DCS WORLD 2.9 Poor Performance Multiplayer ARC B580

[Luka-]

GPU: Intel Arc B580
Driver version: 32.0.101.8626
OS: Windows 11 Home Build 26200
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500
RAM: 32GB DDR4
Game: DCS World Steam Edition 2.9 (latest)

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I am experiencing severe GPU performance degradation in DCS World multiplayer, consistent with the memory leak issue reported by other B580 users. I have captured CapFrameX data across multiple sessions to document the issue.

Note: the fxo and metashaders2 shader cache folders were deleted and DCS was fully restarted before each change in graphics settings, to rule out shader cache corruption as a factor.

Issue description:

When joining a multiplayer server, GPU performance drops significantly compared to singleplayer. More critically, the degraded performance persists into singleplayer if DCS is not fully restarted after leaving the server. A full restart of DCS resolves the issue temporarily until the next multiplayer session.

The multiplayer server used for testing was [4YA] TRAINING 24/7 CAUCASUS PVE SENAKI US, with approximately 20 players at 75 ping. Singleplayer testing was done using the Su-25T Frogfoot free flight instant action on the Caucasus map.

CapFrameX session results:

SP 1 - Low (CapFrameX-DCS_exe-Single_Player_1_-_Low.json)
Clean baseline. Fresh DCS launch, low settings.
179 avg FPS | 1% low 140 | 4 stutters | GPU 111W | RAM 6.6GB

MP 1 - Low (CapFrameX-DCS_exe-Multiplayer_1_-_Low.json)
Multiplayer session, low settings.
46 avg FPS | 1% low 31 | 7 stutters | GPU 66W | RAM 14.0GB

SP 2 - Low (CapFrameX-DCS_exe-Single_Player_2_-_Low.json)
Played immediately after MP 1, no DCS restart, low settings.
39 avg FPS | 1% low 31 | 24 stutters | GPU 65W | RAM 9.8GB

SP 3 - High (CapFrameX-DCS_exe-Single_Player_3_-_High.json)
Clean baseline. Fresh DCS launch, high settings.
70 avg FPS | 1% low 56 | 0 stutters | GPU 119W | RAM 7.7GB

MP 2 - High (CapFrameX-DCS_exe-Multiplayer_2_-_High.json)
Multiplayer session, high settings.
14 avg FPS | 1% low 11 | 7 stutters | GPU 66W | RAM 15.1GB

SP 4 - High (CapFrameX-DCS_exe-Single_Player_4_-_High.json)
Played immediately after MP 2, no DCS restart, high settings.
11 avg FPS | 1% low 7 | 0 stutters | GPU 62W | RAM 10.3GB

Key observations:

1. Clean singleplayer performance is normal. With a fresh DCS launch the B580 delivers 179 avg FPS on low settings and 70 avg FPS on high settings, with GPU power draw at 111-119W.

2. Multiplayer sessions trigger a GPU power cap. In both MP sessions the GPU was pegged at 99%+ load but drawing only 66W, roughly half the wattage seen in clean sessions. This directly caused the FPS drop to 46 FPS (low) and 14 FPS (high).

3. The degraded state persists into singleplayer without a restart. SP 2 and SP 4, played immediately after their respective MP sessions without restarting DCS, showed the same ~65W power cap and similar low FPS as the MP sessions that preceded them.

4. RAM usage supports a memory leak. Clean SP sessions used 6.6-7.7GB. MP sessions pushed usage to 14.0-15.1GB. Contaminated SP sessions settled at 9.8-10.3GB, suggesting memory was partially but not fully retained after leaving the server.

5. CPU is not a factor. CPU total load remained between 18-39% across all sessions.

6. Fully restarting DCS resolves the issue temporarily, confirming the corrupted state is cleared on relaunch.

The SSU and all CapFrameX in zip format are attached.

[Manas_Intel]

Hello @Luka-,

Thank you for posting your query on the Intel Community Forum!

To help us better understand the issue and investigate further, could you please provide a few additional details:

1. Since when have you been experiencing this issue?
2. Was the game working fine previously on the same system?
3. Have there been any recent software updates or hardware changes (for example, Windows updates, driver updates, or component changes)?
4. Are the games downloaded from official websites or third-party link?

Can you also please verify the game files?

Thank you for your time and cooperation. We look forward to your update.

Warm regards,

Manas Sharma

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Luka-]

Hi Manas, 

1. I've only installed DCS within the last month or so, and the moment I've booted it in to multiplayer, I was experiencing the issue. 
2. No, like previously mentioned, the moment I had installed the game, I had the issue. 

3. No there have not been any changes to my computer, hardware or software wise. 
4. I had tried the Steam edition of DCS world, where I first experienced it, then I had switched to the official download from Eagle Dynamics website. Both of which I had no luck with.

I hope this helps!

Thank you for your time,

Luka

[Manas_Intel]

Hi @Luka-,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share all of these details with me - I really appreciate it. The information you provided is very helpful, especially knowing the issue has been present since the initial installation across both the Steam and standalone versions of DCS World.

At this point, may I kindly recommend performing a clean graphics driver installation using DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller), and then updating your graphics driver to Intel® Graphics Driver 32.0.101.8737 afterward? You can download the latest driver from the following link:

Intel® Graphics Driver 32.0.101.8737 - https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/785597/intel-arc-graphics-windows.html

Once the clean installation and driver update are complete, please try launching DCS World multiplayer again and let me know how things go.

Thank you again for your patience and cooperation, Luka!

Warm regards,

Manas Sharma

Intel Customer Support Technician