Perfect Gaming Rig Suddenly Gone Bad!

[akshayt]

Hi

I did a complete repartition and format a few days back. I installed both XP(with my PC at stock) and Vista. I installed nforce 6.86 and CAT 7.1 for XP. I installed MW and patched it to 1.3. The game was running absolutely fine for the first 2-3days except for some image tearing which is a separate issue and a known problem with my rig.

After the format and all my problems with MW (other than image tearing) had completely gone. I was playing each of my games on an oced system and bringing back to stock didn't help.

But after those 2-3days, MW started running like crap, sometimes stuttering, sometimes choppy, inconsistent and unenjoyable gameplay. Something similar happened to Rallisport demo. When I installed Oblivion a few days back, something similar seemed to happening to it(although both other games were getting good FPS while FPS were inconsistent in Oblivion).

FEAR EP demo runs perfectly fine and so does FEAR except that FEAR stutters often, but most other times it is smooth.
What could be the reason for this behavior?

AMD 64 3200 @ 2.4GHz
2GB RAM
512MB Radeon X1900XTX

 

[Stumps]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

not this crap again....Akshayt please just give it a rest...there is nothing wrong with your rig.....it is you that has the problems...clean your glasses and try again.

 

[akshayt]

Dude there is a lot wrong. Other than image tearing (little bit plus major in curves) my MW was perfect after the format, after 2-3 days it started to stutter and become choppy with crap gameplay. I can post a video if you like.

 

[Stumps]

turn down your settings a bit....you might think that you can get away with running at maximum detail and full AA/AF...but you can't...turn it back some...or get a faster processor...maybe your little 3200+ can't keep up with your XTX.

 

[40sTheme]

FPS ARE INCONSISTENT IN GAMES.
DO YOU REALIZE THIS.
Oblivion is NOT going to run at a constant 30 fps. It will sometimes rise to 60 fps, and fall to 18. It just depends on your location and how much is going on in the game. Do not worry about inconsistent fps, it always exists.

 

[Stumps]

Do not worry about inconsistent fps, it always exists.

write it on a piece of paper and swallow it...you might be able to remember this.

 

[akshayt]

My main problem is not Oblivion, it is MW, please stick to MW. Also, I found it inconsistent because I was getting 20FPS in the dungeons.

I am not talking of inconsistent FPS in any game. I mean that a huge portion of the game becomes unsmooth or stutters or jerks or is choppy and is just not acceptable gameplay. This is what I mean by inconsistent.

 

[Stumps]

Oh one thing I might add....a perfect gaming rig would have an OC'ed C2D in it...not a pathetic 3200+ that can only make 2.4ghz

 

[akshayt]

stop the joke, I mean MW was running absolutely smooth with only occasional hiccups which I have no problem with.

 

[Stumps]

Originally posted by: akshayt
stop the joke, I mean MW was running absolutely smooth with only occasional hiccups which I have no problem with.

I think the Mods might be able to help you out witrh that one...maybe give you a bit of free time to fix your rig

 

[40sTheme]

Whoa, Stumps, 20 fps in a dungeon is a severe problem in some cases. I think we are not giving akshayt enough credit here.
What image quality settings do you have in Oblivion/MW?
I gotta go for today so... i'll get back later.

 

[akshayt]

MW 12x9 MAX 4x AA 16x AF, also tried 10x7, but still getting choppy and crap gameplay. FPS are not the problem here.

Oblivion 12x9 MAX no AA, I am not too worried about Oblivion at the moment because I agree the settings are pretty high which I put on seein Xbit benchies, anyway it drops in 20s or even below quite often in the dungeon, but is above 30 many times as well.

 

[Sable]

Perfect Gaming Rig Suddenly Gone Bad!

Bullshit, according to you your rig has been nothing but crap.

WILL YOU JUST BUY A FVCKING 360 ALREADY!!!!

 

[akshayt]

@Sable and everybody else, either ignore the thread or post something meaningful.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

no, YOU post something meaningful
:|:|:|:|:|

 

[akshayt]

stay out of my thread if you don't wanna help, it will be good for both you and me

 

[dguy6789]

I find it absolutely pathetic the way some people treat others in this thread. Akshayt is asking for help, and has given details pertaining to the problem he has. He has been more than patient with the moronic and cruel posting of several people in this thread. You guys say Akshayt knows nothing in regards to pcs and flame him for that. What is this forum for? Every single person who has flamed him for a lack of knowledge is a waste of his, mine, and everyone elses time. This forum is for the sharing of knowledge, not for the childish postings of children who have nothing better to do than put down others. This is pathetic.

***

Akshayt, does your pc have all of the latest drivers and windows updates? Do you have a proper degree of antivirus and antispyware software? Inconsistent performance often occurs due to some kind of software issue. Something could be taking up your pc's resources or processor time at random intervals.

 

[AnandTech Moderator]

This thread will be locked if any more flaming occurs.

The flamer will also get one free entry into the Ban thread in OT.

 

[akshayt]

I have the latest drivers 6.86, no Windows hasn't been updated fully, but the time MW was running fine even then windows hadn't been updated fully. I don't have any spyware or antivirus installed. Once MW started running like crap, I installed Norton 2007 and it detected a tracking cookie of low risk which I asked it to fix. After that I uninstalled Norton. I haven't as such installed anything on my PC and the problem came quite suddenly.

One more thing, I don't get these kind of stutters/choppiness in Vista in MW but then I get low FPS which anyways causes slowdowns and plus quite a few jerks as well.

 

[wanderer27]

Stupid question, but do you have "Enable Write Combining" checked?

 

[evenmore1]

Hey, I just saw a thread exactly like this on toms...oh wait, it's the same person lol sorry

[/off topic]

Did you try reformatting again? Reinstalling drivers? Trying a different Hard drive or video card? That's all I can think of sorry...

I wish I could help somehow...

 

[40sTheme]

Originally posted by: wanderer27
Stupid question, but do you have "Enable Write Combining" checked?

Actually, that isn't a stupid question.
Also, stop flaming akshayt, guys. This could be a real issue with his computer, and you guys are just making it a worse experience.
Anyways, very choppy gameplay at 10x7 is a bad sign. I see what you are saying now about FPS/choppy relationship. Did you have an nVidia card before this? Have you run Driver Cleaner AFTER uninstalling your drivers? Here, uninstall your drivers, start your computer in Safe Mode, run Driver Cleaner for ALL nVidia and ATi driver instances. Reinstall Cat 7.1s, run the game tests. Also, get memtest86 on a floppy and run that, because this sounds oddly like a memory issue possibly.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
I find it absolutely pathetic the way some people treat others in this thread. Akshayt is asking for help, and has given details pertaining to the problem he has. He has been more than patient with the moronic and cruel posting of several people in this thread. You guys say Akshayt knows nothing in regards to pcs and flame him for that. What is this forum for? Every single person who has flamed him for a lack of knowledge is a waste of his, mine, and everyone elses time. This forum is for the sharing of knowledge, not for the childish postings of children who have nothing better to do than put down others. This is pathetic.

***

Akshayt, does your pc have all of the latest drivers and windows updates? Do you have a proper degree of antivirus and antispyware software? Inconsistent performance often occurs due to some kind of software issue. Something could be taking up your pc's resources or processor time at random intervals.

He gets the treatment he deserves. His system does not have a problem - he is just not satisfied with the performance he is getting from his system. Look at his machine specs, and then look at the settings he's using:
---
Amd 64bit 3200 s939 Winchester
Asus A8N-E
1GB ddr 400 Transcend (Hynix d43) X 2 in dual ch
Gecube Radeon 1900XTX
160gb sata
Antec NeoHE 500
Sound Blaster Live 24bit

MW 12x9 MAX 4x AA 16x AF, also tried 10x7, but still getting choppy and crap gameplay. FPS are not the problem here.
---
Now, for starters, 4xAA + 16xAF even at 1280x960 is going to put a strain on a Radeon X1900XTX with (and I quote) MAX settings on an A64 3200+. No ifs, ands or buts about it. On top of that, trying to push MAX settings through an A64 3200+ ain't gonna happen either.

The dude NEEDS to keep in mind that playing a game isn't just about the video card. His expectations of what his system can do are inane.

Now, just to be polite and not point out his further mental deficiencies - it's a 160GB drive? Can you be a little more vague? You may have a 5400rpm 2mb cache drive, which is fragmented beyond all belief. THAT could contribute SIGNIFICANTLY to the stuttering.

Next, you have an A8N-E, nForce4 chipset I believe? Combined with a Sound Blaster Live 24bit card. Is this combination not known to have issues with PCI bus traffic?

Next, you have an Athlon 64 3200+ trying to play modern games at maximum settings. Good luck with that. Try lowering things down to medium or so.

Finally, the X1900XTX - 256MB card correct? You are expecting WAY too much trying to push 4x FSAA + 16x Ansio, along with any other settings you may have set up.

You have the perfect gaming rig for about 2 years ago. Please STOP expecting more out of what you have unless you're willing to deal with being disappointed.

 

[akshayt]

@SunnyD, please read my thread before posting.
160GB Seagate SATA NCQ Drive, A fresh Install with only a few games and few basic software

No, I am using onboard audio/

AMD 64 3200 doesn't have any problem playing modern games with max settings, go ask anybody who owns one, and mine is oced to 2.4GHz. Also, this point is irrelevant if you have even read my thread, MW was running absolutely fine for the first few days, why the hell did my system become inadequate all of a sudden?

512MB 1900xtx, 256mb doesn't exist. Also 256MB VRAM is sufficient for MW.

I am playing games which are over a yr old like MW and for that time the rig is fine.

 

[akshayt]

PLEASE DON'T FORGET ONE THING, MW WAS RUNNING FINE FOR THE FIRST FEW DAYS, AFTER A FEW DAYS THE PROBLEMS BEGAN.