Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Urchin on February 08, 2009, 10:39:27 AM
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Short version - I fired up AH last night in offline mode to make sure my stick still worked, but I noticed I wasn't getting a very great frame rate - usually between 30 and 45.
In game settings are as follows -
1680x1050 resolution, 60 FPS cap. Hardware vertex processing is checked, as is optimize objects and terrain. Max texture size is set to 1024 - I think I have the hi-res textures enabled but I'm not certain.
Short computer info - AMD 4200+ Dual Core CPU, ATI Radeon 4850 512 mb, SB Audigy (the first one), 4 GB RAM (although Dxdiag only shows 3). I do run the FSAutostart program to kill everything I don't need to have running while I play.
I just feel like this system isn't performing like it "should", if that makes any sense. Thanks in advance.
DXdiag report is too long to post - if someone can tell me what the relevant portions are I'll put em up.
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Just curious. What frame rate do you get at 1280x1024, loading the high resolution textures, with vsync disabled, on NE runway of ndisles, in a single B24J?
I have a 4850 available at home and in a Core 2 E8400 (clocked at 3.7Ghz), with 4XAA forced and 0 anisotropic filtering, I am showing between 142 and 158 FPS.
My computer only has 2GB of DDR2-1200 RAM (571Mhz clock).
Two sound cards can cause some performance degradation as Windows has to call each sound card routine to see who is supposed to be playing what. Never a really good idea to have more than one sound card in a Windows system.
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Well MS should fix that! Headphone audio for communication and 5.1 (or better) system for effects/engines/etc would make things more engrossing.
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Skuzzy -
I only have one sound card (I disabled the on board one) - I meant I have an Audigy I. I think I've seen Audigy 2's on up, mine is sort of old.
Ok, I loaded up AH in 1280x1024 mode with 4x anti-aliasing through the catalyst control center, anisotropic filtering is set to 'application managed', in AH i set the FPS to unlimited, and in CCC I set 'wait for vertical refresh' to OFF.
When I just load up AH without shutting down background processes (like virus scanner, etc, I have ~45) I got 36-37 FPS.
When I use FSautostart, I get 38-40.
I sat on the NE runway of A1 on NDisles in a B24J, and I redownloaded the hi-res textures but it looks like they were enabled already.
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Hmmm, would like to see the top portion of the DXDIAG output along with the video card information.
There is definately somethng amiss.
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Skuzzy -
DXdiag info follows. I want to include two things that looked really weird to me, from the "System Devices" section, but there are to many characters so it won't let me post it.My sound and video card listings under the "system devices" setting have very long lists of file names. My question is should there be a list that long for "drivers"? Most of the other things listed in that section have 3 or 4 entries.
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System Information
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Time of this report: 2/8/2009, 10:49:15
Machine name: STEVE-B21EA8E35
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.080814-1236)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: Phoenix - Award BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.2GHz
Memory: 3072MB RAM
Page File: 1134MB used, 3822MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode
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DxDiag Notes
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DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.
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DirectX Debug Levels
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Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)
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Display Devices
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Card name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x9442)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9442&SUBSYS_E810174B&REV_00
Display Memory: 512.0 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6844 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 7/31/2008 23:32:35, 311296 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
Mini VDD Date: 8/1/2008 01:38:20, 3266560 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-D702-11CF-476E-1AC8A1C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x9442
SubSys ID: 0xE810174B
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D
Deinterlace Caps: {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalSt retch
{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalSt retch
{3C5323C1-6FB7-44F5-9081-056BF2EE449D}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{552C0DAD-CCBC-420B-83C8-74943CF9F1A6}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalSt retch
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run
-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
Description: SB Audigy Audio [8000]
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1102&DEV_0004&SUBSYS_00511102&REV_03
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.1241 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 4/10/2007 04:20:38, 520488 bytes
Other Files:
Driver Provider: Creative
HW Accel Level: Full
Cap Flags: 0xF5F
Min/Max Sample Rate: 4000, 191999
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 64, 0
Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 64, 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
Registry: OK
Sound Test Result: Not run
---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
Description: SB Audigy Audio [8000]
Default Sound Capture: Yes
Default Voice Capture: Yes
Driver Name: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.1241 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Date and Size: 4/10/2007 04:20:38, 520488 bytes
Cap Flags: 0x41
Format Flags: 0xFFF
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Try removing the 60 cap inside AH I've noticed that it drops fps to 45 or below in practise in one of my computers. So leave fps unlimited but tick the vsync tick on in catalyst control panel (i.e. vsync mode always on).
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Urchin, check that you haven't maxed out 'object detail' and 'ground detail range' - set them at default.
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What motherboard do you have? You have a slightly older CPU (4200), but the 4850 (and even the 3850) line of cards are PCIe 2.0 (x16) cards. They will function in non-2.0 slots, but won't have the bandwidth to reach full potential. I don't know if anybody has done any "bottleneck tests" per se, but I wonder if that is what you are experiencing here.
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Lengro -
Yes I have the details settings maxxed out. I'll try it again with them set to default.
Krusty -
I have an Asus A8N-SLI motherboard.
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I just looked it up on newegg, your mobo only has PCIe x16 (not PCIe 2.0), so that may be a reason you're not getting full potential.
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I just looked it up on newegg, your mobo only has PCIe x16 (not PCIe 2.0), so that may be a reason you're not getting full potential.
I don't know about that. My Asus P5NE-SLI is non 2.0 and I have no problems maxing out my FPS at 1680x1050, 4x AA on my 8800GTS 640mb.
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I don't know about that. My Asus P5NE-SLI is non 2.0 and I have no problems maxing out my FPS at 1680x1050, 4x AA on my 8800GTS 640mb.
I'm getting 59 FPS solid (locked with vsync) at 16x AA and 16x AF with my 512 8800 GTS although I do have PCIe x16 2.0 slots. Something definitely wrong with Urchin's rig.
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Changing the ground view distance and the object detail sliders back to default made a big difference - with both of them at default the FPS jumped up to 58-60, with the ground view slider set back to 3 miles it dropped to 50-55 or so.
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Changing the ground view distance and the object detail sliders back to default made a big difference - with both of them at default the FPS jumped up to 58-60, with the ground view slider set back to 3 miles it dropped to 50-55 or so.
Also you may be experiencing "bottlenecking". Your CPU may not be able to keep up with the nice card you have. Make sure you have the AMD Duo core optimizer. XP also has a patch for AMD duo cores. I think you need to d/l this first then install AMD duo core optimizer:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C2AB5A48-8240-4934-BBD8-34FB8A0FCE3B&displaylang=en
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html
If you are capable maybe overclocking your CPU a tad may raise the frame rate to what you have your refresh rate set as. You are running at 2.2G and maybe a slight bump on CPU may help a bit. If 2.2 is stock you can easily get another 10%(2.4-2.5G) out of it but If you have never overclocked be careful.
The next thing is maybe turn your textures down to 512 and not run Hi res. I always prefer to run better performance over quality.
Get your processes down to as close to 20 by using enditall2 or fsautostart. Keeping your processes low will help performance of CPU keeping up with video card.
http://www.docsdownloads.com/enditall-1.htm
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I'm getting 59 FPS solid (locked with vsync) at 16x AA and 16x AF with my 512 8800 GTS although I do have PCIe x16 2.0 slots. Something definitely wrong with Urchin's rig.
Bald, do you run a AMD 4200 also?
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Bald, do you run a AMD 4200 also?
No, I've got an Intel E6750 (2.66 Ghz Core2Duo) overclocked to 3.2 Ghz.
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I did forget to mention, I was running the game with the default configuration in the GUI panel. Also note, I do not install the Catalyst Control Center. It can impact your computers performance.
Urchin, I would not expect your computer to match mine in performance. The faster CPU will make a big difference in the rame rate. It just seems yours is slower than I think it should be.
Sound cards have a ton of drivers as they have to support several different API's in Windows (Windows sound, DirectSound, ASIO).
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I want to add one thing I found curious last night.
If I enable V-sync in the CCC, I am limited to ~32 fps in AH.
Any idea why that might be?
Also, do you have any suggestions for improving my performance, or should I just drop it down to 512 textures?
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I want to add one thing I found curious last night.
If I enable V-sync in the CCC, I am limited to ~32 fps in AH.
Any idea why that might be?
Also, do you have any suggestions for improving my performance, or should I just drop it down to 512 textures?
Enable triple buffering in ATI settings and set AH video setting to 'unlimited' then report back.
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I want to add one thing I found curious last night.
If I enable V-sync in the CCC, I am limited to ~32 fps in AH.
Any idea why that might be?
Also, do you have any suggestions for improving my performance, or should I just drop it down to 512 textures?
Was that off-line? Try on-line. I noticed when testing off-line sitting on the default field I was running 3X frame rates too but on-line i run 59 steady. This is with vsync enabled and the game set to unlimited.
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Enable triple buffering in ATI settings and set AH video setting to 'unlimited' then report back.
Well, I enabled triple buffering and it seems to be locked in at 60. That is actually ok with me, I guess I could try disabling the vsync now and seeing what it goes to.
Thanks man, I appreciate it.
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Well, I enabled triple buffering and it seems to be locked in at 60. That is actually ok with me, I guess I could try disabling the vsync now and seeing what it goes to.
Thanks man, I appreciate it.
My pleasure.
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Interesting. I do not have triple buffering forced on, as Aces High II already does it.
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No, I've got an Intel E6750 (2.66 Ghz Core2Duo) overclocked to 3.2 Ghz.
As you know I have the same CPU, did you overclock yours to run Aces better or just because you can? I know you like tinkering with your comp, I still run 59-60 w/o overclocking and have an 8600 VC as well as Vista, and I don't turn anything off to run AH. Just wondering.
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As you know I have the same CPU, did you overclock yours to run Aces better or just because you can? I know you like tinkering with your comp, I still run 59-60 w/o overclocking and have an 8600 VC as well as Vista, and I don't turn anything off to run AH. Just wondering.
I did it just because I could. It runs AH exactly the same at stock settings.
I had it over 3.5 Ghz stable and still running pretty cool but as I tried to tweak the RAM up to match I was getting some errors in Prime95 so I backed it back off to sync with my stock RAM settings (DDR2 800) as it was getting late and I was tired. In retrospect I probably needed to tweak some of the other voltages slightly but at 3.2 Ghz it runs smooth and cool (the same temps and fan speeds as at stock settings).
Maybe I'll play with it again one day. I've read that you can get this CPU up to 3.8 Ghz + (safely 3.6 @ 24/7) and that you can get my RAM to about DDR2 960-980 at optimized timings (4-4-4-12). I'd only need 950 out of it to sync to 3.8 Ghz.
Sorry for the hijack Urchin.
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Oh no problem at all. I think it is useful to get as much information as possible.