CASE #GM-10464
Analysis complete
- Game
- Half-Life: Alyx
- GPU
- RTX 3070
- CPU
- Core i7-11700K
- RAM
- 16GB
- Resolution
- 2× 2160 × 2160
- Target
- 90 FPS
- Current
- 68 FPS
- Performance gap
- -24%
Texture and buffer demand exceeds available video memory, which forces streaming over the PCIe bus and produces hitching and blurry textures.
Composite score derived from your reported figures and reference performance profiles.
CALCULATED ESTIMATEBased on 1% low vs average frame rate.
Utilisation vs delivered frames.
Remaining CPU capacity at current settings.
Sustained temperature vs throttle point.
Consistency of frame delivery.
Click-to-photon estimate from your settings.
Graphics preset match for your hardware.
Bottleneck detective
CALCULATED ESTIMATETexture and buffer demand exceeds available video memory, which forces streaming over the PCIe bus and produces hitching and blurry textures.
FPS check
USER-PROVIDED DATAFrame time
DEMO DATA5 frame time spike(s) detected above 25.6ms — these are the stutters you feel even when average FPS looks healthy.
Thermal check
USER-PROVIDED DATALatency lab
CALCULATED ESTIMATEWhat should you change?
ENABLE FRAME GENERATION
IMPACT: HIGHWHY: Your GPU is rendering close to its limit while the CPU has spare capacity, which is the condition where frame generation adds the most smoothness for the least visual cost.
REDUCE SHADOW QUALITY
IMPACT: MEDIUMWHY: Shadow resolution and cascade count are among the most expensive settings in this engine and the visual difference at your resolution is small in motion.
SET UPSCALING TO QUALITY
IMPACT: MEDIUMWHY: Rendering internally below your output resolution removes the largest part of the GPU load while keeping edge detail intact at 1440p and above.
KEEP TEXTURE QUALITY
IMPACT: LOWWHY: Textures cost video memory, not compute. With your VRAM budget there is no frame-rate benefit to lowering them, so keep the image quality.
- 01Cap frame rate 3 FPS below your refresh rate to stabilise frame time.
- 02Drop shadows and volumetrics one step and re-measure before touching anything else.
- 03Enable the vendor upscaler at Quality instead of lowering output resolution.
- 04Verify the display is running at its full refresh rate and VRR is active.
- 05Re-run the investigation after each change so you know which one actually helped.
ESTIMATED RESULT: 80–91 FPS after the fix list. Estimate only — real results depend on scene, drivers and your exact configuration.
No FPS improvement is guaranteed · Confidence limited without a measured before/after capture
Do you actually need an upgrade?
CALCULATED ESTIMATE| Component | Potential benefit | Cost | Performance impact | Value | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU Upgrade | Small — GPU is not the limit | Hardware cost not verified | LOW | Poor | NOT NECESSARY |
| CPU Upgrade | Minimal at this resolution | Hardware cost not verified | LOW | Poor | NOT NECESSARY |
| RAM Upgrade | Moderate — reduces streaming hitches | Hardware cost not verified | MEDIUM | Fair | WAIT |
Hardware prices are not verified in this build — DATA NOT AVAILABLE. If the verdict says NOT NECESSARY, keep your money and apply the fix list instead.