Lag exactly every 30 seconds

[RaseriWF]

Hi all, and to anyone who can help me with this.... thanks in advance.

I just upgraded my computer to

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.080814-1236)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: BIOS Date: 08/23/07 16:39:16 Ver: 08.00.14
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 3072MB RAM
Page File: 440MB used, 4005MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)


I am getting in game lag (going from 90 FPS to 2 FPS) for 5 to 10 seconds, exactly every 30 seconds. I have suspended antivirus and Curse while running to see if that helps and it does not. I have updated all of my add ons and all of my software (exept directx 10, it won't install at the moment for some reason). Is there anything else I can do, and if not, how do I contact Mythic to report my issue?

Thanks!!!

[Cillbo]

Are you using the Dual Core Optimizer and driver?

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont.../DCO_1.1.4.zip
http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...er_1320053.zip

[Drakhon]

(exept directx 10, it won't install at the moment for some reason)

DX10 is only legitimately available on Vista, not XP. There are ways around that, but as WAR only uses DX9, it's irrelevant to the problem at hand.

Was this actually an upgrade to an existing system or is it a new system? If the former, what was replaced?

[Wazdakka]

Are you wireless? If so, see if a wired connection fixes it.

[RaseriWF]

It's not wireless.

I recently purchased and installed a new motherboard, new video card, new memory. I am concerned that my hard drive could be a problem. It's almost full, and it is IDE. Since there was only one IDE slot on the new motherboard, I had to master/slave it with the cd rom/dvd.

Is the game accessing my hard drive enough to have it slowing me down (as it is small and nearly full) ?

[Wazdakka]

One way to find out would be to delete something. Also, can you hear it thrashing during the slowdown?

[Drakhon]

Thrashing is a potential problem, but it is unlikely to cause an exactly repeating pattern of slow downs. Not a bad idea to defrag it, though. I suggest freeware defraggers like Defraggler and JKDefrag (my preference, though a bit harder to use) as the Windows one one it's own is not particularly effective.

When you upgraded those hardware components, did you reinstall Windows? It's a good practice when upgrading a motherboard because there are a lot of components to a motherboard that get their own drivers and leaving them around when you install a new one can end up causing issues.

[RaseriWF]

So frustrated.

I got a new drive, 160g, installed Windows XP fresh. Tested my internet connection, and it is balls fast, no problems. Tested my connection to the servers with the UO Trace (just because it's on Mythic's website, and I could) - no problems. There's no thrashing on the HD, never has been. I think my memory is ok. The game runs SO beautifully on the highest settings, and I can run and fight even in the biggest groups. EXCEPT for every 30 seconds. I surface from the 10 seconds of 1-3 FPS in a scenario surrounded by Order and being pitched into lava. It's maddening, and making the game unplayable for me. I've surfed the other boards for possible solutions but (aside from the NVIDIA control panel tweaks that I did, disabling and uninstalling firewall, antivirus and Curse - did that too) can't find anything helpful.

I do appreciate people reading this (as it is more of a vent than anything else at this point), and the help was nice. I'm going to put this thread to bed and probably not play so much any longer.

Ras

[Sethial]

So frustrated.

I got a new drive, 160g, installed Windows XP fresh. Tested my internet connection, and it is balls fast, no problems. Tested my connection to the servers with the UO Trace (just because it's on Mythic's website, and I could) - no problems. There's no thrashing on the HD, never has been. I think my memory is ok. The game runs SO beautifully on the highest settings, and I can run and fight even in the biggest groups. EXCEPT for every 30 seconds. I surface from the 10 seconds of 1-3 FPS in a scenario surrounded by Order and being pitched into lava. It's maddening, and making the game unplayable for me. I've surfed the other boards for possible solutions but (aside from the NVIDIA control panel tweaks that I did, disabling and uninstalling firewall, antivirus and Curse - did that too) can't find anything helpful.

I do appreciate people reading this (as it is more of a vent than anything else at this point), and the help was nice. I'm going to put this thread to bed and probably not play so much any longer.

Ras

I have the same problem on one of my systems here, I have identical systems and one does it and the other doesn't. I have no idea what the deal is.

[Chrysanthe]

My husband custom builds systems and does repair. He has a few questions for you:

1) What motherboard did you buy?
2) What video card are you running? Are you running SLI?
3) What is the size of your power supply?

Even though your stuff is new, you could have a bad piece of hardware that is malfunctioning. He says you're most likely having a video card issue. When your system is running, make sure the fan is working on the video card. Overheating is a common cause for loss of FPS. We bought identical NVidia cards years ago and both started malfunctioning after a month or so. The fans had burnt up in them. Turns out the company we bought them from had received a bad shipment of cards. We got them replaced and they worked beautifully. Bad hardware happens sometimes.

Without knowing the size of your power supply - that could also be the problem. Some video cards require a minimum of a 500 watt power supply, and some even require more than that to function properly. A power supply that is too small can cause your system to tank when it starts pulling too much power.