This article is a summary of our experience in terms of FPS troubleshooting. So if for some reason, you do not receive maximum scanning speed or your Artec 3D scanner frame rate (FPS) drops unexpectedly, feel free to check all issues, listed below.
Note: if you face the issue with "Geometry + Texture" scanning mode not working at all, follow the recommendations from this article.
Obligatory troubleshooting preparations:
- Switch your PC to “High performance” mode. We assume, that PC in question suits the recommended hardware requirements
- If it is a laptop, connect it to a power source
- Temporarily unplug all other USB devices, especially USB wi-fi routers and USB drawing pads
- If you have an active antivirus program running in the background, try temporarily disabling it
- Be sure to always troubleshoot FPS in the Recording mode, not Preview
All issues, related to 3D scanner cables
These factors might affect FPS, so as the first step, check and exclude these two issues. which are related to the scanner cables:
- Check your 3D scanner with another power supply or with an Artec battery, instead of a standard power supply
- Check your 3D scanner with another USB cable - there is always a spare one in a factory box / hard case
PC components, that mostly affect FPS
Step 1: check USB
Generally, USB is in charge of transferring 3D data and textures in real-time during a scanning session, that's why it is crucial to exclude all USB-related issues during your troubleshooting:
- 3D scanner needs a "pure" USB controller, i.e. with no other devices connected to the same USB controller. That's why it is essential to unplug all other USB devices, before running any FPS tests
- There is always at least one USB port on a PC, which provides the best performance and the maximum possible FPS. So be sure to check your scanner in all USB ports to locate a high-performance one
- Decrease a scanning speed on a corresponding scroll in "Scan" section by 1-3 FPS, so the loading to a USB port will decrease proportionally. This method is applicable, if you face sudden FPS drops on this particular PC.
Step 2: check processor
The processor troubleshooting is the next logical step, since all 3D-reconstruction and tracking algorithms utilize the processor cores:
- Check the benchmark at cpubenchmark.net to understand, how powerful is this particular processor model
- "Geometry only" scanning mode is less demanding, comparing to "Geometry + Texture" mode, so switch the modes and check, if you see any difference. If there is no difference, then troubleshoot other factors, for example, video card.
Step 3: check the video card
A video card is in charge of data 3D-rendering during a scanning session. Additionally, if you are scanning in a real-time fusion mode (RTF), then a fusion is built, using your video card memory. To troubleshoot video card-related issues, do the following:
- Make sure, that this video card is in the supported list and the version of installed drivers is verified by Artec team
- Check the benchmark for your video card model
- As a video card is crucial for RTF mode, try scanning in this mode to define the next step to check:
- If you have low FPS in RTF mode and high FPS in a regular mode, then continue troubleshooting the video card
- If you have low FPS in RTF mode and low FPS in a regular mode, then troubleshoot other factors
Step 4: check RAM
RAM is usually the last factor to check when you perform FPS troubleshooting. Artec Studio shows the amount of used/available RAM in the bottom part of the screen, so record a large scan (at least 3000 frames) and check, if the amount of available RAM is sufficient for your needs.
Our team is here to help! If you have any questions or issues, please do not hesitate to contact us by emailing support@artec3d.com or by clicking on "Submit a request" button at the bottom right side of the screen. We will always be happy to assist you and will get back to you as soon as we can.