Possible solution to graphics corruption on Intel HD 4600

Hello,

I am a returning PoE player, from the closed/open beta days.

I recently renovated my PC, but due to lack of funds I decided to postpone buying a discrete GPU, using the available budget to get the best CPU/MoBo/Memory/SSD I could, intending to use the integrated GPU to tide me over. So, right now, I run an Intel i5 4690K with 8GB PC1866 ram, and I run PoE on 1600x900 windowed mode (desktop res 1680*1050 on my 22" LCD). My OS is Windows 8.1 64bit with all the latest patches from Windows Update and all the latest drivers.

I installed PoE last week, retrieved my old account, and started playing. At first I experienced some driver crashes ("driver has stopped working but recovered") due to the fact I was keeping my iGPU overclocked. I chalked it up to PoE being extremely sensible, even though every other game I tried up till now (Skyrim, Sins of a Solar Empire, Assassin Creed: Brotherhood, Burnout Paradise, etc...) worked perfectly with my overclocked iGPU configuration, so I reverted back to stock iGPU configuration and tried playing.

At first, everything worked well. Then I started experiencing a whole host of graphics glitches, from heavy flickering to black screens, up to crashes to desktop. I could not fathom why the game's performance and stability could degrade so much, from solid to basically unplayable. It got to the point it would corrupt/crash mere seconds from loading Lioneye's citadel, no matter what I would be doing.

To cut a long story short, after trying a big number of possible solution, having tried every possible combination of graphics settings (including those only available in the file \Documents\My Games\Path of Exile\production_Config.ini), I was ready to give up on PoE for good, at least until I could buy a discrete GPU. Then, just before uninstalling the game, I decided to delete production_Config.ini, having read somewhere that sometimes it could get corrupted and if deleted, the game would recreate a default one.

Surprise surprise, PoE started working again, stable as a rock! I could not believe my eyes! So it dawned on me that the culprit for my extreme instability was to be found not in the graphics section of the options, but in some of the other options, either sound or UI customization, since default PoE settings was making my system run stable on much higher graphics settings than those I use to maintain high FPS for a fluid game experience.

After a few tries, I found out that enabling the option "show mini health bars on enemies" under the UI customization tab would instantly render PoE extremely unstable, cause graphics corruption, black screens, etc! This apparently innocuous option was the cause of all the problems that kept me from playing PoE a whole week! And the reason why I failed to understand the link between this option and the crashes, was that I started customizing UI options only after playing a few hours/days. Talk about slipping under the radar...

To be honest, I stopped there. I did not systematically check every UI option to see if there are others who could affect my system in the same way. I suppose "show mini health bars on allies" could very well have the same effect. The only thing I do know, is that now my system has been rock stable after playing over 8 hours, restarting the game (and/or the PC) a dozen times, and stressing the interface in every way.

So, if you are using an Intel HD 4600 like me (the iGPU inside latest i5), and you can't understand why PoE keeps crashing on you while every other game is rock stable, try to deselect every possible UI customization option: the reason for your crashes could very well be there. Why does this make the HD 4600 drivers crash and/or go boinkers? No idea, but it does, at least on my system.

Good luck everybody!

Hi,thank you for your good information.
My PC environment is similar to you,i5-64bit and 8g ram.
Since last week's patch ...maybe lock step update.i suffer same crash problem
After this information,i tried and found mini-map either harm for me now.

I enjoyed poe from last December no problem with my pc environment,i guess GGG engineer made cause recently but ok i turn off them ui options for a while,till i find next good game.

I'm in the same boat, graphical glitches with my Intel HD Graphics. Funny thing is that I had been playing for over a month without any issues, and only in the last week have these issues arose.

same boat indeed !

i7 - gtx 580 .

I was hoping its isolated bug but it seems many users with no similarities except for the game ofc is having this same exact issue.

Please ggg any update we know its not on beta hype list .

Same here! I'm on an i3-4340 (4th gen, also on intel HD 4600 integrated graphics) - PoE ran smooth and without issues for about two weeks (prior to that i still ran a discrete GPU). Now though, every couple minutes, i get atrocious glitches just the way you described. More often than not the screen will turn black - with the exception of the UI, that still shows fine - however the sound still plays, i can still move around and use skills. There are times when the game will just crash to desktop though.
Thanks for making this thread, i will try your possible solutions right away and see if that alleviates the problem.
God i can't wait for my graphics card to get back T.T

Edit:
I've since tried messing with the UI options as suggested, and indeed: turning off the corner minimap returned the game to a buttery-smooth playable state.
Thanks!

I just can't understand why this is happening, unless a recent patch screwed with performance REALLY badly.

As of the moment, Path is unplayable for me, so it will sit on the back burner until this has been sorted out.

Same boat,poor clue. Steady as she goes!
it's obvious royal customers for GGG have much more better graphicboard
If we/they compare this issue to act4 work,this issue is ignorable.

oh by the way sorry i didnt know well lockstep patch haven't cut over yet.
This issue seems rooted in "ui qol update" something like that Chris announced before.
ggg is not giant software engineering company, somewhat a little serious problems are admitted,i guess

same here intel hd graphics 5500

+ disabling the healthbars or deleting that ini worked, had graphical freezes every 2-10 minutes, now played several hours without any:) thanks to the OP for this, you rock

Glad to see my discoveries helped some fellow players get back playing this game.

I really hope someone from GGG reads this thread and investigates those UI options, finding out why they make Intel drivers crash and/or behave this way.

After disabling those healthbars and the minimap, I can say I have been playing without a single glitch since.

Happy hunting.