UE4 Slow UI

Hi,

When i launch any project in UE4.9. the UI is very slow when i am in the viewport things start going smoothly but anything else around it like the details panel, content browser, brushes etc. it all performs slowly. even in material editor its very slow. is there a way to fix this or it a major bug? I use windows 10 64-bit.

Thanks,
Iby

Hey Iby,

Would you provide me with your system’s ‘dxdiag’ so I can take a look at your specifications?

Are you running any external applications in the background?

Simply attach the ‘dxdiag’ text file in a compressed zip folder to your response.

Thank you,

link text

Hi,
Thanks for your response. I have attached the txt file. also there are no external files opened in the background. Also even when there is an external application open it still used to perform really well in the previous versions.

Thanks,
Iby

It looks like you are using DX12 which is currently an experimental feature in the most recent iteration of Unreal Engine.

Release Notes 4.9

In the notes you can see where we highlight this statement as well. Try running the engine in DX11 to see if you are getting the same results?

Thank you,

Hi,

How do i run UE4 in DX11? Also is there a way where i can find out which version DX i am using in the Engine?

Thanks,
Iby

You probably are not running - DX12 since you need to enter this into the command line of your executable to run.

Could you provide me with some screenshots so I can see what you are reporting?

Thank you,

Its quite hard to explain with a screenshot as the lag happens to any project i open. but i have attached it along with annotations. its just when i click something i.e. when i search for a static mesh in content browser, or change an attribute in details panel. the blue area is where performance is good there is no lags when i move about in the viewport. but when i move my mouse over the red areas the performance is slow its not very quick in selecting.

Thanks,
Iby

Hi,

I haven’t received your response. is there a solution to fix this slow performance?

Thanks,
Iby

Hey Iby,

We ask that our users remain patient when awaiting a response. We usually respond within 24 to 48 hours, but we ask users do not bump ever, and only ask for updates after the two day time period has expired.

Honestly, your bottleneck could be the amount of RAM you are running (8 GB). Is this issue occurring in any other iterations of the engine, or just 4.9.2?

You can try reducing the Engine Scalability Settings within the Settings dropdown menu. Try using the ‘Auto’ detect option to see where the graphics options default to. Let me know once you have tried this so we can move from here.

Thank you,

Hi Andrew,

I am very sorry if i was impatient for a response I will not do that again and thank you for the information I will await your response in the future. I have just installed 4.8 and i am going to check if the performance is good on there. Also i have already tried reducing the engine scalability it hasn’t really made a difference i still get that slow performance in the UI element. the viewport still works fine there is no issues there. Is there a bug in the engine? i was wondering shall i make a video about this issue?

Thanks,
Iby

Hi,

UE 4.8 seems to perform slightly better than 4.9.

Thanks,
Iby

No worries, we just have a protocol in place so there is not a flood of bumped posts. That is odd, and there isn’t much we can bug until we have more concrete evidence this is an Engine issue, and not an issue with your computer.

What you can do is use the command ‘stat unit graph’ in the command line to monitor your editors performance. You can also use the ‘profile gpu’ command to get a more in depth view of how your GPU is handling the scene.

Cheers,

Hi,

I think it has partially been fixed I don’t know exactly what fixed it. its either i updated the launcher or i installed a utility software like Advanced Systemcare which defragmented UE4 and boosted the performance after rebooting my computer. UE4 performed very slow with small projects or even template projects. Now it doesn’t slow down at all. The slow performance happens in big projects like the shooter game example project. Also just out of curiosity i would like to try out DX 12 in one of my project and see if it boosts performance as the GTX 970 is DX 12 GPU. is there a way of utilising or enabling this?

Thanks,
Iby

Hi UE4 is slow when i make a new project or switch between projects. Is there a way to fix this? if i open the same project after restarting the slow performance goes away it goes back to normal.

That is quite odd. So the only time you are experiencing the slowed performance is upon initial start up of the project, but if you re-open it, it runs fine?

To utilize the DX12 features in Unreal Engine you need to add the -DX12 to the command line when running UE4 from the UE4Editor.exe. Keep in mind, this is an experimental and new implementation so it might not work as expected. We are working to improve its performance.

Thanks,

Thanks,

Yes it runs fine when i re open it a few times and rebooting the system. It still performs slow when i move the cursor. do i type -DX12 in the console command?

I am sorry if I am spamming. I have attached a screenshot where the mouse is within the viewport and the performance is good. I will add another one where the performance is bad. Please look at the FPS.

Slow performance. Mouse Outside Viewport.

In order to switch to using Direct X 12 for your project follow the steps below carefully, and let me know if you get stuck.

Using -DX12 for your Projects

  1. Open your Unreal Projects folder and navigate to the .Uproject file you wish to run in Direct X 12.
  2. Right-click on the .Uproject file and select the ‘Create a Shortcut’ option.
  3. Right-click the newly created shortcut and within the ‘Target’ space you will want to add the directory for the specific engine version you are running the project in.
  4. The quotations are important as well as the spacing.

Example of Target field: “D:\Program Files\Epic Games\4.9\Engine\Binaries\Win64\UE4Editor.exe” “D:\Unreal Projects\ContentExamples\ContentExamples.uproject” -DX12

Let me know if you are still stuck or have further questions.

Cheers,

Hi

I have followed the instructions. How do i check if i am using DX12 or if it has been enabled?

Thanks,
Iby