"When I'm playing an offline game and I get into a high poly/high AI cycle area...sometimes the framerate will lag."
Actually in most games the frame rate will stutter, as the renderer will skip over any frames it doesn't have time to draw. The actual game is unlikely to slow down at all,
Yes, but the visual effect is often described as lag. Actually in most games the frame rate will stutter, as the renderer will skip over any frames it doesn't have time to draw. The actual game is unlikely to slow down at all,