Question:
Hi folks,
i have just reinstalled win xp and I am still having problems with stuttering running a game called GTR.
I have already played around with settings like AGP aperature, PCI latency etc as well as messing with the config.ini file in the GTR game. Latest drivers installed.
I have installed a new PSU, extra memory (ran memtest86), ran chkdisk etc. All ok.
The only thing that remains unchecked is my gfx card and mobo. I have run 3Dmark03, dxdiag which seem to run fine. I end up with a score of 5900ish. GFX card is a 9800SE which is overclocked (I have underclocked this and still the stuttering remains). Is there any gfx card analysis tool that can check the memory, bus speeds/stability on the gfx card itself. Also the motherboard could be tested in some way to I suppose with the right software to check my AGP stuff is working right,
Any tips appreciated but bear in mind that I have tried alot of things!!!!
Jules
(1) ran memtest86
(2) Ran CPU stability test (AMD 3000+)
(3) Latest drivers (nforce2, cat 6.4, omega)
(4) New PSU, extra 512mb mem.
(5) Windows reinstall
(6) ..... and so on!!!!
Answers:
have you checked the temperatures of your card under load?
the best way to check stability is usually to run 3dmark etc like you already have.
Answers:
Get this, its free.
Will tell you infor about GFX card, also scans for artifacts/problems with the GFX at those settings.
All your other games run ok? What other games do you run?
Answers:
Have you tried patching GTR?
Answers:
I have ran something similar to ATI Tool for stability/artifact testing which seems to go ok!!!!!
GTR is already patched to 1.5. TOCA3 demo stutters a bit too at crazy low resolutions!!!!! Seems to make little difference as there always seems to be a slight stutter.
That tech website looks good!!! I ended up reflashing my GFX card with the original BIOS and running some extra memory tests.
I am all out of ideas now.... I checked the card itself and the sticker on it says its a 9800 AIW pro version not an SE version which what I thought I was originally sold. I suspect that the card was originally manufactured as a pro edition but quality control failed it then reflashed it and sold it on as a 9800SE. I reckon it's the card.
So any ideas on a new card???? AGP ... 512MB around 200quid????? May go for gforce. I would like to run everything at 1920x1200 res maybe 2xAA and 2xAF. Is this unrealistic???
Maybe I will start a new thread for this!
Jules
Answers:
Does the stutter go away when you turn in-game detail down? If it does then you could be right, the card may be a weak one that failed QC tests.
If the stutter doesnt go away, then theres something wrong somewhere either with Hardware or Software.
Have you tried these settings:-
V-Sync?
Triple Buffering?
Fast Writes?
AGP 4x/8x?
Does 3D mark stutter?
Answers:
Okay t4i.
I tried vsync b4 ... no diff
I just tried 8-4x AGP and Fast Writes ..... no diff
Triple Buffering ???? cannot see that option
Ran 3dMark 03 and watched carefully
3D Mark 03 Score 4985
GAME TESTS
GT1-Wings of Fury 141fps
GT2-Battle of Proxycon 35fps
GT3-Trolls Lair 31fps
GT4-Mother Nature 30fps - Stuttering on camera panning shot moving over the
tortoise
CPU Tests - CPU SCORE 648
CPU TEST 1- 74fps
CPU TEST 2- 11fps --- Generally poor stuttering noticable
FEATURE TESTS
Fill Rate (sing. texture) 1670MTexels/s
Fill Rate (multi texture) 2788 " "
Vertex Shader 17fps
Pixel Shader2.0 52fps
Ragtroll 22fps .... generally not good .. stuttering
SOUND TESTS
No sounds 40fps
24 sounds 31fps
60 sounds 25fps
Seems okish.
Three things have helped ....... Changing Texture Quality and mipmap detail from High to Performance and the Catalyst AI from low to high makes an improvement. (Changing settings to high performance helps even more but the picture quality is unacceptable!!!! and still slight glitches remain few as they are!!)
Jules
Answers:
GAME TESTS
GT1-Wings of Fury 141fps
GT2-Battle of Proxycon 35fps
GT3-Trolls Lair 31fps
GT4-Mother Nature 30fps - Stuttering on camera panning shot moving over the
tortoise
CPU Tests - CPU SCORE 648
CPU TEST 1- 74fps
CPU TEST 2- 11fps --- Generally poor stuttering noticable
FEATURE TESTS
Fill Rate (sing. texture) 1670MTexels/s
Fill Rate (multi texture) 2788 " "
Vertex Shader 17fps
Pixel Shader2.0 52fps
Ragtroll 22fps .... generally not good .. stuttering
SOUND TESTS
No sounds 40fps
24 sounds 31fps
60 sounds 25fps
Those figures sound about right to me, my 9700Pro got about 31fps on GT2-Battle of Proxycon. The mother nature test also made my 9700pro stutter but I didnt get anywhere near 30fps on that.
Apart from using older cats (which I did as the newer cats are built for the new ATi generation cards - not 9700/9800 series)
I always used 3.11 cats, worked very well on my 9700Pro. And because its older than the CCC drivers you dont need to install .NET Framework pap.
Other than that I really don't know...
What res do you use? TFT or CRT? You not got any kind of throttling enabled in BIOS?
Answers:
I am trying to run at 1920x1200 but lower resolutions still seem to stutter the same !!!! I am using a TFT panel and yes throttling of the CPU is enabled at 80%.
Maybe I will try that.....um
Jules
Answers:
Have you remembered to reinstall the latest motherboard and raid drivers (if you use raid)? I formatted and reinstalled xp without installing the motherboard drivers and it stuttered really badly.
Answers:
and yes throttling of the CPU is enabled at 80%.
Is this throttled at 80% for a reason? Disable it
Answers:
Have you tried Omega's drivers for the 9800?
TOG
Answers:
Latest nforce2 chipset installed already alongside omega drivers.
Jules
My head is about to explode ..... stand back ......
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Throttling disabled.... had no effect.
CPU runs at a steady 64 degC ... no overclocking.
Jules
Answers:
I hope your CPU likes running at 64 Degs. AMD's can run quite hot anyhow but this is slightly hotter than I would like to see from a system.
Answers:
There is nothing wrong with your system - it's just that the graphics card is not powerful enough and your frame rate is dropping. GTR is quite grahically challenging and at the end of the day the system is 3 or so years old. Have you tried cutting right back on the number of cars in the race?
If you want to game at 1920x1200 then you are going to have to fork out quite a lot of cash to achieve playable frame rates and its probable that the rest of your system might hold you back. The other problem is a limited choice of newer cards (that are value for money) on AGP. Don't go for a poor gpu just because it has 512mb of ram.
cpu is a tad hot - I had a few Barton core cpu's and even overclocked they tended to keep the right side of 50.
Answers:
Don't go for a poor gpu just because it has 512mb of ram.
Yup, not the most important factor in buying a GPU. Look for the core speed in Mhz.
Core 500Mhz and more is good DDR 1000Mhz Memory Speed.
Answers:
I ran TOCA3 (I bought the game, not running the demo anymore!!) and it seems ok. Image quality is not great but there is little stittering at the start of the replay when there is loads of cars on screen. I can kinda accept that but it generally confirms to me that my hardware is "old" and I need to update the system really.
Looks like I got 2 options........
(1) Buy 200quid AGP card 7800 GS looks ok. (I can get better value if I went PCI-E but I need to upgrade the mobo etc..... It is a gamble though as the 3000 AMD cpu may not be up to the job either.
(2) Buy a new system ..... ASUS SLI mobo clack (100quid) in the cheapest socket 939 cpu ... Athlon64 3000+ cpu (80quid) with a gig of memory (100quid???). Put in 2 7600 PCI-E GeForce cards (140quid each I think!!). I can then upgrade the CPU at a later date when the ridiculous 400quid cpus come down to sensible prices. Total cost .... around 600quid ... This would be a pretty good system then!!!! For the SLI setup is it best to buy both cards together???? IE can I get away with buying one card now and buy the second one 8mths later????
Jules