severe stuttering problems in SH3. but why?

BilgeMatt · 09-13-10, 11:54 PM

ok so I cracked open the old PC case and went crazy with a vacuum and cleaned it out. it was fairly dusty..not excessively, but dusty. but more importantly I reconnected some fans i had turned off because of fear of noise. well the fans are pretty high quality so they're not that noisy.

anywhooo, i ran the Furmark stress test again, and this time the GPU maxed at 93C and after a minute or so went back down to 91/92C while still under load. So I think ok cool, the video card is running 10C cooler under severe load.

Went back into this SH3 you speak of

and loaded up the same tutorial, and had RealTemp logging (thx to someone's earlier post for the app tip). this time the stuttering wasn't nearly as bad as my previous encounters with it, and I had cranked the particle setting back up to 100, too. During the times of lockup/stuttering, the GPU temp seemed to be around 82-84C. if only I had known about this app before, I would have done logging pre-vacuum and fan reactivation. Now that said, I see in the log during another lockup that my cpu load(s) went to 100 for at least 6-10 seconds (I was logging in 5 second intervals). Now that I chalk up to ... Windows XP's inherent...er how to say this nicely..? But that would definitely aggravate a situation of graphic lockup.

So this begs the question, even though a gpu stress test can draw the fuzzy doughnut just fine at 103C, perhaps moving 'real' data around the gpu and memory is adversely affected by heat, even if we're not at the thermal limits of the hardware? I see some reports to this effect when Googling around a bit.

So before I overhaul my system I'm going to work on some good cooling solutions. Probably not like the guy who posted here with the dual dryer hose tubing going to the window.

I will do some more testing and logging and report back. I know this stuff is riveting!

or at the very least, good for treating insomnia.

manning the pump,
bilgematt

Tessa · 09-14-10, 04:35 AM

Since my motherboard on my PC died awhile back I've been stuck using my laptop to do anything. It's got pretty good specs (7600 gt nvidia dedicated card) and a 2.2 ghz dual core. Sadly not like my desktops 3.1 fx-62 cpu and ati 7650 (all water cooled) which never experienced slowdowns anywhere.

This laptop suffers from poor heat dissipation issues, and requires almost complete dissasembly to just clean the fins on the heat sinks. After putting blocks under the laptop to raise it up about 1/2" the thing stopped overheating - was only in the time about 2-3 before the laptop would shut itself down (max temp threshold had been exceeded) did I experience any noticeable slow down or jerkiness.

What helped the most was switching from XP to 7, since I use Photoshop a lot XP would frequently crash or just be unable to handle what I was doing. After switching to 7 only crashes have come from overheating, SH3 runs a lot smoother even with higher settings than I did when I was using XP. My previous video card was the same as yours and worked great. Since usb ports are always active (always polling for new devices and drawing power) if you have some that you don't need/use and can disable or shut off that might give you a little more performance.

ccc · 09-14-10, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BilgeMatt

ok so I cracked open the old PC case and went crazy with a vacuum and cleaned it out.

Don't ever do this. The vacuum cleaner creates static electricity, which can be a killer of sensitive electronic parts.

Sounds like nothing went wrong fortunately.

BilgeMatt · 09-14-10, 11:12 AM

thx for the tip CCC, that hadn't occurred to me. fwiw, the case is a giant tower of steel and aluminum and our relative humidity around here is running around 70% so maybe that worked in my favor. I didn't vacuum directly on parts that weren't connected to the mobo, except a plastic fan i had disconnected. I'll be more careful next time

Tessa- heh I tried to install Win 7 in this thing and the dopey install saw my hard drive and then claimed it couldn't see it when it went to start the install! apparently a known issue. But yeah I'm using Win 7 at work and it's pretty good (for Windows!

)

ok so i just ordered one of these beasts: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186016

luckily my case is gigantic enough to hold the thing.

i'll report back hopefully with good news after the install/testing.

Jimbuna · 09-14-10, 02:24 PM

Those temperatures are pretty high....good luck with the cooling kit when it arrives.

pickinthebanjo · 09-20-10, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BilgeMatt

So before I overhaul my system I'm going to work on some good cooling solutions. Probably not like the guy who posted here with the dual dryer hose tubing going to the window..

manning the pump,
bilgematt

I guess he's referring to me

I actually did not do that, that was just some pic I found, but I do like the idea since winter is coming.

anyways just run to the stor and grab a gts 210 for $40, they run sh4 at max and have 512mb ddr3. I used one until I got the gtx 460, a good affordable card

09-20-10, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickinthebanjo

I guess he's referring to me

I actually did not do that, that was just some pic I found, but I do like the idea since winter is coming.

anyways just run to the stor and grab a gts 210 for $40, they run sh4 at max and have 512mb ddr3. I used one until I got the gtx 460, a good affordable card

Whaaaaa?? 40 bucks and it runs SH4 at max?? I assume were talking about graphics cards?? what store could I get this in? and is it compatible with most stock Pcs?

K-61 · 09-20-10, 03:45 PM

There's no such thing as a "stock" PC. Each one has its own specs and upgrade requirements and options. Dells have tended to be the worst, in my opinion, for ugrading options as they use[d] proprietary hardware. I used to work for a recovery lab and had to repair Dells. Their PSU's could cost as much as three times the cost of a standard PSU. I hope they are better these days in that respect.

09-13-10, 11:54 PM	#1
BilgeMatt Swabbie Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: SF, CA, US Posts: 7 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	the plot thickens? ok so I cracked open the old PC case and went crazy with a vacuum and cleaned it out. it was fairly dusty..not excessively, but dusty. but more importantly I reconnected some fans i had turned off because of fear of noise. well the fans are pretty high quality so they're not that noisy. anywhooo, i ran the Furmark stress test again, and this time the GPU maxed at 93C and after a minute or so went back down to 91/92C while still under load. So I think ok cool, the video card is running 10C cooler under severe load. Went back into this SH3 you speak of and loaded up the same tutorial, and had RealTemp logging (thx to someone's earlier post for the app tip). this time the stuttering wasn't nearly as bad as my previous encounters with it, and I had cranked the particle setting back up to 100, too. During the times of lockup/stuttering, the GPU temp seemed to be around 82-84C. if only I had known about this app before, I would have done logging pre-vacuum and fan reactivation. Now that said, I see in the log during another lockup that my cpu load(s) went to 100 for at least 6-10 seconds (I was logging in 5 second intervals). Now that I chalk up to ... Windows XP's inherent...er how to say this nicely..? But that would definitely aggravate a situation of graphic lockup. So this begs the question, even though a gpu stress test can draw the fuzzy doughnut just fine at 103C, perhaps moving 'real' data around the gpu and memory is adversely affected by heat, even if we're not at the thermal limits of the hardware? I see some reports to this effect when Googling around a bit. So before I overhaul my system I'm going to work on some good cooling solutions. Probably not like the guy who posted here with the dual dryer hose tubing going to the window. I will do some more testing and logging and report back. I know this stuff is riveting! or at the very least, good for treating insomnia. manning the pump, bilgematt

09-14-10, 11:12 AM	#4
BilgeMatt Swabbie Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: SF, CA, US Posts: 7 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	d'oh! thx for the tip CCC, that hadn't occurred to me. fwiw, the case is a giant tower of steel and aluminum and our relative humidity around here is running around 70% so maybe that worked in my favor. I didn't vacuum directly on parts that weren't connected to the mobo, except a plastic fan i had disconnected. I'll be more careful next time Tessa- heh I tried to install Win 7 in this thing and the dopey install saw my hard drive and then claimed it couldn't see it when it went to start the install! apparently a known issue. But yeah I'm using Win 7 at work and it's pretty good (for Windows! ) ok so i just ordered one of these beasts: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186016 luckily my case is gigantic enough to hold the thing. i'll report back hopefully with good news after the install/testing.

09-14-10, 02:24 PM	#5
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,770 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Those temperatures are pretty high....good luck with the cooling kit when it arrives. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

09-20-10, 03:45 PM	#8
K-61 Grey Wolf Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Ontario Posts: 795 Downloads: 39 Uploads: 0	There's no such thing as a "stock" PC. Each one has its own specs and upgrade requirements and options. Dells have tended to be the worst, in my opinion, for ugrading options as they use[d] proprietary hardware. I used to work for a recovery lab and had to repair Dells. Their PSU's could cost as much as three times the cost of a standard PSU. I hope they are better these days in that respect. __________________

09-14-10, 04:35 AM	#2
Tessa Grey Wolf Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: CG 96 Posts: 861 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	Since my motherboard on my PC died awhile back I've been stuck using my laptop to do anything. It's got pretty good specs (7600 gt nvidia dedicated card) and a 2.2 ghz dual core. Sadly not like my desktops 3.1 fx-62 cpu and ati 7650 (all water cooled) which never experienced slowdowns anywhere. This laptop suffers from poor heat dissipation issues, and requires almost complete dissasembly to just clean the fins on the heat sinks. After putting blocks under the laptop to raise it up about 1/2" the thing stopped overheating - was only in the time about 2-3 before the laptop would shut itself down (max temp threshold had been exceeded) did I experience any noticeable slow down or jerkiness. What helped the most was switching from XP to 7, since I use Photoshop a lot XP would frequently crash or just be unable to handle what I was doing. After switching to 7 only crashes have come from overheating, SH3 runs a lot smoother even with higher settings than I did when I was using XP. My previous video card was the same as yours and worked great. Since usb ports are always active (always polling for new devices and drawing power) if you have some that you don't need/use and can disable or shut off that might give you a little more performance.