I just loaded up origin and right clicked on bf4 and did "check for update" but it says its already up to date. I doubt that unless the patch was really small or something today.

394.08mb.
 
Well i started a quick test just to satisfy a curiosity, and this is the result. What you see below is the VRAM usage graph from a GPU-Z log file... using Mantle... on all LOW settings. I jumped into the test range, set the video settings to the LOW preset, exited, then jumped on a full Siege of Shanghai server and recorded. **EDITED - bad test setup. Retested**

Mantle - Low Preset - VRAM Usage - Corrected Settings
mantle%20low%20preset%20cat%2014%20reinstall%20feb13.png
 
Last edited:
did you try other then low to see how much more or less it was, sometimes not using high enough settings will cause it to run like crap period.

I just want the new drivers to be able to use Mantle AND have good mining performance, AMD is being like EA/DICE fix one thing break 5 others LOL
 
did you try other then low to see how much more or less it was, sometimes not using high enough settings will cause it to run like crap period.

I just want the new drivers to be able to use Mantle AND have good mining performance, AMD is being like EA/DICE fix one thing break 5 others LOL

I'm going to run a test on each of the image quality presets and see what i come up with. Maybe i'll be able to isolate the performance killer to one particular setting.
 
The damn sun is to bright and there are core fundamental problems with the game in the first place, fog seems part of this as did in BC-BC2-BF3 FROSTBITE is that problem, but hey its just my opinion.
 
Haven't read thru all the posts but these drivers break Minecraft had to go back to 13.12 on sons new machine.
 
Well, the BF4 patch fixed the occasional hitches that happened on any settings for me, but trying to raise my texture quality still seems to make it stutter. I'm pretty sure they still have some problems, but a step in the right direction for me.
 
BF4 after the 2/13/2014 patch crashes:

On start up.
After matches.
In the middle of the match.
At server selection screen.
In other words; for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Also the game freezes for a couple seconds mid match in any format or map. It used to do this only on the TDM maps. And the Mantle smoothness is gone. It feels like DX11 BF4.
 
well after bf4 patch game is running like crap for me and I am not using mantle, was lagging like crazy last night over numerous servers, yet the night before I played ~6 hours and all was fine.

Don't like the pos game design anyways, just another reason not to bother buying EA or DICE products anymore, sad, they had a great thing going with BF2 oh so many years ago, they could have upped the graphics and tweaked the crap out of that but nope.
 
haha man people forget easily. BF2 was plagued with bugs for MONTHS and had I think TWO patches actually recalled. What kept it alive is that the underlying game was good and it didn't have crashing issues. So you could at least mostly shrug off the bugs and just play a bunch.
 
I get nothing but crashing with 14.1b drivers and BF4. If I use Mantle and set Resolution scaling to anything higher than 100% the game loses FPS by the boatloads. Nothing concrete but this veteran's eyes don't lie: it looks like 20-30 fps for no reason.

My PC:
i7 3770k stock
Sapphire Tri-X 290x Ubermode
16GB RAM
1TB Samsung 840 SSD

If I leave resolution scaling @ 100% it works fine in the test range. Playing online ends in freezing; have to log out to close program.
 
Last edited:
I get nothing but crashing with 14.1b drivers and BF4. If I use Mantle and set Resolution scaling to anything higher than 100% the game loses FPS by the boatloads. Nothing concrete but this veterans eyes don't lie: it looks like 20-30 fps for no reason.

My PC:
i7 3770k stock
Sapphire Tri-X 290x Ubermode
16GB RAM
1TB Samsung 840 SSD

If I leave resolution scaling @ 100% it works fine in the test range. Playing online ends in freezing; have to log out to close program.
Sounds like you might be running out of VRAM using more than 100% scaling. It seems like Mantle uses more VRAM than DirectX. DICE said that they patched a memory leak with Mantle but maybe there is still a problem.
 
yep not at all forgetting that HOWEVER the overall game mechanics, the look, the simplicity of it, the map scale, fov etc etc was bar none night and day better then these new ones the prioritize fancy crap that is not needed over a solid experience. BF2 was by far more balanced in that certain things had their limitations, certain things were more capable and so forth, the thing that BF4 lacks is an original experience and instead relies on you have 50 million choices which amount to little in the experience.

Many of the things that they brought in i.e destruction, bullet drop, unique and immense weapon set, to much to unlock before you have a chance of doing anything, damage mechanics, network smoothing/hit comp etc all make it worse, not better IMHO, they got and are far to focused on a theatrical experience then one grounded with at least some semblance of fact. Yes sunlight is bright and staying in it for 20 mins then going back into a dark room will screw you up, yes you can see sun flare type effects but overall the way it is portrayed no one, especially the artists should be happy with it, EA should in regards to the massive sales figures, and the sound guys should, but the rest well then.

again IMHO and many many many are voicing similar concerns including shareholders whom EA and DICE owe more responsibility to then any single user.
 
BF4 after the 2/13/2014 patch crashes:

On start up.
After matches.
In the middle of the match.
At server selection screen.
In other words; for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Also the game freezes for a couple seconds mid match in any format or map. It used to do this only on the TDM maps. And the Mantle smoothness is gone. It feels like DX11 BF4.

I can get into the test range while running Mantle but if I attempt to enter a multiplayer map it crashes before I get to the deployment screen. When I switch back to DX11 it all works fine again.

I play on low settings but with ultra mesh and 2xMSAA at 3840x800.

Also, the tank bug is still there. I don't crash when I get in the tank gunner position on Siege of Shanghai but there is no crosshair nor gunfire audio (but bullets are being fired - I can see that I'm breaking glass when I shoot) ... other maps are fine.
 
yep not at all forgetting that HOWEVER the overall game mechanics, the look, the simplicity of it, the map scale, fov etc etc was bar none night and day better then these new ones the prioritize fancy crap that is not needed over a solid experience. BF2 was by far more balanced in that certain things had their limitations, certain things were more capable and so forth, the thing that BF4 lacks is an original experience and instead relies on you have 50 million choices which amount to little in the experience.

Many of the things that they brought in i.e destruction, bullet drop, unique and immense weapon set, to much to unlock before you have a chance of doing anything, damage mechanics, network smoothing/hit comp etc all make it worse, not better IMHO, they got and are far to focused on a theatrical experience then one grounded with at least some semblance of fact. Yes sunlight is bright and staying in it for 20 mins then going back into a dark room will screw you up, yes you can see sun flare type effects but overall the way it is portrayed no one, especially the artists should be happy with it, EA should in regards to the massive sales figures, and the sound guys should, but the rest well then.

again IMHO and many many many are voicing similar concerns including shareholders whom EA and DICE owe more responsibility to then any single user.

They went completely nuts with unlocks and ranks. How many times does a warrior have to unlock a red dot? And some of the ranks are meaningless, 1 bar with two stripes, 1 bar with 1 stripe and 5 stars, wtf.......it's adding shit for the sake of adding shit. It's as if they had to make the scoreboard light up like a COD pinball machine just to encroach on the COD market. I hate the association of the term "achievement" with pc gaming, are you there to play the fn obj with your teammates, or to stroke your own ego?

Bring on the WW2 or Vietnam era, without smart weapons, just smart teammates. Omaha Beach, Battle of the Bulge, Battle of Britain, El Alamein, Okinawa, Midway, submarines, carriers, destroyers, oh my....

edit: one other point, Battlepacks are a cool concept but in the end run they are just lame. Opened a gold one this morning, it contained 3 x 25% and 2 x 50% xp boosts. Opened a silver, it contained a battlelog portrait (wow), ugly flat paint, a 25% xp boost, and a crap dog tag. Whoopty Fkn DOO Ea.
 
Last edited:
considering the crap their fan base has had to deal with over the years and ESPECIALLY with BF4, that DLC should be for everyone, free, to say "thank you for your continued support, and we felt it was the least we can do" better yet, make it run like an oiled machine BEFORE doing ANY DLC.

To each their own, I would much rather play a more simplistic looking game that ran perfectly well with shit that adds up then these "modern" ones that belong at a circus more then anything else.

For all that BF2 was not, at least there was variables and choices that were different, say a Hind or Apache, if in a Hind and you shoot troops they were screwed, Apache not so much, Apache was far more agile and it showed, BF4 is cookie cutter look at all those fancy guns with the same unlocks with virtually the same specs, LOL GO DICE.
 
yep not at all forgetting that HOWEVER the overall game mechanics, the look, the simplicity of it, the map scale, fov etc etc was bar none night and day better then these new ones the prioritize fancy crap that is not needed over a solid experience. BF2 was by far more balanced in that certain things had their limitations, certain things were more capable and so forth, the thing that BF4 lacks is an original experience and instead relies on you have 50 million choices which amount to little in the experience.

Many of the things that they brought in i.e destruction, bullet drop, unique and immense weapon set, to much to unlock before you have a chance of doing anything, damage mechanics, network smoothing/hit comp etc all make it worse, not better IMHO, they got and are far to focused on a theatrical experience then one grounded with at least some semblance of fact. Yes sunlight is bright and staying in it for 20 mins then going back into a dark room will screw you up, yes you can see sun flare type effects but overall the way it is portrayed no one, especially the artists should be happy with it, EA should in regards to the massive sales figures, and the sound guys should, but the rest well then.

again IMHO and many many many are voicing similar concerns including shareholders whom EA and DICE owe more responsibility to then any single user.

Bullet drop was introduced in BF2, don't ask me how I know. :D

http://battletracker.com/playerstats/bf2/48282556/
 
Sorry i havent updated in a while. I kinda got tired of testing. And then half way through, there was an Origin client update and the mantle stuttering i was seeing seemed to be eliminated. So i'll do a couple more tests with the different presets to check the frame times. In the mean time, here is my compiled VRAM usage chart of the various options. Same setup as before: fresh reboot between tests, full 64man Siege of Shanghai server, etc etc.

What to know about the graph:
1) The baseline or 'default' setting was with the 'High' preset, which is noted in the graph as just 'High Preset'
2) As a comparison, i also included the log for 'D3D Ultra' preset.
3) The individual plot lines are from setting ONLY the designated option to Ultra. All other options at 'High Preset' settings.
4) My FOV setting is 80, and the Scaling is at 125%. I don't remember if that was the default, but that's what i used throughout my testing to remain consistent.
Individual%20Option%20Comparison.png


You can see that D3D Ultra uses less VRAM than Mantle using High settings.
For me, the only options that affected VRAM were the obvious options: AA and Texture Quality. All the other options had negligible VRAM impact.
If you have less than a 3Gig card, all of these settings will be too much for your card i'd think.
I think its interesting how jittery the VRAM graph is for D3D, but how flat and consistent the Mantle usage is between the stair stepping of loading additional small amounts.
One issue i saw, and i think this is a known issue, is after the skyscraper goes down, all the 'dust' in the air causes everything to be more clouded than in D3D, making sniping nearly impossible cause you just cant see anything at distance.
I ran Mantle with all options at Ultra EXCEPT texture quality and used less VRAM than all High settings with Texture Quality alone at Ultra.
 
Last edited:
Using the rig in my sig I haven't even tried mantel w/ 14.1 yet. I'd heard to much for me to want to jump in and start troubleshooting. However I am interested in trying mantle with eyefinity but I think the driver needs to mature. Any one heard any rumors when 14.2 or later is supposed to be release?
 
Very nice work, buyers. Hopefully you have forwarded this info to AMD!

I stopped my own testing awhile back because A. I felt like I had enough data for my own conclusions and B. the 14.1 driver was not giving me a good windows experience (gui corruption, sound/video stuttering with internet video, etc). So I went back to 13.12 whql.

As far as when will 14.2 hit? I would imagine not for another month or so. BF4 just dropped a map pack and Thief is out next week I think. So AMD will probably need some time with retail code on both of those, before dropping a new driver.

*though I'm unsure if Thief will actually ship with mantle support or if it will come much later in a patch?
 
I tried installing 14.1 for the second time on my system, which includes 290s in crossfire.
These drivers are horrific. B4 would crash and freeze after a few seconds, and programs like heaven benchmark would show that I am getting less performance than a single card - about 15 percent less.

I installed the drivers the correct way. Also, for the second time, removing these drivers was like trying to remove a virus from my computer. I uninstalled, restarted, then restarted in safe mode to use DDU, installed 13.12, and still had horrible performance issues. I had to do this entire uninstall process 3 times before my system went back to normal. It is highly disappointing that amd would release a driver like this.
 
If the drivers are so bad how come reviewers and many people all over the net got them working? :)
Most complains I see are from people who never bothered to research the proper way to install the beta driver nor read the release notes. Example: A common problem is people with Intel CPUs that have integrated graphics and did not disable it per the release notes instructions prior to installing the driver.
 
Even my buddy basket had major issues performance wise as well as installing and uninstalling and he tries every new driver that comes out, he scrubs system properly each time and Mantle patch still gave major grief.

I will be damned if I have to pay more for BF4 just to get a proper performing driver for the game, the game mechanics and so forth are just crap, balance overall if just utter garbage, and something as fundamental as netcode(hit detection, network smoothing, hit compensation whatever the hell you want to call it) is complete nonsense. Love AMD really do, but not going to waste my time trying to get something to work that they apparently have had testing phase for well over a year.

And DICE/EA well crap BF series started since 2002 and they ALWAYS have the same fundamental issues, like paying full price for a leaky boat they just cannot seem to get it together, the sound, the graphics are there, but overall gameplay and the way it is all put together leaves much to be desired.

They really need to do a BF2 HD version and add some of the weapon customization into it, screw the vehicle unlocks though, vehicles should be what they are beyond maybe camo or thermal/infra red sighting which is awesome. If there was less stuff all rolled into the one package am quite sure would be far easier to properly balance/tune things and possibly to have much better performance. Simplicity works wonders if they bother to try.
 
If the drivers are so bad how come reviewers and many people all over the net got them working? :)
Most complains I see are from people who never bothered to research the proper way to install the beta driver nor read the release notes. Example: A common problem is people with Intel CPUs that have integrated graphics and did not disable it per the release notes instructions prior to installing the driver.

Work fine for me, after I figured out I needed to disable the integrated graphics on Haswell.... Actually the drivers work better for me than nVidia atm lol.
 
I've had my fair share of 14.1 issues and had to go back to 13.12. Getting rid of those drivers was a real task. Some of us are having issues with these drivers.
 
If the drivers are so bad how come reviewers and many people all over the net got them working? :)
Most complains I see are from people who never bothered to research the proper way to install the beta driver nor read the release notes. Example: A common problem is people with Intel CPUs that have integrated graphics and did not disable it per the release notes instructions prior to installing the driver.

If you stop being biased, you would see that issues with these amd drivers are overwhelming. I have taken and tried every piece of advice I came across and nothing helped. The simple fact that these drivers are like a disease that doesn't want to come out of your system is enough of a problem.

Sure, it does work for some people, but it also does not work for a lot of others. Aso, it has been almost one month since their release, and none of the review sites I visit had a full review of mantle. If you look, it says "mantle preview" as if more is coming just days ahead...but as I said, it has been months. I wouldn't be surprised if AMD is looking for review sites to keep their mouthy shut on this massive disaster. Mantle or not, the drivers are garbage. At least for me, and obviously others too. These drivers should never have been released.
 
Back
Top