very low FPS

[ak1dd]

I have a new laptop. Windows 11 Pro Version 10.0.22621 Build 22621, 32GB, 13th Gen i9-13900H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, 4K+ display (3456x2160), 1.6TB free HD space. I have exactly 3 games on the machine and have only installed productivity apps and a couple utilities (IOW it is a pretty clean/new install)

I downloaded dhewm3 1.5.2, put it in a new directory. I then downloaded and installed both Doom3 and Doom3 BFG edition from GoG. I never ran them nor have they ever been installed before. I copied the Doom (not BFG) PK4s: 000-008 files from base into the dhewm base and the 2 PK4s to d3xp.

I then ran ran dhewm3.exe. The game starts and fluctuates around 14-25fps. I read forums and looked for old issues on github. I tried everything I could find. I toggled all options in settings/advanced one at a time after restarting each time.. The only one that makes a difference is to turn off shadows or if I run windowed. It then goes up to something around 50fps. I tried a variety of console variables suggested from various places but nothing seems to work. Remove FPS limits, simple shadows, different resolutions (down to the lowest 16:10 aspect ratio 1280x800), changed Windows compatibility settings, ran as admin, turned off Windows High DPI settings, updated nvidia drivers, turned off AutoHDR...

Frustrated I decided to try Doom3 BFG and it immediately runs at a solid 60FPS despite settings or resolutions. OG Doom3 is the same.

What else can I try? I'm probably missing something.

[ak1dd]

UPDATE: As I posted this, I recalled this Dell laptop - like many - has 2 video cards. In my case the Nvidia 4070 and Intel Iris Xe. Windows chooses which using some voodoo algorithm and so far all games run on the Nvidia card. Windows allows you to manually manage which to use per application via: Settings>System>Display>Graphics - then look for any apps that have been previously executed on the system. I found the listings for DOOM 3. The one that says Doom 3 for dhewm3.exe (BFG and OG Doom3 were there as they had been installed also) simply says "Let Windows Decide". So far on my machine Windows has chosen "High Performance" for other games - including Doom3BFG. Well I guess Windows decided to run on the Iris. I changed this and restarted Dhewm and suddenly everything runs above 150fps+

So this isn't a dhewm3 bug but I thought this might be good for an FAQ item.