Stuttering with high end system - Page 8

clayp · 07-16-07, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmack

Quote:

Originally Posted by stabiz

Iblitz, you have a dual core cpu? If so, read on!

GREAT NEWS FROM NORWAY! Anyway, the zync thing in the cfg and/or forcing vzync did nothing for me, still stuttering all over the place. The thing that DID work however, was forcing SH4 to run on 1 cpu. Ctrl+alt+delete, rightclick on the sh4.exe (while game is running), set affinity, uncheck cpu 1 (or 0, your choice, hehe)

Now the game runs like a charm at steady 40 to 60fps with everything maxed out.

*sigh of relief* Now I can sit down and actually play this game, since the real show-stopper is gone.

Kinda sad that one has to do this in 2007, but hey.

PS: WOW! The forums are badly bogged down by all the SH4 captains.

sorry for bringing this up again but ...

i need some help with this ... i have an intel core2 6400 2.14ghz
will this work with my cpu ?

I dont know if it will work or not mate..I have a core2 6800 and the game runs like a charm...

Jmack · 07-17-07, 12:05 AM

right ... i wont even ask how much your system costed !

it seems to work really , not only the cpu afinity but also setting the priority to real time , i dont get those amazing frame rates everyone talks about but its stable and dont jumps around anymore, the problem is that i have to do it everytime i run the game.

also i pushed my 7300 gt to higher values and she is now going at 397mhz instead of the default 350 mhz and the memory at 435mhz instead of the default 333mhz ... curiously the temperature decreased by 2º.

clayp · 07-17-07, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmack

right ... i wont even ask how much your system costed !

it seems to work really , not only the cpu afinity but also setting the priority to real time , i dont get those amazing frame rates everyone talks about but its stable and dont jumps around anymore, the problem is that i have to do it everytime i run the game.

also i pushed my 7300 gt to higher values and she is now going at 397mhz instead of the default 350 mhz and the memory at 435mhz instead of the default 333mhz ... curiously the temperature decreased by 2º.

Well as long as its working,too bad you have to go thru that each time you play..

And I wont tell you how much it cost...

minsc_tdp · 07-17-07, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmack

also i pushed my 7300 gt to higher values and she is now going at 397mhz instead of the default 350 mhz and the memory at 435mhz instead of the default 333mhz ... curiously the temperature decreased by 2º.

If you have steady hands, look into the "volt mod" for your card. I did it on a 7900GT and the result was amazing. Have to improve the cooler first, then you up the volts, then you crank up the clocks. My first OC was similar to yours, <50 MHz increase, but after the voltmod I managed to add like another 100 MHz. It's insane.

Depending on the method there's only a very slight risk that you will damage anything - the more risk is due to the additional heat you will generate, but you should be cooling it well, testing, and monitoring the temps properly if you do this. I used a $5 trace pen from Radio Shack, which literally draws traces on a board to conduct between two points, and you need a magnifying glass but really, it's not hard at all.

Lt. Staumeier · 07-18-07, 01:37 AM

With both 16 x AA and 16 x AF I get around 30 FPS on my system in open sea. In harbor and with ships blowing up it's very less

I run the game normally on 8xAA and 8xAF. Works very good and I have between 60-80 FPS. However, FPS is all over the place. It seems to switch between 60 and 30. Alternating back and forth, about once a second or so. It stays on 30 for a fraction of a second and immideately switches back to 60. Another second and it goes back to 30 for 1/30 of a second and back to 60. This causes the micro-stutters I see.

I've tried just about everything. Tried three different kinds of drivers and tried the game settings. I can minimize the stutters by removing Envirnmental Effects, Volumetric Fog and Light Rays. With those three off, I rarely, if ever, get the stutters. However, that's removing most of what is beautiful in SH4, so right now I put up with the stutters. *sigh*

dougandtoni · 07-18-07, 02:38 AM

I had exactly the same problem in all games. I changed the sound card and now every game is perfect. Seems like the sound card was sucking up a lot of cpu power

Lt. Staumeier · 07-18-07, 06:45 AM

Interesting theory. I have a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS and I was under the impression that using a separate soundcard alleviated the CPU from doing EAX calculations and the like unlike when using the onboard soundchip and it has to do that all alone. But I'll try unplugging the SB and run solely on the onboard chip and see if that does anything. Thanks for the headsup!

clayp · 07-18-07, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt. Staumeier

Interesting theory. I have a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS and I was under the impression that using a separate soundcard alleviated the CPU from doing EAX calculations and the like unlike when using the onboard soundchip and it has to do that all alone. But I'll try unplugging the SB and run solely on the onboard chip and see if that does anything. Thanks for the headsup!

This is true a seperate sound card does run better...Check these two links..
http://www.tweakguides.com/

http://www.blackviper.com/

If you want good gaming you need to keep the system tweaked and clean.Nothing running in the backround etc. There is nothing on my system that dosent need to be there..You have to get serious about it for good performance...

gclarkso · 07-18-07, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougandtoni

I had exactly the same problem in all games. I changed the sound card and now every game is perfect. Seems like the sound card was sucking up a lot of cpu power

May I ask what soundcard did you change to? as well as from?

stabiz · 07-18-07, 10:37 AM

I tried with and without an pci soundcard (Audigy ZE), with no results, still stutters. They are on and off now, but I think that is because of my 8800 GTS, which replaced a 7950GT.

I have never seen this in ANY other game.

(There are reports of the same in Oblivion, but I dont play rpg`s)

cunnutazzo · 07-18-07, 10:48 AM

I replaced my old x800xl with a 8800 gts 320 (asus with last beta drivers), and sh4 runs better than before with all settings maxed out, no need to reinstall XP. Never had stutters in both cases with old and newer videoboard.

gclarkso · 07-18-07, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stabiz

I tried with and without an pci soundcard (Audigy ZE), with no results, still stutters. They are on and off now, but I think that is because of my 8800 GTS, which replaced a 7950GT.

I have never seen this in ANY other game.

I suspect a sound issue with my situation (Turtle Beach Santa Cruz) as the stutters appear during heavy explosions only. Turning off the sound acceleration within the dxdiag panel helped, but is causing a huge FPS drop (4-5...from an avg of 36) when viewing anything through the periscope. Weird. I know my sound card is ancient and was (am) hoping the purchase of something a little up to date will help.

07-18-07, 02:37 PM

Will a good sound card really make a difference to the overall load on the CPU? I do not know anything about them. I will buy one if the consensus is that it will make a perceptible difference.
many thanks to all the folks contributing who have made SH4 far more enjoyable

Lt. Staumeier · 07-18-07, 03:25 PM

Well, "perceptible difference" is very subjective. However, in some cases a separate soundcard with a decent sound processor can lift as much as 10% load of the CPU to handle sounds. This is however mostly in cases were heavy sound calculations must be done, such as range, muffling, ambience and environment (EAX for instance). In SH4 I don't expect it to do as much as 10%, but a good 6-7% is quite possible. But it's nowhere near the changes a new GFX card or CPU can do. What you get with a separate soundcard is less ambient hissing, greater sound quality, a little less CPU load and advanced sound processing effects (A3D, EAX and surround sound). The speakers do a lot to. However not for CPU load, but for general sound image. Got a 7.1 system myself, and standing at the bridge hearing the sea roar all around me is exilirating

Rilex · 07-18-07, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clayp

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt. Staumeier

Interesting theory. I have a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS and I was under the impression that using a separate soundcard alleviated the CPU from doing EAX calculations and the like unlike when using the onboard soundchip and it has to do that all alone. But I'll try unplugging the SB and run solely on the onboard chip and see if that does anything. Thanks for the headsup!

This is true a seperate sound card does run better...Check these two links..
http://www.tweakguides.com/

http://www.blackviper.com/

If you want good gaming you need to keep the system tweaked and clean.Nothing running in the backround etc. There is nothing on my system that dosent need to be there..You have to get serious about it for good performance...

Given I run multiple virtual machines while playing HL2/SH4/other games, no, no you don't need to turn "everything" off etc.

07-17-07, 12:05 AM	#107
Jmack Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 669 Downloads: 23 Uploads: 0	right ... i wont even ask how much your system costed ! it seems to work really , not only the cpu afinity but also setting the priority to real time , i dont get those amazing frame rates everyone talks about but its stable and dont jumps around anymore, the problem is that i have to do it everytime i run the game. also i pushed my 7300 gt to higher values and she is now going at 397mhz instead of the default 350 mhz and the memory at 435mhz instead of the default 333mhz ... curiously the temperature decreased by 2º. __________________ "victim's ? ... arent we all ? "

07-18-07, 01:37 AM	#110
Lt. Staumeier Loader Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 85 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	With both 16 x AA and 16 x AF I get around 30 FPS on my system in open sea. In harbor and with ships blowing up it's very less I run the game normally on 8xAA and 8xAF. Works very good and I have between 60-80 FPS. However, FPS is all over the place. It seems to switch between 60 and 30. Alternating back and forth, about once a second or so. It stays on 30 for a fraction of a second and immideately switches back to 60. Another second and it goes back to 30 for 1/30 of a second and back to 60. This causes the micro-stutters I see. I've tried just about everything. Tried three different kinds of drivers and tried the game settings. I can minimize the stutters by removing Envirnmental Effects, Volumetric Fog and Light Rays. With those three off, I rarely, if ever, get the stutters. However, that's removing most of what is beautiful in SH4, so right now I put up with the stutters. sigh __________________ "Shoot at everything that moves. If it doesn't move, shoot it anyway, it might move later."

07-18-07, 06:45 AM	#112
Lt. Staumeier Loader Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 85 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	Interesting theory. I have a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS and I was under the impression that using a separate soundcard alleviated the CPU from doing EAX calculations and the like unlike when using the onboard soundchip and it has to do that all alone. But I'll try unplugging the SB and run solely on the onboard chip and see if that does anything. Thanks for the headsup! __________________ "Shoot at everything that moves. If it doesn't move, shoot it anyway, it might move later."

07-18-07, 10:37 AM	#115
stabiz Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Norway Posts: 4,224 Downloads: 14 Uploads: 0	I tried with and without an pci soundcard (Audigy ZE), with no results, still stutters. They are on and off now, but I think that is because of my 8800 GTS, which replaced a 7950GT. I have never seen this in ANY other game. (There are reports of the same in Oblivion, but I dont play rpg`s) __________________

07-18-07, 10:48 AM	#116
cunnutazzo Soundman Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pisa, Italy Posts: 142 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	I replaced my old x800xl with a 8800 gts 320 (asus with last beta drivers), and sh4 runs better than before with all settings maxed out, no need to reinstall XP. Never had stutters in both cases with old and newer videoboard. Last edited by cunnutazzo; 07-18-07 at 03:23 PM.

07-18-07, 02:38 AM	#111
dougandtoni Mate Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New Zealand Posts: 58 Downloads: 60 Uploads: 0	I had exactly the same problem in all games. I changed the sound card and now every game is perfect. Seems like the sound card was sucking up a lot of cpu power

07-18-07, 02:37 PM	#118
simonb1612 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Sound card? Will a good sound card really make a difference to the overall load on the CPU? I do not know anything about them. I will buy one if the consensus is that it will make a perceptible difference. many thanks to all the folks contributing who have made SH4 far more enjoyable

07-18-07, 03:25 PM	#119
Lt. Staumeier Loader Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 85 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	Well, "perceptible difference" is very subjective. However, in some cases a separate soundcard with a decent sound processor can lift as much as 10% load of the CPU to handle sounds. This is however mostly in cases were heavy sound calculations must be done, such as range, muffling, ambience and environment (EAX for instance). In SH4 I don't expect it to do as much as 10%, but a good 6-7% is quite possible. But it's nowhere near the changes a new GFX card or CPU can do. What you get with a separate soundcard is less ambient hissing, greater sound quality, a little less CPU load and advanced sound processing effects (A3D, EAX and surround sound). The speakers do a lot to. However not for CPU load, but for general sound image. Got a 7.1 system myself, and standing at the bridge hearing the sea roar all around me is exilirating __________________ "Shoot at everything that moves. If it doesn't move, shoot it anyway, it might move later."