When I first installed New Vegas I was extremely upset at the performance as my rig should be crushing it like a bug....just like it did FO 3.
Turns out it was in the in game AA and AF that was causing my fps nightmares.
So on a hunch I forced AA and AF through CCC and viola ! my fps rose !
Went from 40 ish to a decent 60 with a few 50s and some weird dips during dust devils or certain areas or views. A lot better but not great.

Now I just recently installed the dx.dll and it went from 60 most of the time to a rock steady 60 all of the time. Nothing on the screen affects it...no amount of NPCs, firefights,casino action, vating...nothing makes it move.

The action is more fluid and smooth..the jittering, pausing is gone.

I'm in gaming heaven right now....


Except I don't understand why I still have to use the CCC AA and AF instead of default game AA and AF !? I just checked and if I use in game AA and AF my fps go back in the toilet. ( After the patch and the dx.dll fix ) I put it back into forced mode it goes back to buttery smooth.

There is no difference in picture....just fps. Took screen shots and everything...not a whit of difference.

Anybody explain this ?

Don't get me wrong I'm very happy with my performance..forced AA and AF or not. I just don't understand why it would make such a difference ?

19x12
4 AA ( Forced in CCC..thinking of going to 8 AA )
16 AF ( Forced in CCC )
V-sync on
HDR
Ultra settings
All other CCC options maxed

i7 920 @ 3.4
9g ddr 3
5970
SSD

Drivers, updates..all latest.

Game is ultra smooth and fluid ( I don't worry so much about saving every few minutes anymore ) Frame rate is a solid 60...having fun.
Just curious why forced AA and AF works so much better then game default ?

Try this instead: http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=34778

The devs seem aware of the bug, so we may see a fix before too long.

forcing AA and AF through ccc on my 5970 did absolutely nothing.

Was probably the dll that improved frames for you. However the dll causes microstutters.

Hell, I even turnedAA and AF completely OFF on the card AND in-game and it didn't change the 20 or below frames in crowded areas.

Could be that when you force it you are over-riding which materials get anti-aliased, like on the alpha of transparent textures (the bushes, etc...). Can make a huge difference in performance, could that be it?