Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD X2 4600+
2GB RAM
ATI X1950XT
Terratec Xfire 1024 soundcard

Before Christmas:
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD 64 3500+
1GB RAM
ATI X800XL
Terratec Xfire 1024 soundcard

Mate, first you said that SP1 gives better framerates than SP2, then you said the fps does not drop quantitatively, only that you find the stuttering very annoying, now you say that GTR2 is 10-20% faster. That´s confusing... ;)

Like I said, since you don´t use the same versions of the above-mentioned drivers your comparison isn´t valid. I´m not saying that I generally doubt that SP1 is faster, all I´m saying is that you need to follow some very basic rules if you wanna make a fair comparison.

I already said four or five times I am using the same image file on three different harddrives with the only relevant difference being SP2, so I don't know what you mean about the driver. With that kind of nitpicking you can unease 99.9 % of people because they can't compare, and I know how that works, but I said I can compare, because I can run SP1 or SP2 on exactly the same hardware.

With the exception of the first post where I was blaring out a bit too much (sorry for that 3rd time), I was consistently saying that I see definite stuttering plus fps drops and listing the games. I was taking my initial statement a bit back because the differences in fps might be misleading, as you will know. One game might give better fps on SP1, another on SP2, that's why didn't want to misinform by insisting on the fps gain.

I have looked at your specs and I would say no suprise that SP2 doesn't cause you trouble. Even if it costs you 10% performance you would still be on the safe side.

So please let's not lecture one another - what you said about background processes / configurations etc is correct but I think I's better I'd not post anymore in this thread if you insist on the hair in the soup. I'm sorry.

How did you install it?

Was it that you installed an XP that included SP1, then you installed all drivers (video, sound, chipset, DX9), made an image of the XP SP1, and then updated to SP2 and created an SP2 image?

If so that way is not correct. SP2 overwrites parts of the drivers you´ve originally installed. The correct procedure would have been to install XP+SP1, then update to SP2, then install the drivers.

This is not about looking for a hair in the soup, this is about making sure that you followed basic testing procedures. If you did and if you then can post some benchmark numbers that show that some games run up to 20% faster than on SP2 I would be willing to downgrade to SP1.

I installed XP about three years ago and always make a new image as soon as I have installed new drivers or made important changes like setting up RivaTuner.

After that I install applications / games etc until the system is the usual mess and the first problem comes up. I then reinstall the image, make changes if necessary and create a new image. And repeat.

To answer your question, I installed SP1 and most of the drivers in no particular order, and installed SP2 on top of that (clean) system. I would assume this is a relative good way to compare the two SP's, otherwise I would never have posted.

Well that SP2 should be installed before the drivers is new to me. Which drivers exactly do you mean get updated by SP2? I could list the NForce (5.1), Detonator (93.71) and SIL (1.0.0.40) driver version I am using from the top of my head, and I would notice if they were changed by SP2. Last time I checked I was also using the latest Dx (October 2006 release), which runs very well. Mind I also often install newer drivers and use them a bit but don't save them into the image, because I prefer the older versions,

If you mean did I install Windows, drivers and the SP in the exact order that you suggest, then the answer is no. If that makes a difference you might know something that I don't.

Hey, you're asking tough questions man. Had I known what I was up for, I would have been a bit more careful with what I say ;)

GE

P.S. I stand behind the fps differences in GTL and GTR2 demo because I compared it with the fps counter. With all other games I cannot remember the numbers and I would expect fps differences usually not to exceed 5%, but the jerkieness was there. I would also expect that to go away if I disabled the 30 processes like you suggest, but it might be easier if I stick for SP1 for gaming.

I wish I could give you an exact answer, but I can´t. I´d installed SP2 more than two years ago, I recall having to reinstall at least the chipset and sound drivers because of some problems. SP2 (re-)installs/replaces a truckload of drivers, and to be sure that SP2 hasn´t downgraded some of essential drivers in some way the best thing is to install/reinstall the drivers after the installation of SP2.

Thanks for the info about the network processes is a good idea and I will try that soon - on SP1.

All those number in you link are within the margin of error by the way. WHat I gather from his testing is - inconclusive.

I have not seen the slowdowns myself in games like SH3. The only annoyance I get is a music pause once in a while in DW 1.04. THis could be caused by crappy drivers though, or bad sound module in the game. THen again, maybe it is because I typically run a host of services in the background.

-S

I agree - but that's what I said when I posted it. If the question could just be settled by running a few benchmarks - we would know the answer by now.

My theory so far is that SP2 out of the box installs several services that can lead to slowdowns on a lot of systems, and must be disabled. SP1 is generally more lightweight and gives better performance out of the box, at least on systems like mine. Raw performance in terms of fps is about the same, with a neglectible difference of about 2-3 %. I did see differences of up to 20% on my computer, but it might be an extreme value.