Framerate Limit, Background Process

[Maergoth]

<p>Is there a way to disable the CPU throttle / Framerate limit on EQ2 when it percieves itself as a non-focused background process?</p><p>When I have ACT open, and use either of the overlays (Timers, mini-parse), it thinks they are the focus and EQ2 throttles itself hard. I go from 100% core usage down to 75% and from 100+ FPS down to 50.</p><p>If I run in fullscreen, the problem is gone. If I close the mini and timer window, the problem is gone. If I move the two windows onto a different monitor, instead of the one EQ2 is on, the problem is gone.</p><p>Pretty sure EQ2 is trying to be less of a resource hog for no reason, and disabling it would allow me to run ACT without any lag at all.</p>

[Lempo]

<p>Have you tried changing the CPU affinity of ACT?</p>

[Maergoth]

<p>Yes, and priority. For both EQ2 and ACT. Nothing fixes it. EQ2 is simply throttling itself as "running in the background" simply because there is a window on top of it. As soon as I move them off the screen to my other monitor, problem absolved.</p><p>However, I don't want to run two monitors. I don't see why having a window on top of EQ2 should trick it into thinking it isn't the priority process.</p>

[TSR-MattG]

<p><cite>Maergoth@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Yes, and priority. For both EQ2 and ACT. Nothing fixes it. EQ2 is simply throttling itself as "running in the background" simply because there is a window on top of it. As soon as I move them off the screen to my other monitor, problem absolved.</p><p>However, I don't want to run two monitors. I don't see why having a window on top of EQ2 should trick it into thinking it isn't the priority process.</p></blockquote><p>What operating system are you running? If vista or 7, be sure you have desktop composition *enabled* and windows glass *disabled*</p>

[Maergoth]

<p>Already tried that, no luck. It's such a broad issue, if I even mouse over my task bar and the little pop-up name tag of an icon overlays everquest, I lose a large chunk of FPS as well.</p><p>My drivers are all up to date, it's just a setting somewhere that I don't know about. It happens in others game too, but more noticeably in EQ2.</p>

[TSR-MattG]

<p>Do you use an ATI or Nvidia card? I havent experienced the problem on either but I'd be happy to look through their respective control panel options and see if I can find something that might help.</p>

[Maergoth]

First of all, you're a champion TSR-MattG. I just thought I should say that. Secondly, I have an NVidiaGTX460. I have looked through all the obvious stuff, including weird power profile settings. Nothing sticks out to me. A friend was having a similar issue with EQ2, though he wasn't having the framerate drop from it. Playing in windowed mode, mousing over icons on the taskbar accidentally results in the "name tag" getting stuck on the screen. It's an awful pain in the neck for me not only because it gets in the way, but because it kicks EQ2 into background, CPU throttled mode. I don't expect it's a simple solution, but maybe you know something I don't.

[Oink]

<p>EQ2 does not throttle itself.</p><p>The only time it will ever not max out a core is if you play around with thread affinities, if it's minimized or if it's waiting on the video card to complete something, which is really only common if synchronize refresh is on.</p><p>It doesn't do anything different if it's a background process, it doesn't limit its frame rates.  If this was happening to more than you and your friend there would have already been hundreds of posts about it before as plenty of people have had their game window partially obstructed from things for years, be it ACT, guild connect, web browser, other eq2 clients running, other games, videos, etc...</p>

[Maergoth]

<p>It most definitely does throttle itself under my current configuration. I don't remember it happening in the past, but plenty of people have pinned this as the cause for a lot of their performance issues while ACT is running. Even Aditu commented on it and says there's no obvious fix for it.</p><p>There is absolutely zero other explanation for EQ2 losing FPS *AND* the CPU load getting lighter at the same time. And it only happens when EQ2 loses "Focus" to a pop-up message or overlay. DirectX hooks like fraps, streaming programs and X-Fire do not cause it. Only borderless windows, bordered windows, or overlays.</p><p>"Always on top" kind of stuff.</p><p>So, before you come into a thread telling me I don't know what I'm talking about, know this: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Just because a lot of people aren't complaining about it doesn't mean there's nothing to complain about. The problem may be with windows, or a setting somewhere.</p><p>However, the problem is affecting EQ2 more, and given the exhaustion of my knowledge and methods, Tech support is the next step. Which is why I'm here.</p>