PC game v1.107.0 (158475), Windows 10 22H2 v19045.6691
Platform has been super solid up until this morning. BMTR Flat 100 on Neon Flats and I saw a series of video anomalies and the game kicked me out. Was able to log back in and rejoin the ride, but then had the same issue around the same room point on the course, with video anomalies and the game kicked me out. I heard other riders in the event also complaining about getting kicked out on this course.
Have not had the time to log back in again and check another course, have there have been issues on Neon Flats in the past. Anything changed recently? Could have resulted in this?
Never had a problem on Windows 10 for years but ultimately the older it gets, the more problems you are going to start to get and one day it will be simply unusable.
I finally switched to some much newer hardware a few months ago with Windows 11 Pro.
That’s not my experience unfortunately, problems start to creep in and nobody wants to support the older platform. Doesn’t matter if its Windows 10 problems or Zwift induced problems with newer version, the end result is the same. I even had a an old wireless mouse stop working recently, hung the whole Windows 11 laptop. Apparently Windows stopped supporting the driver for it, only found out after hours of time wasting. That mouse met it end with a hammer.
The benefit is newer hardware not just the OS. At some point you need to pull the pin on old junk and the cycle times are getting shorter. I ran the likes of a Pentium 4 on Windows 10 way beyond what anyone would have done, in the end the game software I was running moved to Win 10 64bit only and it was instantly junk. Sure you can run older stuff, but it simply starts to give more and more problems. I no longer want to waste time keeping old stuff running.
We’re discussing a PC whose hardware is unknown until Rosco informs us. It might be OK or not. Let’s focus on those details when they’re available and see if we can be helpful.
I’m aware that everyone has a potatoe, and the platform can’t predict or support all iterations. No issues on any other course before this morning, and Neon Flats has been an issue in the past. Several other riders in groups on that course this morning had the same video anomalies before the game crashing. So not just me.
Mine is bog standard up to date Windows 10 Home 64 bit that only runs Zwift and a browser. Intel Core i5-6400, 16GB RAM NVIDEA GeForce GTX 745 4GB RAM Samsung 850 EVO M.2 500GB SSD
Assuming Zwift is using the Nvidia GPU and not integrated graphics from your Intel CPU, then my first guess is it’s this problem, you were screwed by a Microsoft update, and removing one or more updates is the workaround:
If you upload logs to trainerdx.com that would reveal which GPU is being used but if the cable is plugged into your GTX 745 then there’s nothing else we need to know.
Your system is supported by Zwift and should be stable if everything else is working OK. Upgrading to a GPU like an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti should also get you out of range of that problem.
BTW I would not call that a potato. The bar is low.
I just moved from the over 10 year old GTX750Ti a couple of months ago, besides it having to run at 100% to even make 30fps on 1080p resolution, it was fine until some of that neon lighting showed up.
The 750Ti is still getting NVidia driver updates but its pretty much had its day now. Depending on youir screen res and fps goals you need something newer.
Didn’t know how bad it was until I downloaded the new Nvidia App, you can enable a HUD in it to see how hard the GPU is working and frame rates with a few numbers on screen.
By the way if your motherboard has a video connector you can use, which would make use of integrated graphics in your CPU, that might be more stable without removing any updates. It would not perform great, but could be less crashy. There is a separate issue around instability on 6th gen laptop CPUs but I haven’t heard of anyone with a desktop CPU complaining about that so it might be worth trying.
Those frame rates are quite bad, like running Zwift on an old phone. It should be doing better than that. In an older PC like that, replacing the thermal paste on the CPU or GPU might be necessary, but I would jettison some of those recent Windows updates first and see what happens.
I find it perplexing that I can ride other Makuri routes in a large group in and out of Neokyo without a single issue, and yet Neon Flats has consistently over time had issues, not only for myself but for others.
This suggests to me that there are code issues, or other platform factors that only get triggered on that route in particular sections, maybe in high processing scenarios. I may need to try a solo ride on the route, and see if it is tied to large group and the processing required on that section of Neon Flats with large riding groups.
If this is the case, I’ll put a sticky note on the monitor and slum it with ATV only for that route on group rides.
There are absolutely areas of Makuri that have greater CPU or GPU demands than anywhere else. But that’s not a new thing. Even with poor performance your PC should be stable if you lose the recent Windows updates and assuming the hardware is OK. If you put that same ride in some other world you would likely see a different result.
I will check for recent updates. I did need to uninstall the Microsoft Windows 11 and 10 update that was preventing Zwift startup recently. Considering I have not ridden Neon Flats for some time, it could be difficult to pinpoint which update.
Zwift has like the GTX980 as the minimum spec GPU. I was unfamiliar with the GTX745 but its hopeless even against my old GTX750Ti. The 745 simply doesn’t cut it. Best to work out what you actually need for the next 5 years and get a new PC to match.
I’m a big advocate of doing a reset of windows 10 periodically. Over time load speeds of the game and world’s slow down.
If your setup as you say is a dedicated Zwift one then a reset is painless and you’ll be suprised at the speed increase.
It might eliminate any background issues that are affecting your GPU and CPU load too.
With a fresh install we’ll be better placed to make an informed diagnosis.
I suspect your poor GPU may be being pushed a little too far.
