I’ve been trying to update my version of Unity since version 5.0.0f4, but every version has lag in the scene view ( and potentially elsewhere, though this is the only place I notice it ). This lag is mainly seen when I move my view camera around the scene, including a blank scene with nothing in it at all. However, when I press the play button and, while the empty scene is playing switch back to the editor, there is no lag.
I came across a thread with a very similar if the not the same problems I’m having: Strange Lag in Scene viewport - Unity Engine - Unity Discussions
The proposed solution was to install a different version of my video driver, which I have. It could be that the one I chose also caused the lag I’m having, but I did in fact try.
Attempted Solutions:
- Tried older versions of Unity, starting from the latest one down ( it started working properly at 5.0.0f4 ). So I tested 5.3, 5.2, and 5.1 prior with their latest patch versions respectively.
- Tried installing an older video driver ( 309.08-notebook, released in February 2015 ).
- Tried forcing OpenGL 2.1.
- Tried forcing DirectX 9.
- Tried disabling anti-aliasing features entirely via Nvidia Geforce Control Panel.
- Tried disabling Windows Aero and went to Windows Basic Theme in case there was a compatibility issue.
- Tried closing all other apps and stopped most non-critical services ( including antivirus ).
- Tried shrinking the scene view in the window, also tried shrinking the window itself.
System Specs:
- Windows 7 Home Premium x64 ( latest updates )
- Intel Core i7-3610QM @ 2.30GHz
- 8.00GB of RAM ( Typical consumption without Unity running is 2.3GB - 3.0GB )
- 1920x1080, 60Hz resolution and refresh respectively.
- Geforce GTX 660M, driver version “361.43” ( latest ).
- No overclocking, fans clear of dust and temps all around are well below max load in all but very heavy games, and even then never reach any danger level.
Noted System Load:
- CPU cores don’t spike when the lag occurs, and CoreTemp reports no spike in temperature either.
- RAM also doesn’t spike, nor do any services lock up when Unity is running with the lag occurring.
- GPU should have no other major loads when Unity is running and the scene view is lagging, though I tested with minimal interference just in case.
Again the problem only occurs with Unity versions after 5.0.0f4, as that version gives me absolutely no problems aside from losing out on several bug fixes and the latest features of 5.3 :(. Two things solve the problem for me, the second one being very strange. Firstly, uninstall the newer version of Unity and revert to 5.0.0f4, simple enough.
Okay so I can’t post the rest of my thread since it keeps saying it looks too “spam-like”, but basically I have a recording program that stops the lag from occurring when it is run, even when not recording. Since it does the same thing as when I press play in Unity and switch to the scene view, maybe they’re related.
I’d post jpegs or video of my problem, but as the ultimate irony the problem gets resolved when I use the only decent screen recorder I’ve used in the background, and I already tried recording with it only to see the video taken show no problem ( as I experienced no issue during recording as well ). My best explanation of what the lag is is all I can offer.
When holding the right mouse button in the scene view, if I try to move using the W,A,S,D keys there will be a pause/stutter that can last between 0.2-1 second. This pause/stutter resets or reoccurs once I change my key press to another direction. This problem does NOT occur when I move my mouse around while holding down the right mouse button, nor does it appear to cause nearly the same lag time when moving objects in the scene view ( I can’t tell if it’s lagging up my movement or not so if it does cause lag it’s very manageable ). During this pause/stutter time, the view camera seems to still be traveling in the scene view, as when the stutter is done the camera is seen where it should have been if it was traveling smoothly towards the direction I was pressing, regardless of visual lag.
Bump. Not really a big deal anymore since I can always just keep my recording program running in the background to resolve the problem. I’ll be getting a new system here in about a year or so, so with the new hardware I might not have this occurring for me anymore. I’m also going to have an AMD graphics card so maybe the shift from my current drivers will fix it. Still though that’s a year away :p.
If nobody can offer any help given how it might just be a driver compatibility issue, I’d say for anyone who ends up reading this post with the same issue that they should try my attempted fixes above. If none of them work, try downloading a screen recording program like OBS and see if simply running it in the background fixes it for you.
If you’re like me and the last few threads I found on the issue, it’s likely a graphics driver problem and outside of changing your driver to one that actually works or changing your graphics card entirely…we’re stuck with the problem on newer versions of Unity. Granted of NONE of those fixes work for you then reverting to an older version of Unity might have to happen if the lag is unworkable for you.