8800 ULTRA + QX6850 quad + Everquest 2 = Slideshow, Please Fix the Performance Probs With the 8800s [Archive]

krinkled

02-24-2008, 05:01 PM

---------- update 2/29 with Greater Faydark and BB Mountains performance information -----------It seems to be a problem specific to certain zones or areas. Butcherblock Mountains runs great.33 fps in combat.Picture here: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/365/eq2bb33fpsre0.jpg" target="_blank">http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/36...2bb33fpsre0.jpg</a>Well I thought I had seen the worst of it. Boy was I wrong! Today I zoned into "Greater Faydark" for the first time ever. That was a mistake.I am getting 11 FPS sustained in greater faydark. Yep 11. Not for just like 1-2secs, but for long stretches of time I am getting 11fps with an 8800U and QX6850.Look at the green graph next to the FPS reading. See them all in a row that low? This is not stuttering, this is sustained FPS at 11.Please check the photo proof here: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9969/greaterfay11fpsjx6.jpg" target="_blank">http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/...fay11fpsjx6.jpg</a>-------- end update -------------------Hello, I am fairly new to the game. I have been playing for one week and have a level 20 Necromancer with 13 Achievements. I really like the game a lot and am thinking about just paying in advance for a one year subscription to get the cheaper rate. There is one thing that I am very dissatisfied with however. I have a $4,000 computer that can't run Everquest 2 above 20fps consistently even when the game is set in "balanced" mode. When my character is running outside in the commonlands, or my Grim Spellbinder is casting, my frame rate is dropping to around 8-15fps. I was stunned by this at first and thought that it must be a fluke. My computer specs are: QX6850 quad core @ 3.0Ghz on each core, 8800 ULTRA video card, 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz, Windows Vista, 10,000RPM Cheetah hard drive. I get much better performance in Crysis on "High Setting". In Crysis I can get 50fps, In WoW with every setting maxed I get 160fps easy. SO I started doing some research and basically there is like a bug for this game and all the new 8800 Nvidia cards. People get better performance with the old 7000 series Nvidia cards, and much better performance with the new ATI cards. People with the new ATI cards are running at the High Quality settings with like 50-60fps consistently. Ironically, this game is officially sponsored by NVidia. Everquest 2 is advertised as "NVidia the way it is meant to be played." Not only that but people are getting better performance with OLD x1900xt ATI cards where they are raiding with "very high quality" set and getting like 40fps. Seriously, when is this going to be addressed? I am very unhappy that my $4000.00 computer only gives me a slideshow on this game. This is a very widely known issue here is a link to one of many threads about it on the Nvidia forums: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=21179" target="_blank">http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=21179</a> I feel like I was deceived by the "The way its meant to be played" advertisement. When will this be fixed?? The 8800ULTRA should be getting like 70fps on very high settings, NOT 15fps on "Balanced".---------------------------- edit to add testing results ----------------------------------Ok well I have done it and can post proof.Here is the screencap I posted earlier, taken on a QX6850, 8800ULTRA, 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz, 10,000RPM HD, Vista Premium.The settings for performance is set to "BALANCED MODE", all Shadows are turned off manually also. Here it is at 14FPS <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3120/everquest214fpsle9.jpg" target="_blank">http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/...st214fpsle9.jpg</a>Then I spent my afternoon taking the computer apart and putting in my 3 year old x1900xt. So now the specs are:QX6850, x1900xt, 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz, 10,000RPM HD, Vista Premium.The settings for performance are set to "HIGH QUALITY", shadows are turned ON. Guess what? 37fps in the exact same place on the map in commonlands: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1863/ati137fpslm1.jpg" target="_blank">http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/...ti137fpslm1.jpg</a>Here is another one: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1249/ati237fpsfh4.jpg" target="_blank">http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/...ti237fpsfh4.jpg</a>So to summarize:1) Exact same computer with bleeding edge $700.00 8800 ULTRA = 14fps with NO SHADOWS, and "BALANCED" profile2) Exact same computer with 3 year old ATI video card (worth maybe $80) = 37fps with shadows ON, and "HIGH QUALITY" profileSorry but this is probably the only game in existence where this is happening. The 8800 ULTRA has at least 3x the raw processing power of the x1900xt and to me is absolute proof that there is a bug either in the EQ2 code or in the NVidia drivers when playing this game.Here is a link to a x1900xt review that shows the card getting 5,542 score in 3dmark06 the industry standard for graphics benchmarking: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h889.htm" target="_blank">http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h889.htm</a>Here is a link to a 8800 ULTRA review that shows the card getting a 13,100 score in 3dmark06: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.i4u.com/full-review-237.html" target="_blank">http://www.i4u.com/full-review-237.html</a>So hopefully it is clear that there is a serious problem here that needs to be looked at. I am not willing to swap in a 3 year old card every time I want to play EQ2.

Rothgar

02-24-2008, 05:40 PM

Its very odd that nothing in your system changes except the graphics card and that your frame rate would actually go down. I still have to wonder if there's not something else causing this problem. I would guess that there are lots of people playing EQ2 and using the same hardware as yourself, but we've only seen a couple of people mention this issue.Ill talk to someone in our testing lab and see if we're anywhere close to reproducing this problem here.

krinkled

02-24-2008, 06:02 PM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Its very odd that nothing in your system changes except the graphics card and that your frame rate would actually go down. I still have to wonder if there's not something else causing this problem. I would guess that there are lots of people playing EQ2 and using the same hardware as yourself, but we've only seen a couple of people mention this issue.Ill talk to someone in our testing lab and see if we're anywhere close to reproducing this problem here.</blockquote>Thank you very much for looking into this. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src=" width="15" height="15" />" width="15" height="15"> If you check the hardware recomendation stickied thread at the top of this forum even you guys are telling us not to use the 8800 series with EQ2 because so many people have reported problems. I just think there has to be some sort of bug because there is no way a 8800 is a worse video card than a last gen x1900xt, even though the ATI cards are giving conistently better performance. It doesn't make sense that my computer can run Crysis but not EQ2.From the thread stickied here by you guys:"have removed the 8800 Series Cards from the two higher end systems and replaced them with ati cards due to plenty of people reporting massive issues with the 8800 Cards in EQ2. So until further notice, its adviced to stay away from the 8800 Series when building a computer for eq2. " here is link to stickied post <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=43897" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...?topic_id=43897</a>It just seems like this should be something that can be resolved in a future patch from you or maybe a driver update from nvidia. Thank for your time and hard work. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src=" width="15" height="15" />" width="15" height="15">

Openedge

02-24-2008, 07:16 PM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Its very odd that nothing in your system changes except the graphics card and that your frame rate would actually go down. I still have to wonder if there's not something else causing this problem. I would guess that there are lots of people playing EQ2 and using the same hardware as yourself, but we've only seen a couple of people mention this issue.Ill talk to someone in our testing lab and see if we're anywhere close to reproducing this problem here.</blockquote>This is a fascinating post to me, as I can go to many a thread here and see many issues with1. Lowered performance after purchasing the 88002. Crashes and the 88003. Dual Cores and lowered performance4. More memory equals more crashes...I have only been playing almost 7 months, and can see how my 8800 systems (2 of them to be precise) can constantly crash in Kelethin and Neriak unless I turn complex shaders to -1, yet my wifes ATI 2900pro does not EVER crash (and I am on XP, and she is Vista)Yet, you as a developer sound like your saying you cannot reproduce it? Or have not?How about we give you more precise information. I will give you the complete list of programs I am running, bios dates and version of motherboard and video card, memory type and it's data, CPU, stepping...whatever it takes.I have finally found a game I can enjoy again after many failure with other MMO's...but, I also can only work around these code issues for so long before I must move on, and let others know how I feel as well..If you guys are not reproducing this error, then why not let us who are help you...Thank you/signed 8800 user who crashes constantly and is disappointed with performance

Rothgar

02-24-2008, 07:36 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Its very odd that nothing in your system changes except the graphics card and that your frame rate would actually go down. I still have to wonder if there's not something else causing this problem. I would guess that there are lots of people playing EQ2 and using the same hardware as yourself, but we've only seen a couple of people mention this issue.Ill talk to someone in our testing lab and see if we're anywhere close to reproducing this problem here.</blockquote>This is a fascinating post to me, as I can go to many a thread here and see many issues with1. Lowered performance after purchasing the 88002. Crashes and the 88003. Dual Cores and lowered performance4. More memory equals more crashes...I have only been playing almost 7 months, and can see how my 8800 systems (2 of them to be precise) can constantly crash in Kelethin and Neriak unless I turn complex shaders to -1, yet my wifes ATI 2900pro does not EVER crash (and I am on XP, and she is Vista)Yet, you as a developer sound like your saying you cannot reproduce it? Or have not?How about we give you more precise information. I will give you the complete list of programs I am running, bios dates and version of motherboard and video card, memory type and it's data, CPU, stepping...whatever it takes.I have finally found a game I can enjoy again after many failure with other MMO's...but, I also can only work around these code issues for so long before I must move on, and let others know how I feel as well..If you guys are not reproducing this error, then why not let us who are help you...Thank you/signed 8800 user who crashes constantly and is disappointed with performance</blockquote>I never said we could not reproduce it. I said I'd check with our lab because *I* don't know the status on this specific issue./signed someone trying to be helpful

Alarick0

02-24-2008, 08:41 PM

I'm having issues with 8800's as well. I went from a 7950GT to an 8800GT and not only did my frame rates go down all togeather, but every 4-8 seconds the whole game display will just freeze for about a second then go back to running in very low fps.

Landishan

02-24-2008, 08:55 PM

Same issue here. Went from a 7950 to an 8800 GT and now get stuttering and sometimes the game just freezes. The 7950 played the game with no problems I just wanted to be able to play the game at higher settings.My system freezes less since I turned off the EAX. My X-Fi sound card seems to hate it. I do still freeze though every now and then and get stutters.

Dragowulf

02-24-2008, 09:05 PM

I'm actually having the same issue. I just upgraded from a 7900 to a 8800 GT and it freezes, stutters, and performs like a major slideshow lagfest.BTW relax man he's just trying to be helpful and acknowledge that the thread exists.drago.

Vazi

02-24-2008, 09:29 PM

Vista 64bit, all Nvidia specific Microsoft hotfixes, latest Nvidia drivers, Nvidia Geforce 8800gts 512<div></div><div>I experience an Everquest2.exe freeze at least once a night while raiding, sometimes twice. I've tested my memory, cpu and graphics card for 10+ hours each with no errors. Everquest2.exe is the only game/program that I experience these problems with. Please figure this out, it clearly an issue with everquest 2.</div>

krinkled

02-25-2008, 03:46 AM

If it would be helpful I would be happy to upload a video of the game stuttering along at 10-15fps in the commonlands. This way the devs can see what is going on.There is no way I am getting 50fps+ on a game like Crysis and only 15fps in Everquest II without there being some kind of bug in EQII. I have used the latest drivers with the latest patches for Vista and have spent hours tweaking the settings.I happen to have a x1900xtx card here that I am going to swap out and do a comparison video so people can see with their own eyes how ridiculous this is. My 8800 ULTRA outperforms the x1900xtx by 100% or more i every other game out there. Except Everquest where the 8800 ULTRA is providing horrible performance.

Bakual

02-25-2008, 05:05 AM

Remember that comparing EQ2 to Crysis is not a valid comparsion as EQ2 uses a lot more CPU power than Crysis. Dual/Quadcores will not help you much as well as EQ2 doesn't support them very well.Try to reduce the resolution and/or turning off the shadows. Especially the shadows make a huge impact as they are unfortunately rendered by the CPU and not the GPU. And they're using absurd amount of CPU power.

SkinnyFats_EQ2

02-25-2008, 12:13 PM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>I would guess that there are lots of people playing EQ2 and using the same hardware as yourself, but we've only seen a couple of people mention this issue.</blockquote>If your definition of "a couple" is lots and lots and lots, on lots of forums and for a long long time, then I agree with you.

Openedge

02-25-2008, 12:27 PM

<cite>SkinnyFats_EQ2 wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>I would guess that there are lots of people playing EQ2 and using the same hardware as yourself, but we've only seen a couple of people mention this issue.</blockquote>If your definition of "a couple" is lots and lots and lots, on lots of forums and for a long long time, then I agree with you.</blockquote>This was the line that got to me as well. I did not mean to offend the Dev by my original post,,,but a statement like what was made above makes it sound like a select couple of people..when as I stated...there are so many threads on issues in these forums...how the Dev could state a "couple" (which usually means 3-5 or less even...) is beyond me...Unless they do not look at the forums that much...which as a Dev I would understand..But, I would probably research this statement first before making a statement like the above...(we get policed all the time when we make a post in the wrong location etc...)...The least we can ask is you do the same..The 8800's have been a problem since their introduction, and we can only assume it is Nvidia's fault, as the card has issues with other games as well..but, EQ2 seems to suffer greatly. So any help we can give, I am willing to do whatever it takes.Thanks

Morgad

02-25-2008, 12:54 PM

Me and several guildmates are having similar issues with our Nvidia 8800 card, we are told by other guildmates to just drop it, and buy an ATI card.shrug. After investing so much into my game gear, I feel a bit disappointed that I should change some parts because of this.We have a guildmate who cannot stay in the game for more than 10 minutes at a time, for the last month. Not sure how long he will keep his account active.I posted because I think there is a false perception that this issue on the Nvidia 8800 is only affecting a small base of the population. It is more widespread than SOE thinks, and it would be nice to see it fixed.

Zenith

02-25-2008, 12:54 PM

I've sadly got the whole works. I have a dual core and an 8800 series in my desktop and a dual core with a 8600 series in my laptop. Both have issues with eq2. I've tried XP, XP 64, and Vista 32. All the same slowdowns, stutter effects, etc. It's not new to anyone, well players anyway. There's probably a dozen posts a day on one or the other issues. Ironically this is the "hardware of the future" eq2 was suppose to shine on. Hell if eq2 took proper advantage of dual core technology it might finally actually run well. It's not lik every new pc shipping doesn't come with one and hasn't been for a year now..

Aven Elonis

02-25-2008, 02:14 PM

Oh brother, didn't see this thread in time. No well have a 8800 GTX on the way, guess I'll see what I see. Will post after it arrives and is installed. Note - it will be replacing a 7900.

Openedge

02-25-2008, 02:46 PM

<cite>Aven Elonis wrote:</cite><blockquote>Oh brother, didn't see this thread in time. No well have a 8800 GTX on the way, guess I'll see what I see. Will post after it arrives and is installed. Note - it will be replacing a 7900.</blockquote>Wow...yea...keep us informed...as well...if your playing other games, it runs awesome...mine does anyways...Also, maybe you can exchange it for the 3870 x2 if worse comes to worse?I have decided to order a 3870 myself...see how THAT goes

Tyndaleon

02-25-2008, 02:51 PM

krinkled

02-25-2008, 02:54 PM

In any outdoor zone I am getting 7-18fps on the "Balanced" performance setting. I took a screenshot with the Everquest II monitor up so you can see my latency, and FPS. You can see 14fps which is what I average. The screenshot is here <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3120/everquest214fpsle9.jpg" target="_blank">http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/...st214fpsle9.jpg</a> What is crazy though is that when I swap in my 3 year old ATI x1900xt I am getting much much higher frame rates in the same area! I will swap them out today and take another screenshot with the 3 year old card. The problem is that the 8800 ULTRA is 200% better performance than the x1900xt for every other game I own. (Like 15 other games). EQ2 has got to have some kind of bug for these 8800s because the 8800 has like 3x the raw power of a x1900xt. It is just driving me crazy that I have to play on "balanced" and turn all shadows off and I still get 14fps! My 8800ULTRA gets like 160fps on Quake4 with every setting set to Ultra High Quality with all shadows on. I am extremely happy with the 8800 on every other game, it gives insane performance. That is why this issue is so strange. There has to be some kind of bug or something. Anyway 14fps may end up being a deal breaker for me with this game. I am not willing to go back to a 3 year old video card for one game.

Innotes

02-25-2008, 04:01 PM

I play on an e6750 with an 8800gt and on high quality settings with 2xFSAA and 8xAnisotropic filtering at 1680x1050 I get around 50fps in most old world zones and around 30 in EoF and RoK zones. In groups I play on balanced and in raids I play on high performance.I've found that different driver versions have a major impact in performance.I'm currently using the latest WHQL driver form <a href="http://www.nvidia.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.nvidia.com</a>I use a tool called Driver Cleaner Professional to clean up files that the nvidia uninstaller doesn't remove. You can get it at <a href="http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745</a>Read the README and follow the directions exactly for best results.Bottom line is that you should be getting better performance than you are with the hardware that you have. Assuming that there's nothing wrong with your hardware are all of your drivers and directx up-to-date?

Tokam

02-25-2008, 04:44 PM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Its very odd that nothing in your system changes except the graphics card and that your frame rate would actually go down. I still have to wonder if there's not something else causing this problem. I would guess that there are lots of people playing EQ2 and using the same hardware as yourself, but we've only seen a couple of people mention this issue.Ill talk to someone in our testing lab and see if we're anywhere close to reproducing this problem here.</blockquote>Really? rofls - guess you skimmed over the tech help page, and your 'what bugs you' thread.OP, yes the game is limited by the crappy graphics engine, but your performance still seems lower than what I would expect for a 3ghz / 8meg cache chip.You will get more help if you <a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=353617" target="_blank">follow the guidelines suggested in the tech help section</a>, and prolly ask good ol rothgar to move this over for you.That being said, do you know what drivers you are using for the 88U? Also what resolution are you playing the game at? 19 x 12, 25 x 16? Denaso has told you how to repatch your gpu driver <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" />Being as EQ2 is bound to only 1 core, and the cpu does all the work while the gpu basically sits there and does bugger all (thanks eq2). If I were you I would <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-002-NC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=" target="_blank">get one of these</a> and overclock the cpu, if you are comfortable with such a procedure.

LoneGreyWolf20

02-25-2008, 04:50 PM

As I said in my post asking about the 8800GTs and EQ2. if I have problems and I am unable to resolve them, then I will move on. Seems silly that I have to settle for an ATI card to play one game that doesn't play nice with one of the best cards out there at this time.I do not like the ATI cards. Therefore I will never buy another one.

Tokam

02-25-2008, 04:54 PM

<cite>Aven Elonis wrote:</cite><blockquote>Oh brother, didn't see this thread in time. No well have a 8800 GTX on the way, guess I'll see what I see. Will post after it arrives and is installed. Note - it will be replacing a 7900.</blockquote>Im using an 8800gtx myself Aven, and at 19 x 12 resolution Im very happy with it. Just make sure that you download and install <a href="http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the latest drivers</a>, and use <a href="http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">driver cleaner</a> if you already put the ones on that it shipped with.

Openedge

02-25-2008, 06:21 PM

<cite>Tokamak wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Aven Elonis wrote:</cite><blockquote>Oh brother, didn't see this thread in time. No well have a 8800 GTX on the way, guess I'll see what I see. Will post after it arrives and is installed. Note - it will be replacing a 7900.</blockquote>Im using an 8800gtx myself Aven, and at 19 x 12 resolution Im very happy with it. Just make sure that you download and install <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us" target="_blank">the latest drivers</a>, and use <a rel="nofollow" href="http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745" target="_blank">driver cleaner</a> if you already put the ones on that it shipped with.</blockquote>This is a really good canned response. I would hope that people understand to use the latest driver. If not, by all means, please get them. As well, sometimes the latest is not the best solution, as some manufacturers make additional changes to their hardware, and usually their versions of the drivers work best...This is not the solution in my opinion though...my belief is something else is causing problems in the engine, and saying just to fix it on the users end does not help. SOE Needs to be involved...Nvidia needs to be involved..This is not a "users" issue when so many cases exists.Lets hope something is being looked at...as it is not any fun to deal with these problemsThanks

krinkled

02-25-2008, 08:50 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tokamak wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Aven Elonis wrote:</cite><blockquote>Oh brother, didn't see this thread in time. No well have a 8800 GTX on the way, guess I'll see what I see. Will post after it arrives and is installed. Note - it will be replacing a 7900.</blockquote>Im using an 8800gtx myself Aven, and at 19 x 12 resolution Im very happy with it. Just make sure that you download and install <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us" target="_blank">the latest drivers</a>, and use <a rel="nofollow" href="http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745" target="_blank">driver cleaner</a> if you already put the ones on that it shipped with.</blockquote>This is a really good canned response. I would hope that people understand to use the latest driver. If not, by all means, please get them. As well, sometimes the latest is not the best solution, as some manufacturers make additional changes to their hardware, and usually their versions of the drivers work best...This is not the solution in my opinion though...my belief is something else is causing problems in the engine, and saying just to fix it on the users end does not help. SOE Needs to be involved...Nvidia needs to be involved..This is not a "users" issue when so many cases exists.Lets hope something is being looked at...as it is not any fun to deal with these problemsThanks</blockquote>This is very true. I am using the latest 169 Nvidia drivers, I have installed all the latest possible Vista patches. I have years of computer experience, including building PCs from scratch, troubleshooting etc. This is not a situation where I am making "dumb" mistake. I have spent hours adjusting settings in the game and and in the Nvidia control panel. Not to mention that there is no problem with any other game. For another example Bioshock runs at 40-60fps with every setting set to maximum quality. But I only get 14fps on "balanced" in EQ2, there is something else going on here and the fact that hundreds of users have reported the problem indicate that it is not just me.

MMKA

02-25-2008, 11:46 PM

I'm also getting framerates between 15-20 when running in balanced mode. Specs are as follows:8800GT 512mbVista 32 bitAMD Phenom 9600 2.3Ghz3GB PC6400 DDR2 800 RAMWhen I change to the 8600GTS my framerates increase to 50-60 in the same zone in balanced mode. I also have a 7600GS that runs about at about 35-40 on this same system. I am currently running the system on the 8800GT set at very high performance. My framerates are normally 40-50 with that setting. Graphics suck but otherwise I can't play other games without changing video cards each time.

krinkled

02-26-2008, 02:49 AM

Ok well I have done it and can post proof.Here is the screencap I posted earlier, taken on a QX6850, 8800ULTRA, 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz, 10,000RPM HD, Vista Premium.The settings for performance is set to "BALANCED MODE", all Shadows are turned off manually also. Here it is at 14FPS <a href="http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3120/everquest214fpsle9.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/...st214fpsle9.jpg</a>Then I spent my afternoon taking the computer apart and putting in my 3 year old x1900xt. So now the specs are:QX6850, x1900xt, 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz, 10,000RPM HD, Vista Premium.The settings for performance are set to "HIGH QUALITY", shadows are turned ON. Guess what? 37fps in the exact same place on the map in commonlands: <a href="http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1863/ati137fpslm1.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/...ti137fpslm1.jpg</a>Here is another one: <a href="http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1249/ati237fpsfh4.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/...ti237fpsfh4.jpg</a>So to summarize:1) Exact same computer with bleeding edge $700.00 8800 ULTRA = 14fps with NO SHADOWS, and "BALANCED" profile2) Exact same computer with 3 year old ATI video card (worth maybe $80) = 37fps with shadows ON, and "HIGH QUALITY" profileSorry but this is probably the only game in existence where this is happening. The 8800 ULTRA has at least 3x the raw processing power of the x1900xt and to me is absolute proof that there is a bug either in the EQ2 code or in the NVidia drivers when playing this game.Here is a link to a x1900xt review that shows the card getting 5,542 score in 3dmark06 the industry standard for graphics benchmarking: <a href="http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h889.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h889.htm</a>Here is a link to a 8800 ULTRA review that shows the card getting a 13,100 score in 3dmark06: <a href="http://www.i4u.com/full-review-237.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.i4u.com/full-review-237.html</a>So hopefully it is clear that there is a serious problem here that needs to be looked at. I am not willing to swap in a 3 year old card every time I want to play EQ2.

Gabriell

02-26-2008, 06:12 AM

<cite>Aven Elonis wrote:</cite><blockquote>Oh brother, didn't see this thread in time. No well have a 8800 GTX on the way, guess I'll see what I see. Will post after it arrives and is installed. Note - it will be replacing a 7900.</blockquote>Hey you might get lucky and it runs fines but I switched over from a 7900 gtx sli to 8800 gtx and noticed no FPS increase and also been experiencing that 2 sec freeze every 15-20 seconds while moving. I still raid in extreme performance with 15-19 fps. Here is my comp spec:<ul><li>AMD FX-60 2.6ghz (no oc)</li><li>ASUS A8N32-SLI</li><li>OCZ 4 GB PC3200 (2-2-3-5)</li><li>GF 8800 GTX</li><li>Built-in Sound AC97</li><li>Vista64 ultimate w/ all latest updates and latest hardware drivers</li></ul>I do use a 30'' LCD and run at 2560x1600 resolution but also used that res with my 7900 gtx (not in sli mode).

Koltur

02-26-2008, 06:33 AM

I have a similar issue as well. My old PC was a p4-3.4 w/ATI x1650 & 2gb of Ram, 2x80gb WD "RAPTOR" 10,000 RPM SATA drives in RAID 0, WindowsXP, and ran the game reasonably well without stuttering, quick zoning times, etc.Built a new pc:Q6600 chip, Asus p5n32-E SLI motherboard, 4gb Corsair ram, 2 x nvidia geforce 8800GTX, 768mb video cards (running in NON-SLI mode for EQ2 because FPS goes to like 10 with it enabled), WD "RAPTOR" 150mb, 10,000RPM HD, WindowsXP, and the game stutters while moving about various overland zones - a 1-2 second freeze every few seconds of movement, zones very slowly and just seems to run pretty choppy overall for everquest 2. Running the most current version of nvidia whql 169.21, motherboard drivers, soundcard drivers, etc.

Rothgar

02-26-2008, 06:43 AM

I believe one of the other developers has made a fix for some of the stutter problems, but I don't know if it addresses any of the performance issues. When the patch goes to the test server, give it a try if you can and let us know if it helps.

Jal

02-26-2008, 06:57 AM

The stuttering for me on my 8800GTX was always caused by the 'Spell effects per character' being set above 0. I can turn it off to cure it but i like spell effects so would be nice to see this sorted if it is game end. My Geforce 7600's beforehand were absolutely fine with spell effects.

Pitt Hammerfi

02-26-2008, 08:18 AM

Yeah particles are probably being done on the cpu anyway, this might have changed recently, im not sure because no one say anything about eq2's graphic engine...as far as gfx engines go its still an enigma.

Hohum

02-26-2008, 09:17 AM

I'll shortly be replacing my 7900's to a 8800 GT tonight so can see if I get the same results. Running OS is Vista Ultimate so pushing my luck by all accounts! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Jacub/Hohum/Allthesalad/Ferball[Breed]Splitpaw

Ellrin

02-26-2008, 09:56 AM

Absolutely have the same issue on my Quad core 8800 GTX, stuttering non stop

SIlly Muffin

02-26-2008, 10:24 AM

Also a new 8800 GT and C2D 6850 User.My big issues are the hitching/freeze/stuttering. and the wild out of control frame rates. I can go from 7-70 fps in fens . It just doenst stay very stable at all in many zones. It just flies up and down Zones like Neriak are awful I can go from 70 for 1 fps. I also found commonlands to be bizarre some areas get me 50 fps+, but others, especially around the camp near the FP griffon cause a drop to <15. I found in the latter situation it was grass displacement. That setting murders your fps there more than shadows. Particles make difference but not that much - even in a raid i only lost 1-5 fps. Raids are actually stable after the initial loadYet the hitching is what drives me nuts - the card can play max texture settings, all effects on and even with particles, shadows, Max can still pump out 8-15 fps on a 24 raid. Dropping down to balanced or less reduces the hitching but not by a lot. I think it is a texture memory issue the hitching seems to be related a lot to how long you play or how many times you zone. When I first log in its spotless but quickly over time (even still in the same zone) its starts to stutter. Running into other players - even a light year away from you (like on a griffon) will cause a hitch. The latter is one of the most reliable hitching tests. If I was on PvP server could probably tell when players were nearby lol It just seems the data transition isnt smooth for character textures. Final issue - anyone have "wierd water" - where it seems to act like a null (or blank) area that seems more like a background than water - briefly. It basically looks like water textures didnt load. System C2D 6850, EN8800GT, 2Gig, 150G WD Raptor (10K) - XP SP2 Muffin

Jal

02-26-2008, 02:19 PM

<cite>Hohum wrote:</cite><blockquote>I'll shortly be replacing my 7900's to a 8800 GT tonight so can see if I get the same results. Running OS is Vista Ultimate so pushing my luck by all accounts! <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" /> Jacub/Hohum/Allthesalad/Ferball[Breed]Splitpaw</blockquote>Youll be fine on vista if you have 3gb ram or more, i had 2gb and no end of crashing installed a 3rd gb and ran perfectly and i was told this by other vista users. The stuttering is on xp and vista though so it seems to be unrelated to the OS.

Elephanton

02-26-2008, 03:20 PM

8800GT + Quad = no issues whatsoever, very smooth on high settings

Snugglecog

02-26-2008, 03:51 PM

Thanks for all of the input on this issue. I'm posting to let those concerned with this issue it's being looked into. We will be verifying these performance impacts with a sampling of the various GPU's listed within this thread. I will keep you posted on the progress of regressing this issue, but don't expect updates every hour. You can expect an update later this evening.

Openedge

02-26-2008, 04:04 PM

<cite>ElephantonRU wrote:</cite><blockquote>8800GT + Quad = no issues whatsoever, very smooth on high settings</blockquote>Hello Could you maybe post your dxdiag? I keep seeing people say they are ok (they pop in real quick to kindly share that with us in one sentence...and we appreciate it)...but I would like to see the hardware and drivers being used... Could it be sound card related? Network Card? With out a sample of a dxdiag that shows us what IS working...we will never know...and it becomes frustrating as so many DO see the problem. The reason I am perturbed also is the fact that I have 2 different systems, both with 8800's (a GT and GTS 640...different manufacturers), an E6600 and an E6850, one an intel based motherboard, another an nvidia board, one has 2 gigs, one has 4 gigs, one has an x-fi, one has a cmedia card (also use onboard realtek as well to test)...different hard drives even So...no rhyme or reason...yet, they both act the same with one common denominator...the 8800 GPU. I am glad your doing ok...but, for myself...with 2 varying systems, and seeing the same problem...I would prefer cold hard facts. Would you like to help us out?Thanks

krinkled

02-26-2008, 07:37 PM

Well I have some strange findings to report. I took the x1900xt out and put the 8800U back in this afternoon.Somehow the framerates are better. (?) Before where I was getting 14fps on balanced mode now I am getting around 22fps on balanced mode in the same location. This is still not acceptable but for some reason the problem seems slightly improved. However it is nowhere near the performance I was getting with the x1900xt. Something is definitely still not working right here.

Jaxsyn

02-26-2008, 07:50 PM

Just wanted to add my voice to those who have been living with this annoying problem. My specs: Quad Core, Vista x64 home premium, 8 gb RAM, 8800 GTX w/768mb I also had the notorious 'ran out of memory' bug associated with high end systems but can cure that one with the CFF explorer fix. Good luck Devs!

Pitt Hammerfi

02-26-2008, 08:22 PM

whats the cff explorer fix ?

Snugglecog

02-26-2008, 08:43 PM

<cite>Jaxsyn@Guk wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just wanted to add my voice to those who have been living with this annoying problem. My specs: Quad Core, Vista x64 home premium, 8 gb RAM, 8800 GTX w/768mb I also had the notorious 'ran out of memory' bug associated with high end systems but can cure that one with the CFF explorer fix. Good luck Devs!</blockquote>Quick note on the notorious "ran out of memory" bug... This issue was typically caused by, "Virtual address space usage in Windows game development" and there is a fix available on the Microsoft web site: <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/940105" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://support.microsoft.com/defaul....aspx/kb/940105</a>

Einadin

02-26-2008, 09:16 PM

<cite>Snugglecog wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Jaxsyn@Guk wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just wanted to add my voice to those who have been living with this annoying problem. My specs: Quad Core, Vista x64 home premium, 8 gb RAM, 8800 GTX w/768mb I also had the notorious 'ran out of memory' bug associated with high end systems but can cure that one with the CFF explorer fix. Good luck Devs!</blockquote>Quick note on the notorious "ran out of memory" bug... This issue was typically caused by, "Virtual address space usage in Windows game development" and there is a fix available on the Microsoft web site: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/940105" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/defaul....aspx/kb/940105</a></blockquote>Actually, this does not fix the issue. Please see the Red Names' replies to this thread: <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=364955" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=364955</a>

Griffinhart

02-26-2008, 09:18 PM

I'm afraid that patch doesn't fix it. I'm running Vista at SP1, which includes that patch, and the same crash happens. I just tested it out to confirm. but the CFF explorer work around still works.

Openedge

02-26-2008, 09:56 PM

<cite>Einadin@Oasis wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Snugglecog wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Jaxsyn@Guk wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just wanted to add my voice to those who have been living with this annoying problem. My specs: Quad Core, Vista x64 home premium, 8 gb RAM, 8800 GTX w/768mb I also had the notorious 'ran out of memory' bug associated with high end systems but can cure that one with the CFF explorer fix. Good luck Devs!</blockquote>Quick note on the notorious "ran out of memory" bug... This issue was typically caused by, "Virtual address space usage in Windows game development" and there is a fix available on the Microsoft web site: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/940105" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/defaul....aspx/kb/940105</a></blockquote>Actually, this does not fix the issue. Please see the Red Names' replies to this thread: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=364955" target="_blank">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=364955</a></blockquote>It also does not explain why users of XP also get the same issue...Thanks

Openedge

02-26-2008, 09:58 PM

<cite>Griffinhart wrote:</cite><blockquote>I'm afraid that patch doesn't fix it. I'm running Vista at SP1, which includes that patch, and the same crash happens. I just tested it out to confirm. but the CFF explorer work around still works.</blockquote>So...for the longest time this little fix has been noted multiple times in many threads..I am very curious of why it has not been implemented in code. If this small program can fix this by just checking a piece of code and adding the needed bits...???Any input on this?Thanks

Snugglecog

02-26-2008, 10:06 PM

Status Update: NVIDIA 8 Series Performance IssueI said I would give you an update today, so here it is. At this time we've tested this issue on two similar systems, one Quad and one Dual core (specs. listed below). Each system was a 32bit version of Vista and each with the "Virtual address space usage" fix installed, (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/940105) and current NVIDIA drivers, (ForceWare Release 169 WHQL 169.25). Test condition included running EQ2 in the default, "High Quality" setting at 1600 x 1200 full screen resolution. Each test system preformed extremely well seldom dipping down to 30FPS and keep an average of 45FPS. I will continue to test this issue with various 8 series cards.Another step you may try to improve you situation would be to reinstall DirectX. Sometimes after card swapping and or driver updates, (even with applications such as Driver Cleaner) reinstalling DirectX may help.I will keep you all posted on the progress of the hardware that gets tested in regards to this issue. Good luck and good hunting. Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz 2044MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT~ 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)~ Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English)Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo E6850 @ 3.00GHz3070MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT~ 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)~ Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English)

Pitt Hammerfi

02-26-2008, 10:31 PM

Snugglecog, Did you test complex shader distance and particles on anything above 0 in a raid environment ?I have to turn down particles while raiding, because it slows my system to a crawl. This is one of the reasons why so many people are mentioning CPU/GPU load balancing, and doing particles on the GPUI also have to turn off shaders while raiding , I'm using VIsta 32, amd x2 5200, 4 gigs ram, 8800gtx 768m/b ram, raid 0Let me again emphasise what everyone is complaining about in the what bugs you threadShaders and particles performance in a raid setting is abysmal.The option Display/Performance/Complex shader distance (does this turn off shaders? what shader model are you using? Why such a hige impact while raiding? )The option Display/Particle Effects (HUGE Performance impact on 8800 series cards while in combat)Both of the above options have a huge impact on EQ2 performance

Vazi

02-26-2008, 11:49 PM

<cite>Snugglecog wrote:</cite><blockquote>Status Update: NVIDIA 8 Series Performance IssueI said I would give you an update today, so here it is. At this time we've tested this issue on two similar systems, one Quad and one Dual core (specs. listed below). Each system was a 32bit version of Vista and each with the "Virtual address space usage" fix installed, (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/940105) and current NVIDIA drivers, (ForceWare Release 169 WHQL 169.25). Test condition included running EQ2 in the default, "High Quality" setting at 1600 x 1200 full screen resolution. Each test system preformed extremely well seldom dipping down to 30FPS and keep an average of 45FPS. I will continue to test this issue with various 8 series cards.Another step you may try to improve you situation would be to reinstall DirectX. Sometimes after card swapping and or driver updates, (even with applications such as Driver Cleaner) reinstalling DirectX may help.I will keep you all posted on the progress of the hardware that gets tested in regards to this issue. Good luck and good hunting. Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz 2044MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT~ 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)~ Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English)Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo E6850 @ 3.00GHz3070MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT~ 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)~ Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English)</blockquote>Please test out 64 bit Vista Ultimate as well. I have a MSI 8800GTS 512, Quad Q6600 and 8GB of memory. Everquest2.exe will freeze up once or twice every single night while raiding. No other games that I play on this system have issues. I should also note that the OS is perfectly stable before and after I end task on the locked up Everquest2.exe thread. I should also note that I play on the "raid" setting using ProfitUI, so the system is clearly not even being challenged.

Rothgar

02-27-2008, 05:01 AM

<cite>Pitt Hammerfist wrote:</cite><blockquote>Snugglecog, Did you test complex shader distance and particles on anything above 0 in a raid environment ?I have to turn down particles while raiding, because it slows my system to a crawl. This is one of the reasons why so many people are mentioning CPU/GPU load balancing, and doing particles on the GPUI also have to turn off shaders while raiding , I'm using VIsta 32, amd x2 5200, 4 gigs ram, 8800gtx 768m/b ram, raid 0Let me again emphasise what everyone is complaining about in the what bugs you threadShaders and particles performance in a raid setting is abysmal.The option Display/Performance/Complex shader distance (does this turn off shaders? what shader model are you using? Why such a hige impact while raiding? )The option Display/Particle Effects (HUGE Performance impact on 8800 series cards while in combat)Both of the above options have a huge impact on EQ2 performance </blockquote>Lets not throw him off the trail so quickly. You're talking about general performance problems that occur regardless of hardware. The main concern of this thread is specifically why the 8800 series video cards cause performance degradation even in the middle of Commonlands with no one around.I agree that the issues you mentioned need to be looked at, but that isn't really handled by our compatibility lab.

krinkled

02-27-2008, 06:54 AM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Pitt Hammerfist wrote:</cite><blockquote>Snugglecog, Did you test complex shader distance and particles on anything above 0 in a raid environment ?I have to turn down particles while raiding, because it slows my system to a crawl. This is one of the reasons why so many people are mentioning CPU/GPU load balancing, and doing particles on the GPUI also have to turn off shaders while raiding , I'm using VIsta 32, amd x2 5200, 4 gigs ram, 8800gtx 768m/b ram, raid 0Let me again emphasise what everyone is complaining about in the what bugs you threadShaders and particles performance in a raid setting is abysmal.The option Display/Performance/Complex shader distance (does this turn off shaders? what shader model are you using? Why such a hige impact while raiding? )The option Display/Particle Effects (HUGE Performance impact on 8800 series cards while in combat)Both of the above options have a huge impact on EQ2 performance </blockquote>Lets not throw him off the trail so quickly. You're talking about general performance problems that occur regardless of hardware. The main concern of this thread is specifically why the 8800 series video cards cause performance degradation even in the middle of Commonlands with no one around.I agree that the issues you mentioned need to be looked at, but that isn't really handled by our compatibility lab.</blockquote>I want to express my thanks to you for looking into this issue. It is frustrating that you are unable to duplicate the problem at this time, but very nice of you to look into it and respond to our concerns. I know a lot of companies just blow people off and don't care.To be more precise about the problem: The game runs great in a building with four close walls. Standing in the West Freeport bank I get 40fps, everything looks very smooth. For some reason some large sections of the commonlands are just killing my framerate down to like 19fps even on balanced mode.I have started another character in Timorous Deep and the same thing is happening there. Inside my one room house in the City of Gorowyn it is running at like 45fps and everything looks great. However there are large areas on the island outside where something is just killing the framerates down to like 17-19fps.After reinstalling the 8800U from scratch the problem did improve, but for no explicable reason. Before I was getting 9-14fps outside and now I am getting 19-20fps. It is noticeably better (and playable now!) but far below what an 8800U should do, especially when compared to the x1900xt. Why do you think that a 3 year old ATI card is performing better than a brand new 8800U, especially when the 3dmark scores are almost 3x higher for the 8800? Other have speculated that it is because of the way EQ2 involves the CPU in the rendering process, and that the new 8800 cards are not "good" at that. Anyway I am enjoying the game very much and wish I had found it sooner. I am so sick of WoW, and even with the performance issues I don't think I am going back to that game. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Openedge

02-27-2008, 09:36 AM

<cite>Snugglecog wrote:</cite><blockquote>Status Update: NVIDIA 8 Series Performance IssueI said I would give you an update today, so here it is. At this time we've tested this issue on two similar systems, one Quad and one Dual core (specs. listed below). Each system was a 32bit version of Vista and each with the "Virtual address space usage" fix installed, (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/940105) and current NVIDIA drivers, (ForceWare Release 169 WHQL 169.25). Test condition included running EQ2 in the default, "High Quality" setting at 1600 x 1200 full screen resolution. Each test system preformed extremely well seldom dipping down to 30FPS and keep an average of 45FPS. I will continue to test this issue with various 8 series cards.Another step you may try to improve you situation would be to reinstall DirectX. Sometimes after card swapping and or driver updates, (even with applications such as Driver Cleaner) reinstalling DirectX may help.I will keep you all posted on the progress of the hardware that gets tested in regards to this issue. Good luck and good hunting. Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz 2044MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT~ 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)~ Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English)Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo E6850 @ 3.00GHz3070MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT~ 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)~ Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English)</blockquote>Did you by chance do a run through in Neriak and Kelethin. This is the way it normally works.Zone in the front of Neriak.Do a run to Craft instance...Before the entrance to craft section...stuttering and sluggish and even freezing frameratesCrash as I work my way to the bottom and the broker.Kelethin. Zone in by basic acorn inn.Run Down bridge toward bankStuttering, Freezing frameratesGet to bridge where no buildings exist except for an acorn to purchaseCrashThe crash is either1. Application ran out of memory requesting...2. e_directxmemory error3. Blue screen with NV4_Disp.dll displayed as the culpritThis is on XP. 8800GT, 650i motherboard, 2 or 4 gigs of ram (i.e: does not matter), latest drivers (and recent beta's, NGO or Omega's), X-Fi sound card (EAX on or Off)Thanks

SIlly Muffin

02-27-2008, 09:42 AM

Thanks for looking into the problem. I do have few comments:Could you tell us more about what is being done when it is tested (location, time played, spells cast..etc)Could you do a few things - Run around in Neriak a bit especially the bridge near the bank and in the broker area - Fly sorokar between over KP from dregs to Fens posts or dregs to Teren's Gap - Run/Ride in Common lands from Darklight wood zone entrance to The CL gryphon tower - Run in Fens from Span to Riiss - Do some zoning then return to above areas (or play for 1 hr +)Things to watch for FPS flying all over the scale from <10 to 60s , stutter/hitching, wild drops in FPS with no-one around or when PCs/NPCs come into "range'Thanks!

MMKA

02-27-2008, 02:18 PM

OK, I just uninstalled my 8800GT and used a driver cleaner to remove the old drivers. I loaded driver version 7.15.0011.6925 from Nvidia, then I reinstalled DirectX 9c. My hardware is listed previously. I have SLI but it is disabled because SLI cuts my frame rates to 1/4 and really causes freezes and lag.When I have my performance settings at High Quality, I get an average frame rate of about 30-40, however, every 10-20 seconds I get a screen freeze for about .5 - 1 second and the frame rate drops to 7-10. With performance on Balanced, I get max frame rate of 50-60 but again, every 10-20 seconds I get a short screen freeze (.5-1 second) and the frame rate drops to 10-15 for that time.With performance on High Performance, my max frame rate is about 60-70 but it drops to 15-20 every 10-20 seconds for a short time and I still get screen freezes (usually less than 1 second), although they are not quite as bad as when it was on Balanced or High Quality. To sum it up, as I adjust the graphics quality lower, the better the system runs, although I still get screen freezes no matter what setting. It is playable at Very High Performance settings although it still freezes at the most inopportune times! I have 3 other systems running the 7600GS, 7600GT and 8600GTS on the most recent driver. I have no screen freezing problems with the other systems and the max frame rates on all of them are as high or higher than with my 8800GT system.

Frogjitsu

02-27-2008, 02:54 PM

I am experiencing the same thing; so much that I put my BFG 8800GTX on the shelf and purchased a Visiontek 3870 HD. I run an dual core e6600 @ 2.4ghz, 4 gigs of Corsair XMS 2 DDR 800 RAM, an Asus P5N32-SLI Premium (updated to the 901 BIOS), and Vista Ultimate 64 bit. Every so often I would get a 1 second freeze with the BFG 8800GTX, and Kelethin and Neriak run terrible with the card. (The area in Neriak that gave me a huge performance hit is the "bridge" you travel on the way to the two portals to TS and Nektulos). Everywhere else I was experiencing pretty good frame rates (30-50) @ Balanced settings. Anything higher than Balanced and the performance would take a huge hit; I'm talking 10-15 FPS with flora and shadows turned off. I tried the following tweaks: disabling the smooth font, disabling flora, shadows, and changing the compatibility of the game to Windows XP SP 2... but it really seemed to just help the performance some and not the stuttering. I eventually got so fed up I installed the ATI 3870 HD and the stuttering/performance issues went away. I also play the game on my laptop while I travel for work. It's an Asus G2S-B2 (dual core 2.4ghz, 3 gigs of RAM, 200 gig 7200 RPM drive, and nVidia 8600 GT on Vista 32 bit Home premium; and it stutters as well. The only problem with the laptop is I can't change the video card...Love the game, and would even PAY $10-15 bucks to Sony for a "engine upgrade" expansion/patch to be more compatible with current/future hardware.

Snugglecog

02-27-2008, 03:31 PM

Thanks for all of the specifics, locations, directions, etc. I will factor these into my tests today. Our schedule is pretty heavy, but I intend to test at least two more system configurations today. Vista 64 will get a run through, (maybe not today, but I will check it out). I'll post an update towards the end of the day to keep you all up on our progress. Thank you for your patience, (I appreciate it).

Openedge

02-27-2008, 04:28 PM

<cite>Snugglecog wrote:</cite><blockquote>Thanks for all of the specifics, locations, directions, etc. I will factor these into my tests today. Our schedule is pretty heavy, but I intend to test at least two more system configurations today. Vista 64 will get a run through, (maybe not today, but I will check it out). I'll post an update towards the end of the day to keep you all up on our progress. Thank you for your patience, (I appreciate it).</blockquote>Thank you for all your doing...I hope you find the problem, as I am about ready to waste 200 bucks on a 3870 myself so I do not have to suffer through this anymore.Also of note, last night it has been stated over and over about the CFF explorer fix in main chat (1-9)...and I have seen this fix applied by another person...and it DOES eliminate the crashes (but it does NOT fix the stutters, or screen freezes mentioned here)But, I am about ready to say forget it, and go 3870...as my wifes 2900 runs beautifully...so, I may go back to ATI...which makes me sad..thank you again though

Tyr

02-27-2008, 09:03 PM

<cite>Gabriellex wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Aven Elonis wrote:</cite><blockquote>Oh brother, didn't see this thread in time. No well have a 8800 GTX on the way, guess I'll see what I see. Will post after it arrives and is installed. Note - it will be replacing a 7900.</blockquote>Hey you might get lucky and it runs fines but I switched over from a 7900 gtx sli to 8800 gtx and noticed no FPS increase and also been experiencing that 2 sec freeze every 15-20 seconds while moving. I still raid in extreme performance with 15-19 fps. Here is my comp spec:<ul><li>AMD FX-60 2.6ghz (no oc)</li><li>ASUS A8N32-SLI</li><li>OCZ 4 GB PC3200 (2-2-3-5)</li><li>GF 8800 GTX</li><li>Built-in Sound AC97</li><li>Vista64 ultimate w/ all latest updates and latest hardware drivers</li></ul>I do use a 30'' LCD and run at 2560x1600 resolution but also used that res with my 7900 gtx (not in sli mode).</blockquote>I had problems with my 6800 with stuttering just like you are describing and it turned out to be some kind of conflict with the Realtek AC97 drivers that was screwing up 2 of my systems... I updated the sound card drivers to the following version: I got my updated driver version for my motherboard from MSI's website here: XP/win2k: <a href="http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=driverfile&dno=2344&i=0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?...le&dno=2344&i=0</a>XP 64bit: <a href="http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=driverfile&dno=2344&i=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?...le&dno=2344&i=1</a>I'm not sure where you can find a vista version... I'm running XP.Maybe that will help someone...

Tyr

02-27-2008, 09:08 PM

<cite>Snugglecog wrote:</cite><blockquote>Status Update: NVIDIA 8 Series Performance IssueI said I would give you an update today, so here it is. At this time we've tested this issue on two similar systems, one Quad and one Dual core (specs. listed below). Each system was a 32bit version of Vista and each with the "Virtual address space usage" fix installed, (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/940105) and current NVIDIA drivers, (ForceWare Release 169 WHQL 169.25). Test condition included running EQ2 in the default, "High Quality" setting at 1600 x 1200 full screen resolution. Each test system preformed extremely well seldom dipping down to 30FPS and keep an average of 45FPS. I will continue to test this issue with various 8 series cards.Another step you may try to improve you situation would be to reinstall DirectX. Sometimes after card swapping and or driver updates, (even with applications such as Driver Cleaner) reinstalling DirectX may help.I will keep you all posted on the progress of the hardware that gets tested in regards to this issue. Good luck and good hunting. Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz 2044MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT~ 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)~ Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English)Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo E6850 @ 3.00GHz3070MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT~ 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)~ Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English)</blockquote>Which audio chipset is in the system and which driver version? I'm curious if your test system avoided the Realtek chipset conflict that I had problems with. Which motherboard are you guys using? Is your reference system a dell or custom machine? Could you please provide full specs for this system? I'm looking to buy/build a new system, and if you are not having with that system, I may just mirror it! lol

Snugglecog

02-27-2008, 11:28 PM

Status Update: NVIDIA 8 Series Performance IssueWell there wasn't enough time to get to everything I wanted to today, however progress was made. I hate to keep you all in suspense, but I also don't want to prematurely tell you something that isn't accurate. Our goal is to get something reproducible to our programmers to debug A.S.A.P. I'll post on our progress again tomorrow.

Daevara

02-28-2008, 04:38 AM

Hey all -I can definitely confirm that I'm having the exact same issue. I went out tonight and picked up a Gateway FX7020 (8800 GT, AMD Phenom 9600, 3G RAM, nForce 4 6150SE chipset, Vista Home Premium) as a replacement for my quite ancient AMD 3800+/ATI X800 setup. (Granted, this new machine is hardly the firebreather that some of the posters here have, but it was in my price range and a fair sight better than what I had!)I'm netting around the same framerate with high quality enabled in Kelethin (~20FPS) as most of the folks here are noting. This becomes massively worse upon entering any building (particularly one with multiple characters and/or crafting taking place), dropping to ~5-7 FPS. Changing the resolution to 1600x1200 (full-screen) helps *slightly*, perhaps on the order of 1-3fps, but not much. Typically I run in windowed mode @1680x1050.I've tried all of the following on the new setup (in this order):- Installed Microsoft KB 940105 [KBs 938194 and 938979 were already part of the build]- Uninstalling the entire video driver package- Running Driver Cleaner .NET to completely remove all nVidia drivers from the machine- Reinstalled DirectX 10- Pulled down nVidia Graphics Driver 169.25 and installed itNone of this made any difference at all. I then tried the following nVidia 3D settings configuration noted on a different forum:Anisotrophic Filtering: 16xAntialiasing - Gamma correction: OffAntialiasing - Mode: Override any application settingAntialiasing - Setting: 16xQForce mipmaps: TrilinearTriple buffering: OnVertical sync: Force onThese changes also made no noticable difference.Most of the posters from other forums are centering discussion of the 8800 issues on CPU bound shadow/particle effects, but that doesn't seem like the right issue to me based on what I'm seeing here. I'm having the same low framerates on Balanced Quality (no shadows) and no casting going on anywhere in visual range. Like one poster noted, he's seeing these issues in the middle of the Commonlands with no one else around. Hopefully this helps to narrow things down a bit.Out of sheer curiousity, though I doubt it, are all of the folks having issues running AMD processor/backplanes? I noted that Snugglecog's test was done on an Intel setup and he didn't seem to have any issues. Just a random passing thought...Here's to hoping the devs find a solution soon. I picked up this PC specifically because I came back to EQ2 two weeks ago (after a two+ year break) and I'm hoping to get the proper mileage out of it!<does a "thwap-the-bug" dance>

Jal

02-28-2008, 06:10 AM

Yeah mines an AMD processor, original graphics cards were 2 x 7600's in SLI but i removed those and whacked the 8800 in and got the freezing/stuttering since then. I was originally on XP Pro SP2 with the problems upgraded to Vista ultimate at christmas and still have the freezing and bad perfermance with spell effects set higher than 0 in groups or with lots of mobs on me solo (i usually set it to 2). I had installed all the AMD processor fixes and patches suggested on XP to no avail but nothing so far done specially on vista.------------------System Information------------------Time of this report: 2/28/2008, 09:03:31 Machine name: SKYNET Operating System: Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.071023-1545) Language: English (Regional Setting: English)System Manufacturer: Packard Bell BV System Model: IPOWER 7650 BIOS: Award Medallion BIOS v6.00PG Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+ (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz Memory: 3070MB RAM Page File: 936MB used, 5384MB available Windows Dir: C:Windows DirectX Version: DirectX 10DX Setup Parameters: Not found DxDiag Version: 6.00.6000.16386 32bit Unicode------------DxDiag Notes------------ Display Tab 1: No problems found. Sound Tab 1: No problems found. Sound Tab 2: No problems found. Input Tab: No problems found.--------------------DirectX Debug Levels--------------------Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)---------------Display Devices--------------- Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX Manufacturer: NVIDIA Chip type: GeForce 8800 GTX DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC Device Key: EnumPCIVEN_10DE&DEV_0191&SUBSYS_039C10DE&REV_A2 Display Memory: 2012 MB Dedicated Memory: 732 MB Shared Memory: 1279 MB Current Mode: 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz) Monitor: Dell 2407WFP (Digital) Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll Driver Version: 7.15.0011.6925 (English) DDI Version: 9ExDriver Attributes: Final Retail Driver Date/Size: 12/11/2007 17:06:00, 5263360 bytes WHQL Logo'd: Yes WHQL Date Stamp: Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-42D1-11CF-6368-972302C2CA35} Vendor ID: 0x10DE Device ID: 0x0191 SubSys ID: 0x039C10DE Revision ID: 0x00A2 Revision ID: 0x00A2 Video Accel: Deinterlace Caps: n/a DDraw Status: Not Available D3D Status: Enabled AGP Status: Not Available-------------Sound Devices------------- Description: Speakers (Realtek AC'97 Audio) Default Sound Playback: Yes Default Voice Playback: Yes Hardware ID: PCIVEN_10DE&DEV_0059&SUBSYS_D0091631&REV_A2 Manufacturer ID: 1 Product ID: 100 Type: WDM Driver Name: RTKVAC.SYS Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6243 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail WHQL Logo'd: Yes Date and Size: 6/28/2007 15:21:32, 3993248 bytes Other Files: Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HW Accel Level: Basic Cap Flags: 0xF1F Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0 HW Memory: 0 Voice Management: No EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, NoSensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No Description: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek AC'97 Audio) Default Sound Playback: No Default Voice Playback: No Hardware ID: PCIVEN_10DE&DEV_0059&SUBSYS_D0091631&REV_A2 Manufacturer ID: 1 Product ID: 100 Type: WDM Driver Name: RTKVAC.SYS Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6243 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail WHQL Logo'd: Yes Date and Size: 6/28/2007 15:21:32, 3993248 bytes Other Files: Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HW Accel Level: Basic Cap Flags: 0xF1F Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0 HW Memory: 0 Voice Management: No EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, NoSensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No---------------------Sound Capture Devices--------------------- Description: Microphone (Realtek AC'97 Audio) Default Sound Capture: Yes Default Voice Capture: Yes Driver Name: RTKVAC.SYS Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6243 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail Date and Size: 6/28/2007 15:21:32, 3993248 bytes Cap Flags: 0x1 Format Flags: 0xFFFFF Description: SPDIF (Realtek AC'97 Audio) Default Sound Capture: No Default Voice Capture: No Driver Name: RTKVAC.SYS Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6243 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail Date and Size: 6/28/2007 15:21:32, 3993248 bytes Cap Flags: 0x1 Format Flags: 0xFFFFF Description: Line In (Realtek AC'97 Audio) Default Sound Capture: No Default Voice Capture: No Driver Name: RTKVAC.SYS Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6243 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail Date and Size: 6/28/2007 15:21:32, 3993248 bytes Cap Flags: 0x1 Format Flags: 0xFFFFF-------------------DirectInput Devices------------------- Device Name: Mouse Attached: 1 Controller ID: n/aVendor/Product ID: n/a FF Driver: n/a Device Name: Keyboard Attached: 1 Controller ID: n/aVendor/Product ID: n/a FF Driver: n/a Device Name: Microsoft® Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 Attached: 1 Controller ID: 0x0Vendor/Product ID: 0x045E, 0x0714 FF Driver: n/a Device Name: Logitech Gaming Keyboard Attached: 1 Controller ID: 0x0Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC221 FF Driver: n/a Device Name: Logitech Gaming Keyboard Attached: 1 Controller ID: 0x0Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC221 FF Driver: n/a Device Name: G15 Keyboard Attached: 1 Controller ID: 0x0Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC222 FF Driver: n/a Device Name: FT-0405-UV1.4-1 Attached: 1 Controller ID: 0x0Vendor/Product ID: 0x056A, 0x0060 FF Driver: n/a Device Name: Microsoft® Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 Attached: 1 Controller ID: 0x0Vendor/Product ID: 0x045E, 0x0702 FF Driver: n/aPoll w/ Interrupt: No

Openedge

02-28-2008, 09:21 AM

<cite>Daevara wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hey all -I can definitely confirm that I'm having the exact same issue. I went out tonight and picked up a Gateway FX7020 (8800 GT, AMD Phenom 9600, 3G RAM, nForce 4 6150SE chipset, Vista Home Premium) as a replacement for my quite ancient AMD 3800+/ATI X800 setup. (Granted, this new machine is hardly the firebreather that some of the posters here have, but it was in my price range and a fair sight better than what I had!)I'm netting around the same framerate with high quality enabled in Kelethin (~20FPS) as most of the folks here are noting. This becomes massively worse upon entering any building (particularly one with multiple characters and/or crafting taking place), dropping to ~5-7 FPS. Changing the resolution to 1600x1200 (full-screen) helps *slightly*, perhaps on the order of 1-3fps, but not much. Typically I run in windowed mode @1680x1050.I've tried all of the following on the new setup (in this order):- Installed Microsoft KB 940105 [KBs 938194 and 938979 were already part of the build]- Uninstalling the entire video driver package- Running Driver Cleaner .NET to completely remove all nVidia drivers from the machine- Reinstalled DirectX 10- Pulled down nVidia Graphics Driver 169.25 and installed itNone of this made any difference at all. I then tried the following nVidia 3D settings configuration noted on a different forum:Anisotrophic Filtering: 16xAntialiasing - Gamma correction: OffAntialiasing - Mode: Override any application settingAntialiasing - Setting: 16xQForce mipmaps: TrilinearTriple buffering: OnVertical sync: Force onThese changes also made no noticable difference.Most of the posters from other forums are centering discussion of the 8800 issues on CPU bound shadow/particle effects, but that doesn't seem like the right issue to me based on what I'm seeing here. I'm having the same low framerates on Balanced Quality (no shadows) and no casting going on anywhere in visual range. Like one poster noted, he's seeing these issues in the middle of the Commonlands with no one else around. Hopefully this helps to narrow things down a bit.Out of sheer curiousity, though I doubt it, are all of the folks having issues running AMD processor/backplanes? I noted that Snugglecog's test was done on an Intel setup and he didn't seem to have any issues. Just a random passing thought...Here's to hoping the devs find a solution soon. I picked up this PC specifically because I came back to EQ2 two weeks ago (after a two+ year break) and I'm hoping to get the proper mileage out of it!<does a "thwap-the-bug" dance></blockquote>Heya I have run 8800's on both Intel and AMD platforms, with the same results...so it is not the "type" of CPU..But, maybe try this, In your Nvidia control panel...Turn AF to 8xTurn off AA (Application Setting)Force Mipmaps - Try BilinearTriple Buffer = OFFVsync = OFFTurn Vsync on in the game insteadI can manage about 40-60 when not stuttering or freezing...or crashing in Kelethin or Neriak on high quality at 1920x1200 (to avoid crashes in those cities, I have to turn Complex Shaders to -1)Hope that helps you get some frames back

BobbyTheRobot

02-28-2008, 04:28 PM

Just curious guys, I'm doing some testing of my own here on this issue. Has anyone experienced this stutter/pause problem in Windows XP with an Nvidia 8 series card? - If so, can you please provide the following PC Specs (or a DXDIAG) & The additional information below the Specs -- Windows XP (32-Bit or 64-bit): - CPU: - Video Card & Driver: - RAM: - What town(s) the issue was seen: - About how often does the issue occur? (Example: It happens about 6 times in 10minutes.)- If you have any additional notes you want to add, please add them:

Openedge

02-28-2008, 06:30 PM

<cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just curious guys, I'm doing some testing of my own here on this issue. Has anyone experienced this stutter/pause problem in Windows XP with an Nvidia 8 series card? - If so, can you please provide the following PC Specs (or a DXDIAG) & The additional information below the Specs -- Windows XP (32-Bit or 64-bit): - CPU: - Video Card & Driver: - RAM: - What town(s) the issue was seen: - About how often does the issue occur? (Example: It happens about 6 times in 10minutes.)- If you have any additional notes you want to add, please add them:</blockquote>Windows XP 32 bitCurrently using8800GT 512 Asus (not OC'd)174.12 Beta drivers (but also was happening with 169.25 on a clean install of XP)X-Fi Sound card2 gigs (and 4 gigs...does not matter) DDR2 800E6600 CPU (staright and now OC'd to 3 Ghz)Latest DirectXNeriak and Kelethin (Crash) outside of town in EL, Zek, most anywhere...stutters and freezesRoughly in certain area's, and not based on "time" so, can happen in 5 minutes or 15...just seems to happen whether there are NPC's, PC's etc..Also, I have used an 8800GTS 640 and it does thisI have used an Intel and an AMD cpu...does thisVarious different hard drive brands....does thisXP or Vista....does thisIt all boils down to one common factor...the 8800 and EQ2 (oh, and LOTRO also does this with these cards...but no other game does)My wifes ATI does not do this in EQ2...but have not tested it on LOTRO...but, really difficult to play that game...too boringThanks

SIlly Muffin

02-28-2008, 08:19 PM

<cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote>- Windows XP (32-Bit or 64-bit): XP SP2 32 bit - all updated- CPU: 6850 C2D on an P5N32-E - Video Card & Driver: ASUS EN8800GT using 169.25- RAM: 2 Gigs- What town(s) the issue was seen: Neriak (Bank Bridge), CL (esp near Wailing/Griff tower), EL, Riis, Teren's, a lot of overland areas - About how often does the issue occur? (Example: It happens about 6 times in 10minutes.) avg 1x every 15-30s hitch, and on sorokars/griffs- If you have any additional notes you want to add, please add them: Two issues actually exist imho The hitching - which is semi random but averages 1x every 15-30s (a quick freeze/hiccup) its independednt of what is happening (combat/spells) but usually most 90% evident while moving The wild Fps flux - areas like Neriak and CL or running around Fens cause wild fluctuations in Fps anywhere from 70+ fps to <1fps It seems to me the game is loading/transferring new information, perhaps between video and memory and it chockes as the problems are non-existent when standing still or moving slower (running vs mount/ride) even when no major discernable change is visible.Muffin</blockquote>

Thmy

02-28-2008, 08:49 PM

I have not had any problems using my 8800GTX card - E6700 dual core- and 4 GIG installed memory using WIN-XP.The 8800GTX is a little over clocked and the CPU is standard speed 2.66.when looking at FPS of eq2 VS Crysis make Crysis run in only ONE core and watch the FPS drop.------------------------It does seem more 8800GT people are reporting problems than the 8800GTX people.---------------------------I sure would install a dual boot of Vista and Win-xp on the same system before making a lot of hardware changes.-----------------------------

Taipans

02-28-2008, 08:53 PM

Just wanted to note I am having the exact same problems as everyone else. Stuttering, poor FPS.2 8800 GTX's in SLI - Intel Duo Quad - 4GB RAM - VISTA 64 everything is new, freshly setup with updated drivers.

BobbyTheRobot

02-28-2008, 09:29 PM

So far I'm easily able to reproduce the stutter/pause issue in Vista 32-bit and 64-bit. I've reproduced it with an 8600GTS, 8800GT and an 8800GTX (in multiple zones).I'm having a bit of trouble with reproducing it on XP, hence why I made the post. I'll continue my testing on XP and we'll see how things go. Thanks for all the replies, this info is helpful.

Openedge

02-28-2008, 10:07 PM

<cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote>So far I'm easily able to reproduce the stutter/pause issue in Vista 32-bit and 64-bit. I've reproduced it with an 8600GTS, 8800GT and an 8800GTX (in multiple zones).I'm having a bit of trouble with reproducing it on XP, hence why I made the post. I'll continue my testing on XP and we'll see how things go. Thanks for all the replies, this info is helpful.</blockquote>Yea...I think it is time to fraps it to see what it does exactly...A sample is here and this looks EXACTLY the same as what EQ2 does<a rel="nofollow" href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=GjesCY0JB20&feature=related" target="_blank">http://youtube.com/watch?v=GjesCY0J...feature=related</a>From LOTRO...notice about 5-10 secs in how it looks like you slam into an invisible wallThat was a 640 GTS on XPAlso, here are some screenshots...#1. Standing on the dock....note FPS at 62<a rel="nofollow" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/openedge1/EQ2/photo#5172201147942310130" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/openedg...201147942310130</a>#2. Now some samples of running around27 FPS = <a rel="nofollow" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/openedge1/EQ2/photo#5172201568849105154" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/openedg...201568849105154</a>31 FPS = <a rel="nofollow" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/openedge1/EQ2/photo#5172201590323941650" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/openedg...201590323941650</a>Complete stop 22 FPS...WHAT THE???? = <a rel="nofollow" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/openedge1/EQ2/photo#5172201611798778146" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/openedg...201611798778146</a>All on my 8800GT...Yea...it's kinda like that...sometimes even worse...complete 1 FPS drops...but so fast I cant screen shot it...(I keep hearing also..people with 8800GTX seem to be the luckier ones...but, then they thought it was just the 8800GT getting hit...happens to be various samplings of the 8800 models)Good luck guys...as I think it is more difficult than EQ2 engine codeThanks

Daevara

02-28-2008, 10:37 PM

Hey all -Just a quick heads up from the EQ2 developer chat today:<@Tamat> Daevara: My question is for Rothgar - I know from reading the forums that there are multiple issues for folks running the GeForce 8800 series video cards of late. Has there been any progress on getting these issues worked out?<+Rothgar> Our compatibility lab has been looking into the problems related to Vista and the 8800 series video cards and I was told yesterday that we've been able to repro some of those problems. The dev team should be receiving hardware soon that will allow us to begin looking for a fix. As soon as we've found something, we will let everyone know.So, the good news is, we're not crazy and it isn't just us! Just figured I'd drop a note on this thread to let everyone else know what the response was tonight.

Snugglecog

02-28-2008, 11:34 PM

I haven't spoken to Rothgar today, but I will be getting him a system to debug with tomorrow. So hang in there campers... Optimism isn't such a bad thing now is it?

NSchindler

02-28-2008, 11:36 PM

Man...go figure, I save money to get a new computer and find out the video card I am ordering is having issues =(Hope this gets fixed.

NSchindler

02-28-2008, 11:38 PM

Is this all 8800s? Any one know if eq2 is having issues with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS or is this just the Ultra?

Daevara

02-28-2008, 11:41 PM

From what I've read both here and on other forums, every 8800 variant is potentially impacted. I've read of issues on the GT, GTS, GTX, and Ultra variants.Then again, there are a handful of people out there not having problems with them, but they are (by far) the minority.

Graywindnz

02-28-2008, 11:46 PM

I doint know if this will help , but im not having many problems, ok i get the BSOD now and again mabye once or twice a week. It working fine and im running it on balanced so as not to strain the CPU cause I know the games used it alotHere's what I got:GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 Intel 965P ATX PCI-Ex16 LGA775 (Motherboard)Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.4Ghz XFX Geforce 8800GTX Video Card Icute S901-5G1-BB Middle Tower Case TASK DUAL FAN 550W Max:620W (power supply)Corasir XMAS2 TWIN2X1024A-6400 DDR2-800 2GB (Ram)1x 300gb hard driveEdit: I use an up to date Windows XP and Im not sure on what graphics drivers I have...<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Pitt Hammerfi

02-29-2008, 12:12 AM

I dont have any issues really, just average performance from a 500 dollar video cardI think i've been through about 4-5 video cards since eq2 started, none of them have had a real "wow this has changed eq2 performance"

Tyndaleon

02-29-2008, 12:30 AM

Snuggle,Just wanted to point out, please make sure you're doing testing under XP as well. While there aren't quite as many documented cases/problems with XP as there are with Vista, there are still some out there nonetheless that have issues with the 8000 series using XP as well.

Griffinhart

02-29-2008, 03:53 AM

I'm not entirely sure on this part, but I believe the problem is with 8800 boards with more than 512MB. I've seen other games with similar problems as well. Company of Heroes, for example, crashes when running under DX9 mode and shader quality set to "ultra" mode, but only on boards with more than 512MB.

krinkled

02-29-2008, 04:26 AM

Well I thought that things had improved since swapping in the x1900 and then reinstalling the 8800U from scratch. I even flashed my MB BIOS to the latest revision!Anyway I am having some areas above of Mok Rent and east of Mok Rent that are pushing me down to like 14fps again for short periods of time. It seems to happen when there are alot of mobs on the screen and alot of terrain. The game will just choke and bog down in these scenarios. I still can't get over the huge performance difference between ATI's old cards and Nvidia newest top of the line.I am seeing this @ 1920 x 1200. I realize this is a high resolution but if the 8800U can get 40fps on Crysis at that resolution I certainly hope that eventually I will be able to get that in EQ2.It is great news that the devs are looking into this, hopefully we won't have to wait too long before they push out a patch that improves 8800 series performance. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Ethi

02-29-2008, 04:31 AM

I have a very similar config. Quad intel cpu, 4gb ram, 8800 gtx 768mb ram, and raptor 150 drives. I'm running xp with all the latest patches and drivers.If I put eq2 on very high or max settings I get random crashes with dxrenderer errors. not that I'd run it in this mode since it generally isn't performing very well which is suprising for a game as old as eq2.So I play on high quality. Now some areas I get pretty good performance like 30-50 fps. Butcherblock for instance. However some other zones I get aweful performance. In enchanted lands I get like 12-15 fps. Overall it is rather disappointing that my system which is pretty much top of the line for 2008 can't play a game from 2004-2005 without performance problems... It wouldn't be so bad if the graphics were amazing but frankly they are a bit dated when compared to vanguard or new games like Age of Conan...

Deathspell

02-29-2008, 06:25 AM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote>I am seeing this @ 1920 x 1200. I realize this is a high resolution but if the 8800U can get 40fps on Crysis at that resolution I certainly hope that eventually I will be able to get that in EQ2. It is great news that the devs are looking into this, hopefully we won't have to wait too long before they push out a patch that improves 8800 series performance. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img mce_tsrc=" />" /></blockquote>High resolution or not, it's not demanding too much, game developpers just have to make sure it runs at such resolutions because they are native resolutions from nowadays monitors. Period.About the devs looking into this.... a positive way of thinking is always nice....BUT, back in the day when EQ2 got launched I remember the very same complaints and malcontent costumers with the 6800 cards.Back then the 6800 card was what the 8800 is today. It's the highest card and it's mega-popular card. I don't remember the 6800-issue being fixed, but it's forgotten coz newer cards arrived.... and I'm affraid it's going to be same with the 8800. (9600 is already arriving)

Openedge

02-29-2008, 08:05 AM

<cite>Griffinhart wrote:</cite><blockquote>I'm not entirely sure on this part, but I believe the problem is with 8800 boards with more than 512MB. I've seen other games with similar problems as well. Company of Heroes, for example, crashes when running under DX9 mode and shader quality set to "ultra" mode, but only on boards with more than 512MB.</blockquote>This is incorrect, as I and many others are using the GT model 8800...512MB ramBut, good to know...my 640 GTS does it as wellI have a freind in my guild with a GTX who can't stay up more than 10 minutes with complex shaders on...lol (think he needs a fan fix though)Later

LoneGreyWolf20

02-29-2008, 10:42 AM

I still use a 17 inch CRT monitor and the resolution of 1024 x 768.

SkinnyFats_EQ2

02-29-2008, 12:27 PM

Oops, never mind

Koltur

02-29-2008, 12:51 PM

Well. I removed the 169.25 WHQL nvidia drivers, went on and installed the most recent version of the Omega Drivers, turned on SLI (force rendering mode 1) and put it in pretty high graphic settings and i'm getting decent (playable) FPS atm (approx 20-30 during raid, 40+ just running around somewhere). However, if i don't turn off particles it goes to kinda terrible, but i was getting like 60-70fps hanging around solo in Veeshan's peak.in-game command to turn off particles : /r_particle_priority -1 (this also completely removes the crappy lag builder thing, during the Ekron fight)I use 2 in-game macros for particles, one with the above-command to turn 'em off and one with the value set to 1, to turn 'em back on while not raiding. Raiding with 'em on, reduces FPS to something like 15-20, without 'em it's like 20-25.Specs: q6600 quad @ 2.4ghz, asus p5n32-e motherboard, mushkin 4gb ddr2-800 dual channel ram, 2* EVGA nvidia 8800GTX, WindowsXP 32-bit, running in 1680x1050 res. The lag/stuttering that i experienced was mainly while running in overland zones or like, East Freeport. Since I don't hang out in Commonlands much, I noticed it mainly in places like Jarsath Wastes or Kylong Plains as (lately) i rarely do anything in-game other then raid and/or run to raids (with the occasional group instance thrown in there.)

Openedge

02-29-2008, 03:06 PM

<cite>Koltur wrote:</cite><blockquote>Well. I removed the 169.25 WHQL nvidia drivers, went on and installed the most recent version of the Omega Drivers, turned on SLI (force rendering mode 1) and put it in pretty high graphic settings and i'm getting decent (playable) FPS atm (approx 20-30 during raid, 40+ just running around somewhere). However, if i don't turn off particles it goes to kinda terrible, but i was getting like 60-70fps hanging around solo in Veeshan's peak.in-game command to turn off particles : /r_particle_priority -1 (this also completely removes the crappy lag builder thing, during the Ekron fight)I use 2 in-game macros for particles, one with the above-command to turn 'em off and one with the value set to 1, to turn 'em back on while not raiding. Raiding with 'em on, reduces FPS to something like 15-20, without 'em it's like 20-25.Specs: q6600 quad @ 2.4ghz, asus p5n32-e motherboard, mushkin 4gb ddr2-800 dual channel ram, 2* EVGA nvidia 8800GTX, WindowsXP 32-bit, running in 1680x1050 res. The lag/stuttering that i experienced was mainly while running in overland zones or like, East Freeport. Since I don't hang out in Commonlands much, I noticed it mainly in places like Jarsath Wastes or Kylong Plains as (lately) i rarely do anything in-game other then raid and/or run to raids (with the occasional group instance thrown in there.)</blockquote>Can I ask...do you have AA enabled...in your Nvidia control panel AND in the .ini file? Why not disable this and see if the freezes from particle effects go away...this helped me with that issue...I have spell effects turned up, and it does not stutter for spell attacks. When AA was on, then I got the stutters.As to your quick command for particles...does anyone know if one exists for Complex Shaders? I want to turn them off in cities (due to the crash) and then back on when adventuring and questing..Thanks and Good luck

NSchindler

02-29-2008, 09:26 PM

Any one else try the omegadrivers from the site = <a href="http://www.omegadrivers.net/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.omegadrivers.net/</a> ?I did have an issue like this with my 6800 video card before,so I used the omegadrivers and the issue went away. That was not with a 8800 video card. Any one want to give that a try?

smut

02-29-2008, 11:48 PM

I have to chime in here. Having the same issues. I have a Intel Core 2 Duo at 3.1ghz on ABIT IN9 32X-MAX WIFI motherboard. 2GB of ram at DDR1000 and a over clocked 8800GT 512MB. I am using Windows XP SP2 fully updated through WinUpdate. I have the same issues everyone has brought up. I always run at 1440x900 res with 16x Anistropic Filtering and 2x Anti Aliasing. Varying levels of AF and AA have no effect, same FPS/hitching issues.Before the 8800GT I used a slower 8800GTS and both cards have had the same problems. Please fix it and PLEASE move shadow and particle rendering to the GPU, it can and should be done. The game performance would benefit greatly considering gfx cards from the past 2 generations to current have had tremendous shader power. That would solve alot of performance issues! I can run this game on extreme quality but as soon as I turn on environment shadows, specular shadowing and turn particles/spell effects up to a nice looking level the game slows to a crawl which is insane.Edit: Added some pertinent info that I forgot to mention.

krinkled

03-01-2008, 02:48 AM

Well I thought I had seen the worst of it. Boy was I wrong! Today I zoned into "Greater Faydark" for the first time ever. That was a mistake.I am getting 11 FPS sustained in greater faydark. Yep 11. Not for just like 1-2secs, but for long stretches of time I am getting 11fps with an 8800U and QX6850.Please check the photo proof here: <a href="http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9969/greaterfay11fpsjx6.jpg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/...fay11fpsjx6.jpg</a>

krinkled

03-01-2008, 06:34 AM

It seems to be a problem specific to certain zones or areas. Butcherblock Mountains runs great.33 fps in combat.Picture here: <a href="http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/365/eq2bb33fpsre0.jpg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/36...2bb33fpsre0.jpg</a>

Robert2005

03-01-2008, 09:42 AM

To get framerates to stay > 20 I have to run in very high performace mode and even then it freezes/stutters in any situation with a lot of particle effects (almost always) and randomly whenever it's in the mood. It's not location or action specific just more prevalent in some situations.Just letting you dev know this isn't at all isolated situation.Quad core phenom; 8800 GT; in 1680x1050 (have tried a variety of resolutions); ... I can get more details if needed but typical system/s listed here. It's the default Gateway 'high-end' gaming system the FX7020. Sadly ... I had better video performance from my 4 yr old system. MAD.. doesn't express how annoyed this bad video performace makes me.Please fix it.For grins I plugged in an 8500 I had in another system and it behaved identically to the poorly performing 8800GT.My son's 7650 runs in balanced mode on an older computer with no stutters or routinely bad fps.If the solution is to swith to an ATI Radeon card let me know I guess. Hate to do it but if EQ2 won't work with nVidia's 8000 series I either have to switch games or cards.Which ATI Radeon? Thanks!

Jacquotte

03-01-2008, 02:56 PM

<cite>Daevara wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hey all -I can definitely confirm that I'm having the exact same issue. I went out tonight and picked up a Gateway FX7020 (8800 GT, AMD Phenom 9600, 3G RAM, nForce 4 6150SE chipset, Vista Home Premium) as a replacement for my quite ancient AMD 3800+/ATI X800 setup. (Granted, this new machine is hardly the firebreather that some of the posters here have, but it was in my price range and a fair sight better than what I had!)I'm netting around the same framerate with high quality enabled in Kelethin (~20FPS) as most of the folks here are noting. This becomes massively worse upon entering any building (particularly one with multiple characters and/or crafting taking place), dropping to ~5-7 FPS. Changing the resolution to 1600x1200 (full-screen) helps *slightly*, perhaps on the order of 1-3fps, but not much. Typically I run in windowed mode @1680x1050.I've tried all of the following on the new setup (in this order):- Installed Microsoft KB 940105 [KBs 938194 and 938979 were already part of the build]- Uninstalling the entire video driver package- Running Driver Cleaner .NET to completely remove all nVidia drivers from the machine- Reinstalled DirectX 10- Pulled down nVidia Graphics Driver 169.25 and installed itNone of this made any difference at all. I then tried the following nVidia 3D settings configuration noted on a different forum:Anisotrophic Filtering: 16xAntialiasing - Gamma correction: OffAntialiasing - Mode: Override any application settingAntialiasing - Setting: 16xQForce mipmaps: TrilinearTriple buffering: OnVertical sync: Force onThese changes also made no noticable difference.Most of the posters from other forums are centering discussion of the 8800 issues on CPU bound shadow/particle effects, but that doesn't seem like the right issue to me based on what I'm seeing here. I'm having the same low framerates on Balanced Quality (no shadows) and no casting going on anywhere in visual range. Like one poster noted, he's seeing these issues in the middle of the Commonlands with no one else around. Hopefully this helps to narrow things down a bit.Out of sheer curiousity, though I doubt it, are all of the folks having issues running AMD processor/backplanes? I noted that Snugglecog's test was done on an Intel setup and he didn't seem to have any issues. Just a random passing thought...Here's to hoping the devs find a solution soon. I picked up this PC specifically because I came back to EQ2 two weeks ago (after a two+ year break) and I'm hoping to get the proper mileage out of it!<does a "thwap-the-bug" dance></blockquote>running in windowed-mode on an nVidiacard will make the card revert to 2d clockspeeds, and the card will be significantly slower than in fulscreen, 3d. Ati-cards do not revert clockspeeds when running windowed

Robert2005

03-01-2008, 07:33 PM

.. same problems everyone else has had. Tried everything.Just ordered an ATI Radeon 3870.If this performs in real apps (vs benchmark tests!) better then the nVidia then nVidia will never get any of my business again that's for sure.I'll post when I have some results.

AgingGamer

03-01-2008, 10:17 PM

Robert, I'd be very interested in hearing how the switch to an ATI 3870 works out for you.I just upgraded from an ATI 1950XTX to an ATI 3870 x2 and my performance has *dropped*. I'm getting around 15-20 FPS most of the time in balanced mode while in a single group. If I turn on shadows or any other "high quality" settings, I quickly drop down below 10 FPS. I've opened <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=409656" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a thread in this forum on the topic</a>. This is despite the fact that the new 3870 x2 benchmarks on my machine as at least twice as fast as the old card both in synthetic benchmarks like 3dMark2006 and real-world trials with games like Crysis.I'm thinking that the problem isn't the video card: it is EQ2...

Openedge

03-01-2008, 11:02 PM

<cite>AgingGamer wrote:</cite><blockquote>Robert, I'd be very interested in hearing how the switch to an ATI 3870 works out for you.I just upgraded from an ATI 1950XTX to an ATI 3870 x2 and my performance has *dropped*. I'm getting around 15-20 FPS most of the time in balanced mode while in a single group. If I turn on shadows or any other "high quality" settings, I quickly drop down below 10 FPS. I've opened <a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=409656" target="_blank">a thread in this forum on the topic</a>. This is despite the fact that the new 3870 x2 benchmarks on my machine as at least twice as fast as the old card both in synthetic benchmarks like 3dMark2006 and real-world trials with games like Crysis.I'm thinking that the problem isn't the video card: it is EQ2... </blockquote>Quick question. Is there a way to change to "single" card mode? EQ2 has major issues with SLI and Crossfire...so, I wonder if the X 2 can be a single 3870? Like to hear if this helps performanceThanks

Openedge

03-01-2008, 11:03 PM

<cite>Robert2005 wrote:</cite><blockquote>.. same problems everyone else has had. Tried everything.Just ordered an ATI Radeon 3870.If this performs in real apps (vs benchmark tests!) better then the nVidia then nVidia will never get any of my business again that's for sure.I'll post when I have some results.</blockquote>Please report back..I am interested as I have my mouse on the buy button...heheThanks

AgingGamer

03-02-2008, 02:23 AM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote>Quick question. Is there a way to change to "single" card mode? EQ2 has major issues with SLI and Crossfire...so, I wonder if the X 2 can be a single 3870? Like to hear if this helps performanceThanks</blockquote>Openedge, I don't think there is such an option with the current (v8.2) Catalyst drivers. So far, the only setting I've found that makes any kind of positive difference with my 3870 x2 is to disable the Catalyst AI feature. If I do that, I can get about 15-25 FPS using balanced settings. Otherwise, I get 10-20 FPS, with dips down to 5 FPS in some areas. This shouldn't be happening with a dual core system possessing 4 GB of RAM, a pair of 10k RPM RAID0 drives, and apparently either of the current "best" video card configurations. My wife's machine with a single core CPU, 2 GB of RAM and an ATI X800 video card is almost faster!Something seems to be seriously broken regarding the current EQ2 client and "high end" video cards from either of the main manufacturers. It would be nice if it was a single problem that could be fixed, but my gut tells me it is an overall design issue. They seem to be doing far too much on the CPU (shadows? particles?), not taking any advantage of multi-core CPU or GPU designs, and generally are poorly optimized for the way processing power has changed in the past five years. I'll say a special prayer for the development team in hopes that it is something that can be "patched" in an upcoming release...but I have my doubts.

Caipira

03-02-2008, 02:08 PM

Boy was I nervous when I started to read this thread abnout a week ago, I saw it about 10 minutes after I finished ordering my new system from newegg:Q6600, eVga 8800GT 512MB, 2GB corsair DDR3, asus maximus extreme mobo, etcI've been reading this thread everyday since then and I super depressed that I might have to keep using my 7800 GTX in my new system. I installed everything and got everything updated with new drivers (Win XP Pro) and fired up the game and ran around, especially to all the places that everyone has been mentioning in the thread. I was very happy to see that the game was running outstanding on high quality mode, averaged 50 fps no matter where I went. I dipped down to 30 once in group with spells turned up but that was still almost twice as good as I was averaging before.I am not pretending to be any kind of expert here so I wont make any specific assumptions as to why everyone elses cards are having problems, but since mine ran fine I would have to guess it is a compatibility issue with the card and something else.

krinkled

03-02-2008, 05:20 PM

<cite>Dismas@Najena wrote:</cite><blockquote>Boy was I nervous when I started to read this thread abnout a week ago, I saw it about 10 minutes after I finished ordering my new system from newegg:Q6600, eVga 8800GT 512MB, 2GB corsair DDR3, asus maximus extreme mobo, etcI've been reading this thread everyday since then and I super depressed that I might have to keep using my 7800 GTX in my new system. I installed everything and got everything updated with new drivers (Win XP Pro) and fired up the game and ran around, especially to all the places that everyone has been mentioning in the thread. I was very happy to see that the game was running outstanding on high quality mode, averaged 50 fps no matter where I went. I dipped down to 30 once in group with spells turned up but that was still almost twice as good as I was averaging before.I am not pretending to be any kind of expert here so I wont make any specific assumptions as to why everyone elses cards are having problems, but since mine ran fine I would have to guess it is a compatibility issue with the card and something else.</blockquote>Could you provide some more specific information please? I know there are a few people who have said "I have no problems with the 8800" but they seem to be few and far between.1) What resolution are you playing the game at, where you are seeing 50fps and no framerate drops in any location?2) It seems you are running Windows XP, most of the people reporting problems are using Vista only.3) Have you tested the card in the "Greater Faydark" zone? Have you run through the "Commonlands" zone? Have you gone raiding?4) Can you post screenshot proof of steady 50fps running through "Greater Faydark" zone at 1920x1200? No offense but I would like to see proof. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" />Maybe this is a Vista issue or a memory problem with people who have more than 512mb on their Nvidia cards, or both combined. My setup is extremely similar to yours. QX6850, 8800U, 2GB DDR3, ASUS MOBO. Only major difference I can see is XP vs. Vista.

Caipira

03-02-2008, 05:37 PM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote>1) What resolution are you playing the game at, where you are seeing 50fps and no framerate drops in any location? 1400x900 is my desktop resolution, i am guessing that is also my game resolution, I am at work right now I'll verify that when I get home.2) It seems you are running Windows XP, most of the people reporting problems are using Vista only. I was thinking the same thing, I have seen some xp users say there were problems but mostly vista, was thinking maybe its a dx10 issue. I know with dx 10 they got rid of a lot of support for older code3) Have you tested the card in the "Greater Faydark" zone? Have you run through the "Commonlands" zone? Have you gone raiding? I did run through GF, jumped off of Old Kelethin, road horse to BB gate and then ran to LP gate. Also ran from WF gate to docks on way to KP, took the long way just to test it. I finally got everything up and running too late and missed my raid time, I'll be able to speak to that better tonight4) Can you post screenshot proof of steady 50fps running through "Greater Faydark" zone at 1920x1200? No offense but I would like to see proof. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" />Just for the purpose of this thread I'll bump up tp 1920x1200 tonight and see what happens, ill post results here tonight or tomorrow with links.Maybe this is a Vista issue or a memory problem with people who have more than 512mb on their Nvidia cards, or both combined.</blockquote>Just to be clear I never said there were no framerate drops, there were fluctuations of course , but not anywhere close to studderings or freezings that others have been reporting. The system as of right now is basically and EQ2 machine, its the only In have reloaded since getting all the hardware up and running. Only things have installed are EQ2, Profit UI, ACT Parser, and Logitech G15 software. Oh and STALKER too becuase it came with mobo.I'll post up some screenshots and all when I get home tonight.

Innotes

03-02-2008, 08:24 PM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dismas@Najena wrote:</cite><blockquote>Boy was I nervous when I started to read this thread abnout a week ago, I saw it about 10 minutes after I finished ordering my new system from newegg:Q6600, eVga 8800GT 512MB, 2GB corsair DDR3, asus maximus extreme mobo, etcI've been reading this thread everyday since then and I super depressed that I might have to keep using my 7800 GTX in my new system. I installed everything and got everything updated with new drivers (Win XP Pro) and fired up the game and ran around, especially to all the places that everyone has been mentioning in the thread. I was very happy to see that the game was running outstanding on high quality mode, averaged 50 fps no matter where I went. I dipped down to 30 once in group with spells turned up but that was still almost twice as good as I was averaging before.I am not pretending to be any kind of expert here so I wont make any specific assumptions as to why everyone elses cards are having problems, but since mine ran fine I would have to guess it is a compatibility issue with the card and something else.</blockquote>Could you provide some more specific information please? I know there are a few people who have said "I have no problems with the 8800" but they seem to be few and far between.1) What resolution are you playing the game at, where you are seeing 50fps and no framerate drops in any location?2) It seems you are running Windows XP, most of the people reporting problems are using Vista only.3) Have you tested the card in the "Greater Faydark" zone? Have you run through the "Commonlands" zone? Have you gone raiding?4) Can you post screenshot proof of steady 50fps running through "Greater Faydark" zone at 1920x1200? No offense but I would like to see proof. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img mce_tsrc=" />" width="15" height="15" />Maybe this is a Vista issue or a memory problem with people who have more than 512mb on their Nvidia cards, or both combined. My setup is extremely similar to yours. QX6850, 8800U, 2GB DDR3, ASUS MOBO. Only major difference I can see is XP vs. Vista.</blockquote>I haven't had any problems with my 8800gt or the 8800gts I upgraded from. I play on the high quality preset with 4xFSAA and 16xAnisotropic Filtering. Screen resolution is 1680x1050. In most old world zones I get around 45fps, in most RoK zones I get around 30. The game runs very well.<a href="http://the-jerks.com/images/EQ2_000011.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">High Quality</a><a href="http://the-jerks.com/images/EQ2_000012.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Very High Quality</a><a href="http://the-jerks.com/images/EQ2_000013.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Extreme Quality</a>Hardware Specs:asus p5b (bios version 1604)intel C2D E6750 3 gigs kingston ddr2 800 (566 timings 2T command rate)creative X-Fi extreme musicWestern Digital 36Gb Raptor (windows on this one)Seagate 300Gb sata2 (games on this one)evga 8800gt I'm running windows xp pro sp2 patched to the current levelNvidia driver version 169.21Creative X-Fi driver version 2.09.0007Intel chipset driver 8.3.1.1009DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)Windows page file is on C and is set to be 2-4 gigs.I can post dxdiag if anyone is interested.

krinkled

03-02-2008, 10:29 PM

<cite>Denaso@Butcherblock wrote:</cite><blockquote>I haven't had any problems with my 8800gt or the 8800gts I upgraded from. I play on the high quality preset with 4xFSAA and 16xAnisotropic Filtering. Screen resolution is 1680x1050. In most old world zones I get around 45fps, in most RoK zones I get around 30. The game runs very well.I'm running windows xp pro sp2 patched to the current levelNvidia driver version 169.21Creative X-Fi driver version 2.09.0007Intel chipset driver 8.3.1.1009DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)</blockquote>Looks like more evidence that this is a Vista problem. I know its still only anecdotal evidence because we have not done a formal survey, but 99% of people who say everyhting is fine are running XP only.

Innotes

03-03-2008, 12:55 AM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Denaso@Butcherblock wrote:</cite><blockquote>I haven't had any problems with my 8800gt or the 8800gts I upgraded from. I play on the high quality preset with 4xFSAA and 16xAnisotropic Filtering. Screen resolution is 1680x1050. In most old world zones I get around 45fps, in most RoK zones I get around 30. The game runs very well.I'm running windows xp pro sp2 patched to the current levelNvidia driver version 169.21Creative X-Fi driver version 2.09.0007Intel chipset driver 8.3.1.1009DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)</blockquote>Looks like more evidence that this is a Vista problem. I know its still only anecdotal evidence because we have not done a formal survey, but 99% of people who say everyhting is fine are running XP only.</blockquote>Sorry to burst your bubble but I played EQ2 in 32bit vista for months on this machine without issue. I reverted back to xp because of bugs in vista and games that ran perfectly in xp but wouldn't work correctly in vista but I never had any problems with eq2 (other than about 10% performance decrease in comparison to xp).

krinkled

03-03-2008, 03:35 AM

<cite><a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/mailto%3Cimg%20src=" target="_blank"></a>enaso@Butcherblock" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Denaso@Butcherblock wrote:</cite><blockquote>Sorry to burst your bubble but I played EQ2 in 32bit vista for months on this machine without issue. I reverted back to xp because of bugs in vista and games that ran perfectly in xp but wouldn't work correctly in vista but I never had any problems with eq2 (other than about 10% performance decrease in comparison to xp).</blockquote>Well so far just in this single thread we have over 26 independent users all reporting similar 8800 series problems:1) krinkled2) openedge3) Alarick4) landishan5) dragonwulf6) Vaziic7) Skinnyfats 8 Morgador9) Alondar10) Tynd12) MMKA13) Kolktur14) Kallarn15) Elrin16) SillyMuffin17) Jaxsyn18 Griffinherat19) Frogjitsu20) Daevara21) Taipans22) Bobbytherobot23) Ithion24) Deathspell25) Smut26) Robert2005Contrast that to only 5 people who claim that the 8800 series is working to their satisfaction:1) Denaso2) Tokamak3) ElephantRU4) Thmy5) DismasHere is a list of games that I can play at the highest settings @ 1920x1200 with extremely high framerates:CrysisBioshockThe WitcherNeverwinter Nights 2Quake 4Tabula RasaWoWS.T.A.L.K.E.R.Half Life 2Supreme CommanderAge Of Empires IIITeam FortressCivilization IVDungeon Siege IIQuake Wars Enemy TerritoryHere is a list of games that is partially unplayable on my machine due to extreme framerate drops in some areas:Everquest IISo to me it is pretty clear that it is not a problem specific to my computer itself. Not to mention that swapping in a 3 year old ATI card that will perform worse in every other game listed above provided a "miracle" increase in Everquest2's FPS.

Deathspell

03-03-2008, 09:38 AM

The day they implemented the option to "load/save" graphical profiles, was the day that i started thinking that they are never gonna get it fixed and they just don't know what to do.The 6800 issue never got fixed, SOE always said it was nvida side while any other game of that time ran like charm on the 6800GT.The 79xx series was not that popular, didn't break records eithers.The 8800 series never got fixed.The 9600GT ... it's a budget card, I don't expect it to break any records either.I love EQ2, but I can't stop thinking how truly great EQ2 could've been if it didn't suffer from all these compatibility issues...

LoneGreyWolf20

03-03-2008, 10:17 AM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite><a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/mailto%3Cimg%20src=" target="_blank"></a>enaso@Butcherblock" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Denaso@Butcherblock wrote:</cite><blockquote>Sorry to burst your bubble but I played EQ2 in 32bit vista for months on this machine without issue. I reverted back to xp because of bugs in vista and games that ran perfectly in xp but wouldn't work correctly in vista but I never had any problems with eq2 (other than about 10% performance decrease in comparison to xp).</blockquote>Well so far just in this single thread we have over 26 independent users all reporting similar 8800 series problems:1) krinkled2) openedge3) Alarick4) landishan5) dragonwulf6) Vaziic7) Skinnyfats 8 Morgador9) Alondar10) Tynd11) LoneGreyWolf12) MMKA13) Kolktur14) Kallarn15) Elrin16) SillyMuffin17) Jaxsyn18 Griffinherat19) Frogjitsu20) Daevara21) Taipans22) Bobbytherobot23) Ithion24) Deathspell25) Smut26) Robert2005Contrast that to only 5 people who claim that the 8800 series is working to their satisfaction:1) Denaso2) Tokamak3) ElephantRU4) Thmy5) DismasHere is a list of games that I can play at the highest settings @ 1920x1200 with extremely high framerates:CrysisBioshockThe WitcherNeverwinter Nights 2Quake 4Tabula RasaWoWS.T.A.L.K.E.R.Half Life 2Supreme CommanderAge Of Empires IIITeam FortressCivilization IVDungeon Siege IIQuake Wars Enemy TerritoryHere is a list of games that is partially unplayable on my machine due to extreme framerate drops in some areas:Everquest IISo to me it is pretty clear that it is not a problem specific to my computer itself. Not to mention that swapping in a 3 year old ATI card that will perform worse in every other game listed above provided a "miracle" increase in Everquest2's FPS. </blockquote>Krinkled, for the moment you need to remove my name. I don't currently own an 8800 series video card. I will be getting one this week or next depending on when I get my parts for a new computer build.I only mentioned that I will drop EQ2 if I have problems that can't be solved when I get my 8800GT. I said I don't see why I should not get one of the best cards on the market only because one game has issues with it.

krinkled

03-03-2008, 12:07 PM

<cite>LoneGreyWolf20 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Krinkled, for the moment you need to remove my name. I don't currently own an 8800 series video card. I will be getting one this week or next depending on when I get my parts for a new computer build.I only mentioned that I will drop EQ2 if I have problems that can't be solved when I get my 8800GT. I said I don't see why I should not get one of the best cards on the market only because one game has issues with it.</blockquote>OK fixed. I ran back through the thread rather quickly to try to summarize the ratio of those who were having problems to those who were not. I may have also left someone off the list by accident. It was meant to give a general idea of how widespread the issue is.

TuinalOfTheNexus

03-03-2008, 12:18 PM

That's a ridiculously skewed survey since only people with technical problems tend to come to tech support forums.But that said, EQ2 is pretty ancient by game engine standards. The problem is a lot of technology passed it by; it's running a lot of tricks on the CPU that modern games run on the GPU.And they moved all the engine programmers to other projects at launch, so the engine itself really hasn't been massively upgraded at any point.You are in short, screwed, and there's not much you can do about it other than vote with your feet and play an MMO with a newer engine.

Deathspell

03-03-2008, 12:53 PM

I'm also thinking that people might forget that EQ2 is heavily CPU dependant. Now you can have a powerhouse of a card in your machine, but nowadays the machines with a 8800 card will probably all have a C2D or Q2D CPU of what ... 2.0 GHz to 2.6GHz? 3GHz the most, but most people have a 2.x GHz CPU.EQ2 supports C2D/C2Q, but there's a major difference between supporting a technology and actually making use of it to get the most out of it.EQ2 was still made in a time when CPUs would outpace GPUs, so they made a lot of the game CPU dependant instead of using the GPU (shadows are a perfect example). Even with an 8800-SLI setup you would have EQ2 draining one single core @2.4GHz instead of using the 2x 2.4GHz benefits. Not saying that this is the only issue, but i'm sure it's a major performance issue because the EQ2-engine simply sucks for todays technology and I don't think nVidia can do much about that. Sorry.

Daevara

03-03-2008, 01:01 PM

TuinalOfTheNexus wrote:<blockquote>That's a ridiculously skewed survey since only people with technical problems tend to come to tech support forums.But that said, EQ2 is pretty ancient by game engine standards. The problem is a lot of technology passed it by; it's running a lot of tricks on the CPU that modern games run on the GPU.And they moved all the engine programmers to other projects at launch, so the engine itself really hasn't been massively upgraded at any point.You are in short, screwed, and there's not much you can do about it other than vote with your feet and play an MMO with a newer engine.</blockquote><cite><cite>Snugglecog wrote:</cite></cite><blockquote>I haven't spoken to Rothgar today, but I will be getting him a system to debug with tomorrow. So hang in there campers... Optimism isn't such a bad thing now is it?</blockquote>Not to be a jerk, but the point of this thread is for information on the 8800 series issues, not making suppositions and/or inciting flamebait on the topic. Snugglecog said they're looking into it; Rothgar said the same thing in the Developer chat at the end of last week.Do I expect it to be an immediate fix? No, I don't; I'm a developer myself, have been for more than twenty years, and I'm hardly naive. After playing Dark Age of Camelot for as long as I did, I'm well acquainted as to the issues regarding ancient game clients and newer hardware, regardless of my extensive programming background. That said - EQLive has undergone 14 expansions (and numerous upgrades to the engine it runs on) since launch, and I hardly consider this to be a dealbreaker for me.I'd love to see multiple core support and have this graphics card run like the wind, but right now, I can run the game at 45-50FPS in High Performance mode and get by just fine with the occasional stutter. If it is something the developers can correct, I have every reason to believe they will, as it is in their best interest to do so. They have already indicated that they have reproduced this issue in the lab, and someone else indicated they may be seeing the same issue on Radeon 3870 cards. Please give them time to research the issue and figure out what they can do about it. Oh, and for what it is worth, the client for Lord of the Rings Online has seen the *exact* same issue, so this is hardly limited to the EQII community. Feel free to head over to the Nvidia forums and have a look around:<a href="http://forums.nvidia.com/lofiversion/index.php?t36384.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://forums.nvidia.com/lofiversio...php?t36384.html</a>Keep the optimism going, folks. The more information we can provide, the more we can help them help us. Thanks.

Thmy

03-03-2008, 05:43 PM

I guess if we keep reporting on systems that do work we migh find a common items that helps.I also have never had the reported out of memory problem in any zone.I never use a higher graphic seting than ballanced.I do use 4 GiG of matched memory on my Win-Xp ( yes only 3.40554 gig is usable)MY 8800gtx has the fan hard set to 100 percent full speed and my Antec case has LOTS of fans.GPU Core Speed = 626GPU Memory Speed = 1000I custom set my VM to 5,000 MB on the system disk raid vol. (and I did check to make sure the page files were not fragmented)All programs are on a different drive and I de-frag the disks weekly.DirectX 9.0c (5.3.2600.2180)Graphics Driver 169.21 (6.14.11.6921)169.28 is available but I have not tried itI have only this week tried out the AA setting ( r_aa_blit 1 ) and will post the FPS in a differernt message

ToiletBomb

03-03-2008, 05:56 PM

I am experiencing similiar issues. Game runs smooth in all performance modes (staggers a bit as you get into the extreme quality etc) except there is random tearing or stutterring where the fps jumps from the constant (30 for example) down to 8 and back. The quality mode doesn't seem to have an affect on how often it happens. Like the other posters I am running dx10 games and other dx9 games on ridiculous settings with great frame rates.I have a dxdiag I can post here or send to someone if it'll help.

MMKA

03-03-2008, 06:30 PM

I put my 8800GT card back in and have been using it the last few days. I have been running in High Performance mode and have been averaging 50-60 fps while questing in most zones. Even though the frame rate is high, it is very choppy - almost as if I am using my 3ghz Pentium 4 with my 6600 card in High quality setting. I notice that whenever I am in a battle with more than 4 or 5 character on the screen, my frame rate drops to 1-7. I have to play in Very High Performance mode to keep the screen from lagging during big fights or PVP combat. At that setting, I get frame rates of 10-15 in big fights - which is playable.I also play Counter Strike 2 and Team Fortress 2 on the 8800GT with no problems at all. It plays quite a bit smoother than with my 8600GTS. The question I have for all the people who are not having any problems with this card is; what card were you running previously and does the 8800GT run better on EQ2 than your previous card?

SIlly Muffin

03-03-2008, 07:39 PM

Hey folks,Im interested into delving into the technical issue a bit more. We've established that the 8800s ar eone part of the equation. What I'd like to know more is about the other hardware aspects of the systems that run badly and those that run well. Specifically which Motherboards are being used, along with the corresponding vid drivers being used. One of the things I noticed immediately is there are a lot of systems posted here that are Nforce systems and specifically a lot of ASUS boards. Secondly are you folks using modems on USB or LAN connection (w/ or w/o routers) for the record I am using a ASUS P5N32-E-SLI with 1x EN 8800 ASUS GT running with 169.25 and the latest NForce drivers, Network connect (LAN 100M). Muffin

Jacquotte

03-03-2008, 07:53 PM

<cite>MMKA wrote:</cite><blockquote>I put my 8800GT card back in and have been using it the last few days. I have been running in High Performance mode and have been averaging 50-60 fps while questing in most zones. Even though the frame rate is high, it is very choppy - almost as if I am using my 3ghz Pentium 4 with my 6600 card in High quality setting. I notice that whenever I am in a battle with more than 4 or 5 character on the screen, my frame rate drops to 1-7. I have to play in Very High Performance mode to keep the screen from lagging during big fights or PVP combat. At that setting, I get frame rates of 10-15 in big fights - which is playable.I also play Counter Strike 2 and Team Fortress 2 on the 8800GT with no problems at all. It plays quite a bit smoother than with my 8600GTS. The question I have for all the people who are not having any problems with this card is; what card were you running previously and does the 8800GT run better on EQ2 than your previous card?</blockquote>i have been running eq2 with numorous cards:nVidia 7800GTX 256- ran great, though a big laggy in some areas with alot of particle effects, 2048x1536 / 1600x1200nVidia 7800GTX-Sli 256- ran ok, but worse than a single 7800GTX, 2048x1536 / 1600x1200Ati X1900XT 512 - ran alot smoother than the 7800GTX and had a lot better image quality 2048x1536 / 1600x1200nVidia 6600LE 256- runs the game horibbly, this is a cutdown version of the 6600 with a mere 4 pixelpipelines availible and it was the slow ddr2 version. 1024x768nVidia 7600GT 256 - ran the game fine, but choppy with alot of action of the screen or alot of particle effects, noticeably slower than the 7800GTXnVidia 7600GS 256 - really doesnt run the game that well, kinda inbetween the 6600le and the 7600gt, 1680x1050Ati HD2900XT 1024 - runs the game really well, nearly doesnt slow down in raids and with alot of particle effects, 1680x1050, 1920x1200nVidia 8800GT 512 - runs the game quite well, nearly as good as the 2900xt - but slows down in raids with alot of particle effects, sometimes to a slideshow and other times just slower. i had the 2-second pause problem when i got the card, but a newer beta-driver solved it. the image quality is as good as the 2900 and the 1900, only reason id go nvidia again, 1920x1200this is the config i use for the 8800GT 512, apart from all optimizations off in the nv CP (best IQ) and 16x anisotrophic filtering:r_aa_blit 1 (in eq2.ini)eu_merge_seen truecl_picked_configuration truechat_autoswitch_chat_type truecl_maximized falsecl_screenwidth_windowed 1920cl_screenheight_windowed 1200r_performance 7last_selected_char_id -1cl_configuration_file EQ2_Default.cfgcl_movie_enabled falseshow_last_xp_bar_changed 0ts_hotkey_order 0 1 2 3 4 5r_performance 7cl_screenwidth 1920cl_screenheight 1200cl_screenrefresh 60r_fast_layer_min_distance 50.170002letterbox_frame_visible falser_texture_lodding_shrink 0r_heatshimmer truer_underwaterdistortion truer_splashes 1splash_particles_enabled truer_drawocean_quality 1r_particle_priority 2num_active_spell_results 4r_particle_lod_scale 1.231000r_point_particle_near_plane -1.230000r_point_particle_max_size 0.427500r_light_priority 3r_max_torches 4r_torch_intensity 0.840000r_torch_secondary_light truer_rain_spec truer_min_dir_ambient_intensity 0.500000r_shadow_priority 0r_shadows_torch falser_shadows_characters falser_shadows_keep falsecl_lod_scale 0.100000r_ec_max_lod1 30r_min_anim_update_rate 0.010000r_anim_update_start 0.016400r_initial_point_weight 0.950000r_flora truer_flora_density_scale 0.257500ics_maxcameradistance 24.639999r_active_first_person_camera_render_playe r truemouselook_toggle truecl_auto_afk truesound_provider Creative Labs EAX 4 (TM)speakers 5.1 speakersmaster_volume 0.860000music_volume 0.380000combat_music_volume 0.390000voice_volume 0.930000ambient_volume 0.740000enable_pitch_shifting truemax_active_sounds 64max_footstep_dist 25.000000cl_filter_client_text falser_target_mouse_over_glow 0.000000cl_hotkey_tooltip_delay 0tradeskill_showexamine falsecl_screenshot_jpeg_quality 100cl_logchat truecl_browser_homepage "www.google.com"cl_use_soga_barbarian_female truecl_use_soga_barbarian_male truecl_use_soga_darkelf_female truecl_use_soga_darkelf_male truecl_use_soga_dwarf_female truecl_use_soga_dwarf_male truecl_use_soga_erudite_female truecl_use_soga_erudite_male truecl_use_soga_gnome_female truecl_use_soga_gnome_male truecl_use_soga_halfelf_female truecl_use_soga_halfelf_male truecl_use_soga_halfling_female truecl_use_soga_halfling_male truecl_use_soga_highelf_female truecl_use_soga_highelf_male truecl_use_soga_human_female truecl_use_soga_human_male truecl_use_soga_ogre_female truecl_use_soga_ogre_male truecl_use_soga_woodelf_female truecl_use_soga_woodelf_male truecl_use_default_log_file true

ToiletBomb

03-03-2008, 08:16 PM

mopey what driver are ya using if you don't mind me asking. I still get the stutter problem regardless of the video settings I use =/ nothing that I can seem to turn off or on fixes the problem. I'm sure a driver could fix but none that I have tried have worked.

ToiletBomb

03-03-2008, 08:42 PM

<cite>SIlly Muffin wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hey folks,Im interested into delving into the technical issue a bit more. We've established that the 8800s ar eone part of the equation. What I'd like to know more is about the other hardware aspects of the systems that run badly and those that run well. Specifically which Motherboards are being used, along with the corresponding vid drivers being used. One of the things I noticed immediately is there are a lot of systems posted here that are Nforce systems and specifically a lot of ASUS boards. Secondly are you folks using modems on USB or LAN connection (w/ or w/o routers) for the record I am using a ASUS P5N32-E-SLI with 1x EN 8800 ASUS GT running with 169.25 and the latest NForce drivers, Network connect (LAN 100M). Muffin </blockquote>I use a BFG Tech nforce 680i SLI motherboard (I am not running two cards). On board LAN, wired router. 169.25 for video and current Nforce.

Seolta

03-03-2008, 11:09 PM

Yes it's all 8800's and it's been documented for like a year now with alot of us 8800 owners spending mass time putting our heads together to try to diagnose it. Search these forums for 100's of pages of posts on the topic.Nice to see that after a year and millions of dollars invested in 8800's by SoE and Turbine customers that this issue is finally being looked into.

Jacquotte

03-04-2008, 11:12 AM

<cite>Rienlos@Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote>mopey what driver are ya using if you don't mind me asking. I still get the stutter problem regardless of the video settings I use =/ nothing that I can seem to turn off or on fixes the problem. I'm sure a driver could fix but none that I have tried have worked.</blockquote>sorry to hear =/im using this driver, they are the only i have tried apart from the newest whql, which stuttered for meForceWare Release 169 BETA Version: 169.28 Release Date: January 10, 2008 Operating System: Windows Vista 64-bit Language: U.S. English File Size: 48.6 MB apart from that i am also using the latest drivers for my soundcard and intel chipset (just google: intel chipset installation utility if you have an intel)

Openedge

03-04-2008, 12:14 PM

<cite>Rienlos@Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>SIlly Muffin wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hey folks,Im interested into delving into the technical issue a bit more. We've established that the 8800s ar eone part of the equation. What I'd like to know more is about the other hardware aspects of the systems that run badly and those that run well. Specifically which Motherboards are being used, along with the corresponding vid drivers being used. One of the things I noticed immediately is there are a lot of systems posted here that are Nforce systems and specifically a lot of ASUS boards. Secondly are you folks using modems on USB or LAN connection (w/ or w/o routers) for the record I am using a ASUS P5N32-E-SLI with 1x EN 8800 ASUS GT running with 169.25 and the latest NForce drivers, Network connect (LAN 100M). Muffin </blockquote>I use a BFG Tech nforce 680i SLI motherboard (I am not running two cards). On board LAN, wired router. 169.25 for video and current Nforce.</blockquote>Well...isn't this interesting. I have an Nforce 650i with my 8800GT and used it with my GTS. My wife is on an Intel P35 chipset with her 2900..My system stutters like mad...Her system is smooth in Kelethin...and she has NEVER crashed either. I had her 2900 in an old Nvidia board and it seemed to lag in certain scenes (for example...a lot of lights...)...but never crashed..Now Mopey noted in his reply he has a P35 chipset.. So maybe it is the Nvidia chipset motherboards?I guess I better get to experimenting now...Later

Jacquotte

03-04-2008, 12:27 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rienlos@Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>SIlly Muffin wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hey folks,Im interested into delving into the technical issue a bit more. We've established that the 8800s ar eone part of the equation. What I'd like to know more is about the other hardware aspects of the systems that run badly and those that run well. Specifically which Motherboards are being used, along with the corresponding vid drivers being used. One of the things I noticed immediately is there are a lot of systems posted here that are Nforce systems and specifically a lot of ASUS boards. Secondly are you folks using modems on USB or LAN connection (w/ or w/o routers) for the record I am using a ASUS P5N32-E-SLI with 1x EN 8800 ASUS GT running with 169.25 and the latest NForce drivers, Network connect (LAN 100M). Muffin </blockquote>I use a BFG Tech nforce 680i SLI motherboard (I am not running two cards). On board LAN, wired router. 169.25 for video and current Nforce.</blockquote>Well...isn't this interesting. I have an Nforce 650i with my 8800GT and used it with my GTS. My wife is on an Intel P35 chipset with her 2900..My system stutters like mad...Her system is smooth in Kelethin...and she has NEVER crashed either.I had her 2900 in an old Nvidia board and it seemed to lag in certain scenes (for example...a lot of lights...)...but never crashed..Now Mopey noted in his reply he has a P35 chipset..So maybe it is the Nvidia chipset motherboards?I guess I better get to experimenting now...Later</blockquote>i have only had the 2900 and 8800gt on the p35the other boards have been running on an intel X975 and an nforce4-sli, Ati xpress200 also, with no issues.. =/these boards was without 8800GT however

Openedge

03-04-2008, 12:42 PM

<cite>mopeygothic wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rienlos@Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>SIlly Muffin wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hey folks,Im interested into delving into the technical issue a bit more. We've established that the 8800s ar eone part of the equation. What I'd like to know more is about the other hardware aspects of the systems that run badly and those that run well. Specifically which Motherboards are being used, along with the corresponding vid drivers being used. One of the things I noticed immediately is there are a lot of systems posted here that are Nforce systems and specifically a lot of ASUS boards. Secondly are you folks using modems on USB or LAN connection (w/ or w/o routers) for the record I am using a ASUS P5N32-E-SLI with 1x EN 8800 ASUS GT running with 169.25 and the latest NForce drivers, Network connect (LAN 100M). Muffin </blockquote>I use a BFG Tech nforce 680i SLI motherboard (I am not running two cards). On board LAN, wired router. 169.25 for video and current Nforce.</blockquote>Well...isn't this interesting. I have an Nforce 650i with my 8800GT and used it with my GTS. My wife is on an Intel P35 chipset with her 2900..My system stutters like mad...Her system is smooth in Kelethin...and she has NEVER crashed either.I had her 2900 in an old Nvidia board and it seemed to lag in certain scenes (for example...a lot of lights...)...but never crashed..Now Mopey noted in his reply he has a P35 chipset..So maybe it is the Nvidia chipset motherboards?I guess I better get to experimenting now...Later</blockquote>i have only had the 2900 and 8800gt on the p35the other boards have been running on an intel X975 and an nforce4-sli, Ati xpress200 also, with no issues.. =/these boards was without 8800GT however </blockquote>Ok...then that is some scary corroboration. Yea...I was strictly talking about your new gear...It has been noted by many here that older gear seems to run better (x1900, 7x series cards)...Now, I am wondering how many others have Nvidia chipsets and have this issue...or if there are others with the P35's or older Intel chipsets that have issues?For me, (when I get out of work...ARGH), I will be pulling that 8800 and try it in the P35 I haver and see what happens...Thanks

Jaxsyn

03-04-2008, 01:09 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote>Can I ask...do you have AA enabled...in your Nvidia control panel AND in the .ini file? Why not disable this and see if the freezes from particle effects go away...this helped me with that issue...I have spell effects turned up, and it does not stutter for spell attacks. When AA was on, then I got the stutters.As to your quick command for particles...does anyone know if one exists for Complex Shaders? I want to turn them off in cities (due to the crash) and then back on when adventuring and questing..Thanks and Good luck</blockquote>Edge,This helped me a ton. I disabled the AA in the NVidia control panel only - didn't mess with the .ini file and this almost completely fixed my stuttering issue. It greatly improved the hitching too. Here are my specs again: Quad Core, 8 gigs RAM, Vista x64 Home Premium, and single 8800GTX with 768mb RAM and using the CFF explorer fix for the 'ran out of memory' bug. I'm running in high quality and getting 45-60 frames in 'wilderness' areas with no stuttering. I do still get an occasional hitch but far less frequent than before and not the near screen freeze kind of hitch, just a slight hitch.In East Freeport my FPS came down and the hitching frequency increased slightly but i still didn't stutter. I didn't have time to test Teren's Grasp, which is my personal 'worst' area for the hitching/stuttering.Obviously I don't consider the problem solved, and implore the devs to continue to work on this issue. I just wanted to report my improvements using Edge's suggestion. Jax

Tebos

03-04-2008, 01:25 PM

<cite>Jaxsyn@Guk wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote>Can I ask...do you have AA enabled...in your Nvidia control panel AND in the .ini file? Why not disable this and see if the freezes from particle effects go away...this helped me with that issue...I have spell effects turned up, and it does not stutter for spell attacks. When AA was on, then I got the stutters.As to your quick command for particles...does anyone know if one exists for Complex Shaders? I want to turn them off in cities (due to the crash) and then back on when adventuring and questing..Thanks and Good luck</blockquote>Edge,This helped me a ton. I disabled the AA in the NVidia control panel only - didn't mess with the .ini file and this almost completely fixed my stuttering issue. It greatly improved the hitching too. Here are my specs again: Quad Core, 8 gigs RAM, Vista x64 Home Premium, and single 8800GTX with 768mb RAM and using the CFF explorer fix for the 'ran out of memory' bug. I'm running in high quality and getting 45-60 frames in 'wilderness' areas with no stuttering. I do still get an occasional hitch but far less frequent than before and not the near screen freeze kind of hitch, just a slight hitch.In East Freeport my FPS came down and the hitching frequency increased slightly but i still didn't stutter. I didn't have time to test Teren's Grasp, which is my personal 'worst' area for the hitching/stuttering.Obviously I don't consider the problem solved, and implore the devs to continue to work on this issue. I just wanted to report my improvements using Edge's suggestion. Jax</blockquote>When utilizing AA/Ansio with in the Nvidia control panel; one would have to use "r_aa_blit 1" line statement with in the EQ2.INI file couple with DISABLING "Bloom Effects" with in the game video settings. Bloom effects emulate AA and causes unforseen performance issues when forcing AA/Ansio and configuring the EQ2.INI file.

Openedge

03-04-2008, 06:35 PM

Ok...so far after todays patch...the game seems smoother..But, in Neriak I still have the hard lock momentary freezes near the docks and running toward the bridges...Weird..Still testing, as I will run the ATI in Neriak today, and then switch my 8800GT to the Intel chipset to view differences in performance(Rubs his hands together ready to get to work)

krinkled

03-04-2008, 07:57 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote>Ok...so far after todays patch...the game seems smoother..But, in Neriak I still have the hard lock momentary freezes near the docks and running toward the bridges...Weird..Still testing, as I will run the ATI in Neriak today, and then switch my 8800GT to the Intel chipset to view differences in performance(Rubs his hands together ready to get to work)</blockquote>Was the patch intended to address the 8800 series issues? I am going to log in now and go run around and see how it goes.

Openedge

03-04-2008, 09:32 PM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote>Ok...so far after todays patch...the game seems smoother..But, in Neriak I still have the hard lock momentary freezes near the docks and running toward the bridges...Weird..Still testing, as I will run the ATI in Neriak today, and then switch my 8800GT to the Intel chipset to view differences in performance(Rubs his hands together ready to get to work)</blockquote>Was the patch intended to address the 8800 series issues? I am going to log in now and go run around and see how it goes.</blockquote>Nope...not totally fixed...It is odd that performance wise there seems to be some improvements...it is not perfect though..The wifes 2900 though was quite nice. I was able to turn on shadows and leave them on now..so overall, the ATI card got a nice boostBut, some stutters, and slowdowns still for the 8800Going to try some various drivers to see how it goesLater

krinkled

03-04-2008, 10:17 PM

I'm not really seeing any difference.There are some areas of Nektulos forest to the north of the zone where I can get 45fps on "balanced". However, there are other sections of the Nektulos where I get 15-18ps on "balanced".Hopefully this will be fixed in soon.

Robert2005

03-05-2008, 02:33 AM

Hello again. I have the usual problems .. 8800GT in a AMD Quad Core with Vista Pro. Set EverQuest2.exe to Windows XP compatability mode and saw an 80% improvement in FPS running in "Very High Performance" mode (from 30fps avg to 50fps)... so toggled to "High Performance" mode for a playable 30fps (what I usually get in Very High). Went for balanced.. not playable (<20 fps).My son is still laughing at me getting >60fps avg with his old comp and an nvidia 7650 (? 7000 series anyway) in Balanced mode with many setting turned UP (range) .. his is also Vista....Radeon should be here tomorrow .. please pray ..

Teljair

03-05-2008, 06:44 AM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite><a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/mailto%3Cimg%20src=" target="_blank"></a>enaso@Butcherblock" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Denaso@Butcherblock wrote:</cite><blockquote>Sorry to burst your bubble but I played EQ2 in 32bit vista for months on this machine without issue. I reverted back to xp because of bugs in vista and games that ran perfectly in xp but wouldn't work correctly in vista but I never had any problems with eq2 (other than about 10% performance decrease in comparison to xp).</blockquote>Well so far just in this single thread we have over 26 independent users all reporting similar 8800 series problems:1) krinkled2) openedge3) Alarick4) landishan5) dragonwulf6) Vaziic7) Skinnyfats 8 Morgador9) Alondar10) Tynd12) MMKA13) Kolktur14) Kallarn15) Elrin16) SillyMuffin17) Jaxsyn18 Griffinherat19) Frogjitsu20) Daevara21) Taipans22) Bobbytherobot23) Ithion24) Deathspell25) Smut26) Robert2005Contrast that to only 5 people who claim that the 8800 series is working to their satisfaction:1) Denaso2) Tokamak3) ElephantRU4) Thmy5) DismasHere is a list of games that I can play at the highest settings @ 1920x1200 with extremely high framerates:CrysisBioshockThe WitcherNeverwinter Nights 2Quake 4Tabula RasaWoWS.T.A.L.K.E.R.Half Life 2Supreme CommanderAge Of Empires IIITeam FortressCivilization IVDungeon Siege IIQuake Wars Enemy TerritoryHere is a list of games that is partially unplayable on my machine due to extreme framerate drops in some areas:Everquest IISo to me it is pretty clear that it is not a problem specific to my computer itself. Not to mention that swapping in a 3 year old ATI card that will perform worse in every other game listed above provided a "miracle" increase in Everquest2's FPS. </blockquote>Add me to the list of having problems. 8800Ultra Q6600 @3.0Ghz 4GB DDR2800 Vista 64 Abit IP35Pro MOBO.I get out of memory errors in the Jungle/GreaterFay/Terrans Grasp if I push any of my textures past high. Not only that but the FPS and performance sucks.My FPS at All high textures, with some other tweaks get's me a whopping 12 to 15 fps when it most outdoor zones. I should be able to play this 2004 game maxed out ALL the sliders to max with extreme textures with my machine.This engine has serious flaws, both with memory, and how it runs on new hardware. Period. I'm sick of the devs and tsr's coming into these threads beating around the bush. You have all seen the posts after posts, both on this forum and many many many others. So do somthing about it. Simple.nVidia sponsers this game both normal mode and SLI, yet with these cards this game runs just plain rotten.Fix it. kthxbye.

krinkled

03-05-2008, 07:29 AM

<cite>Cyrilmak@The Bazaar wrote:</cite><blockquote>My FPS at All high textures, with some other tweaks get's me a whopping 12 to 15 fps when it most outdoor zones. I should be able to play this 2004 game maxed out ALL the sliders to max with extreme textures with my machine.</blockquote>This is what is driving me crazy. We have extremely similar systems and it is really bothersome and distracting to get such horrible performance. Hopefully we can get another update soon from the devs on whether or not progress is being made in resolving this issue.

Alarick0

03-05-2008, 04:52 PM

Still having issues here too no matter what i seem to try. Here are my system specs. AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 XFX PVT88PYDE4 GeForce 8800GT Extreme 512MB running in non SLI mode atm Vista 64-Bit Ultimate 8 Gigs of ram GIGABYTE GA-M59SLI-S5 AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ETASIS ET850 ATX12V / EPS12V True 850W, Max 950W Power Supply 100 - 240 V And running the latest Nvidia drivers.

jagermonsta

03-05-2008, 05:34 PM

System Specs:CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 @ 3.6 GHz 1600 FSBMOBO: EVGA nForce 680i SLI A1RAM: 2GB Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 @ 800 Mhz Sync'd 1:1_5-4-4-10 1TGPU: 2x - EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX KO ACS3 768 MB Cards in SLI @ 2150 Mhz EACH.HD: 2x - Western Digital RaptorX 150GB Serial ATA150 10,000 RPM Hard Drives in RAID0SOUND CARD: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192 kHz PCI-EPSU: OCZ GameXStream 1010WCASE: Antec P182 ATX Mid TowerCD/DVD: SONY Blu-ray DVD Burner BWU-200S SATAMONITOR: SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCDKB/MOUSE: Microsoft Reclusa & Razer DeathAdderOS: Windows XP Professional SP23DMark06 Score: 20,113 (Ran @ 1680x1050 with 8AA & 8AS)I get the same FPS issues as the OP. If I disable SLI it's a little better but I still get unacceptable FPS. Interesting that the developer mentioned they had only seen 10 or so cases regarding this issue... Try googling 'eq2 8800 gtx' you will see many, many, many related issues. <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Thmy

03-05-2008, 08:31 PM

To complere my information for people NOT having problems when using 8800GTX video cardsIntel D975XBX2 mother board with the recomended memory and voltages- standard settings no OC-ing.3.0 to 6.0 DSL connection modem with a FVS318 wired router to computer using the motherboard ethernet port.I get 60 to 110 FPS in most places.If we can come up with a standard zone and location and direction to face and graphic setting ( ie ballanced ) I would be happy to report a set of FPS using the new Sony window.

BobbyTheRobot

03-05-2008, 09:38 PM

<cite>Ranadin@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>System Specs:CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 @ 3.6 GHz 1600 FSBMOBO: EVGA nForce 680i SLI A1RAM: 2GB Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 @ 800 Mhz Sync'd 1:1_5-4-4-10 1TGPU: 2x - EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX KO ACS3 768 MB Cards in SLI @ 2150 Mhz EACH.HD: 2x - Western Digital RaptorX 150GB Serial ATA150 10,000 RPM Hard Drives in RAID0SOUND CARD: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192 kHz PCI-EPSU: OCZ GameXStream 1010WCASE: Antec P182 ATX Mid TowerCD/DVD: SONY Blu-ray DVD Burner BWU-200S SATAMONITOR: SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCDKB/MOUSE: Microsoft Reclusa & Razer DeathAdderOS: Windows XP Professional SP23DMark06 Score: 20,113 (Ran @ 1680x1050 with 8AA & 8AS)I get the same FPS issues as the OP. If I disable SLI it's a little better but I still get unacceptable FPS. Interesting that the developer mentioned they had only seen 10 or so cases regarding this issue... Try googling 'eq2 8800 gtx' you will see many, many, many related issues. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src=" width="15" height="15" />" width="15" height="15"></blockquote>what is an "unacceptable FPS" (in your opinion) and what quality settings/resolution are you trying to run?

ATLDawgy

03-05-2008, 11:04 PM

<cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Ranadin@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>System Specs:CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 @ 3.6 GHz 1600 FSBMOBO: EVGA nForce 680i SLI A1RAM: 2GB Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 @ 800 Mhz Sync'd 1:1_5-4-4-10 1TGPU: 2x - EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX KO ACS3 768 MB Cards in SLI @ 2150 Mhz EACH.HD: 2x - Western Digital RaptorX 150GB Serial ATA150 10,000 RPM Hard Drives in RAID0SOUND CARD: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192 kHz PCI-EPSU: OCZ GameXStream 1010WCASE: Antec P182 ATX Mid TowerCD/DVD: SONY Blu-ray DVD Burner BWU-200S SATAMONITOR: SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCDKB/MOUSE: Microsoft Reclusa & Razer DeathAdderOS: Windows XP Professional SP23DMark06 Score: 20,113 (Ran @ 1680x1050 with 8AA & 8AS)I get the same FPS issues as the OP. If I disable SLI it's a little better but I still get unacceptable FPS. Interesting that the developer mentioned they had only seen 10 or so cases regarding this issue... Try googling 'eq2 8800 gtx' you will see many, many, many related issues. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src=" width="15" height="15" />" width="15" height="15"></blockquote>what is an "unacceptable FPS" (in your opinion) and what quality settings/resolution are you trying to run?</blockquote>Good question Bobby. The biggest question in my 3+ years of viewing EQ2 performance posts is resolution being used with what hardware. Example System:AMD 939 4000, 2GB RAM, GeForce 6600 GT, WinXP Pro 32-bit running on High Performance on 1024x768.Upgrade the video card alone to GeForce8800GT and a new 21" Widescreen monitor and now running EQ2 on High Quality at 1680x1050 is not an acceptible comparison. Even upgrading the rest of the system does not necessarily give a fair comparison because you are now comparing 2 different systems using 2 different test conditions. As soon as you change the resolution size, your "original" graphics settings are no longer relevant.Ranadin, a RAM and OS upgrade are probably in order. With hardware like that, 2 GB is really a bottleneck both in performance and cost considering the rest of the expensive parts purchased. I'm going to assume you're only running XP Pro 32 bit which would recognize about 3.5 GB of RAM after installing 4 GB worth of sticks but that should be enough if you're only running EQ2 when you play. However, with that system I'd personally upgrade to a 64-bit OS like Vista Premium 64 or XP Pro 64 and push to 8GB of RAM. During the next round of PC upgrades in my house I'll be upgrading my wife's system to an affordable dual core and give her my RAM then buy 8 GB of Corsair Dominator 8500 for my system (the Intel E8400).Just remember, when you move up in resolution, you're also going to eat up more system RAM as EQ2 is very CPU dependent compared to other games that are more GPU dependent. So when the CPU is loading the larger textures to send to the video card, you are eatting up more system RAM in the process and from personal experience, 2 GB is not enough to run on 1680x1050. As a test, knock it back down to 1024x768 and run on Extreme Quality then let us know how it performs. I just set my system to that in full screen and ran around the broker area in QH 5 times. My F11 FPS ranged from 24 to 60 and never showed noticable lag or skipping. I could never run that on my old Athlon 4000 with 3 GB of RAM and a 6600GT video card, so compared to that, my upgrade was great!

Robert2005

03-06-2008, 12:58 AM

The ATI 3870 has replaced the 8800GT and it's a lot better. Not nearly as good as I think it should be... but a lot better.Gateway FX7020AMD Phenom 9600 QuadCore 2.3 ghz3gb Ram32 bit Vista with everything deleted that isn't needed1680x1050 DVIThe report of running in Windows XP compatability mode improving FPS was premature... it didn't help in the long run. Must have been some low load zones at first. The 8800 in Very High Perf: avg 30fps with a 2sec freeze every 1-2 mins -- more often in 'busy' zones including every 15-20secs in particular zones and frequently in combat.The ATI 3870 in High Perf: avg 36-38fps everywhere. No freezing at all. Six hours played with some hard PvP with many casting players in frame in open-air zones. Nice load imo.Can run relatively smoothly in Balanced but will hover in the mid 20fps and my personal preference is >30fps ... <30fps and that's where I notice it 'stuttering' so I shoot for >30fps in all cases.I think this system should run maxed bars in balanced mode considering it's uber compared to what was available 4yrs ago -- so this bugs me. A lot actually.I say it's a lot better because I can play >30fps in all zones/cases without freezing and that keeps me from going ballisitc.It's a 64bit comp.. so I guess I could upgrade the OS and RAM but I don't see how it'd help. This seems to be the EQ2 graphics engine's problem. It'd help if they tweek it to notice more then 1 core for processing. I'm a programmer and if their code is so poorly written they can't segregate and thread that logic then... well... that's just [Removed for Content] poor programming. Object design mehodology has been around for a lot of years now. It's only the terms that have changed the last few years. And given the other SOE titles out there it's crazy to think they don't have the code already and simply need to plug and play -- once again if they can't -- it's [Removed for Content] poor programming.

krinkled

03-06-2008, 01:24 AM

<cite>Robert2005 wrote:</cite><blockquote>The ATI 3870 has replaced the 8800GT and it's a lot better. Not nearly as good as I think it should be... but a lot better.Gateway FX7020AMD Phenom 9600 QuadCore 2.3 ghz3gb Ram32 bit Vista with everything deleted that isn't needed1680x1050 DVIThe report of running in Windows XP compatability mode improving FPS was premature... it didn't help in the long run. Must have been some low load zones at first. The 8800 in Very High Perf: avg 30fps with a 2sec freeze every 1-2 mins -- more often in 'busy' zones including every 15-20secs in particular zones and frequently in combat.The ATI 3870 in High Perf: avg 36-38fps everywhere. No freezing at all. Six hours played with some hard PvP with many casting players in frame in open-air zones. Nice load imo.Can run relatively smoothly in Balanced but will hover in the mid 20fps and my personal preference is >30fps ... <30fps and that's where I notice it 'stuttering' so I shoot for >30fps in all cases.I think this system should run maxed bars in balanced mode considering it's uber compared to what was available 4yrs ago -- so this bugs me. A lot actually.I say it's a lot better because I can play >30fps in all zones/cases without freezing and that keeps me from going ballisitc.It's a 64bit comp.. so I guess I could upgrade the OS and RAM but I don't see how it'd help. This seems to be the EQ2 graphics engine's problem. It'd help if they tweek it to notice more then 1 core for processing. I'm a programmer and if their code is so poorly written they can't segregate and thread that logic then... well... that's just [Removed for Content] poor programming. Object design mehodology has been around for a lot of years now. It's only the terms that have changed the last few years. And given the other SOE titles out there it's crazy to think they don't have the code already and simply need to plug and play -- once again if they can't -- it's [Removed for Content] poor programming.</blockquote>Heh I think my old x1900xt actually performs better than the new ATI card. Why are last gen cards outperforming the new stuff on this game? It seems very strange to me.I am not willing to swap in a different video card for one game. If this isn't fixed or some details of a plan to fix it aren't released in the next 4-6 weeks, I'm going to cancel and play other games instead.The fact that old x1900xt ATI hardware can run this game at >30fps steady on "High Quality" in every zone, but Nvidia hardware that is actually more powerful can only run @ 10-15fps in many circumstances on "Balanced" probably points to a problem with the code. There obviously needs to be some bug fixing or optimization done so that the game will run on the new Nvidia cards.

Rothgar

03-06-2008, 01:46 AM

We're working on it, just give us a bit of time. Hopefully we will have an answer for you one way or another, soon.The problem might not necessarily be with the EQ2 code. So far only the nVidia 8800 series of cards seem to have this problem when running under Vista. Unless I've missed someone's post, I haven't seen these problems on an XP machine, or with any other video cards. It might seem logical that the problem is with EQ2 when you can run other games fine. But you could also disprove that argument by the fact that EQ2 works fine on XP and with older video cards.Its obvious that there are a combination of factors at work causing this issue, and that's what we're trying to determine.Thanks for all the testing you guys have done. It has definitely helped us narrow this issue down so we can find the problem faster.

krinkled

03-06-2008, 02:12 AM

Finriel

03-06-2008, 02:42 AM

Poor fps on high quality settings ( 13-30 fps) running XP.Time of this report: 3/6/2008, 00:34:53 Machine name: Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254) Language: English (Regional Setting: English)System Manufacturer: NVIDIA System Model: AWRDACPI BIOS: Phoenix - Award BIOS v6.00PG Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5200+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.6GHz Memory: 3072MB RAM Page File: 289MB used, 6661MB available Windows Dir: C:WINDOWS DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)DX Setup Parameters: Not found DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit UnicodeCard name: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS Manufacturer: NVIDIA Chip type: GeForce 8800 GTS DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC Device Key: EnumPCIVEN_10DE&DEV_0193&SUBSYS_82341043&REV_A2 Display Memory: 640.0 MB Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (75Hz) Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200 Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll Driver Version: 6.14.0011.6921 (English) DDI Version: 9 (or higher)Driver Attributes: Final RetailAny way to code all my dxdaig here?

ATLDawgy

03-06-2008, 02:54 AM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>We're working on it, just give us a bit of time. Hopefully we will have an answer for you one way or another, soon.The problem might not necessarily be with the EQ2 code. So far only the nVidia 8800 series of cards seem to have this problem when running under Vista. Unless I've missed someone's post, I haven't seen these problems on an XP machine, or with any other video cards. It might seem logical that the problem is with EQ2 when you can run other games fine. But you could also disprove that argument by the fact that EQ2 works fine on XP and with older video cards.Its obvious that there are a combination of factors at work causing this issue, and that's what we're trying to determine.Thanks for all the testing you guys have done. It has definitely helped us narrow this issue down so we can find the problem faster.</blockquote>Thanks for the update Rothgar. I'm about to do a bad thing and mention another topic in this thread, but is there an official SOE stance on the "Application ran out of memory" error when EQ2 hits the 2GB limit 32-bit applications get under 32-bit OS as well as 64-bit OS (being that these are still emulating 32 bit instructions and have the same boundaries)? The potential scenario is that SOE will figure out the 8800/Vista issue addressed in this thread, and once you do, the flood gates will open for these people to then start experiencing the "out of memory" error because they'll crank up their settings and hit the memory limit like so many others have reported. The answer seems rather simple, if EQ2 is going to run at max settings on current hardware (which is powerful enough to do it) then there needs to be a 64-bit version for users to run on 64-bit OS's so that the hardware and software can work together without the artificial limitation of 32-bit architecture. EQ2 was sold and marketed as being ready for future hardware, well the future is now. The only thing that prevents me from running Extreme Quality at 1680x1050 is the "out of memory" error. When I check Task Manager, eq2.exe is asking for about 2 GB of RAM in Win XP Pro 64. The 2nd priority is to make it a true multithreaded application, however, I do not believe it is necessary as the higher tier of current multicore offerings seem to be powerful enough on the one core EQ2 uses to achieve max performance. System memory allocation to 32-bit applications seems to be the only technical hurdle stopping EQ2 from reaching it's fullest visual potential.

Caldabuse

03-06-2008, 03:03 AM

I dunno that it runs FINE on XP. I have an 8800 GTS 640 and I rarely see above 30 fps. And in Kunark in particular, forget it. I get like 13-15 in most places. The rest of the system is comperable, too... I have learned to live with it, but... I don't think this is good performance for an upper midrange system on a three and some year old game.

alin

03-06-2008, 04:58 AM

GreetingsI saw Rothgar's post in Eq2 flames i upgraded 7900GT graphic card to 8800gt before using 8800gt i formatted my pc..I loaded game i patched and i played 20 minutes very well.After that night i patched to GU43 while i play Assasin Creed.After patch i started to play EQ2 , screen freezed game crashed pc locked ..I tried to open pc again but couldnot see desktop ..I replaced 8800 gt to Nvidia 7 series card everything turned to normal.. I am using Core2dua E6300 and Windows XP operating system..

Rothgar

03-06-2008, 05:22 AM

Autenil is currently working on memory issues, specifically the memory boundaries.Part of the problem with Vista and memory usage is in the way that Microsoft supports DirectX 9 applications. Vista actually creates a second copy of every texture in memory. This is the root of many of the memory issues on Vista and we are looking into ways of fixing it.In regards to slow framerates on Windows XP, if you are not experiencing screen freezes every 10-15 seconds, then you have a different problem than the one reported with 8800 series cards on Vista. When I say that I haven't heard any reports of 'this problem' on XP, I'm referring to the screen freezes.We have been able to reproduce these screen freezes on a Vista machine and someone (not me) is looking into it now. When I hear something, I will let you know.

Openedge

03-06-2008, 07:46 AM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Autenil is currently working on memory issues, specifically the memory boundaries.Part of the problem with Vista and memory usage is in the way that Microsoft supports DirectX 9 applications. Vista actually creates a second copy of every texture in memory. This is the root of many of the memory issues on Vista and we are looking into ways of fixing it.In regards to slow framerates on Windows XP, if you are not experiencing screen freezes every 10-15 seconds, then you have a different problem than the one reported with 8800 series cards on Vista. When I say that I haven't heard any reports of 'this problem' on XP, I'm referring to the screen freezes.We have been able to reproduce these screen freezes on a Vista machine and someone (not me) is looking into it now. When I hear something, I will let you know.</blockquote>Massive screen freezes on XP. Also crash to desktop in Neriak and Kelethin. This is XP 32 bit...so yes,,,do not forget about XP as this is not just a Vista problem...it is an 8800 and EQ2 problem.I note also Thmy states he does not have problems with an Intel board...and wonder if it is strictly Nvidia chipsets having this problem...or just Nvidia moreso than Intel?Thank you

Openedge

03-06-2008, 07:48 AM

<cite>Robert2005 wrote:</cite><blockquote>The ATI 3870 has replaced the 8800GT and it's a lot better. Not nearly as good as I think it should be... but a lot better.Gateway FX7020AMD Phenom 9600 QuadCore 2.3 ghz3gb Ram32 bit Vista with everything deleted that isn't needed1680x1050 DVIThe report of running in Windows XP compatability mode improving FPS was premature... it didn't help in the long run. Must have been some low load zones at first. The 8800 in Very High Perf: avg 30fps with a 2sec freeze every 1-2 mins -- more often in 'busy' zones including every 15-20secs in particular zones and frequently in combat.The ATI 3870 in High Perf: avg 36-38fps everywhere. No freezing at all. Six hours played with some hard PvP with many casting players in frame in open-air zones. Nice load imo.Can run relatively smoothly in Balanced but will hover in the mid 20fps and my personal preference is >30fps ... <30fps and that's where I notice it 'stuttering' so I shoot for >30fps in all cases.I think this system should run maxed bars in balanced mode considering it's uber compared to what was available 4yrs ago -- so this bugs me. A lot actually.I say it's a lot better because I can play >30fps in all zones/cases without freezing and that keeps me from going ballisitc.It's a 64bit comp.. so I guess I could upgrade the OS and RAM but I don't see how it'd help. This seems to be the EQ2 graphics engine's problem. It'd help if they tweek it to notice more then 1 core for processing. I'm a programmer and if their code is so poorly written they can't segregate and thread that logic then... well... that's just [Removed for Content] poor programming. Object design mehodology has been around for a lot of years now. It's only the terms that have changed the last few years. And given the other SOE titles out there it's crazy to think they don't have the code already and simply need to plug and play -- once again if they can't -- it's [Removed for Content] poor programming.</blockquote>Gotta be careful what you say...or else you get blogged about...lol!<a rel="nofollow" href="http://blog.gregsplace.com/" target="_blank">http://blog.gregsplace.com/</a>But, I am amazed that the 3870 is running better. I wonder how it approaches the code that it can run more smoothly, The 2900 runs wonderfully for my wifes system, and I just see so much stutter and freeze on my 8800...and major slowdowns also...AnywaysThanks for the update.

SIlly Muffin

03-06-2008, 09:17 AM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Autenil is currently working on memory issues, specifically the memory boundaries.Part of the problem with Vista and memory usage is in the way that Microsoft supports DirectX 9 applications. Vista actually creates a second copy of every texture in memory. This is the root of many of the memory issues on Vista and we are looking into ways of fixing it.In regards to slow framerates on Windows XP, if you are not experiencing screen freezes every 10-15 seconds, then you have a different problem than the one reported with 8800 series cards on Vista. When I say that I haven't heard any reports of 'this problem' on XP, I'm referring to the screen freezes.We have been able to reproduce these screen freezes on a Vista machine and someone (not me) is looking into it now. When I hear something, I will let you know.</blockquote>Hi Rothgar,I wouldnt rule out XP; a good number of people reporting problems have XP as well. I have screen freezes (and areas of ridiculously low fps) l with an 8800 and XP SP2. I think 8800 is still more of a common denominator than Vista. That is not to say that Vista doesnt have seperate issues, which you've uncovered, yet why would ATI cards not have this problem if it was just a Vista Issue? Muffin

dragontamer619

03-06-2008, 09:41 AM

I have Windows XP 32-bit with an Nvidia 8800 GT and I have the same problems everyone here has. My screen will freeze and my FPS will vary from 1 - 56. I didn't post on here because I feel I cannot provide enough technical data like some of the others. I just wanted to chime in and say that the problem isn't just on Vista alone. I can play other games just fine on my machine like the others can.

Teurn

03-06-2008, 10:36 AM

I am running XP as well with a 8800GTX and I am getting horrible framerates. I added the recommended line to my .ini as I am overriding the games settings, but it didnt seem to help. I also disabled bloom effect as recommended. I cant even get it to look nice when standing still in Antonica on an open hill.

jagermonsta

03-06-2008, 10:41 AM

<cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>what is an "unacceptable FPS" (in your opinion) and what quality settings/resolution are you trying to run?</blockquote>"Unacceptable FPS" for EQ2 in my opinion with a system like mine is anything under 45 FPS. I like others get the stuttering effect in zones like Gfay or QH of a solid 30 FPS then a drop to 5 FPS to 12 FPS to 35 FPS back to 15 FPS up to 50 FPS... it's very annoying. Like others my system is capable of running today's VERY graphically demanding games 45+ FPS on maximum graphic settings. I run a resolution of 1680x1050 for ALL my games (22" Wide screen) & I run EQ2 @ a custom quality setting based off High Quality. I am forced to do that because I'm one of the many that get the "Out of Memory" error when running Maximum Quality. In my opinion my system should be able to handle this game on Maximum Quality...<cite>Akaros@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>Good question Bobby. The biggest question in my 3+ years of viewing EQ2 performance posts is resolution being used with what hardware. Example System:AMD 939 4000, 2GB RAM, GeForce 6600 GT, WinXP Pro 32-bit running on High Performance on 1024x768.Upgrade the video card alone to GeForce8800GT and a new 21" Widescreen monitor and now running EQ2 on High Quality at 1680x1050 is not an acceptible comparison. Even upgrading the rest of the system does not necessarily give a fair comparison because you are now comparing 2 different systems using 2 different test conditions. As soon as you change the resolution size, your "original" graphics settings are no longer relevant.Ranadin, a RAM and OS upgrade are probably in order. With hardware like that, 2 GB is really a bottleneck both in performance and cost considering the rest of the expensive parts purchased. I'm going to assume you're only running XP Pro 32 bit which would recognize about 3.5 GB of RAM after installing 4 GB worth of sticks but that should be enough if you're only running EQ2 when you play. However, with that system I'd personally upgrade to a 64-bit OS like Vista Premium 64 or XP Pro 64 and push to 8GB of RAM. During the next round of PC upgrades in my house I'll be upgrading my wife's system to an affordable dual core and give her my RAM then buy 8 GB of Corsair Dominator 8500 for my system (the Intel E8400).Just remember, when you move up in resolution, you're also going to eat up more system RAM as EQ2 is very CPU dependent compared to other games that are more GPU dependent. So when the CPU is loading the larger textures to send to the video card, you are eatting up more system RAM in the process and from personal experience, 2 GB is not enough to run on 1680x1050. As a test, knock it back down to 1024x768 and run on Extreme Quality then let us know how it performs. I just set my system to that in full screen and ran around the broker area in QH 5 times. My F11 FPS ranged from 24 to 60 and never showed noticable lag or skipping. I could never run that on my old Athlon 4000 with 3 GB of RAM and a 6600GT video card, so compared to that, my upgrade was great!</blockquote>Akaros I appreciate you trying to help but I'm really about to pick apart what you said...Above I stated the resolution and current Quality settings I have enabled. First off I need you to understand... I have battled this issue for a LONG time. I know a lot about it and what settings to use and what not to use that will hinder or help performance. Understand that my problem is that I feel if the setting is there... I should be able to enable it with a system like mine. I get a score of over 21k @ 1680x1050 with AA/AF levels boosted using 3DMark06 benchmark tests. That isn't peanuts for a system meant for use/gaming and not just benchmarking...Ok so much of your post is about memory... you have suggestions for me to upgrade my memory to 4GB and my OS to Windows XP x64... you believe that will increase performance. Let me tell you... When I built this system I had 4 GB of the current Corsair memory installed and I ran Windows XP x64. The performance for EQ2 at the time was very poor... With 3DMark06 I had a score of 18k... I did my research and I learned A LOT about how to increase memory performance. A common mistake people make is thinking MORE IS BETTER. That isn't always the case with memory. To get raw performance which is my goal you need fast memory. I'll explain it for you why I have 2 GB of memory vs 4 GB.Through the Corsair forum I learned from a technician that 4 modules of 1 GB memory can hinder your memory's performance. Your memory can not run at it's tested timings/speed because the load on the motherboard's memory controller is too much. If you attempt to set your memory at it's tested timings/speed your system will most likely be unstable. So in order for you to get what you paid for out of your fast memory you need to lessen the load off the motherboard by removing 2 modules OR by increasing the voltage of the bridge. So instead of potentially damaging my motherboard I chose to remove two modules. I was then able to safely sync my memory with my CPU which in turned increased the performance of my computer greatly. Now I'll explain why I run Windows XP x32 rather than x64.So now that I no longer have 4 GB of memory installed I don't need a 64-bit OS to utilize it. Now a good thing that comes out of switching my OS to 32-bit is that I can now take advantage of 32-bit drivers. Lets face it... 64-bit drivers do not stack up to the work that's put into 32-bit drivers. Through my experience of working with both 32-bit and 64-bit over the past 5+ years I've learned that 32-bit drivers are just plain better.Ok now at this point I compare my system from 4 GB 64-bit to 2 GB 32-bit... I can tell you that the performance of EQ2 increased. It isn't nearly as bad as it was... it's not great since it's still sits around 30 FPS & still stutters but it's better then it was. I also found performance increases in other games I played. I gained over 4k+ on my benchmark scores... So in my opinion 2 GB 32-bit > 4 GB 64-bit for my needs.What you've learn is that yeah the memory WAS the bottleneck of my system when it was forced to run at slower speeds then it was suppose to... now it's in sync with my CPU so that isn't where the bottle neck is. The bottle neck is EQ2. As you mentioned it's highly CPU dependent... We own these graphics cards almost as fast as our CPUs and we get nothing out of them playing this game. It's a real bummer for the person that bought or built a $3,000 system for EQ2 and got little to no performance gains. That's why me and many others are upset over this.<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote> In regards to slow framerates on Windows XP, if you are not experiencing screen freezes every 10-15 seconds, then you have a different problem than the one reported with 8800 series cards on Vista. When I say that I haven't heard any reports of 'this problem' on XP, I'm referring to the screen freezes.</blockquote>I used both 64/32 bit XP and I experience poor performance & screen freezes (aka major drop in FPS from 30 FPS to 2 FPS...)I must say though... it's good to see a dev looking into this, I'm very surprised. Thanks!

ATLDawgy

03-06-2008, 11:12 AM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Robert2005 wrote:</cite><blockquote>The ATI 3870 has replaced the 8800GT and it's a lot better. Not nearly as good as I think it should be... but a lot better.Gateway FX7020AMD Phenom 9600 QuadCore 2.3 ghz3gb Ram32 bit Vista with everything deleted that isn't needed1680x1050 DVIThe report of running in Windows XP compatability mode improving FPS was premature... it didn't help in the long run. Must have been some low load zones at first. The 8800 in Very High Perf: avg 30fps with a 2sec freeze every 1-2 mins -- more often in 'busy' zones including every 15-20secs in particular zones and frequently in combat.The ATI 3870 in High Perf: avg 36-38fps everywhere. No freezing at all. Six hours played with some hard PvP with many casting players in frame in open-air zones. Nice load imo.Can run relatively smoothly in Balanced but will hover in the mid 20fps and my personal preference is >30fps ... <30fps and that's where I notice it 'stuttering' so I shoot for >30fps in all cases.I think this system should run maxed bars in balanced mode considering it's uber compared to what was available 4yrs ago -- so this bugs me. A lot actually.I say it's a lot better because I can play >30fps in all zones/cases without freezing and that keeps me from going ballisitc.It's a 64bit comp.. so I guess I could upgrade the OS and RAM but I don't see how it'd help. This seems to be the EQ2 graphics engine's problem. It'd help if they tweek it to notice more then 1 core for processing. I'm a programmer and if their code is so poorly written they can't segregate and thread that logic then... well... that's just [Removed for Content] poor programming. Object design mehodology has been around for a lot of years now. It's only the terms that have changed the last few years. And given the other SOE titles out there it's crazy to think they don't have the code already and simply need to plug and play -- once again if they can't -- it's [Removed for Content] poor programming.</blockquote>Heh I think my old x1900xt actually performs better than the new ATI card. Why are last gen cards outperforming the new stuff on this game? It seems very strange to me.I am not willing to swap in a different video card for one game. If this isn't fixed or some details of a plan to fix it aren't released in the next 4-6 weeks, I'm going to cancel and play other games instead.The fact that old x1900xt ATI hardware can run this game at >30fps steady on "High Quality" in every zone, but Nvidia hardware that is actually more powerful can only run @ 10-15fps in many circumstances on "Balanced" probably points to a problem with the code. There obviously needs to be some bug fixing or optimization done so that the game will run on the new Nvidia cards.</blockquote>For Robert2005 and krinkled -I'm willing to bet your respective power supplies could be the problem, almost positive about Robert's situation. The Gatway FX7020 has a 400 Watt power supply and with prebuilt systems, unless explicitly stated, most power supplies are not installed for true power gaming. Sure, that system can play "most games" well, but EQ2 is a different beast as we've seen over the years. I'm not sure how many amps are pumped out over the 12 volt rail but I'll bet it's not enough to support your CPU and GPU when they try to handle the load of EQ2. This is most likely the reason that some people have smoother performance with older cards than the new stuff. An older card does not require near the power of newer performance cards and are actually bottlenecks for most current CPUs like Phenom or C2D. So, the CPU will push as much data as the older GPU can handle and will perform "smoothly" because the end component (video card for display) is the bottleneck. Throw an 8800GT in there and it's thirsting for data so when your CPU starts cranking the load, the 8800GT reaches for more power so it can process the load and when that power is not there you'll get periodic freezing as the 8800GT is throttling up and down as the power allows. A similar effect is noticed when pairing a high powered video card with a weak CPU...the GPU is thirsting for data that the CPU can't pump fast enough so you'll see a "bursting" effect which to the end user looks like freezing, stuttering, or skipping. There are so many scenarios that can yield similar performance problems. That is the biggest reason it's taking so long for the Devs to "resolve" our issues because they have to sort out what is a component problem, system resource problem, or coding problem.Don't hold me to this, but I'm pretty sure the ATI cards consume less power than Nvidia cards when comparing the product tiers. The 3870 (single GPU) is not as powerful as the 8800GT. I believe 8800 GT cards require power supplies with a minimum of 26 Amps on a 12 volt rail. ATI states their power requirements differently and says the 3870 requires a 450 Watt power supply with a 75 Watt 6 pin PCI-X connector. See their link here.. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd3800/requirements.html" target="_blank">http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonh...quirements.html</a>

ATLDawgy

03-06-2008, 11:44 AM

<cite>Ranadin@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>what is an "unacceptable FPS" (in your opinion) and what quality settings/resolution are you trying to run?</blockquote>"Unacceptable FPS" for EQ2 in my opinion with a system like mine is anything under 45 FPS. I like others get the stuttering effect in zones like Gfay or QH of a solid 30 FPS then a drop to 5 FPS to 12 FPS to 35 FPS back to 15 FPS up to 50 FPS... it's very annoying. Like others my system is capable of running today's VERY graphically demanding games 45+ FPS on maximum graphic settings. I run a resolution of 1680x1050 for ALL my games (22" Wide screen) & I run EQ2 @ a custom quality setting based off High Quality. I am forced to do that because I'm one of the many that get the "Out of Memory" error when running Maximum Quality. In my opinion my system should be able to handle this game on Maximum Quality...<cite>Akaros@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>Good question Bobby. The biggest question in my 3+ years of viewing EQ2 performance posts is resolution being used with what hardware. Example System:AMD 939 4000, 2GB RAM, GeForce 6600 GT, WinXP Pro 32-bit running on High Performance on 1024x768.Upgrade the video card alone to GeForce8800GT and a new 21" Widescreen monitor and now running EQ2 on High Quality at 1680x1050 is not an acceptible comparison. Even upgrading the rest of the system does not necessarily give a fair comparison because you are now comparing 2 different systems using 2 different test conditions. As soon as you change the resolution size, your "original" graphics settings are no longer relevant.Ranadin, a RAM and OS upgrade are probably in order. With hardware like that, 2 GB is really a bottleneck both in performance and cost considering the rest of the expensive parts purchased. I'm going to assume you're only running XP Pro 32 bit which would recognize about 3.5 GB of RAM after installing 4 GB worth of sticks but that should be enough if you're only running EQ2 when you play. However, with that system I'd personally upgrade to a 64-bit OS like Vista Premium 64 or XP Pro 64 and push to 8GB of RAM. During the next round of PC upgrades in my house I'll be upgrading my wife's system to an affordable dual core and give her my RAM then buy 8 GB of Corsair Dominator 8500 for my system (the Intel E8400).Just remember, when you move up in resolution, you're also going to eat up more system RAM as EQ2 is very CPU dependent compared to other games that are more GPU dependent. So when the CPU is loading the larger textures to send to the video card, you are eatting up more system RAM in the process and from personal experience, 2 GB is not enough to run on 1680x1050. As a test, knock it back down to 1024x768 and run on Extreme Quality then let us know how it performs. I just set my system to that in full screen and ran around the broker area in QH 5 times. My F11 FPS ranged from 24 to 60 and never showed noticable lag or skipping. I could never run that on my old Athlon 4000 with 3 GB of RAM and a 6600GT video card, so compared to that, my upgrade was great!</blockquote>Akaros I appreciate you trying to help but I'm really about to pick apart what you said...Above I stated the resolution and current Quality settings I have enabled. First off I need you to understand... I have battled this issue for a LONG time. I know a lot about it and what settings to use and what not to use that will hinder or help performance. Understand that my problem is that I feel if the setting is there... I should be able to enable it with a system like mine. I get a score of over 21k @ 1680x1050 with AA/AF levels boosted using 3DMark06 benchmark tests. That isn't peanuts for a system meant for use/gaming and not just benchmarking...Ok so much of your post is about memory... you have suggestions for me to upgrade my memory to 4GB and my OS to Windows XP x64... you believe that will increase performance. Let me tell you... When I built this system I had 4 GB of the current Corsair memory installed and I ran Windows XP x64. The performance for EQ2 at the time was very poor... With 3DMark06 I had a score of 18k... I did my research and I learned A LOT about how to increase memory performance. A common mistake people make is thinking MORE IS BETTER. That isn't always the case with memory. To get raw performance which is my goal you need fast memory. I'll explain it for you why I have 2 GB of memory vs 4 GB.Through the Corsair forum I learned from a technician that 4 modules of 1 GB memory can hinder your memory's performance. Your memory can not run at it's tested timings/speed because the load on the motherboard's memory controller is too much. If you attempt to set your memory at it's tested timings/speed your system will most likely be unstable. So in order for you to get what you paid for out of your fast memory you need to lessen the load off the motherboard by removing 2 modules OR by increasing the voltage of the bridge. So instead of potentially damaging my motherboard I chose to remove two modules. I was then able to safely sync my memory with my CPU which in turned increased the performance of my computer greatly. Now I'll explain why I run Windows XP x32 rather than x64.So now that I no longer have 4 GB of memory installed I don't need a 64-bit OS to utilize it. Now a good thing that comes out of switching my OS to 32-bit is that I can now take advantage of 32-bit drivers. Lets face it... 64-bit drivers do not stack up to the work that's put into 32-bit drivers. Through my experience of working with both 32-bit and 64-bit over the past 5+ years I've learned that 32-bit drivers are just plain better.Ok now at this point I compare my system from 4 GB 64-bit to 2 GB 32-bit... I can tell you that the performance of EQ2 increased. It isn't nearly as bad as it was... it's not great since it's still sits around 30 FPS & still stutters but it's better then it was. I also found performance increases in other games I played. I gained over 4k+ on my benchmark scores... So in my opinion 2 GB 32-bit > 4 GB 64-bit for my needs.What you've learn is that yeah the memory WAS the bottleneck of my system when it was forced to run at slower speeds then it was suppose to... now it's in sync with my CPU so that isn't where the bottle neck is. The bottle neck is EQ2. As you mentioned it's highly CPU dependent... We own these graphics cards almost as fast as our CPUs and we get nothing out of them playing this game. It's a real bummer for the person that bought or built a $3,000 system for EQ2 and got little to no performance gains. That's why me and many others are upset over this.<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>In regards to slow framerates on Windows XP, if you are not experiencing screen freezes every 10-15 seconds, then you have a different problem than the one reported with 8800 series cards on Vista. When I say that I haven't heard any reports of 'this problem' on XP, I'm referring to the screen freezes.</blockquote>I used both 64/32 bit XP and I experience poor performance & screen freezes (aka major drop in FPS from 30 FPS to 2 FPS...)I must say though... it's good to see a dev looking into this, I'm very surprised. Thanks!</blockquote>Ranadin, I appreciate your post and there is a lot of truth to what you typed, however we are looking at the issue differently. What you said about RAM real estate is true, using fewer sticks is better in general. I am currently dealing with the problem you mentioned of using 4 x 1 GB sticks so I had to slow my RAM from 800 to 667 because my power supply is not stable when increasing the voltage to the RAM (450 Watt PSU). I plan on upgrading this soon to a 750 watt PSU with 60A on a single 12 volt rail which should give my components plenty of juice to work to their potential. I might quite possibly upgrade to1066 RAM and just 2 x 2GB = 4 GB because of the performance gain you mentioned. Anyways, the problem that you mentioned you are having is the "Out of memory" error that many are facing and this has nothing to do with buggy video cards. This has everything to do with the 32-bit limitation that any 32-bit application has for only being able to address 2 GB of RAM in Windows. Doesn't matter how much system RAM you have, when your EQ2 executable or any other executable tries to use over 2 GB of memory resources, it will crash. The "workaround" people have used is to use the /3GB switch in their boot.ini to ask 32 bit Windows to allow applications to have access to 3 GB of space. Well, that's not a fix to me because here is more background. 32-bit Windows OS can only recognize 3.5 GB of RAM or so when you install 4GB+ in your system. By design, the OS splits the available RAM in half giving half to the kernel and half to the applications (2 GB to the kernel and 2 GB to application). This is why applications can only address 2 GB without the /3GB switch. With the /3GB switch, you are limiting the kernel to only 1GB of memory. Personally, I don't think that's a fair tradeoff just to give EQ2 more resource. A 64-bit Windows OS does not have the 4 GB memory limitation and can address more RAM than we currently need for EQ2. However, the way DirectX is written and the way EQ2 is written, they still operate as 32-bit software with the 2GB limitation. This is why I said the only real solution short of a complete rewrite of EQ2 to make the game less CPU and more GPU dependent is to do a partial rewrite and make a 64-bit version of the game (like some other companies are doing for their established games) which will allow 64-bit OS users to get the most out of these $3000 powerful systems we have. I only spent $850 to build my E8400 based system by the way, but that was done on purpose because I knew none of the previous hardware in the past 3 years was going to handle this game any better so I waited for prices to be reasonable before building a new system.I'm not sure if you've read MS's article on the 2 GB limit in 32-bit envrionments related to gaming, but here's a link which will shed more light on the issues at hand (some of which are related to running on Vista too). Pay very close attention to the last line of the "More information" section. The only solution safe solution to giving EQ2 more virtual address space is to go 64-bit as far as I can see.<a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105</a>

cggerth

03-06-2008, 12:12 PM

I just upgraded to the 8800GTS 512MB and am having massive issues with FPS and screen freezes.I am running windows XP (NOT vista). I just reformatted about a month ago, and have the latest drivers for everything from the mobo to the sound/video drivers.The only zones I seem to be having trouble with is ROK. The first day I had my new card, I mentored my friend in alot of the EOF zones and not one problem. As soon as I took the boat to Kylong Plains I went from 30+ FPS to about 5 to 10 FPS. Also noticed that when I ran decent FPS (20-25 right now) I would get stutters every 10 to 20s or so. I remember having this same stuttering issue in very early vanguard beta on a 7900GTO card, but that was cleared up as the graphics got smoother.It's almost like the card gets overwhelmed with rendering the graphics and takes a sec or 2 to "catch up"did see a HUGE decrease in performance over all upgrading from the 7900GTO to the 8800GTS though.

Robert2005

03-06-2008, 12:17 PM

Regarding the 64bit vs 32bit discussion... 2gb is the maximum addressable space within most 32bit apps due to the programming using signed long integers -- which is what you're running into with the textured memory problem (IMO). That's likely one block of memory indexed on a long int so the most the app can address is 2gb.Pointing that out because whether it's 64 bit, 32 bit, 32 bit with /3gb+ enabled -- doesn't matter. The app will still only address a 2gb segment... on another note .. checking my power supply. I may have foolishly assumed it was > 500 since it was marketed as a cutting edge multimedia machine. edit - checked it.. [Removed for Content]. They really do ship a "cutting edge multimedia machine" with a 400W power supply. (note to self -- read the damned specs not the hype) LOL. I think I have a 500 laying around here somewhere ... may have more experimenting to report on later in addition to my other comp getting a nice video upgrade.

Robert2005

03-06-2008, 12:42 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Robert2005 wrote:</cite><blockquote>The ATI 3870 has replaced the 8800GT and it's a lot better. Not nearly as good as I think it should be... but a lot better.Gateway FX7020AMD Phenom 9600 QuadCore 2.3 ghz3gb Ram32 bit Vista with everything deleted that isn't needed1680x1050 DVIThe report of running in Windows XP compatability mode improving FPS was premature... it didn't help in the long run. Must have been some low load zones at first. The 8800 in Very High Perf: avg 30fps with a 2sec freeze every 1-2 mins -- more often in 'busy' zones including every 15-20secs in particular zones and frequently in combat.The ATI 3870 in High Perf: avg 36-38fps everywhere. No freezing at all. Six hours played with some hard PvP with many casting players in frame in open-air zones. Nice load imo.Can run relatively smoothly in Balanced but will hover in the mid 20fps and my personal preference is >30fps ... <30fps and that's where I notice it 'stuttering' so I shoot for >30fps in all cases.I think this system should run maxed bars in balanced mode considering it's uber compared to what was available 4yrs ago -- so this bugs me. A lot actually.I say it's a lot better because I can play >30fps in all zones/cases without freezing and that keeps me from going ballisitc.It's a 64bit comp.. so I guess I could upgrade the OS and RAM but I don't see how it'd help. This seems to be the EQ2 graphics engine's problem. It'd help if they tweek it to notice more then 1 core for processing. I'm a programmer and if their code is so poorly written they can't segregate and thread that logic then... well... that's just [Removed for Content] poor programming. Object design mehodology has been around for a lot of years now. It's only the terms that have changed the last few years. And given the other SOE titles out there it's crazy to think they don't have the code already and simply need to plug and play -- once again if they can't -- it's [Removed for Content] poor programming.</blockquote>Gotta be careful what you say...or else you get blogged about...lol!<a rel="nofollow" href="http://blog.gregsplace.com/" target="_blank">http://blog.gregsplace.com/</a>But, I am amazed that the 3870 is running better. I wonder how it approaches the code that it can run more smoothly, The 2900 runs wonderfully for my wifes system, and I just see so much stutter and freeze on my 8800...and major slowdowns also...AnywaysThanks for the update.</blockquote><img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" />Object oriented designed methodolgy has a heck of a lot to do with being able to code a threaded app so the compiler can effectively segregate the work for multiple processors. But that WILL de-rail this thread won't it! And just in case the blogger will follow up.. I'm a lot more then an armchair programmer... enough to know that '[Removed for Content] poor programming' is sometimes the result of corporate limitations on what talented programmers get the time and resources to do. Does someone need a hug? ha! Don't take it personal man!I can deal with running an older system for EQ2 to work well. I have another comp this ATI card will be a great upgrade for if/when my preferred game (EQ2) can leverage the 8800's potential and I plug it back in. I just annoys me since I was looking forward to running better/faster/more resolution -- not less. That and I think some attention needs to be paid to keeping the EQ2 engine tuned up which is where the programming comes in. edit: to fix a typo in case I get quoted again (chuckle..) although I probably made more typos I won't see until later..

MMKA

03-06-2008, 02:04 PM

I've been pouring over the forums for the last few weeks and it doesn't seem like it is a problem with Vista (although I hate it anyway!) because there seems to be quite a few people using XP with the same problems. It seems to me that a lot of people with this issue are using ASUS boards with Nvidia chipsets. Perhaps we should start a list of motherboards that everyone is using.I have a ASUS M2N32-SLI with the Nvidia nForce 590 SLI chipsetI have two 8800GT installed using the bridge with SLI disabled when running EQ2.I get 15-60fps (60 underwater with no terrain) in very high performance mode with frequent screen freezes/stutters

Openedge

03-06-2008, 03:54 PM

<cite>MMKA wrote:</cite><blockquote>I've been pouring over the forums for the last few weeks and it doesn't seem like it is a problem with Vista (although I hate it anyway!) because there seems to be quite a few people using XP with the same problems. It seems to me that a lot of people with this issue are using ASUS boards with Nvidia chipsets. Perhaps we should start a list of motherboards that everyone is using.I have a ASUS M2N32-SLI with the Nvidia nForce 590 SLI chipsetI have two 8800GT installed using the bridge with SLI disabled when running EQ2.I get 15-60fps (60 underwater with no terrain) in very high performance mode with frequent screen freezes/stutters</blockquote>Theory killedMSI P6N Nvidia 650i chipset...But, I will stick with my theory (just have not got around to testing it yet..) that maybe it is the Nvidia chipset and how the memory controller, GPU and CPU all like to argue over the bus....My wife has P35 chipset in hers with the ATI...so, I plan to move my 8800GT into that board and see how it goes..Good luck all

krinkled

03-06-2008, 04:26 PM

<cite>Akaros@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote>For Robert2005 and krinkled -I'm willing to bet your respective power supplies could be the problem, almost positive about Robert's situation. The Gatway FX7020 has a 400 Watt power supply and with prebuilt systems, unless explicitly stated, most power supplies are not installed for true power gaming. Sure, that system can play "most games" well, but EQ2 is a different beast as we've seen over the years. I'm not sure how many amps are pumped out over the 12 volt rail but I'll bet it's not enough to support your CPU and GPU when they try to handle the load of EQ2. This is most likely the reason that some people have smoother performance with older cards than the new stuff. An older card does not require near the power of newer performance cards and are actually bottlenecks for most current CPUs like Phenom or C2D. So, the CPU will push as much data as the older GPU can handle and will perform "smoothly" because the end component (video card for display) is the bottleneck. Throw an 8800GT in there and it's thirsting for data so when your CPU starts cranking the load, the 8800GT reaches for more power so it can process the load and when that power is not there you'll get periodic freezing as the 8800GT is throttling up and down as the power allows. A similar effect is noticed when pairing a high powered video card with a weak CPU...the GPU is thirsting for data that the CPU can't pump fast enough so you'll see a "bursting" effect which to the end user looks like freezing, stuttering, or skipping. There are so many scenarios that can yield similar performance problems. That is the biggest reason it's taking so long for the Devs to "resolve" our issues because they have to sort out what is a component problem, system resource problem, or coding problem.Don't hold me to this, but I'm pretty sure the ATI cards consume less power than Nvidia cards when comparing the product tiers. The 3870 (single GPU) is not as powerful as the 8800GT. I believe 8800 GT cards require power supplies with a minimum of 26 Amps on a 12 volt rail. ATI states their power requirements differently and says the 3870 requires a 450 Watt power supply with a 75 Watt 6 pin PCI-X connector. See their link here.. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd3800/requirements.html" target="_blank">http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonh...quirements.html</a></blockquote>Heh. I appreciate the thought but I am using a 1000W power supply it is so big I had to buy a special case and special UPS for it even to work. <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

krinkled

03-06-2008, 04:28 PM

<cite>cggerth wrote:</cite><blockquote>did see a HUGE decrease in performance over all upgrading from the 7900GTO to the 8800GTS though.</blockquote>Yep. Older cards work better than new cards for this game. It is just baffling to me.

ATLDawgy

03-06-2008, 04:55 PM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Akaros@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote>For Robert2005 and krinkled -I'm willing to bet your respective power supplies could be the problem, almost positive about Robert's situation. The Gatway FX7020 has a 400 Watt power supply and with prebuilt systems, unless explicitly stated, most power supplies are not installed for true power gaming. Sure, that system can play "most games" well, but EQ2 is a different beast as we've seen over the years. I'm not sure how many amps are pumped out over the 12 volt rail but I'll bet it's not enough to support your CPU and GPU when they try to handle the load of EQ2. This is most likely the reason that some people have smoother performance with older cards than the new stuff. An older card does not require near the power of newer performance cards and are actually bottlenecks for most current CPUs like Phenom or C2D. So, the CPU will push as much data as the older GPU can handle and will perform "smoothly" because the end component (video card for display) is the bottleneck. Throw an 8800GT in there and it's thirsting for data so when your CPU starts cranking the load, the 8800GT reaches for more power so it can process the load and when that power is not there you'll get periodic freezing as the 8800GT is throttling up and down as the power allows. A similar effect is noticed when pairing a high powered video card with a weak CPU...the GPU is thirsting for data that the CPU can't pump fast enough so you'll see a "bursting" effect which to the end user looks like freezing, stuttering, or skipping. There are so many scenarios that can yield similar performance problems. That is the biggest reason it's taking so long for the Devs to "resolve" our issues because they have to sort out what is a component problem, system resource problem, or coding problem.Don't hold me to this, but I'm pretty sure the ATI cards consume less power than Nvidia cards when comparing the product tiers. The 3870 (single GPU) is not as powerful as the 8800GT. I believe 8800 GT cards require power supplies with a minimum of 26 Amps on a 12 volt rail. ATI states their power requirements differently and says the 3870 requires a 450 Watt power supply with a 75 Watt 6 pin PCI-X connector. See their link here.. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd3800/requirements.html" target="_blank">http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonh...quirements.html</a></blockquote>Heh. I appreciate the thought but I am using a 1000W power supply it is so big I had to buy a special case and special UPS for it even to work. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" /></blockquote>Well shucks. I hope the 500 Watt power supply works for Robert2005 although I wouldn't be so sure until he checks the Amps available on that 12V rail. I'm using an Antec 450W PSU with 2 12volt rails and my system is stable at the reduced RAM speed. I know I still need a stronger PSU. I can play on Extreme Quality at 1680x1050 until I hit the 32-bit limit of address space and I get the "out of memory" error (takes 5 minutes or so). I haven't tried an "all day" session on Very High Quality yet but was able to play for about 3 hours straight without a crash and "acceptible" framerates. I'm using the Asus P5N-SLI with my E8400 and the Evga 8800GT (stock edition). I've put this hardware on both Vista Home 32-bit and XP Pro 64 without a noticible difference in performance when trying different video settings. The only problem I ran into on Vista (at the time only 2 GB of system RAM) was that I would slow down alot on Very High Quality but I wrote that off to my system pulling data from the swapfile as the RAM was easily gone. The dev mentioning that Vista is making an additional copy of textures explains why Vista was eatting up my RAM so fast. I haven't tried Vista with 4 GB of RAM and probably never will until I upgrade my XP Pro 64 to Vista Premium 64 but I don't plan on doing that until I'm ready to play DX10 games.

Bithnar

03-06-2008, 05:11 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>MMKA wrote:</cite><blockquote>I've been pouring over the forums for the last few weeks and it doesn't seem like it is a problem with Vista (although I hate it anyway!) because there seems to be quite a few people using XP with the same problems. It seems to me that a lot of people with this issue are using ASUS boards with Nvidia chipsets. Perhaps we should start a list of motherboards that everyone is using.I have a ASUS M2N32-SLI with the Nvidia nForce 590 SLI chipsetI have two 8800GT installed using the bridge with SLI disabled when running EQ2.I get 15-60fps (60 underwater with no terrain) in very high performance mode with frequent screen freezes/stutters</blockquote>Theory killedMSI P6N Nvidia 650i chipset...But, I will stick with my theory (just have not got around to testing it yet..) that maybe it is the Nvidia chipset and how the memory controller, GPU and CPU all like to argue over the bus....My wife has P35 chipset in hers with the ATI...so, I plan to move my 8800GT into that board and see how it goes..Good luck all</blockquote>Nope P35 gigabyte MB and 8800GT with E8400 CPU and still crashes. I can almost always promise a "out of memory error" in Neriak as you come from the tradeskill area to the building with the mailbox in front of it. If I drop from "screenshot" to "performance" (using Profit UI's video settings) I will not crash.

jagermonsta

03-06-2008, 05:35 PM

<cite>Bithnar wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>Nope P35 gigabyte MB and 8800GT with E8400 CPU and still crashes. I can almost always promise a "out of memory error" in Neriak as you come from the tradeskill area to the building with the mailbox in front of it. If I drop from "screenshot" to "performance" (using Profit UI's video settings) I will not crash.</blockquote>I get this crash as well. The fix for me was to set the game to Maximum Quality and drop the area/land textures to High Quality. After that I no longer crashed...

krinkled

03-06-2008, 07:58 PM

Well I made some major progress this afternoon. The problem for my 8800 card is 100% caused by the "Flora" option under display settings. I can run at "Extreme Quality" at 50+ FPS as long as I disable "Flora" completely in any zone.However, even if I set it to "Balanced" but enable "Flora" my framerate will drop to 9-18 FPS.Interestingly this "Flora" option has almost no effect on the performance of my old x1900xt. Somehow the way EQ2 is telling the 8800 to render the flora is absolutely killing performance.

krinkled

03-06-2008, 08:30 PM

woot! Actually its not even the flora option! It was a flora sub-option called "Flora Displacement". I am playing right now in Nektulos forest on "Very High Quality" with "Flora Displacement" disabled and getting steady 40fps+ with regular flora still on.so happy atm lol!!

Rothgar

03-06-2008, 09:19 PM

Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?

krinkled

03-06-2008, 10:54 PM

BobbyTheRobot

03-06-2008, 11:30 PM

When I did my tests for the 8 series cards on XP, it was on a beefed up intel machine and I saw no framerate or screen freezing issues. When I get the time, I'll retry the XP+8 Series nvidia tests on an AMD machine and see how things go. Just want to let you guys know that it's not that I don't believe your seeing a serious issue. I'm just saying so far I have not been able to reproduce it on the machine I tested. Which was an Intel X6800 / 3.5GB RAM / and various 8 series nvidia cards. If I can get this reproduced on XP, the devs will know about it ASAP and so will you.

Taipans

03-06-2008, 11:46 PM

I disabled Flora completely. I did not notice a major increase in FPS, and it did not stop the "stutter" issue. My has pretty close to the same system as I do, but she is running a 7800 GTX not dual 8800GTX's. She has none of these issues! <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

krinkled

03-07-2008, 12:13 AM

<cite>Taipans wrote:</cite><blockquote>I disabled Flora completely. I did not notice a major increase in FPS, and it did not stop the "stutter" issue. My has pretty close to the same system as I do, but she is running a 7800 GTX not dual 8800GTX's. She has none of these issues! <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /></blockquote>Still having the "stutter" occasionally. But average framerates are much higher. Its not perfect but I can live with the occasional jerkiness. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Alarick0

03-07-2008, 12:14 AM

No change on performance here either with the Flora turned off.

Openedge

03-07-2008, 01:04 AM

No change....but had displacement off alreadyCompletely turned off flora....but no changeAs a matter of fact tonight has been the worst night for me in the game yet...XP32, 2 gigs or 4 gigs, 8800GTAh wellLater

Daevara

03-07-2008, 02:12 AM

<cite>Akaros@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote>I'm willing to bet your respective power supplies could be the problem, almost positive about Robert's situation. The Gatway FX7020 has a 400 Watt power supply and with prebuilt systems, unless explicitly stated, most power supplies are not installed for true power gaming. Sure, that system can play "most games" well, but EQ2 is a different beast as we've seen over the years. I'm not sure how many amps are pumped out over the 12 volt rail but I'll bet it's not enough to support your CPU and GPU when they try to handle the load of EQ2. This is most likely the reason that some people have smoother performance with older cards than the new stuff. An older card does not require near the power of newer performance cards and are actually bottlenecks for most current CPUs like Phenom or C2D. So, the CPU will push as much data as the older GPU can handle and will perform "smoothly" because the end component (video card for display) is the bottleneck. Throw an 8800GT in there and it's thirsting for data so when your CPU starts cranking the load, the 8800GT reaches for more power so it can process the load and when that power is not there you'll get periodic freezing as the 8800GT is throttling up and down as the power allows. A similar effect is noticed when pairing a high powered video card with a weak CPU...the GPU is thirsting for data that the CPU can't pump fast enough so you'll see a "bursting" effect which to the end user looks like freezing, stuttering, or skipping. There are so many scenarios that can yield similar performance problems. That is the biggest reason it's taking so long for the Devs to "resolve" our issues because they have to sort out what is a component problem, system resource problem, or coding problem.Don't hold me to this, but I'm pretty sure the ATI cards consume less power than Nvidia cards when comparing the product tiers. The 3870 (single GPU) is not as powerful as the 8800GT. I believe 8800 GT cards require power supplies with a minimum of 26 Amps on a 12 volt rail. ATI states their power requirements differently and says the 3870 requires a 450 Watt power supply with a 75 Watt 6 pin PCI-X connector. See their link here.. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd3800/requirements.html" target="_blank">http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonh...quirements.html</a></blockquote>For all you Gateway FX7020 folks out there:After reading this earlier, I decided to pick up a beefier power supply and drop it into this case to see if it would make a difference. I had no idea this case had a 400w PS in it; even the custom built boxes I put together years ago had at least 550w ones. (Not to mention, it made me feel like a complete idiot for not looking at it earlier - I literally had a jaw-drop when I read that note and then confirmed it on Gateway's website... what the heck were they thinking?!)I was running in 1680x1050 (windowed) before; I switched to fullscreen mode. I installed the 169.28 beta drivers for Vista-32 bit. I re-enabled AA from the Nvidia control panel and removed the statements from my EQ2.ini file that had AA turned off. I also picked up a 700W Rocketfish over at Best Buy (+18A/rail; +41A overall) and dropped it in the case. Base recommendation is +26A (minimum), so figure I've got that thwacked by a good bit, and this case only has the MB/8800/HDD/CD in it. I seperated each component onto a seperate branch coming from the supply as to try and keep the components on each seperate rail.Result: Absolutely titanic difference. Not perfection (see below), but massive improvement.Previously, my average FPS was roughly 20-25 in High Performance mode in Greater Faydark (generally all over Kelethin); roughly 10-15FPS in a crafting area, and maybe hitting 30-40FPS on zone fringes or in some of the old world areas. Turning to Balanced or High Quality modes resulted in a massive drop in FPS - well below 15FPS in High Quality modes (just walking around the city), and sub 10FPS in the crafting aras (tons of shadows and particle effects). This is to say nothing of the horrible hitching problems, which I'll come back to in a moment.With this new power supply, I'm seeing 35-40FPS running around Kelethin in High Performance mode; 30FPS in the crafting areas. High Quality mode is netting me 20-25FPS (significantly better, though not perfect, and sometimes as low as 15FPS depending on the number of other objects with shadows around); probably 10-15FPS in a crafting area (due to the number of people). Keep in mind, though - this is all still in Kelethin, which is by far one of the worst zones to be in for rendering lag.Here's the kicker, though:Extreme Quality mode now is functional at 5-20FPS (depending on how many light sources are around) when wandering around the city. This is of particular note since High Quality was giving me roughly the same performance previously, and still within Kelethin. Crafting areas are the worst (again, due to all the effects and shadows) - motionless, I can hit 12FPS steady depending on how much is going on... moving is baaaaad.I took the Gryphon from the GF zone-in over in Butcherblock to the docks area and was averaging 5-15FPS (still on Extreme); 15-20 on High Quality (until the water got near, then it dropped). Considering the rate of speed and number of objects flying in and out of memory, that is still a fair sight better than before.I went out to the Thundering Steppes (on Extreme Quality) - I get around 15FPS near the docks, but the second the water is out of sight, I see a performance jump all the way into the 30-40FPS range. (Granted, that particular area is sparsely populated). Once I get to the main part of the zone on the northern side with all the scarecrows, I'm still hitting 20FPS on Extreme, perhaps 13-15FPS in combat. Switching down to High Quality gives an average of 30FPS when wandering around the zone, and even in combat, I'm still topping 20-25FPS handily, which is a truly massive improvement. High performance mode easily tops 45-50FPS when wandering around, and 35-40FPS in combat.Much more importantly, the atrociously horrid hitching I was seeing before is completely gone from all the testing I have done so far. Previously, I was seeing hitching far worse than what Rothgar was noting (brief hitching every 10-15s) - I was seeing full screen freezes for ~1-1.5sec(!) in High Performance mode roughly every 30-45sec, mostly while in combat, and exponentially more of them in any mode above that.Now, I'm seeing closer to what Rothgar says he's seeing - a very brief stutter and everything goes on quite nicely, and even that is extremely rare (usually in conjunction with hard faults, so it could even be blamed on disk I/O, or something other than video). No more hard pauses of any sort. The closest I've been able to come to the same types of pauses literally involve me jumping from the trees in Kelethin (hey, I'm a fae, I like my wings!) and when you come into rendering range of all the ground textures at a higher quality, the game freezes for less than a second as it desperately tries to get all of them into memory at once.I am unfamiliar with the performance given by other (older) cards and combinations, but all things considered, to me, this is roughly a 100% performance increase over what I had previously, and the loss of the hitching alone has transformed my play experience to a drastic thumbs up. Considering I paid one-third what I usually would pay for a gaming rig, and only dropped a power supply in it, the numbers I'm seeing now make me a much happier camper.Hopefully the optimizations and changes that Rothgar and the development team find and make will give even better performance numbers, but for anyone out there seeing hard (>1s) pauses, replace your power supply and see if that helps. It is a night and day improvement to me on that front.Oh, and Akaros - I owe you a beer.

Robert2005

03-07-2008, 02:59 AM

Amen on the power supply. I stopped building my own comps about 12 yrs ago because I was tired of the hassle... now... screw that next year I'm building one. lol Getting an itch to build a truly high end system again. Blew me away to realize the small power supply and totally caught me by surprise. You definitely need more then 400w.Lucky me... it was a new computer under 'happiness guaranteed' warrantee so back to the dealer it went. Hey... I have better things to do with my time. Like play MMOPRGs! I wasn't going to keep a comp that had a power supply less then recommended for the vid card it shipped with. Just aint' gonna happen.I'd be running around killin' stuff but SOE is dealing with server issues tonight so here's the scoop --About 3 hrs played this evening on -- wait for it --Intel Dual Core 8500 3.16ghz 6mb L2 cache3gb Corsair P6400 DDR2-800 ramATI Radeon 3870 512mb650W psuVista Home Pro 32bit (yuck.. trying to figure out how to get XP for free! or atleast cheap!)Running in Balanced mode avg framerate is 50fps with Rendering Distance at max (kills your fps but 'needed' on a pvp server). Without the max'd rendering distance it'll run High Quality at 50fps. Flying the griff seems to kill fps the worst (next to heavy combat) and even then the fps hovers around 40 with some dips into low 30s.Hmm... that system sounds similar to the 'recommended' systems in this forum! There's one for the mods and devs to say "told you so".I had to upgrade the power supply! Sad. Computer that nice shipped with a 400W but then the Video card in it was rather lame so I guess that's how it goes. Wasn't going to get burned on that twice.Wish I could help with the troubleshooting some more but I'm an old fart and one thing I've learned over the years is that it's best to 'call it' if you have the option to avoid heartache.So this system runs a lot better then even my old one -- I'm sure due to the 3.16ghz cpu and an upgraded vid (that isn't an nVidia 8000 series). Obviously some of the hitching in the 7020 is most likely low power too. Once the EQ2 engine can leverage more of the GPU and maybe even off-load the Physics to one of the other CPUs or the vid card (dreaming) the performance in the intel dual core 8500 would be totally amazing -- but for now I'm from "well.. ok" to "ecstatic". Cost me about $350 more the the Gateway 7020 but .. well one of the advantages to being old is you have that choice <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src=" width="15" height="15" />" width="15" height="15">I'll be watching this thread since I'd still like to get maximum display quality especially from this new comp which can definitely handle it without CPU limitations (or power!). In a cpl months I can probably squirrel away a few bucks for another video card -- everything I upgrade gives my sons upgrades too so it all goes to good use.

krinkled

03-07-2008, 05:32 AM

Well now that the FPS is running at an acceptable level I am starting to get the following Critical Error that crashes the game to the desktop:Application ran out of memory when requesting 1048608 bytes (limit: 1534 MB, current: 828 MB) <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Jal

03-07-2008, 05:44 AM

Interesting i will try the flora thing next week when im back at my main pc. The power supply isnt the main issue though as i have a corsair 620w which is fine for a single 8800gtx.

ATLDawgy

03-07-2008, 09:43 AM

Daevara and Robert2005,Glad to hear that the power supply upgrade has improved each of your experiences with this game. The thing for everyone to consider is that there are multiple issues at play causing people to have similar performance problems. There is not a silver bullet fix for everyone but there are system optimizations that can be made not only at the software level, but at the hardware level too. I think at the end of the day the "Out of Memory" error is going to be that problem which will require a "silver bullet" to put to bed because this is the first time in EQ2 life that mainstream hardware is able to handle this game on a technical level so more people are going to start seeing it with these new system builds and that appears to be a 32-bit application limit when going to "max settings on large screens".Have fun!

Openedge

03-07-2008, 11:13 AM

Note: I happen to have an 800 watt SLI Nvidia edition power supply...so, I know that is not an issue..Anyways, my update today is in regards to the fact that I purchased RoK last night (finally..I am relatively new, had bought EoF over 7 months ago...so I needed to make sure I was gonna stick it out..)Gorowyn and the Timorous Deep area's are some of the worst lag I have ever seen. I am not sure what the difference is, but, I get multiple freezes within minutes...but, I at least have not crashed yet (due to some optimizations...)But, I am 100% dissatisfied with this purchase so far.Thanks...and good luck finding the issue.

Shabard

03-07-2008, 12:15 PM

Hi all...Been keeping abreast of this saga, since I've been looking to build a new system to replace my aging five year old one, for sometime now.My old system was:Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz w/2GB Rambus memoryShuttle Mobo (cannot remember the specs now)40GB WD IDE16X DVD-RWBFG nvidia 6800 OC AGP x2 videoSound Blaster 512 PCI10/100 Linksys Ethernetstandard ATX case w/450w psuCPU, GPU and PSU fans (no additional fans)Win XP pro 32 SP2Direct X 9cUsing the Balanced performance mode in EQ2, could solo and duo, would drop down a level to group, and down another level to raid. FPS for these settings would be between 15-25, very playable, unless you happened into QH, TG, or the like. Then it would plummet to single digits, get very hitchy, and become what I thought as laggy.I just setup my new system this past weekend:Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 w/DUAL CHANNEL 4GB (4x1GB) DDR-2 800MHZ PC-6400Asus P5B SE LGA775/ Core 2 Duo/ P965/ SATA2/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard320GB SATA2 7200rpm 16MB CACHE (HIGH PERFORMANCE)20X DVD-RW DUAL LAYER W/LIGHTSCRIBE SamsungMSI NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800GT 512 MB PCI EXPRESS6-CHANNEL DIGITAL SOUND ONBOARD (turned off & installed my SB 512 PCI)10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet Network Card (onboard)BBC VOYAGER MID-TOWER ATX CASE w/ THERMALTAKE 500 WATT PSU2X THERMALTAKE ULTRA-QUIET CASE FANSWin XP pro 32 SP2Direct X 9cAm currently running EQ2 in Extreme Quality soloing and getting 50-60, QH will push it down to 45-55, KP about the same, and flying into TG while scrolled back to watch the solkacar and its shadow, the scenery, and of course myself J it falls down to 30 at its lowest.The only thing I've done was to set my file paging Min & Max to 6144; was told by an IT friend at work that they should be equal and 1.5 times the amount of memory.And in game, I finally switched to full screen mode on another friends advice. This alone reaped a 10 fps gain over windowed mode.I have had two BSoD prior to changing the virtual memory size, hopefully that will do the trick, but if not, then I'm probably going to amend the BOOT.INI at the end with /3GB /userva=2900 expressions and see if that pacifies the memory leak.Will keep reading this thread incase someone wants more specifics, but it won't be until this evening or over the weekend till I can respond; presently at work.Hope this helps in some way, see you all in game, P.

Openedge

03-07-2008, 01:03 PM

<cite>Pomar@Kithicor wrote:</cite><blockquote>Asus P5B SE LGA775/ Core 2 Duo/ P965/ SATA2/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard</blockquote>Another NON-Nvidia chipset that is running fine...That covers it for me..((Rips apart the 2 computers to get to work...thrashing sounds commence))Will report back on my findingsLater

Morrolan V

03-07-2008, 01:49 PM

I am running:Vista Home PremiumCore 2 Duo E6850Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI2x xFx 8800GT 512mb SLI4gb DDR2 800 RAMSoundblaster X-Treme Gamer cardI run most of the time in Very High Quality - the only degradation I see is the occasional "stutter" that folks have mentioned. I am ususally between 40 and 55 fps.Raiding I drop to balanced, mostly b/c of particle effects, not performance, although if i keep it turned up the framerate goes down to unplayable levels once in a while.The stutter is annoying, and has sometimes resulted in me lagging into things. Not seeing the really significant degradation you mention, though.

Jacquotte

03-08-2008, 02:29 PM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>Disabling flora completely adds +20 to my framerate at a minimum. In some areas seems to add as much as +40 to the framerate!I think this explains why I only saw the problem in outdoor zones.</blockquote>im really happy to hear that worked for you =)things like SHADOWS and FLORA-DISPLACEMENT is FULLY CPU-RENDERED...so, dont turn them on, you wont miss them <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

ebonweav

03-08-2008, 06:37 PM

I was disappointed when I upgraded to an 8800GT from a 7600GT as there was no noticeable impact on the game performance. After a lot of testing and scouring threads like this one, I have come to the following conclusions that I'd love to have the red names confirm, and pass on to the devs to address if possible.1. The game engine simply does not take advantage of the power of newer GPUs. If you have a Geforce 7 it's pointless to upgrade to an 8 where EQ2 is concerned.2. The game engine puts to much load on the CPU, and really needs a redesign to offload graphics work onto the GPU where it belongs, especially if point 1 is addressed.3. The game needs to be made multi proc aware since multi core systems have become the norm, but this should not preclude points 1 and 2.The net result of these 3 points is that the game performs no better on hardware made now than it does on top end hardware from 3 years ago. Add cores and upgrade graphics cards and you still see no impact on performance because the game simply doesn't use the hardware, it's single CPU based and using Geforce 6 era instructions. Ok, granted, there will be marginal impacts and I exaggerate slightly to make the point, but not much. So, let's move on to the game performance as it stands.It is impossible on any system to get over 10fps if you max all the settings. I invite anyone to provide screenshots to the contrary. The main culprits to the performance ceiling are shadows and flora. Those settings together have more impact than every other setting in the game combined. The difference between all settings off/ lowest and all settings on/ highest EXCEPT for shadows and flora is about 15fps. Shadows and flora together are about 35fps (20 for shadows, 15 for flora). That is, if I have everything all the way down, the game averages 60fps. If I turn everything all the way up, but leave flora and shadows off I average 45fps. If I turn on shadows and flora at that point, I average 7fps. Anti Aliasing settings, no matter where you do them, have no impact unless shadows are on, and then it's about a 10fps impact. It is my opinion therefore that the devs need to take a serious look at these 2 features and greatly optimize their performance. That optimization, combined with shifting graphics load to the GPU where it belongs, and making the game use multiple CPUs, would make it perform as we expect it to compared to other games. Mind you, on top of all this, there is about a 15% fluctuation that randomly occurs for unknown reasons, the game simply changes frame rates when nothing is going on to prompt it. That also seems very suspect, but it might be due to other players near me that might come into my field of view but actually don't causing some manner of preemptive calculations.My testing was done at all times of game day standing in the Willow Wood between the bank and the crafters facing south. My specs are AMD Athlon X2 4400+, 2gb RAM, Geforce 8800GT 512 (169.21 drivers), SB Live, 3mbps DSL. At idle I have 17 running processes, I run a lean rig. I'd love to run with shadows and flora because it looks fantastic with those on, but any game is unplayable at 10fps.As a final note, there are some spell effects that are just bugged and need to be fixed. I can be running fine then suddenly drop to 1fps when a certain spell is cast. One such spell is (I think) the life tap variant that the Necromancer spellcaster pet uses. The spell in question has an effect of lots of little burning skulls, and it grinds the game to a halt while in effect. As soon as it ends, back to normal, regardless of having 5 other spell effects occurring on screen. These individual performance bugs need to be addressed as well.

03-08-2008, 07:42 PM

Ebonweaver, not going to quote that post! omg , however, agree on a couple of points , disagree on a few and strongly disagree on a few others.Reference upgrades. I recently went from Opteron 170 @ 2.5ghz and a 1900xt to E8400 with 8800gt and the performance difference is huge! .. at a minimum double the fps in all areas be it grouping, raiding or in trouble spots like neriak and QH.You exaggerate too much as well about extreme quality setting just put it on to see what I get, and while I dont personally like how slow it runs it is certainly playable running about 12fps in fights to 25 in areas of low ish detail ( this is in Kunzar Jungle which is not the smoothest area on any setting due to the trees and multiple npc's)Turn off flora (which is ugly anyway) and Environment shadows and we go to minimum 20fps at all times up 60 in the low detail areas.All this mind you at 1920x1200 resolution forced AF 16xSo, to the points I agree with you , it would be nice if muti core support were added and particles and shadows were moved to the gpu , however this i would imagine would be a complete rewrite of the graphics engine and if so I cant see that its worth it given it can run just fine already.Finally, all this is an aside to the whole point of this thread which is many ppls major problems with certain hardware combinations, if i was getting 10fps in CL on balanced or such things ppl have mentioned in here I wouldnt be happy either , but these issues dont happen to everyone and as such are a problem that needs to be addressed for the % of ppl who have it but do not necessitate imo a full rewrite but rather just a fix.

ATLDawgy

03-10-2008, 09:56 AM

***BREAKING NEWS***This is only for those of you experiencing "Out of memory" crashes when running at the higher quality settings with a lot of features enabled. If you are having blue screens or laggy performance and are attributing it to the 8800 line of GPUs, stay on this thread. All others having the application "out of memory" error please see this morning's update from Autenil at the thread linked below...<a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?start=885&topic_id=364955#4585576" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...=364955#4585576</a>Looks like the Devs are working on making the EQ2 client "large address aware" which is the point I made last week in reguard to why a 64-bit OS with 4 GB+ of RAM would be better suited for this game if you're trying to run Extreme Quality at a higher resolution like 1680x1050. This fix that they are testing would give EQ2 4GB of playground instead of the current 2 GB limit in both 64-bit and 32-bit OS's. The reason it's better on 64-bit is because a 32-bit OS is limited to actually "seeing" about 3.5 GB of RAM so if you use the /3GB boot.ini hack then you're robbing from the kernel and providing the extra 1 GB of RAM to the application. Using a 64-bit OS with 4GB+ of RAM allows Windows to manage it's resources according to spec and providing the application up to 4GB of memory resource (combo of RAM and HDD swap space). With systems running a powerful CPU/GPU/PSU combo, this would allow the CPU/GPU to "stretch their legs" and operate more in RAM (decreasing the dependency on swap space relative to the amount of RAM installed) and speed up gameplay without the crashing. Keep in mind I made 2 points about 64-bit last week. The second point was to make the client 64-bit and multithreaded. This fix in the works is NOT that solution but definately a step in the right direction on the memory front.Thank you SOE for paying attention to these threads. Now just tell your gameplay designers to make Monks more useful in raids and we'll be seeing eye-to-eye! <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

zunde

03-10-2008, 08:51 PM

I don't really know how to explain it but most of my problem vanished today. And all I did was get a new monitor and increase resolution on it. I run an 8800GT in 64 bit Vista Ultimate. I get a pretty constant 150 fps in wow. Can run Crysis on fairly high settings. So I was upset when EQ2 maxed out at 20 frames. Old monitor was a 1280x1024, and new one is a 1920x1200. I'm now running at about 50 fps. I have no idea whatsoever why this helped me. Just thought it might be interesting information for someone who knows more then I do about it.

Wishper

03-10-2008, 09:21 PM

Hi all,I'm just another 1 with same problem - freezing/stuttering every 30 - 60 seconds. Because of that, it's barely playble. After reading all these posts and some links, I have tryed many different settings and nothing helped so far <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Intel Q6600 2.4Ghz,4Gig ram,NVidia GForce 8800GTXWindows Vista 32bit osPlaying at 1680x1050changing perfomance settings only helped to improve fps, but not much. Tryed extreme quality with shadows disabled and had 25fps average, when freezing - going down to 6-7fpson balanced with shadows disabled average is 32fps, same again when freezing down to single digits.my other worry is, that quad 2.4ghz single core is working at 97-100% all time while playing EQ2 and other 3 cores just idle more or less. Memory in use is showing 1.9gig average while EQ2 is on.Freezing problem maybe because of 8 series gf card (so many people are having same thing),but I wonder if overclocking cpu would help to increase overall perfomance and fps.BTW - all these stats I'm geting while playing solo, don't want to think, what would happen in group ar raid.....

BobbyTheRobot

03-11-2008, 03:10 PM

Just wanted to give you guys a bit of an update on where this issue is currently. ---------------------------------------------Windows Vista + Nvidia 8 Series card---------------------------------------------The devs have a PC with Vista in their hands that can reproduce the stuttering issue with any Nvidia 8 series video card. I would go as far as saying that any Vista PC with an Nvidia 8 series card will have this problem until a fix is found. So as far as Vista goes, it's out of my hands now.---------------------------------------------Windows XP + Nvidia 8 Series card---------------------------------------------This is where things get tricky. I've tested two PCs with all lots of Nvidia 8 series cards. Here are the results:Test PC 1 Specs:Windows XP Professional SP2 32-bitIntel X6800 CPUAbit AW9D - MAX Motherboard3GB of RAMResult: None of the nvidia 8 series cards showed any stuttering or FPS problems. The FPS was pretty stable and solid from 40-55FPS. This was tested in numerous quality settings and zones that you guy's have mentioned.Test PC 2 Specs:Windows XP Professional SP2 32-bitAMD FX-60 Dual Core CPUASUS A8R-MVP (ATI Chipset)3GB of RAMResult: Every single nvidia 8 series card showed a stuttering image and a very bad fluctuating frame rate. I tried out a 7800GTX and the PC no longer had the problem, even tried out an ATI HD2900XT, no problems seen.What I need to determine now is, is it the processor? is it the motherboard? still testing, please be patient with me, together we will get these issues fixed.

Openedge

03-11-2008, 05:23 PM

<cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just wanted to give you guys a bit of an update on where this issue is currently. ---------------------------------------------Windows Vista + Nvidia 8 Series card---------------------------------------------The devs have a PC with Vista in their hands that can reproduce the stuttering issue with any Nvidia 8 series video card. I would go as far as saying that any Vista PC with an Nvidia 8 series card will have this problem until a fix is found. So as far as Vista goes, it's out of my hands now.---------------------------------------------Windows XP + Nvidia 8 Series card---------------------------------------------This is where things get tricky. I've tested two PCs with all lots of Nvidia 8 series cards. Here are the results:Test PC 1 Specs:Windows XP Professional SP2 32-bitIntel X6800 CPUAbit AW9D - MAX Motherboard3GB of RAMResult: None of the nvidia 8 series cards showed any stuttering or FPS problems. The FPS was pretty stable and solid from 40-55FPS. This was tested in numerous quality settings and zones that you guy's have mentioned.Test PC 2 Specs:Windows XP Professional SP2 32-bitAMD FX-60 Dual Core CPUASUS A8R-MVP (ATI Chipset)3GB of RAMResult: Every single nvidia 8 series card showed a stuttering image and a very bad fluctuating frame rate. I tried out a 7800GTX and the PC no longer had the problem, even tried out an ATI HD2900XT, no problems seen.What I need to determine now is, is it the processor? is it the motherboard? still testing, please be patient with me, together we will get these issues fixed.</blockquote>Ooo...did you try an Nvidia chipset motherboard? I have been so lazy (and it is partially your fault guys...I love EQ2 so much, I cant stop playing to test this)..anyways...I have an Intel chipset in the house...and just need to try my 8800 I guess...gotta stop goofing offBut, hey, if you gusy do the test for me...then I will know for sure eh?thanks for that update!

Tebos

03-11-2008, 05:34 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just wanted to give you guys a bit of an update on where this issue is currently. ---------------------------------------------Windows Vista + Nvidia 8 Series card---------------------------------------------The devs have a PC with Vista in their hands that can reproduce the stuttering issue with any Nvidia 8 series video card. I would go as far as saying that any Vista PC with an Nvidia 8 series card will have this problem until a fix is found. So as far as Vista goes, it's out of my hands now.---------------------------------------------Windows XP + Nvidia 8 Series card---------------------------------------------This is where things get tricky. I've tested two PCs with all lots of Nvidia 8 series cards. Here are the results:Test PC 1 Specs:Windows XP Professional SP2 32-bitIntel X6800 CPUAbit AW9D - MAX Motherboard3GB of RAMResult: None of the nvidia 8 series cards showed any stuttering or FPS problems. The FPS was pretty stable and solid from 40-55FPS. This was tested in numerous quality settings and zones that you guy's have mentioned.Test PC 2 Specs:Windows XP Professional SP2 32-bitAMD FX-60 Dual Core CPUASUS A8R-MVP (ATI Chipset)3GB of RAMResult: Every single nvidia 8 series card showed a stuttering image and a very bad fluctuating frame rate. I tried out a 7800GTX and the PC no longer had the problem, even tried out an ATI HD2900XT, no problems seen.What I need to determine now is, is it the processor? is it the motherboard? still testing, please be patient with me, together we will get these issues fixed.</blockquote>Ooo...did you try an Nvidia chipset motherboard? I have been so lazy (and it is partially your fault guys...I love EQ2 so much, I cant stop playing to test this)..anyways...I have an Intel chipset in the house...and just need to try my 8800 I guess...gotta stop goofing offBut, hey, if you gusy do the test for me...then I will know for sure eh?thanks for that update!</blockquote>nah...it's not the processor! Look at my sig! I don't experience any ill effects with this game on an ASUS motherboard, AMD processor and 8800 GTX video card!

Openedge

03-11-2008, 06:59 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>BobbyTheRobot wrote:</cite><blockquote>Just wanted to give you guys a bit of an update on where this issue is currently. ---------------------------------------------Windows Vista + Nvidia 8 Series card---------------------------------------------The devs have a PC with Vista in their hands that can reproduce the stuttering issue with any Nvidia 8 series video card. I would go as far as saying that any Vista PC with an Nvidia 8 series card will have this problem until a fix is found. So as far as Vista goes, it's out of my hands now.---------------------------------------------Windows XP + Nvidia 8 Series card---------------------------------------------This is where things get tricky. I've tested two PCs with all lots of Nvidia 8 series cards. Here are the results:Test PC 1 Specs:Windows XP Professional SP2 32-bitIntel X6800 CPUAbit AW9D - MAX Motherboard3GB of RAMResult: None of the nvidia 8 series cards showed any stuttering or FPS problems. The FPS was pretty stable and solid from 40-55FPS. This was tested in numerous quality settings and zones that you guy's have mentioned.Test PC 2 Specs:Windows XP Professional SP2 32-bitAMD FX-60 Dual Core CPUASUS A8R-MVP (ATI Chipset)3GB of RAMResult: Every single nvidia 8 series card showed a stuttering image and a very bad fluctuating frame rate. I tried out a 7800GTX and the PC no longer had the problem, even tried out an ATI HD2900XT, no problems seen.What I need to determine now is, is it the processor? is it the motherboard? still testing, please be patient with me, together we will get these issues fixed.</blockquote>Ooo...did you try an Nvidia chipset motherboard? I have been so lazy (and it is partially your fault guys...I love EQ2 so much, I cant stop playing to test this)..anyways...I have an Intel chipset in the house...and just need to try my 8800 I guess...gotta stop goofing offBut, hey, if you gusy do the test for me...then I will know for sure eh?thanks for that update!</blockquote>Ok..I did it...lot of work, but we have a verdict...I had a much smoother experience on my Intel chipset. I do NOT want to say perfect...but, the feel was much better...less freezing, and more gameplay.So, somehow the Nvidia chipset / 8800 setup seems to be suspect...But, I need some more corroboration.I see another post here for example that has an 8800 (gtx) and Nvidia chipset seems to be ok...Could it be the Intel based Nvidia systems?It is a little too random...and that is bothersome...Well.I need to go play again...but, I plan to makes some changes here soon...so this helped me decide..Good luck on getting more info

Kir

03-11-2008, 08:31 PM

before today ran two 7800GTX 256 meg in sli, 1920x1080 on an aquos 32" display w/ 2xx AA 2x AF and most options maxed, ocean turned off, shadows turned off, cloth turned off, flora maxed. One card went kaput, upgraded to 8800GT's in sli.Same exact config.Same exact computer.Same exact driver version (although I used driver cleaner and removed the old drivers before I replaced with new cards and new install of driver)on an AMD fx60asus a8n32-sli deluxe2gigs of DDR800Raptor 150g SATA 10krpm driveand I went from 30fps constant to 1-10fps constant. I loaded up Call of Duty 4, 1920x1080 w/ every option maxed and I never drop below 60fps. There is a problem here, regardless if people want to admit to it or not. I would really like it to be fixed, because I came back to this game last week because of how great everyone was saying Kunark is, and now after reading this thread and the issues I am having with the new cards Im thinking of just going back to playing eve.Thanks for any more info people can share, ill be scouring this thread for any tips and tricks I can find, but disabling things to get it to run ok is not what I consider a fix, more so when last generation cards, that are not as good as the cards I bought today ran the game better on the same exact system yesterday.

MMKA

03-11-2008, 08:39 PM

I'm using an AMD Quad with Nvidia chipset. The freezing was really bad last night with my screen freezing every 1-3 seconds (I was questing in POF). It was the worst I have seen so far. I also had some problems with an older (2 year) flight simulator program using the 8800GT. I was getting really slow frame rates of 20-30 with similar screen freezes at random intervals until I adjusted the AA setting to 16X and full screen mode. Now I get 400fps. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the same results (or any results for that matter) with EQ2 using those settings <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />I am willing to help anyway I can to solve this issue - I just want to play without constantly running into mobs or off cliffs!

Zakane

03-11-2008, 11:43 PM

Well its good to know the dervs are looking at it.

Kir

03-12-2008, 12:54 AM

my issue is directly related to sli. Flora, shadows, textures nothing helped....until I disabled sliI disable sli in the eq2 profile and it gets better... but by better I mean it goes from 21fps to 1fps every other frame instead of from 10 to 1, what doesn't makes me curious is why my 7800's in sli did not have this problem. still not acceptable for me to have 500 dollars worth of video cards perform like such crap in only this game.Sorry guys but at this point consider my account canceled until its fixed. Its a shame because I was seriously enjoying ROK but now I am so mad I don't even want to load the game up anymore...

Kir

03-12-2008, 01:23 AM

<cite>Deathspell wrote:</cite><blockquote>I'm also thinking that people might forget that EQ2 is heavily CPU dependant. Now you can have a powerhouse of a card in your machine, but nowadays the machines with a 8800 card will probably all have a C2D or Q2D CPU of what ... 2.0 GHz to 2.6GHz? 3GHz the most, but most people have a 2.x GHz CPU.EQ2 supports C2D/C2Q, but there's a major difference between supporting a technology and actually making use of it to get the most out of it.EQ2 was still made in a time when CPUs would outpace GPUs, so they made a lot of the game CPU dependant instead of using the GPU (shadows are a perfect example). Even with an 8800-SLI setup you would have EQ2 draining one single core @2.4GHz instead of using the 2x 2.4GHz benefits. Not saying that this is the only issue, but i'm sure it's a major performance issue because the EQ2-engine simply sucks for todays technology and I don't think nVidia can do much about that. Sorry.</blockquote>This has nothing to do with the problem. There is no way that an FX 60 like in my case, w/ 2 cores should run better in eq2 with older technology cards. If anything the bottle kneck being the CPU would not see an INCREASE in performance, but you will not see a DECREASE in performance. I had 2 7800GTX's that were running eq2 fine in the graphics profile I was using yesterday.put two 8800 GT's in today because one of my 7800's started to get memory issues and now all the sudden the game can't break 10fps? This is not Nvidia's problem, this is not "our computers" problem. This is a problem with EQ2's compatability with either a certain driver, or drivers on the people systems that are having the issue. In my case im even using the SAME EXACT DRIVER, but for some reason the 8800 card is having MAJOR problems in 90% of the zones in eq2 to where I can't even move.

Kir

03-12-2008, 01:37 AM

<cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.

Tebos

03-12-2008, 04:14 AM

<cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.</blockquote>It is your computer...END OF STORY!!I have a similar rig that plays this game or any other game in the market FLAWLESSLY!I am calling you out on this and telling you to figure it out or get someone involved who knows how to PINPOINT the computer issue you are having with this game!Also, if your "hard locked" to 30 FPS, then enable both vsync and triple buffering in both the game and nvidia properties! Learn how to evaluate computer configurations before making comments!

Kir

03-12-2008, 04:22 AM

<cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.</blockquote>It is your computer...END OF STORY!!I have a similar rig that plays this game or any other game in the market FLAWLESSLY!I am calling you out on this and telling you to figure it out or get someone involved who knows how to PINPOINT the computer issue you are having with this game!</blockquote>First off you don't have a system simliar to mine, you are running a Geforce 8800GTX which has a ton less problems with the engine then the 8800GT in SLi.Second, Learn to read, I can put back in a 7800GTX which is a generation older, and the game runs fine. I put back in the 8800GT and it skips frames from 1-20fps every second. Every other game I play, CoD4 at max settings, UT3 at max settings, Crysis 1920x1080 @ max settings w/ medium shadows and lighting and I get insane fps.Read through this thread with many people who have the same "rig" with problems.google EQ2 8800GT SLi problems and see the 100 pages of results.Read hardforum, guru3d.com, nvidia.com forums all plagued with users who have the same issue. So in short, if you have no clue what you are talking about and have nothing to add to the conversation like actual DETAILS *(Driver version, dxdiag etc)* then please see your way out of the thread so people can get the problem fixed.EDIT: Not to mention I was answering a question by a developer who is a person who can pinpoint my problem. He asked. I gave him details. If you don't like it, and are having a perfect time with your system exactly why are you here trolling the tech support forum again? Not to mention again you need to learn to read. As for this statement: Also, if your "hard locked" to 30 FPS, then enable both vsync and triple buffering in both the game and nvidia properties! Learn how to evaluate computer configurations before making comments!SWG is hard locked to 30FPS by code. Nothing I do will change that big guy, but if you would read the posts instead of skimming then looking for troll bait you would have realized that. Move along child, move along.

Dur

03-12-2008, 12:07 PM

<cite>SkinnyFats_EQ2 wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>I would guess that there are lots of people playing EQ2 and using the same hardware as yourself, but we've only seen a couple of people mention this issue.</blockquote>If your definition of "a couple" is lots and lots and lots, on lots of forums and for a long long time, then I agree with you.</blockquote>Well,, It figures... i bought the game hoping that i would run better outside of the starting area.. i was wrong.. im getting less than 20fps on medium quality.. shadows OFF,, all lighting OFF,,Sigh...3.1gz E6800 Core 2 Duo2GB Corsair 900W PSUEVGA 680i MBEVGA 8800 Ultra.Koolance Water cool system.See this system? I spent almost $4000 to NOT EVER GET LAG. Is there anything I can do to maybe fix this FPS issue? Is there some tweak somewhere or maybe a driver? All my drivers are updated...Reading this has made me quite angry that i bought this game.. sigh... Most powerful system you could buy.. and it runs worse than a 4 year old system...Any suggestions?

Dur

03-12-2008, 12:13 PM

<cite>krinkled wrote:</cite><blockquote>Ok well I have done it and can post proof.Here is the screencap I posted earlier, taken on a QX6850, 8800ULTRA, 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz, 10,000RPM HD, Vista Premium.The settings for performance is set to "BALANCED MODE", all Shadows are turned off manually also. Here it is at 14FPS <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3120/everquest214fpsle9.jpg" target="_blank">http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/...st214fpsle9.jpg</a>Then I spent my afternoon taking the computer apart and putting in my 3 year old x1900xt. So now the specs are:QX6850, x1900xt, 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz, 10,000RPM HD, Vista Premium.The settings for performance are set to "HIGH QUALITY", shadows are turned ON. Guess what? 37fps in the exact same place on the map in commonlands: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1863/ati137fpslm1.jpg" target="_blank">http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/...ti137fpslm1.jpg</a>Here is another one: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1249/ati237fpsfh4.jpg" target="_blank">http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/...ti237fpsfh4.jpg</a>So to summarize:1) Exact same computer with bleeding edge $700.00 8800 ULTRA = 14fps with NO SHADOWS, and "BALANCED" profile2) Exact same computer with 3 year old ATI video card (worth maybe $80) = 37fps with shadows ON, and "HIGH QUALITY" profileSorry but this is probably the only game in existence where this is happening. The 8800 ULTRA has at least 3x the raw processing power of the x1900xt and to me is absolute proof that there is a bug either in the EQ2 code or in the NVidia drivers when playing this game.Here is a link to a x1900xt review that shows the card getting 5,542 score in 3dmark06 the industry standard for graphics benchmarking: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h889.htm" target="_blank">http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h889.htm</a>Here is a link to a 8800 ULTRA review that shows the card getting a 13,100 score in 3dmark06: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.i4u.com/full-review-237.html" target="_blank">http://www.i4u.com/full-review-237.html</a>So hopefully it is clear that there is a serious problem here that needs to be looked at. I am not willing to swap in a 3 year old card every time I want to play EQ2.</blockquote>Sigh.. this depresses me.. i spent a whole lot of savings on my computer.. and finally found a game i want to play... =(

Openedge

03-12-2008, 12:17 PM

<cite> Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.</blockquote>It is your computer...END OF STORY!!I have a similar rig that plays this game or any other game in the market FLAWLESSLY!I am calling you out on this and telling you to figure it out or get someone involved who knows how to PINPOINT the computer issue you are having with this game!Also, if your "hard locked" to 30 FPS, then enable both vsync and triple buffering in both the game and nvidia properties! Learn how to evaluate computer configurations before making comments!</blockquote>I will then call you out. Please give correct information if you wish to give attitude. DISABLE Vsync and Triple Buffer in Control Panel and the game if you wish more than 30 frames.Also, using SLI, it is always stated to turn ON Vsync and Triple Buffer to reduce tearing and shimmerAlso, as Kiris wrote, YOU have an 8800GTX which has not exhibited the same problems as the GTS or GT models of 8800...I have the same issue with multiple systems, and different cards (a GT and a GTS), and have been building computers for 15 years as my business. I guess you will note I need someone to pinpoint my problem as well?AnywaysThank you for your input though!

Dur

03-12-2008, 12:32 PM

Kir

03-12-2008, 01:11 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite></cite>I will then call you out. Please give correct information if you wish to give attitude. DISABLE Vsync and Triple Buffer in Control Panel and the game if you wish more than 30 frames.Also, using SLI, it is always stated to turn ON Vsync and Triple Buffer to reduce tearing and shimmerAlso, as Kiris wrote, YOU have an 8800GTX which has not exhibited the same problems as the GTS or GT models of 8800...I have the same issue with multiple systems, and different cards (a GT and a GTS), and have been building computers for 15 years as my business. I guess you will note I need someone to pinpoint my problem as well?AnywaysThank you for your input though!</blockquote>To be honest I don't know why I even bothered responding to him. He didn't read my post at all before posting that. I said SWG was hard coded to 30FPS cap, there is nothing you can do to get above it. As for his statement about needing someone to "pinpoint" my problem, thats just another ploy to kiss some rear end for brownie points. If he can't tell from the many posts I have made with complete descriptions of the problem and the troubleshooting steps I have taken to test the issue then he is nothing more then a common troll.Unfortunately for him, he will realize all his pro SOE love will get him no free months of service, no special kudos from developers and no special in game powers.

Kir

03-12-2008, 01:18 PM

I do want to add.When this problem is happening the Sound / Music in the background gets stuck in loops also. This does not happen with the 7800 series card in this system. When the 7800 is in the system the sound plays through fine. Once the 8800GT is put in place, either in sli mode, or sli disabled the sound looping problem comes back instantly and the FPS start to jump erratically. My sound board is onboard, and I do have an X-fi Sound Blaster, which I think I will give a try in a few minutes after I put my daughter down for a nap.The sound card I have is ALC850 Realtek AC90. I am hoping that by putting in the SB X-Fi some of the CPU load will be moved off the cpu to see if that frees enough cycles to make a difference in game with the 8800GT.

Openedge

03-12-2008, 01:45 PM

<cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote>I do want to add.When this problem is happening the Sound / Music in the background gets stuck in loops also. This does not happen with the 7800 series card in this system. When the 7800 is in the system the sound plays through fine. Once the 8800GT is put in place, either in sli mode, or sli disabled the sound looping problem comes back instantly and the FPS start to jump erratically. My sound board is onboard, and I do have an X-fi Sound Blaster, which I think I will give a try in a few minutes after I put my daughter down for a nap.The sound card I have is ALC850 Realtek AC90. I am hoping that by putting in the SB X-Fi some of the CPU load will be moved off the cpu to see if that frees enough cycles to make a difference in game with the 8800GT.</blockquote>I am using an X-Fi...it does not help that much...Sorry

Kir

03-12-2008, 02:02 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote>I do want to add.When this problem is happening the Sound / Music in the background gets stuck in loops also. This does not happen with the 7800 series card in this system. When the 7800 is in the system the sound plays through fine. Once the 8800GT is put in place, either in sli mode, or sli disabled the sound looping problem comes back instantly and the FPS start to jump erratically. My sound board is onboard, and I do have an X-fi Sound Blaster, which I think I will give a try in a few minutes after I put my daughter down for a nap.The sound card I have is ALC850 Realtek AC90. I am hoping that by putting in the SB X-Fi some of the CPU load will be moved off the cpu to see if that frees enough cycles to make a difference in game with the 8800GT.</blockquote>I am using an X-Fi...it does not help that much...Sorry</blockquote>I just finished installing and you are right.to Sony:BTW I also contacted BFG who makes the 8800GT Im using and asked about power supply requirements. My 520w (28amps on the 12v rail) is sufficient and power is not the problem. They also said with the tests we ran, there is not a problem with the cards, as all other games we tested using their settings worked fine (worked fine before he had me change some things in the bios also). nothing we tried would get the stuttering to go away in eq2, nothing. He said I have two choices, quit the game (Which I have for now) or roll back to an older version of the Geforce Series that isn't causing the problem. Unfortunatly I also play crysis which runs great on this machine so for the time being I have decided against renewing my sub to eq2. I hope you get it fixed soon and if you need any help with configs please contact me Ill send ya what I have because I WANT to play eq2.

Tebos

03-12-2008, 03:20 PM

<cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.</blockquote>It is your computer...END OF STORY!!I have a similar rig that plays this game or any other game in the market FLAWLESSLY!I am calling you out on this and telling you to figure it out or get someone involved who knows how to PINPOINT the computer issue you are having with this game!Also, if your "hard locked" to 30 FPS, then enable both vsync and triple buffering in both the game and nvidia properties! Learn how to evaluate computer configurations before making comments!</blockquote>I will then call you out. Please give correct information if you wish to give attitude. DISABLE Vsync and Triple Buffer in Control Panel and the game if you wish more than 30 frames.Also, using SLI, it is always stated to turn ON Vsync and Triple Buffer to reduce tearing and shimmerAlso, as Kiris wrote, YOU have an 8800GTX which has not exhibited the same problems as the GTS or GT models of 8800...I have the same issue with multiple systems, and different cards (a GT and a GTS), and have been building computers for 15 years as my business. I guess you will note I need someone to pinpoint my problem as well?AnywaysThank you for your input though!</blockquote>I am sorry, but you seem mis-informed about the effects of enabling Vsync and Triple Buffering. Maybe the following link should shed some light on the matter...plus there is a bonus section in that link to enhance DirectX calls and FPS! I ve never used it, but sounds promising!<a href="http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/articles/DXtweaker/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/art...cles/DXtweaker/</a>Also, the OP is experiencing these ill effect with an 8800 ULTRA which I believe is a souped up GTX model. This type of issue is not isolated to GT or GTS models either. This issue was present when people where using 6800 series adapters! Again, only a "select" few had issue's and usually it boiled down to mobo chipset types and other system configuration issues! In order for me to fault isolate this type of issue, I would need to remote into the computer and have a Paypal transaction to occur, which I am not longer interested in doing, and for the past 2 years. Yes...in 19 years of building computers (server/desktops), I have a good grasp on these type of matters as well!

Kir

03-12-2008, 03:38 PM

<cite> Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.</blockquote>It is your computer...END OF STORY!!I have a similar rig that plays this game or any other game in the market FLAWLESSLY!I am calling you out on this and telling you to figure it out or get someone involved who knows how to PINPOINT the computer issue you are having with this game!Also, if your "hard locked" to 30 FPS, then enable both vsync and triple buffering in both the game and nvidia properties! Learn how to evaluate computer configurations before making comments!</blockquote>I will then call you out. Please give correct information if you wish to give attitude. DISABLE Vsync and Triple Buffer in Control Panel and the game if you wish more than 30 frames.Also, using SLI, it is always stated to turn ON Vsync and Triple Buffer to reduce tearing and shimmerAlso, as Kiris wrote, YOU have an 8800GTX which has not exhibited the same problems as the GTS or GT models of 8800...I have the same issue with multiple systems, and different cards (a GT and a GTS), and have been building computers for 15 years as my business. I guess you will note I need someone to pinpoint my problem as well?AnywaysThank you for your input though!</blockquote>I am sorry, but you seem mis-informed about the effects of enabling Vsync and Triple Buffering. Maybe the following link should shed some light on the matter...plus there is a bonus section in that link to enhance DirectX calls and FPS! I ve never used it, but sounds promising!<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/articles/DXtweaker/" target="_blank">http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/art...cles/DXtweaker/</a>Also, the OP is experiencing these ill effect with an 8800 ULTRA which I believe is a souped up GTX model. This type of issue is not isolated to GT or GTS models either. This issue was present when people where using 6800 series adapters! Again, only a "select" few had issue's and usually it boiled down to mobo chipset types and other system configuration issues! In order for me to fault isolate this type of issue, I would need to remote into the computer and have a Paypal transaction to occur, which I am not longer interested in doing, and for the past 2 years. Yes...in 19 years of building computers (server/desktops), I have a good grasp on these type of matters as well! </blockquote>Too bad in the 19 years you never learned how to read.From the same page you linked:Conclusion If you cannot tolerate tearing and often find enabling v-sync only brings low frame rates and stuttering, triple buffering may be the right solution for you. which is exactly what he posted. When using SLi it is often better to enable v-sync and triple buffering to help combat tearing. also:I never once stated that EQ2 was limited to 30FPS, I said that in SWG I never drop below or exceed 30fps, STAR WARS GALAXIES. This is a hard coded FPS cap put in by the developers because there was issues with the engine when the FPS would go above it. Now, why is this relevant? Because Mr. Know it all computer tech, as a security engineer for major tier 2 backbones Ive learned one thing, ANY info will help when trouble shooting. So just because this is an EQ2 forum, I posted what results I was getting in other games as a point of reference.No one needs to be informed, you just need to learn to read a whole post before spouting off about the situation. The DEV asked the question he got the answer, if you don't like the fact that he is asking the questions because you don't want to hear users problems then how about you take yourself out of this thread, or post relevant information that will help since you have a configuration that works. Someone as smart as yourself should know that telling us your system specs is about as helpful as eating sand.What driver versions are you using? What BIOS Version? What firmware versions? What about your memory timings? How about Virtual RAM usage/settings? Maybe a DXdiag that we can compare?or is the real reason you are here is to spout off about how "smart" you are, how much experience you have, and just to start trouble with people who are trying to relay information to devs who actually ASKED for it? On a side note, the GTX does differ in some major points to the Ultra, and GT/GTS. GTX for some reason which we all are trying to figure out is LESS effected by this problem then the GT/GTS users, and only a small fraction of Ultra users. The majority of 8800GT users I have researched since I found out this was an issue have problems. Read carefully, MAJORITY of 8800GT/GTS users have problems. That is not to say you won't find one person who doesn't, 10 people who don't, 20 people who don't, but there is a huge glaring problem with something that is related to this card and the DEVS acknowledge it. So please again, go away if you aren't here to help.

Tebos

03-12-2008, 03:49 PM

<cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.</blockquote>It is your computer...END OF STORY!!I have a similar rig that plays this game or any other game in the market FLAWLESSLY!I am calling you out on this and telling you to figure it out or get someone involved who knows how to PINPOINT the computer issue you are having with this game!Also, if your "hard locked" to 30 FPS, then enable both vsync and triple buffering in both the game and nvidia properties! Learn how to evaluate computer configurations before making comments!</blockquote>I will then call you out. Please give correct information if you wish to give attitude. DISABLE Vsync and Triple Buffer in Control Panel and the game if you wish more than 30 frames.Also, using SLI, it is always stated to turn ON Vsync and Triple Buffer to reduce tearing and shimmerAlso, as Kiris wrote, YOU have an 8800GTX which has not exhibited the same problems as the GTS or GT models of 8800...I have the same issue with multiple systems, and different cards (a GT and a GTS), and have been building computers for 15 years as my business. I guess you will note I need someone to pinpoint my problem as well?AnywaysThank you for your input though!</blockquote>I am sorry, but you seem mis-informed about the effects of enabling Vsync and Triple Buffering. Maybe the following link should shed some light on the matter...plus there is a bonus section in that link to enhance DirectX calls and FPS! I ve never used it, but sounds promising!<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/articles/DXtweaker/" target="_blank">http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/art...cles/DXtweaker/</a>Also, the OP is experiencing these ill effect with an 8800 ULTRA which I believe is a souped up GTX model. This type of issue is not isolated to GT or GTS models either. This issue was present when people where using 6800 series adapters! Again, only a "select" few had issue's and usually it boiled down to mobo chipset types and other system configuration issues! In order for me to fault isolate this type of issue, I would need to remote into the computer and have a Paypal transaction to occur, which I am not longer interested in doing, and for the past 2 years. Yes...in 19 years of building computers (server/desktops), I have a good grasp on these type of matters as well! </blockquote>Too bad in the 19 years you never learned how to read.I never once stated that EQ2 was limited to 30FPS, I said that in SWG I never drop below or exceed 30fps, STAR WARS GALAXIES. This is a hard coded FPS cap put in by the developers because there was issues with the engine when the FPS would go above it. Now, why is this relevant? Because Mr. Know it all computer tech, as a security engineer for major tier 2 backbones Ive learned one thing, ANY info will help when trouble shooting. So just because this is an EQ2 forum, I posted what results I was getting in other games as a point of reference.No one needs to be informed, you just need to learn to read a whole post before spouting off about the situation. The DEV asked the question he got the answer, if you don't like the fact that he is asking the questions because you don't want to hear users problems then how about you take yourself out of this thread, or post relevant information that will help since you have a configuration that works. Someone as smart as yourself should know that telling us your system specs is about as helpful as eating sand.What driver versions are you using? What BIOS Version? What firmware versions? What about your memory timings? How about Virtual RAM usage/settings? Maybe a DXdiag that we can compare?or is the real reason you are here is to spout off about how "smart" you are, how much experience you have, and just to start trouble with people who are trying to relay information to devs who actually ASKED for it? On a side note, the GTX does differ in some major points to the Ultra, and GT/GTS. GTX for some reason which we all are trying to figure out is LESS effected by this problem then the GT/GTS users, and only a small fraction of Ultra users. The majority of 8800GT users I have researched since I found out this was an issue have problems. Read carefully, MAJORITY of 8800GT/GTS users have problems. That is not to say you won't find one person who doesn't, 10 people who don't, 20 people who don't, but there is a huge glaring problem with something that is related to this card and the DEVS acknowledge it. So please again, go away if you aren't here to help.</blockquote>Yes...I saw that you stated SWG and not EQ2!Yes, the Devs discovered a computer that EXHIBITED these tendencies, and no, I am not interested in figuring out why you and a "select" few are experiencing these ill effects! However, I will point out that IT'S your computer make-up in conjunction to Nvidia drivers with certain video card models! Both Nvidia and yourself will need to figure it out. SoE will certainly add input to Nvidia about what they have discovered since they where able to find a computer that had this issue! Again, notice the "singular" statement in SoE find!

Kir

03-12-2008, 03:51 PM

<cite> Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.</blockquote>It is your computer...END OF STORY!!I have a similar rig that plays this game or any other game in the market FLAWLESSLY!I am calling you out on this and telling you to figure it out or get someone involved who knows how to PINPOINT the computer issue you are having with this game!Also, if your "hard locked" to 30 FPS, then enable both vsync and triple buffering in both the game and nvidia properties! Learn how to evaluate computer configurations before making comments!</blockquote>I will then call you out. Please give correct information if you wish to give attitude. DISABLE Vsync and Triple Buffer in Control Panel and the game if you wish more than 30 frames.Also, using SLI, it is always stated to turn ON Vsync and Triple Buffer to reduce tearing and shimmerAlso, as Kiris wrote, YOU have an 8800GTX which has not exhibited the same problems as the GTS or GT models of 8800...I have the same issue with multiple systems, and different cards (a GT and a GTS), and have been building computers for 15 years as my business. I guess you will note I need someone to pinpoint my problem as well?AnywaysThank you for your input though!</blockquote>I am sorry, but you seem mis-informed about the effects of enabling Vsync and Triple Buffering. Maybe the following link should shed some light on the matter...plus there is a bonus section in that link to enhance DirectX calls and FPS! I ve never used it, but sounds promising!<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/articles/DXtweaker/" target="_blank">http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/art...cles/DXtweaker/</a>Also, the OP is experiencing these ill effect with an 8800 ULTRA which I believe is a souped up GTX model. This type of issue is not isolated to GT or GTS models either. This issue was present when people where using 6800 series adapters! Again, only a "select" few had issue's and usually it boiled down to mobo chipset types and other system configuration issues! In order for me to fault isolate this type of issue, I would need to remote into the computer and have a Paypal transaction to occur, which I am not longer interested in doing, and for the past 2 years. Yes...in 19 years of building computers (server/desktops), I have a good grasp on these type of matters as well! </blockquote>Too bad in the 19 years you never learned how to read.I never once stated that EQ2 was limited to 30FPS, I said that in SWG I never drop below or exceed 30fps, STAR WARS GALAXIES. This is a hard coded FPS cap put in by the developers because there was issues with the engine when the FPS would go above it. Now, why is this relevant? Because Mr. Know it all computer tech, as a security engineer for major tier 2 backbones Ive learned one thing, ANY info will help when trouble shooting. So just because this is an EQ2 forum, I posted what results I was getting in other games as a point of reference.No one needs to be informed, you just need to learn to read a whole post before spouting off about the situation. The DEV asked the question he got the answer, if you don't like the fact that he is asking the questions because you don't want to hear users problems then how about you take yourself out of this thread, or post relevant information that will help since you have a configuration that works. Someone as smart as yourself should know that telling us your system specs is about as helpful as eating sand.What driver versions are you using? What BIOS Version? What firmware versions? What about your memory timings? How about Virtual RAM usage/settings? Maybe a DXdiag that we can compare?or is the real reason you are here is to spout off about how "smart" you are, how much experience you have, and just to start trouble with people who are trying to relay information to devs who actually ASKED for it? On a side note, the GTX does differ in some major points to the Ultra, and GT/GTS. GTX for some reason which we all are trying to figure out is LESS effected by this problem then the GT/GTS users, and only a small fraction of Ultra users. The majority of 8800GT users I have researched since I found out this was an issue have problems. Read carefully, MAJORITY of 8800GT/GTS users have problems. That is not to say you won't find one person who doesn't, 10 people who don't, 20 people who don't, but there is a huge glaring problem with something that is related to this card and the DEVS acknowledge it. So please again, go away if you aren't here to help.</blockquote>Yes...I saw that you stated SWG and not EQ2!Yes, the Devs discovered a computer that EXHIBITED these tendencies, and no, I am not interested in figuring out why you and a "select" few are experiencing these ill effects! However, I will point out that IT'S your computer make-up in conjunction to Nvidia drivers with certain video card models! Both Nvidia and yourself will need to figure it out. SoE will certainly add input to Nvidia about what they have discovered since they where able to find a computer that had this issue! Again, notice the "singular" statement in SoE find!</blockquote>If you saw this then why did you tell me to disable V-synch and Triple buffering? (which btw have been both tested on and off and doesn't make a difference with the problem in regards to the 8800GT/GTS)And since you yourself have just admitted that you are not here to help fix the problem, then why do you continue to troll the thread. You know that is a bannable offense right? If you are not here to help then you are here to cause problems which you are doing. Please troll other threads where people are not trying to relay information THAT A DEV ASKED FOR.

Tebos

03-12-2008, 03:58 PM

<cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Openedge wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Tebos wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Degenerate@Blackburrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rothgar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Awesome to hear that you found a setting that works for you krinkled. Now I'm anxious to find out if disabling this setting fixes the problem for others as well.Does this also solve the problem for people that are having this issue on XP?</blockquote>in short. no.I have tried the following: Disabling sli.Disabling cloth simluation, shadows, water, flora, flora displacement.Enabling sli.Disabling and enabling Vsynch.Force Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and 2, and Force Split Screen Rendering.Nothing has changed on my system as stated before: FX60, 2 gigs of 5-5-5-2 DDR800, Raptor 10krpm 150gig drive SATA, Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe MB, 2 8800GT's OC Edition 512 meg cards. Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the March Release of DX9c. For reference, Call of Duty 4 in 1920x1080 runs w/ everything maxed, AA @ 8x AF @ 16x and I never drop below 60fps, SWG runs everything maxed, in 1920x1080 and never drop below 30(or go above it for that matter, seems to be hardlocked @ 30fps cap?), UT3 never drops below 50fps, Crysis is downloading now but I bet I wont have as bad as fps or stuttering as I do in eq2. There is a serious problem here and its your game. I hate to call you out like this, because I love your game, but if nothing else is broken then the problem isn't nvidia, it isn't my computer... more so because this game as I said earlier was running fine on 2 7800gtx just one day ago.</blockquote>It is your computer...END OF STORY!!I have a similar rig that plays this game or any other game in the market FLAWLESSLY!I am calling you out on this and telling you to figure it out or get someone involved who knows how to PINPOINT the computer issue you are having with this game!Also, if your "hard locked" to 30 FPS, then enable both vsync and triple buffering in both the game and nvidia properties! Learn how to evaluate computer configurations before making comments!</blockquote>I will then call you out. Please give correct information if you wish to give attitude. DISABLE Vsync and Triple Buffer in Control Panel and the game if you wish more than 30 frames.Also, using SLI, it is always stated to turn ON Vsync and Triple Buffer to reduce tearing and shimmerAlso, as Kiris wrote, YOU have an 8800GTX which has not exhibited the same problems as the GTS or GT models of 8800...I have the same issue with multiple systems, and different cards (a GT and a GTS), and have been building computers for 15 years as my business. I guess you will note I need someone to pinpoint my problem as well?AnywaysThank you for your input though!</blockquote>I am sorry, but you seem mis-informed about the effects of enabling Vsync and Triple Buffering. Maybe the following link should shed some light on the matter...plus there is a bonus section in that link to enhance DirectX calls and FPS! I ve never used it, but sounds promising!<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/articles/DXtweaker/" target="_blank">http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/art...cles/DXtweaker/</a>Also, the OP is experiencing these ill effect with an 8800 ULTRA which I believe is a souped up GTX model. This type of issue is not isolated to GT or GTS models either. This issue was present when people where using 6800 series adapters! Again, only a "select" few had issue's and usually it boiled down to mobo chipset types and other system configuration issues! In order for me to fault isolate this type of issue, I would need to remote into the computer and have a Paypal transaction to occur, which I am not longer interested in doing, and for the past 2 years. Yes...in 19 years of building computers (server/desktops), I have a good grasp on these type of matters as well! </blockquote>Too bad in the 19 years you never learned how to read.I never once stated that EQ2 was limited to 30FPS, I said that in SWG I never drop below or exceed 30fps, STAR WARS GALAXIES. This is a hard coded FPS cap put in by the developers because there was issues with the engine when the FPS would go above it. Now, why is this relevant? Because Mr. Know it all computer tech, as a security engineer for major tier 2 backbones Ive learned one thing, ANY info will help when trouble shooting. So just because this is an EQ2 forum, I posted what results I was getting in other games as a point of reference.No one needs to be informed, you just need to learn to read a whole post before spouting off about the situation. The DEV asked the question he got the answer, if you don't like the fact that he is asking the questions because you don't want to hear users problems then how about you take yourself out of this thread, or post relevant information that will help since you have a configuration that works. Someone as smart as yourself should know that telling us your system specs is about as helpful as eating sand.What driver versions are you using? What BIOS Version? What firmware versions? What about your memory timings? How about Virtual RAM usage/settings? Maybe a DXdiag that we can compare?or is the real reason you are here is to spout off about how "smart" you are, how much experience you have, and just to start trouble with people who are trying to relay information to devs who actually ASKED for it? On a side note, the GTX does differ in some major points to the Ultra, and GT/GTS. GTX for some reason which we all are trying to figure out is LESS effected by this problem then the GT/GTS users, and only a small fraction of Ultra users. The majority of 8800GT users I have researched since I found out this was an issue have problems. Read carefully, MAJORITY of 8800GT/GTS users have problems. That is not to say you won't find one person who doesn't, 10 people who don't, 20 people who don't, but there is a huge glaring problem with something that is related to this card and the DEVS acknowledge it. So please again, go away if you aren't here to help.</blockquote>Yes...I saw that you stated SWG and not EQ2!Yes, the Devs discovered a computer that EXHIBITED these tendencies, and no, I am not interested in figuring out why you and a "select" few are experiencing these ill effects! However, I will point out that IT'S your computer make-up in conjunction to Nvidia drivers with certain video card models! Both Nvidia and yourself will need to figure it out. SoE will certainly add input to Nvidia about what they have discovered since they where able to find a computer that had this issue! Again, notice the "singular" statement in SoE find!</blockquote>If you saw this then why did you tell me to disable V-synch and Triple buffering? (which btw have been both tested on and off and doesn't make a difference with the problem in regards to the 8800GT/GTS)And since you yourself have just admitted that you are not here to help fix the problem, then why do you continue to troll the thread. You know that is a bannable offense right? If you are not here to help then you are here to cause problems which you are doing. Please troll other threads where people are not trying to relay information THAT A DEV ASKED FOR.</blockquote>I said ENABLE both Vsync and Triple Buffering! Roger Ramjet comment said otherwise! Talk about someone not reading CLEARlY!I am being helpful in pointing out where the issue lies! My statements are clear! It's with your computer, and most likely a chipset issue along with computer configuration and the Nvidia drivers. How is that not being helpful?I also said in order for me to fault isolate this, it would require me to remote into the computer coupled with a Paypal transaction, but I no longer do that! Doesn't mean I could be enticed!!You got it?