Video card problem?

[kruk]

I have an older machine and play older games, and I am having problem with a pause, or "stutter" every 4-5 seconds. The games I am playing are Battlefield 1942 and Unreal Tournament 2001. So far I have defragged my hard drive, used spybot and ccleaner, and uninstalled/reinstalled the games, and updated the video card drivers with NO success. Any help is appreciated. I'll included a ss of the cpu usage before and during game play, just in case that is relevant. Thanks.

p4 2.4
1 gig ram
9600xt

 

[AlNom]

how much video ram do you have?

Do you still get stuttering when you set the texture resolutions to normal or low?

 

[digitalwanderer]

Also, what other programs do you have running in the background?

 

[Pete]

Have you always had this stutter, or did it start recently (and, if so, what changes did you make recently)? Have you checked that you're running in AGP 2x/4x mode, rather than PCI mode? Maybe disable/enable FastWrites or one of those more esoteric AGP options?

 

[kruk]

Have you always had this stutter, or did it start recently (and, if so, what changes did you make recently)? Have you checked that you're running in AGP 2x/4x mode, rather than PCI mode? Maybe disable/enable FastWrites or one of those more esoteric AGP options?

I usually keep IE running in background for the last 2 years, with no problem. I tried running the game without IE running with the same results.

I disabled all firewall and anti virus programs, and also tried using "end it all" to dismiss all non-essential programs.

I have a 9600xt with 128mb of video ram.

I have tried running the games on LOW settings, both video and sound with same results.

THANKS for your replies! I am so frustrated.

Thanks Alstrong and digitalwanderer, not sure how to multiquote.... let's get me fixed!!!

 

[kruk]

Have you always had this stutter, or did it start recently (and, if so, what changes did you make recently)? Have you checked that you're running in AGP 2x/4x mode, rather than PCI mode? Maybe disable/enable FastWrites or one of those more esoteric AGP options?

Not sure how this would have changed recently. I would gladly check those settings and make some changes but do not understand your advice in technical detail. If you can offer some additional informatiion I can try that. Thanks.

 

[see colon]

try running UT with the software renderer and see if you still get pauses every few seconds. if you do, it's probably not the video card and is something else in your system.

make sure DMA is enabled on your drives, and this one sounds funny, check your mouse drivers (and other input devices). especialy if you have a force feedback device like a gamepad or mouse.

 

[kruk]

The problem persisted after a few days, and this is one of the downloads I installed to try to fix. As a noob, I assume "Catylist" means the latest driver. The terminology is a little awkward for the inexperienced.

https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&folderID=27

 

[kruk]

try running UT with the software renderer and see if you still get pauses every few seconds. if you do, it's probably not the video card and is something else in your system.

make sure DMA is enabled on your drives, and this one sounds funny, check your mouse drivers (and other input devices). especialy if you have a force feedback device like a gamepad or mouse.

Sorry, point me to the check for DMA enables on my drives.

 

[see colon]

Sorry, point me to the check for DMA enables on my drives.

• right click on "My Computer" and select "Properties"

• in the System Properties window that opens select the "Hardware" tab

• press the "Device Manager" button

• in the Device Manager window look for your drive controllers, probably listed as "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" and expand the view by clicking on the plus sign to the left

• in the list of drive controllers, double click on the "Primary IDE Channel"

• in the Primary IDE Channel Properties window select the "Advanced Settings" tab

• verify that "Current Transfer Mode" for device 0 and 1 says DMA somewhere in the description and does not say PIO Mode.

• Verify the Secondary IDE Channel as well.

 

[kruk]

• right click on "My Computer" and select "Properties"

• in the System Properties window that opens select the "Hardware" tab

• press the "Device Manager" button

• in the Device Manager window look for your drive controllers, probably listed as "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" and expand the view by clicking on the plus sign to the left

• in the list of drive controllers, double click on the "Primary IDE Channel"

• in the Primary IDE Channel Properties window select the "Advanced Settings" tab

• verify that "Current Transfer Mode" for device 0 and 1 says DMA somewhere in the description and does not say PIO Mode.

• Verify the Secondary IDE Channel as well.

 

[Pete]

Not sure how this would have changed recently. I would gladly check those settings and make some changes but do not understand your advice in technical detail. If you can offer some additional informatiion I can try that. Thanks.

I meant if you installed any new software or hardware and only after that you experienced the stuttering. You can check AGP mode in the SmartGART tab in Catalyst Control Center. You can also control FastWrites there, but don't change more than one setting at once (if it's even nec'y) so you can determine the problem. I guess you could also check Start>Run>dxdiag to see if AGP Texture Acceleration is enabled in the Display tab.

BTW, multi-quote by using that button to the right of quote as a queue, then click quote on one of the posts you're quoting.

Edit: And DMA appears to be set correctly on your system.

 

[kruk]

I meant if you installed any new software or hardware and only after that you experienced the stuttering. You can check AGP mode in the SmartGART tab in Catalyst Control Center. You can also control FastWrites there, but don't change more than one setting at once (if it's even nec'y) so you can determine the problem. I guess you could also check Start>Run>dxdiag to see if AGP Texture Acceleration is enabled in the Display tab.

BTW, multi-quote by using that button to the right of quote as a queue, then click quote on one of the posts you're quoting.

Edit: And DMA appears to be set correctly on your system.

 

[Pete]

Everything seems to be in order there. I'm stumped. Does this happen with all games? Can you give 3DMark 2001SE a try, and see if it stutters during the game tests?

Long shot time. You using a router or switch b/w your PC and your high-speed conxn? Do either of those games show regular spikes of choke or loss?

 

[kruk]

Everything seems to be in order there. I'm stumped. Does this happen with all games? Can you give 3DMark 2001SE a try, and see if it stutters during the game tests?

Long shot time. You using a router or switch b/w your PC and your high-speed conxn? Do either of those games show regular spikes of choke or loss?

Cable modem with router. Same setup for last 2 years. I only play Battlefield 1942, but tested with UT 2001. Game stutters offline as well as online. I tried the DirectX diagnostic tool, using the Test DirectDraw and TestDirect3d, all test stuttered during this operation.

I'll run 3DMark 2001SE and post those results asap.

Thanks again.

 

[kruk]

There is a stutter during all tests using 3dMark 2001 SE.

 

[kruk]

Could this be a hardware problem, rather than a DirectX, driver issue, or other setting?

I'm out of things to try and will probably retire this system, but it bugs me that it can't be fixed.

 

[Pete]

Baffling. Your CPU isn't overheating, is it? Maybe even the GPU? Are all fans spinning?

It really sounds like some sort of bottleneck in system traffic, which is why I thought it might be an AGP problem. I dunno, try Display Properties (right-click desktop > Properties) > Settings > Advanced > Troubleshoot and try alternating running a 3DM01SE or dxdiag test and changing settings, one at a time. I'd try disabling write combining first, then lowering Hardware Acceleration a few notches (one at a time), finally disabling Fast Writes (via SmartGART). I left FastWrites for last b/c IIRC (a search here may turn up something) the 9600 series either required them or had no problem with them, unlike some other cards of their time. You could try disabling FWs first, just to get them out of the way.

The fact that even the DirectDraw test stutters may be a clue for someone more knowledgable about these sorts of system quirks than I. Four notches down the Troubleshoot slider disables hardware (GPU) DirectDraw and D3D acceleration, so if you still see stuttering then I believe it's _not_ a GPU hardware/driver problem. I still think it's a problem with either the CPU or CPU-GPU communication, not necessarily the GPU itself.

 

[see colon]

Baffling. Your CPU isn't overheating, is it? Maybe even the GPU? Are all fans spinning?

i just have to say, look before you touch. i thought the fan on my radeon 8500 died because it was really quiet and i reached in there to check and the damn pointy fins on the fan took a little chunk out of my finger. and before that (the reason i was so convinved the 8500's fan had died) my GF3's fan died, and i didn't even notice. i was blindly poking around in my box after an all night tony hawk lan session and jumped a foot off the floor when the top of my hand bumped the heatsink. it actualy left a little mark (not a blister or anything), and i'm glad i bought the GF3 with the largest heatsink i've ever seen because the card came away undamged.

also, i just noticed you have a 9600XT. that thing should be able to give you a temp reading. so you can even test it without opening your case. there is a temperature gauge in the overdrive panel of the catalyst control center.

 

[kruk]

Thanks for the posts, I have always found these forums to be helpful and educational. I will "dance" my way through your recommendations and try resolve the issue as you posted. Hoping for victory!