Curse

Old Dood · Aug 16, 2005, 09:32 PM // 21:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Algren Cole

I run Guild Wars with winamp, photoshop, opera, steam, AIM and generally a vent and teamspeak client open as well as an FTP Server and a Port Tunneler at all times...I never experience any lag other than the 'warp' lag that Teklord described.

p.s. antivirus software is for noobs

Well you can run just about anything if you have enough ram in order to do it.
I run with 1.5GB ram. It makes my system's overall speed faster.

As for your little joke about antivirus software....when you have a family using the home network...antivirus software is a wise choice. It has saved me many hours of pulling my hair out reformating my hard drives.

I can't afford to lose anymore hair. Nature is taking it's toll on me as it is.

Sagius Truthbarron · Aug 16, 2005, 09:33 PM // 21:33

I just have a AMD anthlon comparable to a Pentium 4 (Though it's not a peice of junk), a geforce 2 (Not supported) and a Pro Savage S3 graphics enhancer: I've very, very rarely had client side lag in 2 months.

Anet really did a great job in preparing the game for players who don't of the best engines on the market.

With the processor I could probably play the game on the highest setting with no lag (I know I did that in Star Wars Galaxies) but my graphics card would probably conk out.

Algren Cole · Aug 16, 2005, 09:41 PM // 21:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Warrior Dood

I can't afford to lose anymore hair. Nature is taking it's toll on me as it is.

roflmao!

Family doesn't touch my computer. They have their own computers on their network on their own connection.

I <3 my computer

Arvydas · Aug 16, 2005, 10:00 PM // 22:00

The kind of update GW use is what I regard as just-in-time installs. I have a software at work that does the same thing. It only install necessary contents on-the-fly.

I believe the installs/updates you got when you log in are necessary for GW to run. Then when you get to each town or a new map you download the other needed pieces.

Mandy Memory · Aug 16, 2005, 10:22 PM // 22:22

my computer is just a lot better than yours...and i never lag...dishout some cash:-P

that and the summer update will prolly be one of those new vesion available things, unless it is only maps

Santosh · Aug 16, 2005, 10:31 PM // 22:31

My system is:

P4, 3ghz
800 FSB cache
1g ram
ATI 9800 Pro 256mgb video
Cable connection

I have had ZERO lag since product launch.

From my experience, it sometimes doesn't matter if you have the best sytem put together. If your internet connection or ISP sucks, that is the problem.

Vorlin · Aug 16, 2005, 10:59 PM // 22:59

As someone noted earlier, you don't connect directly from your home system to ANet, you pass through any number of intermediate sites inbetween. If one or more of those sites tend to lag, then you'll have lag through no fault of your ISP or ANet. I played a Mud (text based multiplayer online game) for years that was located in California that I had terrible lag problems with due to the fact that one of the relay sites between me and the Mud had nasty lag problems.

***************

When it comes to anti-virus software running all the time, if you are in control of your system (i.e. are the only one that uses it) then you only have to virus scan incoming files. Viruses don't spontaneously erupt on your system, they have to arrive there from incoming files.

Also, if you download files from reputable sources then you don't have to worry about viruses to begin with. I have no virus protection on my system, never have, and I've never had a virus infection in over 15 years of computer use. About once ever couple of months I go to housecall.antivirus.com and run their -free- online virus check (better than Norton's IMO), so far it's never found anything.

Depending on the settings you have for it, running anti-virus software in the background can really hurt your computer's performance. Some of these programs can spend tremendous amounts of CPU and harddrive capacity constantly checking RAM, the data passing through your internet connection, and your harddrive for viruses. In a weird way, your anti-virus program can become a defacto virus, harming your system performance.

Oni No Arashi · Aug 16, 2005, 11:24 PM // 23:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esprit

I disagree with the first two. You should never shut down anti-virus and anti-spyware, that's what it is there for. You should be able to run anything fine with those type of services running. Just don't be doing any scans.

The third one should rarely happen as it is.

I've run AIM while playing Guild Wars, even had GW windowed to chat in AIM, hehe. AIM has the Wild Tangent spyware that can be easily removed.

Working for an anti-virus and anti-spyware company I can't agree with you.

There is a reason why most games state to shut them down when doing any installs or even playing more intensive games. Most scanners will use about 60% of your available resources when running. Most games like the same amount... that totals to 120%... system crash or complete slowdown while it resorts to the swap file in a sequence that won't be pretty.

If all you're doing is playing a game... turn it off, but make sure your IM's, file sharing programs and everything else is turned off too.

Kakumei · Aug 16, 2005, 11:37 PM // 23:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Warrior Dood

Any protection is alwasy on. However, norton is one of the biggest memory HOGS of them all. *sigh*

free.grisoft.com

free.grisoft.com

free.grisoft.com

zehly · Aug 17, 2005, 12:00 AM // 00:00

I use Symantec Antivirus Corporate v10 64bit edition. It does on-access, real time scanning. It never slows down my PC. I've used it on less-gifted computers and it works well too, even on a 900MHz Athlon. If you use a Windows-Based operating system, turning off your antivirus is only acceptable if your computer is powered-off. Otherwise, you are ALWAYS succeptable to viruses/trojans/etc from places you never thought you could get them.

An alternative to disabling antivirus is to disable on-access scanning, and schedule regular full system scans (e.g., every night at 1am), or setup smart scans for every bootup.

As far as spyware goes, you shouldn't have a problem if you don't use Netscape or IE. You can disable your spyware scanning while you are playing GW, so long as you re-enable it when you surf the web.

If you have a software firewall (ZoneAlarm, etc.) then you have a completely separate problem. The only reasonable software firewall to use is the one provided by Microsoft in Windows XP/2000 operating systems. This is because it's integrated into the network drivers, so blocking incoming packets is a function already inside the same library.

Hardware firewalls are generally the best solution. A router, albeit not intended for firewall use, suffices in most cases. I personally have an 800MHz NetBSD box for my firewall. Dialup users don't have this luxary, however this a moot point, because they are prone to lag issues by the inherant nature of the connection.

Services under Windows XP/2000+ versions are generally not an issue. The SQL server, for example, while loaded into RAM, is dormant until it is needed. You can load all the basic services with windows (including the kernel) with under 250MB of ram (and not using any swap/virtual space). These only affect performance under the most extreme of circumstances.

Programs such as AIM and ICQ are not passive programs. Like GW, they are constantly communicating with the server, even if they aren't being used by you. I can understand closing these programs--I don't, but I have no reason to with my box

.

Other software optimizations not mentioned here that could attribute to either Video or Network lag could be, but not limited to:
- Out of date video drivers,
- Out of date network drivers,
- Out of date DirectX,
- Improper MTU settings for your connection interface,
- 10BaseT networks can experience high latency with an extreme load (transferring files between computers on wireless connections),
- Having a wireless connection,
- Improper swap file settings,
- Inflated registry,
- etc, etc, etc.
- You're using a Windows Operating System, hindering your systems overall throughput potentional.

I hope this can help you, from the IT/MCSE perspective. PM me if questions.

John Bloodstone · Aug 17, 2005, 12:03 AM // 00:03

When will people learn that Nortons sucks centaur balls? It's slow and it's bloatware. Get rid of it the next time you reformat (never uninstall it any other way) and you'll be glad you did.

Running Kaspersky now and I'm much happier with it.

(Sorry about the rant, I just dislike Nortons intensely)

zehly · Aug 17, 2005, 12:36 AM // 00:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Bloodstone

When will people learn that Nortons sucks centaur balls? It's slow and it's bloatware. Get rid of it the next time you reformat (never uninstall it any other way) and you'll be glad you did.

Running Kaspersky now and I'm much happier with it.

(Sorry about the rant, I just dislike Nortons intensely)

The consumer (Norton) product sucks.

The corporate (Symantec) owns you.