screen stutters

[gyrene81]

If it makes no difference with "Detailed Terrain" on or off, is it safe to assume you have not changed any of the defaults in the NVidia control panel for the video card?

Actually I have made changes in the Nvidia control panel. Everything that has been recommended to be set to application controlled is set to either "global setting-application controlled" or "forced on". At one point I had it tweaked so much that it caused more problems so I reset it to default and started over. I haven't tested the newest Nvidia driver that was released on 10/5 yet...but it's on the list of things to try.


I have contemplated the purchase of a new video card in the 9800GT line up...but I'm not convinced that's going to resolve the issues. True that logically a faster interface (256 bit vs 128 bit), higher number of pixel pipelines (112 vs 32) and a faster GPU should produce better results...but people with better video cards than the 9500GT have been reporting various problems with each patch since 2.14 was released.


Just out of curiosity, has the stuttering effect (slow object/texture rendering) and fluctuating frame rates been reproducible on your systems? You know, on a system that isn't loaded with top of the line hardware and processes trimmed down to the point below what the average home use would have.

[straffo]

1st I didn't read the whole thread.


gyrene do you have stutter on and off line ?.

[gyrene81]

1st I didn't read the whole thread.

gyrene do you have stutter on and off line ?.

You're thinking internet connectivity issue...nope, I have a 20 mbps cable connection that is consistently fast to Texas. The stuttering effect happens even in offline mode.

[Skuzzy]

That's the problem gyrene and why I am asking so many questions.  I cannot duplicate it.  My work system only has a 7600GT video card, so I cannot run with the "Detailed Terrain" option enabled as it bogs the system too much.

At home, I run with all the bells and whistles on and it runs smooth as silk, but it is an ATI card so no apples to apples there either.

Most players report the game runs better and smoother than the previous version.  I have a handful of folks who are having stutter issues, and it is proving very difficult to nail down why.

[straffo]

You're thinking internet connectivity issue...nope, I have a 20 mbps cable connection that is consistently fast to Texas. The stuttering effect happens even in offline mode.

ok,try to reduce the resolution + texture size until you see no stutter .

If you still have stutter we will have to try something else as will not be video car dependant.

[gyrene81]

ok,try to reduce the resolution + texture size until you see no stutter .

If you still have stutter we will have to try something else as will not be video car dependant.

You mean like 1024x768 at 128 textures? Done...no difference. I appreciate the suggestions but to save you the trouble of thinking about something else to suggest...I have done everything short of erasing my hard drive and doing a fresh rebuild and or buying a new video card. Since 2.14 was originally released I have gone from 1440x900 1024 textures with hires pack and custom sounds to my current configuration (1280x920 256 textures no custom sounds). Each patch has created a different set of challenges that I could either adjust out or had to wait for another update.



With the last version of 2.13 my video card showed in excess of 126MB of memory being used, at 512 textures...no version of 2.14 has exceeded 100MB regardless. I'm of the opinion that the stuttering effect is a slowed down rendering process caused by textures/objects not getting cached effectively as they are rendered. The underlying issue with the stuttering might be avoided if some artifacts were preloaded into memory like 2.13 did...as the game started you could see everything that was being cached into memory and by the time you hit the tower there wasn't anything to cache...that's just from my observations with the lower memory usage to the way I see things rendered on the screen.

[doomed]

dont waste your money on the  9800 nvidea its what i have with 1 gig on board mem and the works.. i still get the stutters on or offline since that .8 patch just like you, regardless of any settings or resolutions or configurations or drivers new or old. It pretty much plays exactly the same...shrug...

[Skuzzy]

And yet, Hitech has a 9800 in his computer, as does Waffle and neither of them have stutter issues.  I really do not think it is the video card, itself, but it could be a combination of things causing this.

[Chalenge]

doomed: Did you ever post a DXDIAG? That is the number one best thing you can do in order to get help with stutters.

[BMathis]

Weird how some have studders and some don't, even with crappier cards  I still cannot solve my issues.  good luck Gyrene!! 

[gyrene81]

And yet, Hitech has a 9800 in his computer, as does Waffle and neither of them have stutter issues.  I really do not think it is the video card, itself, but it could be a combination of things causing this.

I agree Skuzzy. It's not any one part...every patch has created a variety of issues for different people across the board...low end to high end...the one constant has been the stuttering effect and the WSOD. But people who have experienced the stuttering have seen it at different patch levels...one patch is good...the next isn't...and to varying degrees. I know there is more than a small hand full who have or are experiencing it...the ones who haven't reported it, either don't frequent the forums or they have minimized the effect on their systems so it's playable. Obviously the worst cases get reported.


This is the guts of my system:

Mobo: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Socket 775 Motherboard - OEM
Video Card: XFX PVT95GYDQ3 GeForce 9500 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 1066 MHz FSB
PSU: Thermaltake ToughPower Modular W0116 Power supply - 750 Watt
RAM: 1x4 GB PC2 DDR2 800 (PC26400)


I'm sure eventually it will get ironed out...it's just another part of the improvement process.

[straffo]

As your previous post showed it's not video card related and your CPU is good enough I suggest you to update the nForce chipset driver and get ride of the nvidia firewall 

If you can also try with an external sound card it would be interesting, to narrow the origin of your troubles.

[Skuzzy]

By any chance is the video IRQ being shared with another device?  Or maybe the sound chip IRQ?  How about the network card/chip IRQ?  The physical IRQ, not the virtual one.

[gyrene81]

get ride of the nvidia firewall 

Say what? Nvidia firewall? Haven't seen anything like that on my system.

If you can also try with an external sound card it would be interesting, to narrow the origin of your troubles.

The system has the Realtek 5.1 digital audio chipset on it. I suppose I could go to Bestbuy and grab a Soundblaster just to see if it makes a difference...if not I just take it back...LOL

By any chance is the video IRQ being shared with another device?  Or maybe the sound chip IRQ?  How about the network card/chip IRQ?  The physical IRQ, not the virtual one.

Never thought about it Skuzzy. I'll check when I get home tonight and report back. Anything is possible with plug and pray.

[straffo]

check if you don't have the infamous "Network Access Manager" with "ActiveArmor" installed it's a real pain !