Curse

majoho · Aug 03, 2006, 03:36 AM // 03:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by gabrial heart

My point is, i didn't call it that, it's how it reads in system properties! So if someone is referencing what they have and it says pentium 5 in their system properties, then they can narrow it down. Basically the system is calling the newer Pentium D's and core duos pentium 5's.

Ok, no need for me to beat the horse I guess

majoho · Aug 03, 2006, 03:37 AM // 03:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvndoom

I don't use Creative's drivers because of a bug with 4-channel surround. If I ever buy an extra amp to run a center speaker, I'll use their drivers. So because of that I can't use HW acceleration in GW, but software works fine, and most other games work fine too. It's not that big of a deal for me.

I use a 4 channel setup and haven't noticed a problem.

What kind of problem are you experiencing?

Mystra of Exile · Aug 03, 2006, 04:30 AM // 04:30

This thread is fast becoming facinating with lots of information. More info than the average guy who just wants to play the game thought they needed, I'm sure.

(Speaking of guys, I'm actually female, for those who sometimes forget a few girls actually do play. And even weirder, a few of us have some computer knowledge as well.

)

So, tech support now asked me to uninstall and reinstall my audio drivers even though they are the latest (the latest is over a year old). I did so.

Didn't seem to help.

Then I ran it with hardware accelleration and sample rate down to the lowest. If it's possible, it seemed to make it worse. The sounds, OMG. I'd be laughing my arse off if it weren't so pathetic. During a fight it sounding like a bad...lay? Yeah, sounded like a lot of grunts...lmao. I had to close the game, it's wouldn't stop. (I put the sound settings back up.)

I think running Guild Wars without sound looks like my only option unless they fix whatever it is that is incompatible with my sound card.

For those who are interested, it's Sigma Tel C-Major Audio.

Phoenix Arrows · Aug 03, 2006, 04:36 AM // 04:36

I skipped lots of the posts because I was lagging...from GW.

50-75 percent a lot of times...actually...always. It's a PC and it's only about 4 months old...really laggy. I have that problem too...

Mystra of Exile · Aug 03, 2006, 01:08 PM // 13:08

Ok, as it stands now this is the last message I got from Tech Support:

They are reporting it to the Q&A department to see if they can reproduce the problem on their end.

gabrial heart · Aug 03, 2006, 02:22 PM // 14:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvndoom

Screenshots please.

I want to see your Processes tab:

<image removed>

And your Performance Tab:

<image removed>

To verify my misinformation.

Sure, as soon as get home, it's 7:22am here and I'm at work.

gabrial heart · Aug 04, 2006, 01:03 AM // 01:03

Ok here's the two machines that don't have issues.

The toshiba laptop Pentium 4 Hyperthreaded @ 2.99 Ghz - Nvidia go fx5200

and the Pentium D Dual Core @ 2.66 - ATI x1800 crossfire

Just for the hell of it, here the dead horse beating and why i used Pentium 5 in the original post.

Granted they were only running gw for about 5 minutes, give or take a few.

And the troubled machine My g/fs lappy
Pentium 4 HT @ 2 Ghz 1.25 MB (thought it was 1.5, whoops) -ATi x300 Mobility

The AMD is at my ex's with my son, but you get the idea...

kvndoom · Aug 04, 2006, 01:28 AM // 01:28

Wow, thanks for posting pictures to prove me right. Let me re-quote myself:

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvndoom

1) If you have a single-core, single-threaded CPU, gw.exe will use 100% of your CPU time.

2) If you have a Hyperthreaded (HT) or dual/multi-core CPU, gw.exe will not use 100% of your CPU time.

I should have been a tad more specific and said that running Guild Wars will guarantee 100% CPU usage on single core, single-threaded machines. As Kaguya and myself have tried to explain, and as your very own screenshots prove, Windows sees Hyperthreaded CPU's as two separate processors, same as Dual-core machines. Note TWO windows under "CPU usage History" in the first 2 screens. If the girlfriend's laptop is indeed a P4 with HT, then HT must be turned off in the BIOS, otherwise it would show two CPU cores in the Performance tab as well, instead of one.

I keep banging my head against a brick wall. Every 2 weeks a thread about CPU usage pops up in this forum, and no matter how many times I try to drive this point home, nobody listens. Sigh...

]SK[ · Aug 04, 2006, 06:21 AM // 06:21

Laptops are made from different components than a standard PC. Laptops are always alot slower. My laptop is technically faster than my home PC in terms of stats. It simply isn't though.

BTW if you press Alt Gr and Print Screen it takes a shot of just the active window/dialog box.

majoho · Aug 04, 2006, 06:39 AM // 06:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvndoom

I keep banging my head against a brick wall. Every 2 weeks a thread about CPU usage pops up in this forum, and no matter how many times I try to drive this point home, nobody listens. Sigh...

I know how you feel, this 'issue' is brought up time and time again, both here but also at most other gaming forums.

Mystra of Exile · Aug 04, 2006, 07:05 AM // 07:05

In my defence, I tried to both search the issue before posting, and then editing my thread title to more accurately reflect the issue (frame rate) and was not successful for either.

It's not hard to understand that when faced with poor performance, one would seize on the most obvious looking culprit (high CPU usage) at first.

gabrial heart · Aug 04, 2006, 01:24 PM // 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvndoom

Wow, thanks for posting pictures to prove me right. Let me re-quote myself:

Hmmm, i didn't even notice and your right it's a centrino M, ack. Makes sense now. But, the amd.... I know it's a +1200, wasn't hoging the processor when i checked it last, maybe it to was an earlier hyperthreaded version. Thanks for pointing that out!

gabrial heart · Aug 04, 2006, 01:37 PM // 13:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystra of Exile

In my defence, I tried to both search the issue before posting, and then editing my thread title to more accurately reflect the issue (frame rate) and was not successful for either.

It's not hard to understand that when faced with poor performance, one would seize on the most obvious looking culprit (high CPU usage) at first.

Well i wasn't talking fps and processor perfomance, i was talking about her going out of the game and the system comming to a crawl. Her fps isn't great by any stretch of the imagination and the vid card is the main culprit of that. Even though the ati x300 is a decent performer (over the nvidia 5200 in certain tests) it's still never gets over about 25 facing a blank wall in-game. I think theres a sound issue that has helped kick up demand and caused the system overhead to be tweaked more noticibly. Shes running lower sound lately and it's seemed to help a tad. Guild Wars, not unlike any other game that has evovled, continues to demand a bit more of a system each stage.

Time for an upgrade - again...

Red · Aug 04, 2006, 02:49 PM // 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by fallot on page 1

I had the exact same problem until I started running GW with the -dx8 parameter, got rid of my anti-virus and stopped using TS.

Wait. -dx8 paramter? Like, in the same place you'd use the -image parameter?
o_O Does that mean what I think it does--namely, Guild Wars in Direct 8?
Are there any problems with doing so? Significant drawbacks? Oo;;;

DutchGun · Aug 05, 2006, 12:22 AM // 00:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redly

Wait. -dx8 paramter? Like, in the same place you'd use the -image parameter?
o_O Does that mean what I think it does--namely, Guild Wars in Direct 8?
Are there any problems with doing so? Significant drawbacks? Oo;;;

Yep, GW in DX8 works just fine, although most folks have no reason to do so. But i'd imagine it solves some compatibility issues for a few people.

The difference is some effects are downgraded. Hint: one of the more easy-to-test visual differences... look at your footprints. In dx9 they look sort of 3d-ish. In dx8 they look more like a flat texture.

nytestalker · Aug 05, 2006, 12:37 AM // 00:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystra of Exile

I understand the switch user thing, again, I'm actually a tech support analyst in real life. I do not have anything, anywhere, running in the background.

Heh. And the reason you cant figure it out on your own is...... yeah.

Ok. Omega drivers. SUCK. There nice and shiny thats for sure. BUT THEY SUCK.

Drop the 3rd party crappy video drivers. (yeah yeah.. im sure you used them the entire time..... but guess what. THEY SUCK. All it is, is a bunch of reg tweaks you could do yourself if you spent 15 mins looking at google...)

Next.

Temp.

Im glad its cool to the touch. But that doesnt mean that little gpu is cool. Download one of the bazillion free temp monitors out there. And do some investigation. Its extremely possible that the fan has lost some RPM horsepower due to dust/debris. (smoker or not, they still collect dust...) Granted it would be... somewhat techie... to pull your lappie apart and clean it... but it may help.

Also, as others have suggested, try another 3d application. You could (as a test) try 3D mark. Its a 3D benchmark software. Designed to stress your system. If possible, try to run a temp monitoring program that will give you a timeline readout. Then run 3D mark, and after its done, check the temp read out. It should give a clear impression of the temp during load.

Finally.

The 5 frames a second, is that while your alone in an exploreable area, or in a city. Cause in cities (RA for instance) my beeeeeeeeeeeefy quake 4 machine only gets around 10 fps or so... Alone ill hit upwards of 40-60 fps depending on whats around me.

Also. While im thinking about it.

I doubt your lappie has extended surrond capacity. Try lowering the sound quality slider. Its possible that the improved sound capabilites are whats causing the lag. IIRC, the sound improvements came right close to the time factions was released.

Alias_X · Aug 05, 2006, 02:44 AM // 02:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sample Attack

Nvidia = Series 7900 or even lower one 7300 SLI you will rock !

Sometime it's network issue ..
I would eliminate wireless ( older wireless has dead spot ) go with wired for now avoid interfre about your household appliances.

I'm not sure ATI 9700 is ,check the compatibility.
Most gamer go with 2 Gig RAM.
If you want performance I 'd say go at least 2 Gig You won't disappointed.

Check your trace route, Ping hop , sometime net congested ...
i hope it help ,

Yah just buy a supercomputer and you will be set dudezor !!!1!!111!11

That was possibly the most unhelpful post I have seen on Guild Wars. If someone has a problem, don't immediatly tell them to buy new hardware... especially with a problem like this where it didn't used to happen. It is more software related than hardware related.

kvndoom · Aug 05, 2006, 03:48 AM // 03:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystra of Exile

In my defence, I tried to both search the issue before posting, and then editing my thread title to more accurately reflect the issue (frame rate) and was not successful for either.

It's not hard to understand that when faced with poor performance, one would seize on the most obvious looking culprit (high CPU usage) at first.

Naw, it's cool. We've narrowed your problem to a sound issue, but not 100% sure how or why. It does seem that Anet changed the sound engine again on last Thursday's update, since a lot of people got the pops and static. Something likely was changed that is incompatible with your sound drivers. Like was said before, laptops have crappy onboard sound and crappy speakers, so I wouldn't doubt crappy drivers to go with all that.

Hopefully some newer drivers or a future update will fix that for you. Does Windows by chance have built-in drivers for your sound chip, or can you only use the manufacturer's?

Mystra of Exile · Aug 05, 2006, 04:00 AM // 04:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by nytestalker

Heh. And the reason you cant figure it out on your own is...... yeah....

All it is, is a bunch of reg tweaks you could do yourself if you spent 15 mins looking at google...

...Granted it would be... somewhat techie... to pull your lappie apart and clean it... but it may help...

Thank you for shaming me and making sure I know my techie abilities are NOTHING compared to yours, although I'm pretty sure my inter-personal skills are far superior.

Psycho Souma · Aug 05, 2006, 07:59 PM // 19:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkveil

Since the PvP Nightfall weekend, I've had the same problem with heavy lags but its almost only happening when theres a lot of action on the screen...like in PvP or whenever many spell effects is triggered simultaneously.
I dont think it has to do with other people hogging bandwidth while downing updates from Anet. If it would, those lags would appear in other areas as well (when your idling or in small towns or during travel).

I play other games (mostly FPS's) and I run Oblivion, doom3, HL2 etc in 1600x1200 resolution with all settings maxed out and i get nice framerates in those games. Got 100/10 Mbit internet connection which is almost too much...

Still, Guild Wars is almost unplayable for me as it is. Annoying indeed.

right, this is the only person on this thread who has a damn clue what they are on about in regard to the ACTUAL PROBLEM!!! all this tech talk is very nice but as a few people have said its not actually relavent since it is OBVIOUSLY a larger problem connected to the nightfall pvp weekend update.

Anet are denying this of course, so it looks like i am not gonna be able to play my favourite game any more, which frankly pisses me off more than anything else, even this ridiculous testosterone-fest for the socialy retarded.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystra of Exile

Thank you for shaming me and making sure I know my techie abilities are NOTHING compared to yours, although I'm pretty sure my inter-personal skills are far superior.

and for the record, you rock