Performance issue Thinkpad P14s with NVIDIA Quadro P520 GPU

Bugs and Support
#1

Dear all,
I have a performance issue with a Thinkpad P14s (20S4-000EGE) with a dedicated NVIDIA Quadro P520 GPU in addition to the integrated intel card.
The graphics performance of zwift is very poor, i.e. much slower than my old six-year-old thinkpad I used before. The game graphics are slowly stuttering in wavelike pattern. This is very noticeable, it also affects the riders cadence clearly. This happens on any resolution setting (low, medium or high), I have the feeling the resolution doesnt affect this issue.

I am using Windows 10 Pro (Version 2004, OS build 19041.685), Zwift Version 1.0.59353, Companion App 3.20.1

After finding out that the performance ist so poor, I already tried the following:

  1. I set the Power mode in Windows 10 to best performance
  2. In Zwift I set the battery saver option to: Off - Max Speed
  3. In the NVIDIA Control Panel, I set the zwiftApp.exe to be run by the NVIDIA processor
  4. In the Windows 10 graphics settings, I enabled the hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling
  5. In the Windows 10 graphics settings, set the zwiftApp.exe to be run with high performance (i guess this also means by the NVIDIA processor)
  6. I checked with the NVIDIA system tray tool, if the zwiftapp.exe is running on the NVIDIA GPU
  7. I disconnected the external Display (HDMI) and checked the performance directly on the Laptop Screen
  8. I updated the driver with the latest version provided by lenovo

Anybody, any ideas? Thank you very much for your efforts in advance!

#2

After more riding, I have the feeling the issue is stronger the more other riders are present. Could it be my internet connection then?

#3

Hi @Jan_O.K
We saw people with low-spec machines comment about choppy graphics during this summer’s L’Etape du Tour group rides which drew 2000+ riders in any given event. What happens when there’s a ton more people in that world, the GPU struggles to redraw a lot more avatars moving around you. You’re on to something with that hint - but it’s probably not your internet connection.

We took a quick look at your partial logs on our server, and the graphics settings you chose look very reasonable. In general - Quadros are optimized for workstations, and aren’t as fast for gaming, so you may be somewhat limited by the GPU’s nature? Without having a Quadro card with the identical specs as yours - it’s difficult to troubleshoot further from this end.

I’m told by our game graphics experts that in the past, drivers for consumer Quadro cards and professional Quadro cards were different? Not sure if that’s still the case, but you may want to double check you have the best driver installed.

#4

The greater the number of people in a given area will most definitely affect the performance creating network lag which can be exacerbated by weaker CPUs and GPUs. I am not familiar with your Thinkpad so I can’t definitively say its one thing or the other though without doing a bit a research on it.

#5

If you mean GPU driver - search for update @ Nvidia directly.

But… I am using Quadro GPUs on CAD workstations since many years, tried once a 3 years old one (do not exactly which one) for Zwift with no luck.

#6

Dear Milan,

Unfortunately, the machine doesn’t let me install the original Nvidia driver. I will try some workarounds for this.

Best, Jan.

#7

Thx shuji, i’ll do a little more effort on the driver next!