Graphics - 3D question video stutter

[tmrtex]

I purchased PassMark to assist me in trying to figure out a video stutter problem I'm having wth a game. I will be honest and say I have very limited knowledge beyond how to turn on the computer, and then shut it off when I'm done doing what I do. Now that you understand my skill level...

Something I noticed every time I run the 3D sequence of the Performance test, is at the begining of 3d-Complex test, the video stops (like a video stutter) for a nanosecond, then resumes uninterrupted until the sequence is finished. It does this the same way every time I run the test. Is this by design? Or is it my puter?

[David (PassMark)]

There is no simple answer to your question. It might just be you are trying to run the latest 3D intensive game on an old PC and nothing you do will fix the problem short of getting a new PC.

But it might also be because,
- You are short of RAM and Windows needs to swap RAM to disk (a slow task)
- You have other software running the background using up CPU time. This might be legitimate software or it might be malware.
- You have old video card device drivers
- You might have an older version of DirectX

In short, it is going to require some investigation and experimentation. Which is hard to do if you just at the stage of mastering the on / off switch.

[tmrtex]

Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming according to your reply that there is NO short interrupt (or stutter?) by design in the 3D complex test, and what I'm seeing is likely a system generated.

In theory...my rig should be able to run the game (Pacific Fighters) according to folks on the game forums.

HP a1530n
Intel Pent D dual core - 2.8 Ghz
Ram = 2GB (512 x 4)
ATI Radeon x1600 / 512 on board, Catalyst 6.14 drivers, (PCI-E)
SyncMaster 204b 20" monitor
550 wt PSU
Audigy 4 sound card
all latest drivers
DirectX 9.0c
VM set to "let system manage"

Performance Test score between 485 and 495

Stutter occurs just prior to the execution of certain video and audio files (explosions, voice comms, ect).

Stutter problem happens regardless of how many programs are running, and also with the games lowest vid and audio settings. MMC indicates that the CPU usage sits at about 50% during game with 1.2 GB ram not being utilized. File swapping seems high at 1200 peak (pages/sec). FPS avg 60 to 80, but can achieve up to 260 with very low game settings. Still will stutter. Running game in 1024x768, 75 htz.

Been fighting with this for 2 months now..I'll keep plugging away at it. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

[David (PassMark)]

Could just be a design flaw with that particaular game. Could be something like your hard drive going into a low power state after a few minutes of idle (check power setting in the control panel).

50% CPU usage means the game is CPU bound. The game must be single threaded (can't use the 2nd core, but is maxing out the core it does use). Still doesn't explain a short total halt however.

Do you have a friend that you can swap video and sounds cards with for a day?

[tmrtex]

Could just be a design flaw with that particaular game. Could be something like your hard drive going into a low power state after a few minutes of idle (check power setting in the control panel).

50% CPU usage means the game is CPU bound. The game must be single threaded (can't use the 2nd core, but is maxing out the core it does use). Still doesn't explain a short total halt however.

Do you have a friend that you can swap video and sounds cards with for a day?

If there was a design flaw in the game, the forums would be full of complaints. Very active on-line community, and this game has been out a while. Most people seem to solve their issues with a little tweaking of the game settings, or the config.ini. (Does't help me any)

All "Power Management" is OFF.

CPU usage...my understanding is that "each core" of a 2.8 MHz processor runs at 2.8 MHz, (not 1.4 MHz for each of the 2 cores). The game specs "recommend" a 2.4 GHz processor. (If thats the case), then my system exceeds the recommended specs. No?

System Requirements:

• Supported OS: Windows® 98/ME/XP/2000 (only)
• Processor: Pentium® III or AMD Athlon™ 1 GHz (Pentium 4 2.4 GHz recommended)
• RAM: 512 MB (1 GB recommended)
• Video Card: DirectX® 9 compliant w/ 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended) (see supported list)*
• Sound Card: DirectX 9 compliant
• DirectX Version: DirectX 9 or higher (included on disc)
• CD-ROM: 4X CD-ROM or better
• Hard Drive Space: 1.1+ GB
• Multiplayer: Broadband Internet connection

The game IS single threaded as you mentioned, and there is advice out there for dual core people experiencing issues with performance in general, "to do this, that, or the other". And I've done it all, including the Microsoft "Hotfix" for dual core performance issues, and add "/usepmtimer" to boot file, set Affinity to CPU 1...No success.

May try swapping the ATI Radeon X1600 for a better graphics card. Looking at a evga GeForce 7950 GT (throw more money at the problem, maybe it goes away?)

[geegenjar]

Something I noticed every time I run the 3D sequence of the Performance test, is at the begining of 3d-Complex test, the video stops (like a video stutter) for a nanosecond, then resumes uninterrupted until the sequence is finished. It does this the same way every time I run the test. Is this by design? Or is it my puter?

I have noticed that with PerformanceTestv6.0 on my computer, too.

My computer is an old one built around the year 2000.

Athlon 700MHz
256Mb PC133 2-2-2
Asus agp-v6800 32Mb
Windows 98 [first edition]

When I first noticed the little pause, I thought my computer was just too old for the 3-D test, but now I know that it may not be the case. It's interesting to know that even a faster computer like yours have the same problem.

By the way, my PassMark Score on this computer is about 88.