Question about laggggg...

reigar · 03-28-2008, 10:23 PM

Ok so I am playing a game sorry I can not say which one, but I am getting some perty bad lag spikes, some latancy issues, almost continuesly when in a heavily populated area. I am running:

Vista 64 bit
2gb ram
Radeon HD 3870 512mb
phenom 9500 processor.

My question is, will the frame rates and over all lag be a bit more stable if I were to up my RAM up to 4gb or should I get another Radeon 3870 and run it in crossfire?

I wish I could get the 1gb 3870 but I already dropped 250$ on the first one and if I run 2 in cross fire I have heard that that will give off the same proformance.

Or should I get myself a sound card, I have heard that some games work a lot better with a good sound card. At the moment I am just running the onboard sound on a MSI 790X mobo.

Thanks in advanced,

**koala** · 03-30-2008, 08:35 AM

Check in Task Manager to see your CPU and RAM values at the time of the lags/spikes.

A sound card will reduce the load for the CPU, which can improve framerates, but only if CPU spikes are the cause of the lags or if the CPU is running close to 100% throughout the game session.

Do you have any other programs or auto-updates running in the background while gaming?

It would help if you could tell us the name of the game. This might be relevant if there is a known problem with the game.

reigar · 03-30-2008, 08:23 PM

Ok well the game is in beta, hence I can not say which game it is, but many others dont have any probloms when running the game, and they run it smooth at good FPS.

Anyway, I know that it might only be cause its, beta but, I just want to make sure that I am running at good rates now so I don't have probs later.

In task manager its running the following Processes 58, CPU usage is from 25%-to-29%, and memory is 64%, this is when the game is running.

**koala** · 03-30-2008, 08:33 PM

The CPU and RAM aren't at 100% so adding more RAM won't make any difference. A single Radeon HD3870 should run most new games at respectable framerates, so even for a game as demanding as Crysis, adding another card will only give a 15-30% speed increase. I'd say it's either the graphics driver or the fact that it's still in beta and running unoptimized code that is the main cause of the lag.

If you're beta-testing, have you tried playing on XP or 32bit Vista with various drivers?

512mb VRAM is enough for most modern games. 1gb would only be necessary if you're playing at very high resolutions on maximum settings.

Have you disabled all background programs, services, auto-updates, etc?

If it's an online game, are your connection and ping rates good?

Is Vista fully up to date?

reigar · 03-30-2008, 09:13 PM

Vista is up to date, drivers on card are up to date, ping is ok, and all programs even anti virus are turned off when playing. I have tried it on XP and it will run ok, well the FPS drop considerably from 30 FPS to like 15FPS and some times 10FPS but, that is at low resolution, and of course running on another comp. but at times it does play smoother.

this box, runs crysis at good res, and without probloms, soooo, i guess it might just be the fact that its in beta.

Thanks for the troubles.

ebackhus · 04-01-2008, 03:29 PM

The fact that it's a beta is most likely the biggest cause of the problem. The engine is still being tweaked and certian aspects of the game itself aren't fully polished. Even after a game is "gold" there may be subsequent patches released to help make it run better!

You've got a pretty beastly rig so I wouldn't blame any part of it on that.

reigar · 04-02-2008, 02:01 PM

Cool thanks guys, I just wanted to make sure.

reigar · 04-03-2008, 07:11 PM

Ok I got one more thing, when I am looking at the task manager and playing the game I can see why it stalls, lags, at times, its cause the CPU % drops all of a sudden, for example if its running at lets say 30% then I run into a new area and the CPU% drops to 2% or even 0% and stays for a bit, the game stalls (lags).

Anyhow, is there a way to correct that or can it be that it is just the code?

thanks again.

ebackhus · 04-04-2008, 08:04 AM

If anything the CPU usage ought to jump while the new data is being loaded from your HDD. I'd blame it on the coding. May wanna report that back.

rfckyle · 04-04-2008, 01:18 PM

I know that phoning your ISP an requesting for interleving to be turned off, rdeuces ping by 20

reigar · 04-04-2008, 05:02 PM

Kool guys, thanks a mil, just wanted to make sure.

03-28-2008, 10:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
reigar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 14 OS: VISTA	Question about laggggg... Ok so I am playing a game sorry I can not say which one, but I am getting some perty bad lag spikes, some latancy issues, almost continuesly when in a heavily populated area. I am running: Vista 64 bit 2gb ram Radeon HD 3870 512mb phenom 9500 processor. My question is, will the frame rates and over all lag be a bit more stable if I were to up my RAM up to 4gb or should I get another Radeon 3870 and run it in crossfire? I wish I could get the 1gb 3870 but I already dropped 250$ on the first one and if I run 2 in cross fire I have heard that that will give off the same proformance. Or should I get myself a sound card, I have heard that some games work a lot better with a good sound card. At the moment I am just running the onboard sound on a MSI 790X mobo. Thanks in advanced,

03-30-2008, 08:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 9,175 OS: XP/UBUNTU My System	Re: Question about laggggg... Check in Task Manager to see your CPU and RAM values at the time of the lags/spikes. A sound card will reduce the load for the CPU, which can improve framerates, but only if CPU spikes are the cause of the lags or if the CPU is running close to 100% throughout the game session. Do you have any other programs or auto-updates running in the background while gaming? It would help if you could tell us the name of the game. This might be relevant if there is a known problem with the game. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here Last edited by koala : 03-30-2008 at 08:37 AM.

03-30-2008, 08:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
reigar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 14 OS: VISTA	Re: Question about laggggg... Ok well the game is in beta, hence I can not say which game it is, but many others dont have any probloms when running the game, and they run it smooth at good FPS. Anyway, I know that it might only be cause its, beta but, I just want to make sure that I am running at good rates now so I don't have probs later. In task manager its running the following Processes 58, CPU usage is from 25%-to-29%, and memory is 64%, this is when the game is running.

03-30-2008, 08:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 9,175 OS: XP/UBUNTU My System	Re: Question about laggggg... The CPU and RAM aren't at 100% so adding more RAM won't make any difference. A single Radeon HD3870 should run most new games at respectable framerates, so even for a game as demanding as Crysis, adding another card will only give a 15-30% speed increase. I'd say it's either the graphics driver or the fact that it's still in beta and running unoptimized code that is the main cause of the lag. If you're beta-testing, have you tried playing on XP or 32bit Vista with various drivers? 512mb VRAM is enough for most modern games. 1gb would only be necessary if you're playing at very high resolutions on maximum settings. Have you disabled all background programs, services, auto-updates, etc? If it's an online game, are your connection and ping rates good? Is Vista fully up to date? __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here Last edited by koala : 03-30-2008 at 08:35 PM.

03-30-2008, 09:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
reigar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 14 OS: VISTA	Re: Question about laggggg... Vista is up to date, drivers on card are up to date, ping is ok, and all programs even anti virus are turned off when playing. I have tried it on XP and it will run ok, well the FPS drop considerably from 30 FPS to like 15FPS and some times 10FPS but, that is at low resolution, and of course running on another comp. but at times it does play smoother. this box, runs crysis at good res, and without probloms, soooo, i guess it might just be the fact that its in beta. Thanks for the troubles.

04-01-2008, 03:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
ebackhus Asst. Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 12,732 OS: WinXP Pro SP3 My System Blog Entries: 25	Re: Question about laggggg... The fact that it's a beta is most likely the biggest cause of the problem. The engine is still being tweaked and certian aspects of the game itself aren't fully polished. Even after a game is "gold" there may be subsequent patches released to help make it run better! You've got a pretty beastly rig so I wouldn't blame any part of it on that. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

04-02-2008, 02:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
reigar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 14 OS: VISTA	Re: Question about laggggg... Cool thanks guys, I just wanted to make sure.

04-03-2008, 07:11 PM	#8 (permalink)
reigar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 14 OS: VISTA	Re: Question about laggggg... Ok I got one more thing, when I am looking at the task manager and playing the game I can see why it stalls, lags, at times, its cause the CPU % drops all of a sudden, for example if its running at lets say 30% then I run into a new area and the CPU% drops to 2% or even 0% and stays for a bit, the game stalls (lags). Anyhow, is there a way to correct that or can it be that it is just the code? thanks again.

04-04-2008, 08:04 AM	#9 (permalink)
ebackhus Asst. Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 12,732 OS: WinXP Pro SP3 My System Blog Entries: 25	Re: Question about laggggg... If anything the CPU usage ought to jump while the new data is being loaded from your HDD. I'd blame it on the coding. May wanna report that back. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

04-04-2008, 01:18 PM	#10 (permalink)
rfckyle Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 25 OS: Windows XP	Re: Question about laggggg... I know that phoning your ISP an requesting for interleving to be turned off, rdeuces ping by 20

04-04-2008, 05:02 PM	#11 (permalink)
reigar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 14 OS: VISTA	Re: Question about laggggg... Kool guys, thanks a mil, just wanted to make sure.