Low FPS

[Mehtab_Kaler]

I added some grass to my terrain and then its fps dropped to just 7 fps !
Is it some hardware or software issue?

[Nina]

Hi Mehtab,

That could be a hardware or a software issue. If you use a laptop, plug in the power cord.

[Mehtab_Kaler]

I use a PC. I even set graphic preference to high performance in graphic settings but the fps remained low. I am using a NVIDIA GeForce 210 graphics card. Shall I buy a better graphics card?

[Michael_Marinis_GR]

If you still lowered the quality settings from the Preferences and that FPS remains, then you need an upgrade. What are the rest of your specs?

[Nina]

I agree with @Michael_Marinis_GR. Before you do anything, lower the quality settings of Unity. Also disable “auto-generate” in Window > Rendering > Lighting Settings. If you change the lighting, just can click on the “Generate Lighting” button manually.

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The following is relevant only if the issue persists after having done what Michael and I suggested:

I briefly checked the specs of your GPU, and it might be that the low framerate stems from your hardware. Before you buy a new GPU also check the rest of your hardware because a better GPU might not solve the problem.

Generally, I would recommend to use a GPU with at least 4 GB dedicated RAM, and have at least 8 GB RAM available for the rest. Your harddrive should have enough free space because Unity and other programs create temporary files during runtime. A decent CPU is also advisable but most CPUs nowadays are fast enough anyway, so that’s the least problem in my personal opinion. It is not necessary to buy the latest and most expensive hardware. My computer is more than 4.5 years old and is still doing its job perfectly fine. I mainly work with Photoshop, Illustrator, Blender, Unity and write C#, HLSL/Cg and JS scripts, and I do not play any games that need the latest hardware.

If you invest money, invest in your future, not in solving your current problems because you probably don’t want to buy a new computer every couple of months.

Please feel free to ask our helpful community of students for further advice in our official Discord chat.

[Mehtab_Kaler]

It worked!!! FPS jumped to 25 fps… But will this effect the quality when I finally build and run my game?
How can I create an option in my game UI to increase or decrease my graphic quality?

[Nina]

@Mehtab_Kaler

But will this effect the quality when I finally build and run my game?

The game window in Unity is just a preview, and it is fairly laggy. To figure out if the game actually works, you need to create a build and test the build.

@Mehtab_Kaler

How can I create an option in my game UI to increase or decrease my graphic quality?

See here:
https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/QualitySettings.SetQualityLevel.html

[Michael_Marinis_GR]

@Nina

If you invest money, invest in your future, not in solving your current problems because you probably don’t want to buy a new computer every couple of months.

@Mehtab_Kaler Nina said it perfectly here. If you are serious about this, then you’ll need to upgrade and don’t rush it, your computer is your tool. You are investing in your future. Know your long-term needs, search the market for the hardware you want and go for it.

Used hardware will also come in handy, but you need to be patient and have some experience with buying from other people and you might score something big. I personally bought all of my current system (high-end except from RAM which is brand new) second-hand and all the items were barely used for various reasons, for a fraction of their original price. Patience is a virtue when it comes to upgrading…good luck!

[Mehtab_Kaler]

Thank you @Michael_Marinis_GR and @Nina for your intelligent advice. Adolescents like me try to impress their friends by buying the latest tech available. But now I won’t rush it. I don’t need that upgrade right now.