System performance question

[Liebchen]

What is most likely to reduce system lag that results in the following:

- waypoint-dislocation (where the waypoint goes where the cursor is *later* instead of where is it *upon clicking*)

- jerky movement when pannning around the battlefield

- jerkiness during the replay (stop-start)

Is it:

a. System memory?

b. Processor speed?

c. Video card memory?

I'm looking to upgrade to deal with this (and in anticipation of CMBB), need to focus on the biggest problems first. (I have a PIII with 256M memory, and 16M video memory -nvidia TNT; can't remember processor speed, but think it's in the 400 range)

Thanks in advance.

[Agua]

Originally posted by Liebchen:

What is most likely to reduce system lag that results in the following:

- waypoint-dislocation (where the waypoint goes where the cursor is *later* instead of where is it *upon clicking*)

- jerky movement when pannning around the battlefield

- jerkiness during the replay (stop-start)

Is it:

a. System memory?

b. Processor speed?

c. Video card memory?

I'm looking to upgrade to deal with this (and in anticipation of CMBB), need to focus on the biggest problems first. (I have a PIII with 256M memory, and 16M video memory -nvidia TNT; can't remember processor speed, but think it's in the 400 range)

Thanks in advance.

JESUS DAVID, upgrade everything.

(Hi David, used to be "Ranger" over on TheBlitz).

[Liebchen]

Hey Ranger/Agua (Thanks for IDing yoursef!)

I'm a self-employed single dad. Need I say any more?

[Schrullenhaft]

Most likely upgrading your video card will be the biggest help. A CPU upgrade could help a little (though I don't know what speed yours is), but probably not as much as a video card upgrade would. Your RAM should be fine for CMBO or CMBB.

Do you know what motherboard model you have ? A GeForce 2 Pro or Ti 64Mb, a GeForce3 Ti200 or maybe a GeForce4 MX 440 or 460 would probably be the best price-concious recommendations for CM. The Geforce3 Ti200 will probably be the most expensive of these cards, but in most situations it may be the best performer. The GeForce4 MX series will work fine for CMBO/CMBB except for some FSAA problems at the moment and sometimes it may be the best performer of these recommended cards. If you play other games, espeically ones that may involve advanced lighting effects (T&L), then a GeForce 4 MX may not be a good idea.

Though these charts from Tom's Hardware may be a jumble of info to you if you're not used to benchmarks and other technical details, they can however give you a good idea of the performance differences between each video card. DirectX tests that don't involve 'T&L' (DirectX 7 basically) would be the most applicable to CM; DirectX 8 (which usually involves T&L in the benchmarks) would be the next most applicable.

There may be compatibility issues with your motherboard, so you may want to post what it is so people can make recommendations before you make a purchase. Also video cards tend to perform better and the performance 'delta' (difference) between cards increases as the CPU speed is increased. So in other words some cards may not be worth their increased cost if your CPU is too slow. They won't perform to their maximum potential or to a significant difference beyond some cheaper alternatives depending on how slow your CPU may be.

[ July 18, 2002, 01:20 AM: Message edited by: Schrullenhaft ]

[Liebchen]

Here's my setup, according to the Gateway site's scan of my system (It's amazing how they do that!):

Processor

Intel Pentium III, 450 MHz

100MHz external bus

BIOS

Intel Corp. 4W4SB0X0.15A.0013.P08 04/22/1999

Memory

Upgrade

256MB physical

38% free resources

3 memory slots, 1 free (128+128+0)

Video

NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro

1024x768 pixels, 65,536 colors

Display: DELL P991

(From what the boot screen says, I believe that the video card has 16M memory.)

[ParaBellum]

Hi Liebchen, one problem could be the very low percentage of free ressources on your system. 38% is quite low. You should close unnecessary programs before running CM, that should increase the performance quite a lot.

For example my PC's free ressources after shutting down unnecessary stuff is something like 90%.

Every program that runs while you play CM will eat memory and processing power and thus slow down CM, keep that in mind.

[ July 18, 2002, 02:23 AM: Message edited by: ParaBellum ]

[Schrullenhaft]

It looks like your Gateway uses an Intel OEM motherboard based on the BX chipset. There's a new BIOS update for your motherboard, but I'm not sure what changes have been implemented. It is almost two years newer than what you're currently running, so it may be worth applying. Step-by-step instructions are linked at the bottom of the page.

Technically your motherboard has support for the AGP 1.0 specification. You'll find that a lot of newer video cards are recommending AGP 2.0 spec. Since this is an Intel manufactured motherboard I would guess that using newer video cards that are 32Mb and above should work if you've got a good power supply (your Gateway may have an anemic power supply though, probably less than 250 Watts). I run a Geforce2 Ulta 64Mb on an ASUS BX-based motherboard and it hasn't given me any problems so far (though it is paired with a 350 Watt power supply).

A GeForce2 Pro or Ti should be a decent pairing with your current CPU. The other two video cards might be a bit on the overkill side when paired with your current CPU (though the GeForce 4MX is possibly less expensive than the other two boards). You can also upgrade to a faster 100MHz FSB CPU (such as a 550, 600, 650, 750, 800, 850 or possibly even 1000MHz). It's hard to find some of the Slot 1 CPUs nowadays (sometimes also designated as SECC or SECC2 depending on how fast and new the CPU is/was). The BIOS update may help to identify and support newer and faster CPUs (but I'm not sure on that). Other choices involve installing a FCPGA/PPGA to Slot 1 converter board and using one of those more readily available CPUs (though the converter boards are hard to find also, especially the better brands).

I don't know how well to recommend them, but Spartan Technologies has several PIII Slot 1 CPUs (though not all of the above listed speeds). However a 1GHz CPU costs US$158, which is pretty close in cost to a low end P4 or a mid-range Athlon XP CPU (though it will cost you some more to upgrade to a motherboard and memory that would support those CPUs).

When it comes to upgrades it invariably boils down to whether it is worth it or not. Some people prefer to buy a complete new computer rather than upgrade the components. That way they guarantee themselves (or nearly so) that they'll have fewer problems and they get the benefits of several components being upgraded at the same time (i.e. - you won't have one fast component being held back by several slower ones). This is a more expensive route and it may not be very economical for some people. However some upgrades can get nearly as expensive as a new computer (but sometimes you'll get better components going the upgrade route).

And Parabellum is right. Your resources are very low. You may have all sorts of things loaded up (little utilities, drivers, things you'll see in the System Tray, etc.) that are sucking the performance out of your computer. Which OS are you running, I'd guess that it is Win98SE ? If so you can go to the Start Menu > Run > type MSCONFIG and this will bring up an applet that will allow you to change some of the programs that startup in your computer. Some places to look would be under the WIN.INI tab under the Windows section; look for anything on the "run=" or "load=" lines and possibly uncheck them. Under the StartUp tab there are things that are called up in your registry. Some of them you don't want to uncheck and possibly quite a few others you will want to.

[ July 18, 2002, 02:30 AM: Message edited by: Schrullenhaft ]

[Dschugaschwili]

Try getting rid of high res mods if you have installed any. Those will most likely overload your graphic memory, slowing everything down considerably.

Dschugaschwili

[Vanir Ausf B]

Originally posted by Liebchen:

38% free resources

Big problem here and probably the main cause of the jerkiness. Hit Control+Alt+Delete. This will bring up a window listing all the programs running. You should have no more that 4 or so ideally: Explorer, Systray, Gmtray and Em_exec are all I have (not all of these will appear on all systems) and I usually have around 88% free. You can shut these down one by one from this window or permenantly stop them from autoloading when you start Windows by using the steps Schrullenhaft mentioned.

NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro

IIRC the Model 64 is the budget version of the TNT2 and has poor performance. Almost anything you get will be a major improvement. I am running a Gainward Geforce 4 64 MB card in my AGP 1.0 slot (Intel 440BX chipset). I had to reset my BIOS to get it to work, but it runs fine. If money is tight you could pick up a Geforce 4 MX 400 for under $100.

[ July 18, 2002, 05:50 AM: Message edited by: Vanir Ausf B ]

[Louie the Toad]

Liebchen,

Are you playing the download demo? This is the problem I had with my first CM encounter. Especially the 'sticky way point problem'. It made me dismiss the game outright. That is until Bill Trotter from PC Gamer gave it a high recommendation. I was so puzzled by his praise for what seemed to be an inferior product that I emailed him. I could see the game's potential but the mechanics were so terrible. He wrote back saying he had had the same problem and drew a similar conclusion at first. Then I believe he got a version on disc to try. And the rest is history.

Thankful Toad

[Gaylord Focker]

Vanir hit the nail right on the head.

Free up those system recources, then replace that video card. If you don't want ot spend alot of money,and mostly play CMBO and will be playing CMBB, go with a Geforce 4mx. If you play other kinds of 3D titles then spend the extra money and get either a Geforce 3 or Geforce 4 non mx versions.