Low FPS and Connections problems
ThinG
Lord of wub and vlaai Join Date: 2003-04-11 Member: 15400Members, Reinforced - Supporter
I'm aware current game performance isn't always great, but I have a feeling it's not all down to version or server issues in my case.
I'm experiencing the 'Connections problems detected...' error on a regular basis. Both on wifi and wire. My ports are forwarded (HL2 settings), Steam community is disabled and NS2 has full permissions in Windows firewall.
I've also found that my fps drops down to as much as 8 fps. Even on a local game. In-game it's usually between 10-22. With 30-35 being max in RR or quiet areas.
Link to dxdiag: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1sRvIeBsgO4KHo_Y5u3AnY8wLgQj9gkmFtlUfwMwH1_U" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1sR...gkmFtlUfwMwH1_U</a>
Overall it's just not a smooth experience, never mind when I'm in combat. That just tends to be a slideshow.
Ping tends to be very good, I'm not downloading anything while playing as far as I'm aware and not much else is running except for a browser and messenger programs.
If anyone can spot an issue with my system or offer any advice, I'd be much obliged. Thanks in advance.
I'm experiencing the 'Connections problems detected...' error on a regular basis. Both on wifi and wire. My ports are forwarded (HL2 settings), Steam community is disabled and NS2 has full permissions in Windows firewall.
I've also found that my fps drops down to as much as 8 fps. Even on a local game. In-game it's usually between 10-22. With 30-35 being max in RR or quiet areas.
Link to dxdiag: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1sRvIeBsgO4KHo_Y5u3AnY8wLgQj9gkmFtlUfwMwH1_U" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1sR...gkmFtlUfwMwH1_U</a>
Overall it's just not a smooth experience, never mind when I'm in combat. That just tends to be a slideshow.
Ping tends to be very good, I'm not downloading anything while playing as far as I'm aware and not much else is running except for a browser and messenger programs.
If anyone can spot an issue with my system or offer any advice, I'd be much obliged. Thanks in advance.
Comments
Also trying lowering graphic settings. Haven't been able to test it properly as I've been kicked out with Connection problems detected... every single time.
Also tried 'flash false' and something with 'bloom' earlier, but that didn't seem to make any difference at all.
His system is good yes, but certainly not amazing. That's not really helpful Thaldarin, as you don't have access to his system so can't make a definitive diagnosis. I will attempt to provide more help in my post.
Things I notice in your dxdiag file:
Firstly, your Graphics drivers are out of date: 10/22/2010
Secondly, your GFX chip is a GeForce 330GT - A medium to low-end Graphics chip. You're running at full 1080p and probably at high game settings. Most games from a few years ago will work fine with that setup, but NS2 is not yet fully optimised so you'll probably get not-great performance.
Thirdly, you CPU is the same as mine, and I get much superior performance, so there must be a bottleneck somewhere. I'd tend to think it's your Graphics chip.
--
To try and fix your low FPS issues I would do the following:
1) Update your BIOS via Acer's website. (This often can help with RAM compatibility and speed)
2) Update your Intel Inf drivers to the latest from Intel.com (can help with motherboard resources)
3) Upgrading your Graphics drivers by getting the latest from Nvidia.com lowing your resolution & changing to medium settings. See if this improves. (The 330GT had a number of software issues when it first came out due to buggy drivers that were acknowledged by Nvidia partners)
Try those, and get back to us and see if things have improved :)
Enjoy NS2!
either skip this step entirely or backup everything you ever want to see again before doing it.
bios flashing is notorious for being a crapshoot whether or not it works or completely destroys your system. if it can be avoided, do so. i usually do it only when i'm setting up my system for the first time as the failure rate is typically higher than say updating your gfx drivers.
other than the things listed by obraxis, which i completely agree with, do these things after:
<ul><li>download speedfan. its free and monitors your temps. </li><li>download prime95 its also free and it will stress test your system.</li><li>run the most demanding test with prime95 (forget which option that is atm) and monitor your temps at the same time.</li><li>if things overheat your system can often times downclock itself and give you this "wtf is going on?" situation.</li></ul>
<ul><li>thirdly, afterwards download and install the free "cpu-z" program and repeat the above processes and watch your core speed. if it drops at all when running prime95 or hot you have your culprit. if it fluctuates when nothing is running don't worry thats just intel's speedstep tech downclocking itself when not in use. (toggle-able in bios)</li></ul>
report back with results. :)
DxDiag has been around for a long, long time. That's what I used to assess and give my recommendations. NS2 is not optimised yet, so we ahve to do our best to work-around the limitations as best we can until it is better. Seeing as NS2 is the game he wants to play, it's best he runs that before and after to see if there is a difference.
Its a new engine and its beta... really its alpha but they can call it what ever they want.
I expect performance to get much better. Like im hoping it will be like about 100 % better in about a year. I would like 120fps at least and a good connection.
There net code and server code im pretty sure are just placeholders. aka there trash. So its just a matter of time. In this case of a small team it will be about 2-3 years before i think it will be running well.
we will see.
incorrect, but thanks for the helpful input.
if you want to see something set up for competitive gaming, check out the guys in these forums getting 107 fps with screenshots... lack of optimizations aren't slowing them down.
OP has the same exact CPU i do and i get 40 to 60 fps consistently.
the only thing he has thanks significantly different is his GPU, which, according to benchmarks is less than a 7900 ( <a href="http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=GeForce+GT+330" target="_blank">http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lo...=GeForce+GT+330</a> ) and this also probably the culprit now that i think about it. but regardless, OP saying he's getting 10 fp, so wth does "connection problems detected" have <u>anything </u>to do with that?
(speaking of not tweaking, is that why you're getting 20 fps with two 480's? if you need help diagnosing that pm me)
Can you elaborate?
NS2 has not been optimised for SLI, so disable it for NS2. You should see you performance increase. You spec is better than mine, and I get 60fps at 1080p High in NS2. So clearly there is an issue with your system.
Not necessarily. If NS2 hasn't a profile in the driver, and he isn't forcing it, SLI simply remains inactive, and he'll be using a single GTX480 (which greatly exceeds what NS2 is using the on GPU-side right now). On the other hand if he _has_ forced it on, incompatibility issues might cause anything to happen really (including a low FPS).
<!--quoteo(post=1856664:date=Jun 27 2011, 10:57 AM:name=Obraxis)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Obraxis @ Jun 27 2011, 10:57 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1856664"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You spec is better than mine, and I get 60fps at 1080p High in NS2. So clearly there is an issue with your system.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-'player'+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE ('player')</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I imagine 2 nearly identical systems _can_ get radically different performance in NS2.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That too goes for systems that are faster on paper, so stop telling people off using a measurement-tool as useless as NS2.
Things I notice in your dxdiag file:
Firstly, your Graphics drivers are out of date: 10/22/2010
Secondly, your GFX chip is a GeForce 330GT - A medium to low-end Graphics chip. You're running at full 1080p and probably at high game settings. Most games from a few years ago will work fine with that setup, but NS2 is not yet fully optimised so you'll probably get not-great performance.
Thirdly, you CPU is the same as mine, and I get much superior performance, so there must be a bottleneck somewhere. I'd tend to think it's your Graphics chip.
--
To try and fix your low FPS issues I would do the following:
1) Update your BIOS via Acer's website. (This often can help with RAM compatibility and speed)
2) Update your Intel Inf drivers to the latest from Intel.com (can help with motherboard resources)
3) Upgrading your Graphics drivers by getting the latest from Nvidia.com lowing your resolution & changing to medium settings. See if this improves. (The 330GT had a number of software issues when it first came out due to buggy drivers that were acknowledged by Nvidia partners)
Try those, and get back to us and see if things have improved :)
Enjoy NS2!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Telling someone their computer is garbage isn't helpful either, and no, it isn't just everyone's specs. My machine has a 680 OC'd to infinity and an i5 2nd gen @4.4 ghz and I manage to dip below 20fps. There isn't an excuse for that. My primary HD where NS is installed is also an SSD.
idk, I have a gtx460 with an i5 3570k and I don't seem to experience much if any dips in performance anymore. Originally I had a dual core 2.5ghz and it was terribad. I'll run some benchmarks and get back i guess. I don't believe it dips below 20.
Benchmarked a game:
Frames, Time (ms), Min, Max, Avg
38135, 720000, 32, 83, 52.965