Help with warping problems PLEASE!!

[Marshal]

I am having problems with planes and vehicles warping. I have a Dell XPS M1710 Laptop. Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7200 @2.00GHz (Times 2). NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX. 4GB RAM. Windows Vista. Comcast Cable internet connection 8mb (fastest connection they offer). Hooked up to internet through ethernet connection to cable modem. I also have a desktop hooked up to the same connection and it plays the game flawless. I have read all the threads in the forum on tech support. I have tried closing all processes not needed and it did not help. I tried pingplotter and everything was in the green. I tried turning all the settings down as low as they would go and worked my way up to the highest, still no change. I tried turning off force feedback again no help. The game seems to work fine in offline mode, but of course the droans do not do any manuvers. I tried shutting down all firewalls, no help. There is probably a few more things I have already tried and don't remember. I have been trying to fix this problem for 2 weeks. One thing I did notice is the frame rate is going up and down between 30 and 110 even if i set the frame rate to 45fps in the video options. I have about 4 days to send this hunk of crap back to dell, So any help would be great!! Hopefully I put enough info in this thread to explain my problems. I am banging head on desk so I might have lost some memory. If there is anything I left out please let me know.
                                                                        Thanks,
                                                                                Marshal

[WMLute]

We gonna WANT a DirectX diag. report.

Post it, or email it to support@flyaceshigh.com

Onboard Sound I take it? (laptop, so it's almost gota be)

110 frame rate?  That right there tells me VSync isn't enabled.

Another thing, what texture size do you use?  512? 1024?

[Balsy]

Originally posted by Marshal
I am having problems with planes and vehicles warping. I have a Dell XPS M1710 Laptop. Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7200 @2.00GHz (Times 2). NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX. 4GB RAM. Windows Vista. Comcast Cable internet connection 8mb (fastest connection they offer). Hooked up to internet through ethernet connection to cable modem. I also have a desktop hooked up to the same connection and it plays the game flawless. I have read all the threads in the forum on tech support. I have tried closing all processes not needed and it did not help. I tried pingplotter and everything was in the green. I tried turning all the settings down as low as they would go and worked my way up to the highest, still no change. I tried turning off force feedback again no help. The game seems to work fine in offline mode, but of course the droans do not do any manuvers. I tried shutting down all firewalls, no help. There is probably a few more things I have already tried and don't remember. I have been trying to fix this problem for 2 weeks. One thing I did notice is the frame rate is going up and down between 30 and 110 even if i set the frame rate to 45fps in the video options. I have about 4 days to send this hunk of crap back to dell, So any help would be great!! Hopefully I put enough info in this thread to explain my problems. I am banging head on desk so I might have lost some memory. If there is anything I left out please let me know.
                                                                        Thanks,
                                                                                Marshal

Laptops typically have power settting to conserve battery etc.... they will spool down the processors.  I would make sure you turn off anything like that.. Wish I could be more specific.

[Marshal]

Here is the DxDiag Report. I am not sure I know what Vsync is to see if it enabled or disabled. I tried both 512 and 1024 texture size. When I tried 1024 texture size I made sure I downloaded the high graphics download on the web site.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ------------------
System Information
-----------------
Time of this report: 8/27/2007, 15:24:51
       Machine name: MARSHALL-PC
   Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_rtm.061101-2205)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
       System Model: MXG061                          
               BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A06
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU         T7200  @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
             Memory: 3326MB RAM
          Page File: 669MB used, 6161MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 6.00.6000.16386 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
      Display Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
          Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D:    0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw:  0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay:  0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow:  0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
        Card name: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX
     Manufacturer: NVIDIA
        Chip type: GeForce Go 7950 GTX
         DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0297&SUBSYS_019B1028&REV_A1
   Display Memory: 776 MB
 Dedicated Memory: 504 MB
    Shared Memory: 271 MB
     Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
          Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
      Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll
   Driver Version: 7.15.0010.9809 (English)
      DDI Version: 9Ex
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
 Driver Date/Size: 2/21/2007 13:56:26, 3055616 bytes
      WHQL Logo'd: Yes
  WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-41D7-11CF-C955-912101C2CA35}
        Vendor ID: 0x10DE
        Device ID: 0x0297
        SubSys ID: 0x019B1028
      Revision ID: 0x00A1
      Revision ID: 0x00A1
      Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeVC1_B ModeVC1_A      DDraw Status: Enabled
       D3D Status: Enabled
       AGP Status: Enabled

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
            Description: Speakers / Headphones (SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC)
 Default Sound Playback: Yes
 Default Voice Playback: Yes
            Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_8384&DEV_7690&SUBSYS_102801CE&REV_1022
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 100
                   Type: WDM
            Driver Name: stwrt.sys
         Driver Version: 6.10.5343.0001 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: Yes
          Date and Size: 2/8/2007 01:11:04, 647680 bytes
            Other Files:
        Driver Provider: SigmaTel
         HW Accel Level: Basic
              Cap Flags: 0xF1F
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

            Description: Digital Output Device (S/PDIF) (SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC)
 Default Sound Playback: No
 Default Voice Playback: No
            Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_8384&DEV_7690&SUBSYS_102801CE&REV_1022
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 100
                   Type: WDM
            Driver Name: stwrt.sys
         Driver Version: 6.10.5343.0001 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: Yes
          Date and Size: 2/8/2007 01:11:04, 647680 bytes
            Other Files:
        Driver Provider: SigmaTel
         HW Accel Level: Basic
              Cap Flags: 0xF1F
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
            Description: Microphone / Line In (SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC)
  Default Sound Capture: Yes
  Default Voice Capture: Yes
            Driver Name: stwrt.sys
         Driver Version: 6.10.5343.0001 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 2/8/2007 01:11:04, 647680 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x1
           Format Flags: 0xFFFFF

-------------------
DirectInput Devices
-------------------
      Device Name: Mouse
         Attached: 1
    Controller ID: n/a
Vendor/Product ID: n/a
        FF Driver: n/a

      Device Name: Keyboard
         Attached: 1
    Controller ID: n/a
Vendor/Product ID: n/a
        FF Driver: n/a

      Device Name: Saitek X52 Flight Control System
         Attached: 1
    Controller ID: 0x0
Vendor/Product ID: 0x06A3, 0x075C
        FF Driver: n/a

Poll w/ Interrupt: No

[Skuzzy]

Well, Vista is a handicap here.  Be sure to disable the Aero GUI.  That will help a lot.

But, notice in the DXDIAG output there is only 3.3GB of system RAM available.  That is due to the cheap video chip using the other 768MB of system RAM for itself.  There does not appear to be any dedicated video RAM.

So, each time the video chip has to access RAM, the CPU has to stop and vice-versa.

Another area of performcnce issues could be with the Centrino processor.  Intel did a really nice job of making this CPU use very little power.  But the bulk of the power savings has to do with shutting down parts of the CPU not being used.  When the video chip needs the RAM for a bit, there is a good chance the CPU will actually power down most of its circuits.

It powers them back up very quickly, but, if one does this often enough, it can cause uneven game play.

I would say the priority in searching for solutions to this would be:

1)  Vista.  It has a ton of background programs and a very heavy user interface.
2)  The video chip.  Not much you can do about this.  It is the way thigns are being doen today to save power on laptops.
3)  The CPU.  You should be able to shut down any and all power savings measures, which should help smooth things out a bit.

[Marshal]

Thanks Skuzzy and everyone else. I think i would be better off sending this thing back to dell. If I do send it back are there any suggestions on a laptop that would play the game without any problems.

[TexInVa]

Originally posted by Skuzzy
But, notice in the DXDIAG output there is only 3.3GB of system RAM available.  That is due to the cheap video chip using the other 768MB of system RAM for itself.  There does not appear to be any dedicated video RAM.

Originally posted by Marshal
Display Memory: 776 MB
Dedicated Memory: 504 MB
Shared Memory: 271 MB

The reason he's got 3.3GB of ram is because he's using an x86 OS

[Skuzzy]

Not quite.  Vista can address 4GB of RAM.  XP was arbitrarily relegated to 3GB of RAM.

I did miss the dedicated RAM for the video card.  Still, it is using a portion of system RAM dedicated to the video display.  In all likelihood, this is due to the Aero interface which requires a significant amount of memory.

Vista is the main culprit here.  NVidia's drivers for Vista have not been the best things they have done.  Some of the coders for NVidia have been fairly vocal about their disdain for Vista.

[38ruk]

Bet that thing would run great with XP on it .

[Skuzzy]

It would run about 20 to 25% faster.  The warping would not be as bad, but with the default background processes loaded on it, it would still warp.

[TexInVa]

Wow...

OK...

Hey, Marshal? Try turning off whatever Intel uses to slow down the proccessors. Speedstep or some such. Also try to uninstall all of the vendor drivers you have gotten and go with all of microsofts vista drivers. There are a lot of services and proccesses running that don't have to be. You'll have to go to the task manager and shut them off individually. And if you  bsod out, then when you return, don't turn that one off again. Here are a couple links for you to look at:

http://www.errorforum.com/microsoft-windows-vista-error/2745-windows-vista-services-tweak-guide-v1-0-a.html

http://www.errorforum.com/microsoft-windows-vista-error/6491-windows-vista-services-tweaks.html

Don't worry Marshall. Sooner or later, everyone will have to face reality and deal with Vista. There are users out here that are trying to get AHII to work with Vista.

[Skuzzy]

The game can be made to run in an acceptable manner under Vista, but you need much faster hardware and more RAM than XP needed.  And you must spend a lot of time tuning the OS.

My desktop, at work, is Vista Ultimate.  It took a few days worth of work to get it to run the game smoothly.  The single biggest thing to fain back a lot of your performance is to shut off Aero and go back the Windows Classic look.

On laptops it is more of a challenge due to power due to power management.

I still have a lot of problems and frustrations with the OS due to many incompatibilites with many applications/utilites.  At least MS is still supporting XP Pro until 2014.

[Tsingis]

I got rid of Vista warping by disabling IPv6 and 2 link layer functions from network settings.

[DoNKeY]

Also make sure that you're not running on something like an "energy star" setting, as that saves energy.  If it is something like that, try going to regular setting, desktop/labtop setting, so that it doesn't save energy.

Solved my warping.

donkey