City of Heroes low frame rate, lag, etc...

oomingmak · 06-09-2008, 04:13 PM

Hello. I hope that I'm posting this in the correct spot. First off, everything I know about computers is self-taught, so feel free to dumb it down a little if you can help me. I'll try to be thorough and all my system info is at the bottom. So here's my problem:

I recently installed City of Heroes/Villains on my HP notebook (yes, I know a laptop is not really meant for gaming and that may indeed be the root of my problems). When I start playing, it works ok for about 10 minutes, with a frame rate of about 20-30 fps. Then the rate drops to around 7-10 fps. If I join a team or enter heavily populated areas it drops to under 2 fps, essentially making the game unplayable. If I stick with it, it occassionally increases back up to about 20 fps for a few seconds and then crashes back down. The longer I play, the worse it gets, remaining at around 2-5 fps even when I'm standing still with no one around.

I've checked Task Manager several times and the game is either using 95-100% of my CPU OR it's using about 70% and the rest (25-30%) is being used by "system process". I understand the gist of the system process but I don't know which threads (?) are actually involved. When the system process occupies that much CPU the game pretty much grinds to a halt. I've tried increasing the priority given to the game and decreasing the priority to the system process but it won't let me.

I installed a gig of RAM for a total of 1.24 GB. This significantly reduced the amount of time spent loading into the game, different areas, and missions. However it doesn't seem to have helped the low frame rate (which I assume is the ultimate problem). I run the game with minimum graphics set for all options, and usually in safe mood. All non-Microsoft services and all processes are disabled (via msconfig); in other words, nothing else is running. My computer has been "cleaned" with AdAware, Spybot, Spyblaster, CCleaner, and McAfee Virus-scan. It's been defragged and everything else I can think of. I believe I have the most current video driver and I downloaded a graphics media accelerator (?), but I don't know anything about drivers.

Here's my system in a nutshell:
HP Pavilion dv4000 notebook, 2-3 yrs old
Windows XP home edition version 2002, service pack 3
Intel Celeron M processor 1.40 GHz
1.24 GB RAM
High-speed internet
Direct X 9.0
Video card is on motherboard. It is Mobile Intel 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller-2590
OR is called Mobile Intel 82915GM/GMS/910GML Express Chipset Family (whatever that means)

If anyone has any ideas what may help me get this game running better, please let me know. Also, I have just a few questions:
What % of CPU should the system process use?
What fps should I expect?
Is my video card inadequate?
Am I fooling myself to think I can play this game on a laptop?

Sorry this ended up being so long; I just wanted to be thorough. Thank you for any and all help!

Sincerely,

oomingmak

swartzism · 06-11-2008, 05:09 PM

I'm about as computer savvy as you are, but my guess would be the graphics card.

06-09-2008, 04:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
oomingmak Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1 OS: windows xp home service pack 3	City of Heroes low frame rate, lag, etc... Hello. I hope that I'm posting this in the correct spot. First off, everything I know about computers is self-taught, so feel free to dumb it down a little if you can help me. I'll try to be thorough and all my system info is at the bottom. So here's my problem: I recently installed City of Heroes/Villains on my HP notebook (yes, I know a laptop is not really meant for gaming and that may indeed be the root of my problems). When I start playing, it works ok for about 10 minutes, with a frame rate of about 20-30 fps. Then the rate drops to around 7-10 fps. If I join a team or enter heavily populated areas it drops to under 2 fps, essentially making the game unplayable. If I stick with it, it occassionally increases back up to about 20 fps for a few seconds and then crashes back down. The longer I play, the worse it gets, remaining at around 2-5 fps even when I'm standing still with no one around. I've checked Task Manager several times and the game is either using 95-100% of my CPU OR it's using about 70% and the rest (25-30%) is being used by "system process". I understand the gist of the system process but I don't know which threads (?) are actually involved. When the system process occupies that much CPU the game pretty much grinds to a halt. I've tried increasing the priority given to the game and decreasing the priority to the system process but it won't let me. I installed a gig of RAM for a total of 1.24 GB. This significantly reduced the amount of time spent loading into the game, different areas, and missions. However it doesn't seem to have helped the low frame rate (which I assume is the ultimate problem). I run the game with minimum graphics set for all options, and usually in safe mood. All non-Microsoft services and all processes are disabled (via msconfig); in other words, nothing else is running. My computer has been "cleaned" with AdAware, Spybot, Spyblaster, CCleaner, and McAfee Virus-scan. It's been defragged and everything else I can think of. I believe I have the most current video driver and I downloaded a graphics media accelerator (?), but I don't know anything about drivers. Here's my system in a nutshell: HP Pavilion dv4000 notebook, 2-3 yrs old Windows XP home edition version 2002, service pack 3 Intel Celeron M processor 1.40 GHz 1.24 GB RAM High-speed internet Direct X 9.0 Video card is on motherboard. It is Mobile Intel 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller-2590 OR is called Mobile Intel 82915GM/GMS/910GML Express Chipset Family (whatever that means) If anyone has any ideas what may help me get this game running better, please let me know. Also, I have just a few questions: What % of CPU should the system process use? What fps should I expect? Is my video card inadequate? Am I fooling myself to think I can play this game on a laptop? Sorry this ended up being so long; I just wanted to be thorough. Thank you for any and all help! Sincerely, oomingmak

06-11-2008, 05:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
swartzism Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 10 OS: winxp	Re: City of Heroes low frame rate, lag, etc... I'm about as computer savvy as you are, but my guess would be the graphics card.