Need to learn a bit about framerates and video options - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Mikado · 08-14-2003, 03:19 PM

Ok, so I have a pretty fast computer. I'll list my specs real quick.

Pentium 4 2.4ghz w/ 533mhz fsb
Asus P4GE-V mobo
512mb PC2700 DDR RAM
200gb 7200rpm Western Digital HD w/ 8mb cache
Soundmax integraded Digital audio
Geforce 3 Ti200

So my questions pertain to video, framerates, and settings. The main games I'm playing now are Day of Defeat, Battlefield 1942, and America's Army. For the most part I get decent framerates, but nothing to get excited over. All my drivers are up-to-date, and I have the latest 9.0A directx installed.

I was running DOD the other day, and my framerate would be close 90 fps, but I'd still get mouse lag. It acted if my framerate was closer to 10, but indicated it was still near 90. Is there something I'm missing here? Same things happen in BF1942 and AA. I'll suddenly get framrate drops that really affect gameplay. BF is so choppy that it's really annoying to play now.

My first guess was that my video card was just too weak. So be it, I'll just turn down the video settings of my games. However, even lowering my games down to 800x600 with minimum detail does not seem to work. My framerates don't improve at all. I figured if I was getting 30 - 90 fps in DOD with high settings and 1024 resolution, that at low settings and 800x600 I'd get almost a constant 90 fps. That was not the case.

Perhaps I'm missing something, whether it be in my video card options, game options, or elsewhere that could be effecting performance. Then again maybe the bottom line is that my video card is just too old.

Thoughts?

Fallen · 08-14-2003, 05:36 PM

I'm not sure about DoD, but in Unreal based games, triple buffering gave me severe mouse lag. I turned it off and it went away. I was like you. I had good frames but it still felt laggy. Kind of a delayed response in the mouse.

You might want to check your ini file in DoD to see if it's enabled. If it is, turn it off.

emopwr · 08-14-2003, 05:44 PM

Your system should be able to run dod pretty damn well. not too sure why youre running into problems.

im just gonna throw some ideas out there in no particular order

make sure AA is off and your ingame refresh rate is matching your desktop refresh rate. try newer/older dets. i know it sounds stupid but some people swear that different versions give them better performance. try different sound drivers. get 3dmark and run some tests and see where your system is compared to others like yours. does this happen only online? if the server is chugging or your connect sucks (packetloss, unsteady ping) youre gonna catch lag that feels like your fps are chugging. make sure nothing is running in the background that you may not know about. get ad aware or a program like it and do a scan. defrag your harddrive. format. hehe gl hf

Johnny Rotten · 08-14-2003, 05:56 PM

Some onboard audio will cut significantly into CPU usage. You may want to consider getting a dedicated sound card. I play games all the time and I've never needed or wanted anything better than a Sounblaster Live 5.1. The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is also a good choice. You can get the SB Live for dirt cheap online these days.

Now would be a good time to get a video card to prepare for Half-Life 2, Deus Ex 2, Doom 3, Stalker and other intensive games coming out in the next 3-6 months. IMHO, the Radeon 9600 is the best choice out there for the money. I would not recommend a Geforce FX 5200 or Radeon 9000/9200.

The 5200 is more like an update of the Geforce 4 MX line than an update of the Ti4200, by a long mile. The 9000 and 9200 don't fare much better, although they will try to impress you by loading on a bunch of RAM. The truth is that the card architecture for those particular choices will become a bottleneck long before the amount of RAM will.

I don't see anything else in your system that might be making things slow. If you have Windows XP or 2000, I highly recommend this page for disabling services and freeing up a lot of RAM for games and such. But his page seems to be down at the moment, possibly because of the massive power outage in the Northeast.

Mikado · 08-14-2003, 06:10 PM

I'm wondering if the refresh rate has anything to do with it. I know V-sync is disabled in my driver settings, so I shouldn't be limited by that. My refresh rate on my monitor is 75hz. Maybe there's a setting in my configs that conflicts with it? My computer runs smooth as silk. I've tweaked it with numerous sites and guides across the net. Tweaktown and Tweak3d are my favorites.

I'm starting to think that it's just my video card that's the bottleneck. Guess I need to save up for a nice Radeon or something. I'm also going to try getting a soundcard, since I've been told before that it's best to use a PCI card rather than any onboard audio.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, keep em coming.

Lasereth · 08-14-2003, 08:48 PM

After looking at your specs, I have to agree that the only thing out of the ordinary is your video card. You could spend around 80 bucks and get a GeForce 4 TI4200 64 MB card. Those do great and are simply the best for the money. Or you could find a 9700 Pro on sale which are still incredible video cards.

My old PC was a 1.6 GHz Athlon XP 1900+ with a GeForce 4 TI4200. It ran Battlefield at 60 FPS EASILY, with the resolution at 800x600 and everything else turned all the way up.

I also hear the Radeon 9500 is a great card for the money as well. With a cheap 3rd party HSF on it you can OC it to 9700 or faster quality.

-Lasereth

Vanquish · 08-15-2003, 07:35 PM

I dont think its a problem with his system at all..... Halflife has a problem in Direct 3D that causes the mouse to lag slightly when moving, I dont know why but it has happened to me from the time I had my Voodoo 2 to my Ti4600 now. And I believe that if he had a GF FX5900Ultra he would still get this lag.

Anyway Change over to Open GL and you should be fine, you should also notice better frames.

08-14-2003, 03:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mikado Crazy Location: Houston, Texas	Need to learn a bit about framerates and video options Ok, so I have a pretty fast computer. I'll list my specs real quick. Pentium 4 2.4ghz w/ 533mhz fsb Asus P4GE-V mobo 512mb PC2700 DDR RAM 200gb 7200rpm Western Digital HD w/ 8mb cache Soundmax integraded Digital audio Geforce 3 Ti200 So my questions pertain to video, framerates, and settings. The main games I'm playing now are Day of Defeat, Battlefield 1942, and America's Army. For the most part I get decent framerates, but nothing to get excited over. All my drivers are up-to-date, and I have the latest 9.0A directx installed. I was running DOD the other day, and my framerate would be close 90 fps, but I'd still get mouse lag. It acted if my framerate was closer to 10, but indicated it was still near 90. Is there something I'm missing here? Same things happen in BF1942 and AA. I'll suddenly get framrate drops that really affect gameplay. BF is so choppy that it's really annoying to play now. My first guess was that my video card was just too weak. So be it, I'll just turn down the video settings of my games. However, even lowering my games down to 800x600 with minimum detail does not seem to work. My framerates don't improve at all. I figured if I was getting 30 - 90 fps in DOD with high settings and 1024 resolution, that at low settings and 800x600 I'd get almost a constant 90 fps. That was not the case. Perhaps I'm missing something, whether it be in my video card options, game options, or elsewhere that could be effecting performance. Then again maybe the bottom line is that my video card is just too old. Thoughts?

08-14-2003, 05:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
Fallen Crazy Location: Adrift In Madness	I'm not sure about DoD, but in Unreal based games, triple buffering gave me severe mouse lag. I turned it off and it went away. I was like you. I had good frames but it still felt laggy. Kind of a delayed response in the mouse. You might want to check your ini file in DoD to see if it's enabled. If it is, turn it off. __________________ Overdosed on Apathy

08-14-2003, 05:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
Johnny Rotten lost and found Location: Berkeley	Some onboard audio will cut significantly into CPU usage. You may want to consider getting a dedicated sound card. I play games all the time and I've never needed or wanted anything better than a Sounblaster Live 5.1. The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is also a good choice. You can get the SB Live for dirt cheap online these days. Now would be a good time to get a video card to prepare for Half-Life 2, Deus Ex 2, Doom 3, Stalker and other intensive games coming out in the next 3-6 months. IMHO, the Radeon 9600 is the best choice out there for the money. I would not recommend a Geforce FX 5200 or Radeon 9000/9200. The 5200 is more like an update of the Geforce 4 MX line than an update of the Ti4200, by a long mile. The 9000 and 9200 don't fare much better, although they will try to impress you by loading on a bunch of RAM. The truth is that the card architecture for those particular choices will become a bottleneck long before the amount of RAM will. I don't see anything else in your system that might be making things slow. If you have Windows XP or 2000, I highly recommend this page for disabling services and freeing up a lot of RAM for games and such. But his page seems to be down at the moment, possibly because of the massive power outage in the Northeast. Last edited by Johnny Rotten; 08-14-2003 at 06:06 PM..

08-14-2003, 08:48 PM	#6 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	After looking at your specs, I have to agree that the only thing out of the ordinary is your video card. You could spend around 80 bucks and get a GeForce 4 TI4200 64 MB card. Those do great and are simply the best for the money. Or you could find a 9700 Pro on sale which are still incredible video cards. My old PC was a 1.6 GHz Athlon XP 1900+ with a GeForce 4 TI4200. It ran Battlefield at 60 FPS EASILY, with the resolution at 800x600 and everything else turned all the way up. I also hear the Radeon 9500 is a great card for the money as well. With a cheap 3rd party HSF on it you can OC it to 9700 or faster quality. -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

08-14-2003, 05:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
emopwr Crazy Location: florida	Your system should be able to run dod pretty damn well. not too sure why youre running into problems. im just gonna throw some ideas out there in no particular order make sure AA is off and your ingame refresh rate is matching your desktop refresh rate. try newer/older dets. i know it sounds stupid but some people swear that different versions give them better performance. try different sound drivers. get 3dmark and run some tests and see where your system is compared to others like yours. does this happen only online? if the server is chugging or your connect sucks (packetloss, unsteady ping) youre gonna catch lag that feels like your fps are chugging. make sure nothing is running in the background that you may not know about. get ad aware or a program like it and do a scan. defrag your harddrive. format. hehe gl hf

08-14-2003, 06:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
Mikado Crazy Location: Houston, Texas	I'm wondering if the refresh rate has anything to do with it. I know V-sync is disabled in my driver settings, so I shouldn't be limited by that. My refresh rate on my monitor is 75hz. Maybe there's a setting in my configs that conflicts with it? My computer runs smooth as silk. I've tweaked it with numerous sites and guides across the net. Tweaktown and Tweak3d are my favorites. I'm starting to think that it's just my video card that's the bottleneck. Guess I need to save up for a nice Radeon or something. I'm also going to try getting a soundcard, since I've been told before that it's best to use a PCI card rather than any onboard audio. Thanks for the suggestions so far, keep em coming.

08-15-2003, 07:35 PM	#7 (permalink)
Vanquish Insane Location: Truro, Nova Scotia	I dont think its a problem with his system at all..... Halflife has a problem in Direct 3D that causes the mouse to lag slightly when moving, I dont know why but it has happened to me from the time I had my Voodoo 2 to my Ti4600 now. And I believe that if he had a GF FX5900Ultra he would still get this lag. Anyway Change over to Open GL and you should be fine, you should also notice better frames.