Help: FPS Problems

[gReddysaurus rEx]

Here is the setup I'm running. It's a Dell Laptop XPS (aka Extra PoS) M1710.

 

Intel Core2 CPU T7600

4.0GB Ram

GeForce Go 7950 GTX

Windows Vista Home 32bit SP2

Norton 360

More than 20GB left on my 80GB HDD

 

I have ET running as admin and have tried all the compatibility mode settings. It is currently under Windows XP SP2 mode. Norton goes to Silent Mode when ET starts. I know Norton isn't the problem because I've played ET with no internet security package installed on the computer before and it was just as bad. I've updated PB. I've updated all my drivers but with no increase in performance. I have used many different virus scanners (Norton, AVG, and BitDefender) and needless to say, I have no malware/viruses. I have defragged the entire hard drive with Auslogics Disk Defrag (free version). I constantly use CCleaner and use its registry cleaner once every few weeks. I play ET at a resolution of 1600x1200. I have tried at lower resolutions and somehow noticed less fps in some cases. Either way even at 800x600 I still get nowhere. Either my fps is extremely unstable (capped at 76) or I'm getting sub 30s. I see some 5-8 fps occasionally. I tried setting ET to core 0, to core 1, and to both... and I see no difference most of the time. PnkBstrB.exe spikes up a CPU usage of 45% and sometimes even over 50% (both cores are activated for it). ET.exe usually is at 50-60% when both cores are activated and 45-50% for only one core. I've used the config Medic made for me and the fps reacted the same and in some maps worse.

 

I had a very old desktop with an integrated video card, 1GB of ram, and a Pentium 4 processor at 3GHz run a very stable 76 fps for ET. Why the freak can't this laptop do the same. Any help will be greatly appreciated. And yes I do want to break this laptop and get a better system... a desktop, but that time will come in a year or so.

Edited January 3, 2011 by gReddysaurus rEx

[SkyeDarkhawk]

Mind sharing your cfg file?

 

I have a feeling that there are a few FPS stealing settings enabled that is making this harder than it should be.

 

Edit: Also check out http://www.wolfenstein-zone.com/viewtopic.php?t=578&f=2

[gReddysaurus rEx]

Thank you for the help. I attached screen shots of the Nvidia control panel after I enabled threaded optimization and my ET configuration. I'm going to include the cvars: seta com_unlock_timingMethod "0" and

seta r_useThreadedRenderer "2" that were listed in that site. I'm going to test it out soon.

 

I don't fully understand the threaded optimization though. The OP from that forum said the fix is to enable this feature. However in the note, the OP said that on Quake 3 engine based games such as ET & RTCW, the Threaded Opimization in Nvidia Control Panel needs to be turned OFF to avoid getting unstable FPS. But I will give it a shot.

myfig.cfg

[gReddysaurus rEx]

I played a little bit of Venice and Fuel Dump just now (5-8 mins of playing). With threaded optimization enabled and seta com_unlock_timingMethod "0" and seta r_useThreadedRenderer "2" in my config, I still get unstable fps. I noticed I get 76 fps a little bit more often, but I still got 20-30 fps during normal gameplay (shooting/getting shot at).

Edited January 3, 2011 by gReddysaurus rEx

[SkyeDarkhawk]

I personally can't see any issues in your config for why it might be happening.

 

Though I just noticed you're running a 32bit system on 64bit hardware. If you've got the spare cash laying around, pick up a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade, or the 3 pack of Home Premium if it's cheaper in your area. Or see if Dell will provide you with the 64bit version of Vista at cost. You will get a performance boost by switching to a 64bit operating system as your system has more resources than the 32bit system knows how to handle.

 

And strangely enough, you might be taxing your video card by not using certain settings for enhanced graphics, I can't say for certain which ones, but it will be a process or trial and error with your video settings to see which ones improve your FPS when turned on or up.

 

Edit: Also try changing to r_mode 9 to match your custom resolution.

You could also check to see if cg_atmosphericEffects is set to 1 or 0. If it's set to 1, try 0 to turn off things like rain and snow. It might help. Maybe.

[K.LisTa]

In "3D settings - Adjust image settings with preview", use advanced settings.

Then in "manage 3D settings" -> program settings, search ET, and disable everything ( antialiasing, filters etc ...)

I had the same problem after upgrading my video driver (9600GT laptop). I solved it by doing this.

Edited January 3, 2011 by K.LisTa

[BossHK]

1. ET is CPU based game, so more mhz/ghz-->better

2. Antivirus might be reason for fps drops, also PB. Try to play on no-pb servers and see what happens + turn Norton off.

[vke]

I was having the same problem, what i had to do was download this:Softpedia Affinity Manager

 

What I did was manually set everything to core 2 ONLY, and then have ET and PB run on core 1. I get 125+ fps on any map, at r_mode 6. Its a pain in the ass to manually set it, but you can also set programs to default to a certain core, you just have to have the file path of the app. Also, if you are using a wired connection, you can disable the wireless adapter, and that will save a bit of speed.

 

Core2 Duo @ 2.53 ghz

4 gb RAM

Nvidia 9400m

[gReddysaurus rEx]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I will try them out when I have a chance. Hopefully it works out.