Low FPS with a high end system

rhymers · 05-31-2010, 10:13 AM

Hello,

I recently returned to EQ2, I used to play maybe 4 years ago. Glad to be back but there's one thing which is spoiling it for me and that is my FPS seems quite low. It sits between 20 and 40 most of the time but can drop to below 10 when I move around. This is more noticable around NPC area's such as towns or outposts. I get the 20 - 40 FPS on a setting of around 'High Quality' but even when I push the settings down to 'High Performance' I still get the dips in fps to around 10 and idles between 30 - 50 out of town or when I'm not moving.

I'm pretty sure that when I played all those years ago, on a system a lot less powerful this this one, I don't recall getting the FPS drops.

Specs are:

HD 5870 video card (with latest drivers)X58A-UD3R motherboardCPU i7 930 quad core 2.8GHz6gb DDR3Windows 7 64bitrunning @1920x1200 on a 24" display

I've played around with the settings to some extent but theres been no remarkable improvements. Anyone have any tips as to what might be causing this issue?

Thanks

Humayon · 05-31-2010, 01:11 PM

Please just don't bother with your system when it comes to eq2. I won't be surprised to see someone saying that do this and that or you have a problem with your system because it is not.

Your system or systems of most people who play this game these days is far more than just capable of playing any other latest games. Games which are far more demanding would run smoothly on your system.

EQ2 engine was designed poorly in the sense that it didn't anticipate the dominance of multi core systems and powerful GPUs instead it was built around fast CPU single core speed.

Your GPU is one of the best out there at the moment and not to mention your cpu, especially when overclocked, will chew up anything you will throw at it.

You simply cannot turn everything to the max and achieve a playable frame rate under raid conditions with current hardware.

Outrageous notion since the original game came with the tag "built with future hardware in mind", not sure when that future will come.

Shareana · 05-31-2010, 01:54 PM

Have you tried tweaking the settings a bit?

Boost performance and reduce stuttering guide!

The Complete Guide to Display Settings Options

Immohtep · 06-01-2010, 12:13 PM

Shareana,

Those threads are obsolete in my opinion. Ones from 2006, the other from 2004? Although I know your trying to help, more current information is needed. Those threads should be re-done period. Technology has leaped vastly beyond them. I've been having the same thoughts as the OP.

I also agree with the second poster, but it would be nice to see a SONY DEV lay out more recent stuff. I am pretty savy with computer tech, but not near what's needed here. It's also not what I get paid for, like they do.

Morphemic420 · 06-01-2010, 12:46 PM

The problem is related to eq2 using an abysmally low amount of cpu power. Since the update (ie halas) I went from being able to 2box my 2 accounts on balanced and generally get around 50fps for each instance running. Since the update I am down to 20fps dropping down to 10fps. This is without shader 3.0 being turned on. I have noticed that my cpu usage is vry poor now with my first core using about 60% and the other 3 running at 10% max. Disabling multicore support seems to have no effect on this either. Reenabling gave me the exact same effect as far as the cpu useage goes. Also my gpu usage has dropped dramatically I can watch it in game and it hovers around 0% usage and spikes to 4% ( OMGZ WOW) occasionaly. Something has happened since the last update that has killed performance.

Specs

Intel Q9550 oc to 4.1ghz liquid cooled

Gigabyte GA-EP45 UD3P v1.6 most recent bios revision

Kingston Hyperx KHX8500D2K2/4G / Two 4 gb sets in dual channel oc

Palit Radeon HD4870 oc with custom Thermalight cooling / Driver Ati Catalyst 10.5

Lithuen · 06-06-2010, 08:12 PM

I also experienced an extreme dive in performance following the last patch

from 20fps to 3fps, such that the game is virtually unplayable, whereas other more "graphically intense" games function fine

Has SOE dropped support for a particular type of hardware? I'd be willing to simply "upgrade" if it didn't seem a faster chip would only yield marginal gains...

amd ath 64 3200+ [2ghz]

2gb ram

nvidia 8400 gs

Haliken · 06-09-2010, 05:49 PM

Humayon wrote:

Please just don't bother with your system when it comes to eq2. I won't be surprised to see someone saying that do this and that or you have a problem with your system because it is not.
Your system or systems of most people who play this game these days is far more than just capable of playing any other latest games. Games which are far more demanding would run smoothly on your system.
EQ2 engine was designed poorly in the sense that it didn't anticipate the dominance of multi core systems and powerful GPUs instead it was built around fast CPU single core speed.
Your GPU is one of the best out there at the moment and not to mention your cpu, especially when overclocked, will chew up anything you will throw at it.
You simply cannot turn everything to the max and achieve a playable frame rate under raid conditions with current hardware.
Outrageous notion since the original game came with the tag "built with future hardware in mind", not sure when that future will come.

Uhh, yeah... Nothing was designed that way around/before EQ2 came out.

Kulaf · 06-10-2010, 05:38 PM

Well let's see. The first Intel 3 GHz processor came out in 2003. It's 7 years later and what is your processor clocked at now? That's really the issue. At the time of the development of the graphics engine for EQ2 which I assume occured around 2000, processors were making fairly fantastic leaps in clock speed and that trend was banked on by the designers. We have seemingly hit the 3 GHz barrier due to power/heat dissipation. Cannot really say it was short sighted as no one predicted the rise of paralell processing back then.

EQ2 could use an engine overhaul, but that would take years and an entire dev team to accomplish. Frankly you almost never see it happen in MMO's. They will likely continue to make incremental changes where they can to try to offload more and more to the GPU.

05-31-2010, 01:54 PM	#3
Shareana Lead Volunteer Moderator Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 3,921	Have you tried tweaking the settings a bit? Boost performance and reduce stuttering guide! The Complete Guide to Display Settings Options __________________ \|\| Forum Guidelines \|\| Knowledge Base \|\| Tech Support \|\|

06-01-2010, 12:13 PM	#4
Immohtep Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 27	Shareana, Those threads are obsolete in my opinion. Ones from 2006, the other from 2004? Although I know your trying to help, more current information is needed. Those threads should be re-done period. Technology has leaped vastly beyond them. I've been having the same thoughts as the OP. I also agree with the second poster, but it would be nice to see a SONY DEV lay out more recent stuff. I am pretty savy with computer tech, but not near what's needed here. It's also not what I get paid for, like they do. __________________ Crazier than Charles Manson sitting on your front porch eating Fruit Loops!

06-01-2010, 12:46 PM	#5
Morphemic420 Loremaster Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 37	The problem is related to eq2 using an abysmally low amount of cpu power. Since the update (ie halas) I went from being able to 2box my 2 accounts on balanced and generally get around 50fps for each instance running. Since the update I am down to 20fps dropping down to 10fps. This is without shader 3.0 being turned on. I have noticed that my cpu usage is vry poor now with my first core using about 60% and the other 3 running at 10% max. Disabling multicore support seems to have no effect on this either. Reenabling gave me the exact same effect as far as the cpu useage goes. Also my gpu usage has dropped dramatically I can watch it in game and it hovers around 0% usage and spikes to 4% ( OMGZ WOW) occasionaly. Something has happened since the last update that has killed performance. Specs Intel Q9550 oc to 4.1ghz liquid cooled Gigabyte GA-EP45 UD3P v1.6 most recent bios revision Kingston Hyperx KHX8500D2K2/4G / Two 4 gb sets in dual channel oc Palit Radeon HD4870 oc with custom Thermalight cooling / Driver Ati Catalyst 10.5 __________________ Destroyer Tryrant Whomper, Lunatic of the Void 90 Warden of Immortalz on Nagafen Elindel 70 Conjurer of Butcherblock Master Gavrillo 70 Assassin of Waaaggh on Vox Retired

06-09-2010, 05:49 PM	#7
Haliken Loremaster Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 162	Humayon wrote: Please just don't bother with your system when it comes to eq2. I won't be surprised to see someone saying that do this and that or you have a problem with your system because it is not. Your system or systems of most people who play this game these days is far more than just capable of playing any other latest games. Games which are far more demanding would run smoothly on your system. EQ2 engine was designed poorly in the sense that it didn't anticipate the dominance of multi core systems and powerful GPUs instead it was built around fast CPU single core speed. Your GPU is one of the best out there at the moment and not to mention your cpu, especially when overclocked, will chew up anything you will throw at it. You simply cannot turn everything to the max and achieve a playable frame rate under raid conditions with current hardware. Outrageous notion since the original game came with the tag "built with future hardware in mind", not sure when that future will come. Uhh, yeah... Nothing was designed that way around/before EQ2 came out.

06-10-2010, 05:38 PM	#8
Kulaf Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 387	Well let's see. The first Intel 3 GHz processor came out in 2003. It's 7 years later and what is your processor clocked at now? That's really the issue. At the time of the development of the graphics engine for EQ2 which I assume occured around 2000, processors were making fairly fantastic leaps in clock speed and that trend was banked on by the designers. We have seemingly hit the 3 GHz barrier due to power/heat dissipation. Cannot really say it was short sighted as no one predicted the rise of paralell processing back then. EQ2 could use an engine overhaul, but that would take years and an entire dev team to accomplish. Frankly you almost never see it happen in MMO's. They will likely continue to make incremental changes where they can to try to offload more and more to the GPU. __________________

05-31-2010, 10:13 AM	#1
rhymers Loremaster Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1	Hello, I recently returned to EQ2, I used to play maybe 4 years ago. Glad to be back but there's one thing which is spoiling it for me and that is my FPS seems quite low. It sits between 20 and 40 most of the time but can drop to below 10 when I move around. This is more noticable around NPC area's such as towns or outposts. I get the 20 - 40 FPS on a setting of around 'High Quality' but even when I push the settings down to 'High Performance' I still get the dips in fps to around 10 and idles between 30 - 50 out of town or when I'm not moving. I'm pretty sure that when I played all those years ago, on a system a lot less powerful this this one, I don't recall getting the FPS drops. Specs are: HD 5870 video card (with latest drivers)X58A-UD3R motherboardCPU i7 930 quad core 2.8GHz6gb DDR3Windows 7 64bitrunning @1920x1200 on a 24" display I've played around with the settings to some extent but theres been no remarkable improvements. Anyone have any tips as to what might be causing this issue? Thanks

05-31-2010, 01:11 PM	#2
Humayon Loremaster Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 58	Please just don't bother with your system when it comes to eq2. I won't be surprised to see someone saying that do this and that or you have a problem with your system because it is not. Your system or systems of most people who play this game these days is far more than just capable of playing any other latest games. Games which are far more demanding would run smoothly on your system. EQ2 engine was designed poorly in the sense that it didn't anticipate the dominance of multi core systems and powerful GPUs instead it was built around fast CPU single core speed. Your GPU is one of the best out there at the moment and not to mention your cpu, especially when overclocked, will chew up anything you will throw at it. You simply cannot turn everything to the max and achieve a playable frame rate under raid conditions with current hardware. Outrageous notion since the original game came with the tag "built with future hardware in mind", not sure when that future will come.

06-06-2010, 08:12 PM	#6
Lithuen Master Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 1	I also experienced an extreme dive in performance following the last patch from 20fps to 3fps, such that the game is virtually unplayable, whereas other more "graphically intense" games function fine Has SOE dropped support for a particular type of hardware? I'd be willing to simply "upgrade" if it didn't seem a faster chip would only yield marginal gains... amd ath 64 3200+ [2ghz] 2gb ram nvidia 8400 gs