Despite High End Rig, Getting Stuttering Problems.

[matthecat]

Despite High End Rig, Getting Stuttering Problems.

I recently purchased The Witcher and have been thouroughly enjoying the story unfolding. I have a fairly high end system and in the initial part of the game I could run The Witcher Maxed out always with a smooth framerate. However now that I am in the Vizima and Swamp area's of the game I am getting a stuttering effect every two paces that I walk although FRAPS continues to read 60FPS. I would be grateful if anyone could suggest what may be causing this problem?The problemis almost like what II would expect microstutter to be like, except with bigger stutters and I dont have a dual GPU solution. I am thinking that it maybe is a hard-drive loading problem but cant imagine why as my machine handles much more intensive and visually impressive programs than the Witcher with no such flaws? Asus Maximus X38E8400 @ 3.83GHzHD4870 512MB4GB PC8500 @ 851MHz 4-4-4-12X-Fi Fatal1ty XtremeGamer Professional SeriesI have included the PC Wizard Scan in accordance with rules of this forum....so if some hot-shot has the time to read through all that gash and come up with a remedy, then great! Wouldn't be me though! :evil.S. I have scoured the web before posting here and have found that the non-framerate related lag/stutter is a common problem. I have also browsed this forum but I could not work out how to 'Reply' to the pre-existing threads on this topic which is why I have started a new one. All my drivers are up to date and I am running XP64 (for the sole purpose of getting all my 4.5Mb Ram addressed). I have no problems in running any other game smoothly at a high standard (aside from the notorious X-Fi sound issues....but we are talking gfx here).

 

[bad213boy]

Thats odd. From the looks of it, you do have a high end gaming rig. I'm running an FSB of around 1000MHz, perhaps try aiming towards that if you can by overclocking. I'm also using the new Geforce 260 model, which blows any single core ATI card out the window when it comes to performance. One thing to look is to figure out how many programs you have running in the background. Here's a good Windows XP site that will help you optimize. Perhaps you have too many unwanted services running in your background.http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htmAlso, you may have a virus. I would try using Avira from download.com. It's free, light on your resources, and its the best rated for the past couple months. Also download Adaware from download.com. Shoot back with your results. You also might want to download the free trial of 3DMark and run a test. See how well your computer runs on different games.

 

[matthecat]

Thats odd. From the looks of it, you do have a high end gaming rig. I'm running an FSB of around 1000MHz, perhaps try aiming towards that if you can by overclocking. I'm also using the new Geforce 260 model, which blows any single core ATI card out the window when it comes to performance. One thing to look is to figure out how many programs you have running in the background. Here's a good Windows XP site that will help you optimize. Perhaps you have too many unwanted services running in your background.http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htmAlso, you may have a virus. I would try using Avira from download.com. It's free, light on your resources, and its the best rated for the past couple months. Also download Adaware from download.com. Shoot back with your results. You also might want to download the free trial of 3DMark and run a test. See how well your computer runs on different games.

Hmm....Generally, the ATI 4870 blows the 260 out the water in most benchmarks I have seen but lets not bicker about who has the best gaming card.I am not a complete noob with PC's and I know not to have 20 other applications running in the background when I game. I get a 3dMark06 score of around 15'000. I can run bascially every other game for PC MAXED to the hilt with no problems. My honest opinions is that Witcher is just another very poorly optimised buggy as hell RPG game and now that people have the hardware to run it at full pelt, the lag/stutter whatever you want to call it is being exposed as if the FRAPS counter is showing 60 and the game is still jumping around all over the place, then it has got to be a software problem.This is a shame as the immersive story line of the Witcher has me hooked and is like no other I have ever come across in PC gaming. However, I feel I am on the verge of packing the game in and taking it back to store before I lose my statutory right to return it.

 

[syfelous]

Ok. i'll tell u what i tell everyone. if u wanna play games use AMD...if u wanna do office work buy intel.and next time dont pay so much attention to the benchmark scores.pay attention to the scores in the fields ur actually buying the system for.ur vid card fails from the gitgo...do more research on what ur gonna be doing with the card.catlyst drivers are the worst known to man.and remember...all ur hardware needs to be able to actually work together. dont buy hardware based on peoples opinions on what they got.take the comment by mtthecat "the ATI 4870 blows the 260 out the water in most benchmarks " this fails as well.exampleSpecs:ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION Any GeForce 8800gtx and up (remember core processes dont outweigh vid ram)any ram that matches ur board (dual channel)PSU at least 700+ wattswhat you'll have is total pwnage....ggkthnx

 

[dyrestraits]

Ok. i'll tell u what i tell everyone. if u wanna play games use AMD...if u wanna do office work buy intel.and next time dont pay so much attention to the benchmark scores.pay attention to the scores in the fields ur actually buying the system for.ur vid card fails from the gitgo...do more research on what ur gonna be doing with the card.catlyst drivers are the worst known to man.and remember...all ur hardware needs to be able to actually work together. dont buy hardware based on peoples opinions on what they got.take the comment by mtthecat "the ATI 4870 blows the 260 out the water in most benchmarks " this fails as well.exampleSpecs:ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION Any GeForce 8800gtx and up (remember core processes dont outweigh vid ram)any ram that matches ur board (dual channel)PSU at least 700+ wattswhat you'll have is total pwnage....ggkthnx

Oh? And just why should anyone pay any attention to what you have to say, O, Ye, of a Total of TWO Posts to Date?!I've been playing games on Intel systems using ATI video cards for years....going all the way back to the 8 MB All in Wonder PCI card. [NOT PCI Express, PCI]Just because you 'prefer' AMD Processors and nVidia cards doesn't make your 'brand' the absolute best one available. AND, BTW, I DO have an AMD system here and my INTEL blows it out of the water.

 

[username_2067007]

Neither of you has (had) talked like an old-timer, and there are other folks still playing who were doing so before I started, but I go back to CGA and HGC, before EGA or VGA (for games. I had desktop computers named "Microcomputers" and even a $400 modem that ran at 300 "baud" from about 1977). I do use some Intel parts, but never their chipsets. I use some nVIDIA parts, but seldom their very top cards (I do have a 7800 GT, but haven't had it nearly as long as my X1950 Pro). I've run The Witcher on a CPU that the official requirements say isn't good enough (XP 3000 /400 FSB version at its basic clock speed), with an X850 XTP, and had no stuttering anywhere that I noticed, but that's my web-messaging PC that I do my eMail on. However, when the game was released, I was having some difficulties with the PC I keep in here, my bedroom, where I usually do my gaming. I've reassigned that one, and even this one (I'm in the bedroom, couldn't sleep well) is overdue to upgrade (it "only" has a single core AMD A64 4000, and a Radeon 1900 GT, and will get an X2 soon). Mostly, now, I'm going to wait on the enhanced version, but brief runs with this PC and the unpatched game seemed to be going just fine . . The reason I stick to year-old hardware, to save on first year depreciation, is a fixed income, having been retired several years now, and just don't have a lot of spare shekels.

 

[dyrestraits]

Neither of you is an old-timer, and there are other folks still playing who were doing so before I started, but I go back to CGA and HGC, before EGA or VGA. I do use some Intel parts, but never their chipsets. I use some nVIDIA parts, but seldom their very top cards (I do have a 7800 GT, but haven't had it nearly as long as my X1950 Pro). I've run The Witcher on a CPU that the official requirements say isn't good enough (XP 3000 /400 FSB version at its basic clock speed), with an X850 XTP, and had no stuttering anywhere that I noticed, but that's my web-messaging PC that I do my eMail on. However, when the game was released, I was having some difficulties with the PC I keep in here, my bedroom, where I usually do my gaming. I've reassigned that one, and even this one (I'm in the bedroom, couldn't sleep well) is overdue to upgrade (it "only" has a single core AMD A64 4000, and a Radeon 1900 GT, and will get an X2 soon). Mostly, now, I'm going to wait on the enhanced version, but brief runs with this PC and the unpatched game seemed to be going just fine . .

Excuse me, but, you have no idea what you're talking about when you say "neither of [us] is an old timer." I go back to the VIC 20, the Commodore 128, and the VECTREX! How much more 'old timer' can you get?! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VectrexMy point is that this is NOT an AMD vs. INTEL issue and shouldn't be considered as one. For one person to come on here and say that AMD = Gaming; INTEL= Business, is garbage and hogwash. It's NOT that cut and dried.EDIT: And, for the record, I'll be 60 years old this December.

 

[username_2067007]

I would *LOVE* to be only 59! You're practically just middle aged.

 

[jableskage]

i could max TW with 2 x 7900 GTX 512 mb minus the grass! grass fooked me system, try turning it off!!

 

[matthecat]

Well, I am very glad that we all wrked out whose PC components are the best using 5 year old arguments (that AMD V Intel thing just dont apply no more....not since Core Duo anyways). But this dont explain why my game runs like a piece of crap when ALL OTHER GAMES RUN MAXED TO THE HILT!

i could max TW with 2 x 7900 GTX 512 mb minus the grass! grass fooked me system, try turning it off!!

I shall give this one a try later on...see how I go...but like I say, my game runs mostly at 60FPS, apart from the little stammers when the game is loading from new areas. But even when FRAPS reads solid 60...the game is 'lagging' around all over the place....(that is what it is like...playing online when your connection is lagging).Also, The Witcher is the only game I own that I dont have a NO-CD crack for mostly because I cannot find one from the usual sources. The reason that I always hunt for a No-CD crack is because:a) I cant be bothered swapping DVD's around all the timeb) to extend my drives lifeandc) because I know that many copy protect systems interfere with the running of the game as the system constantly looks to read from the DVD........ Anyone shed any light on this one? I am using patch 1.3 for which their is no No-CD crack out for but could easily revert to 1.2 if this would solve the problem.P.S. I have also made a request for support to the games devs. If I get any joy there I will post the remedy and the results in this thread.......if dont hear from them, then I will just be taking my DVD back to store before my 2 weeks are up.......Not paying for a game that dont run properly.

 

[coelocanth]

dont buy hardware based on peoples opinions on what they got.

That right there is the only sensible thing you said in your post. Seriously, do some research before you try handing out sage 'advice'.Matthecat: sorry for the off topic post, but I couldn't let that dim post go.

 

[bad213boy]

Ok. i'll tell u what i tell everyone. if u wanna play games use AMD...if u wanna do office work buy intel.and next time dont pay so much attention to the benchmark scores.pay attention to the scores in the fields ur actually buying the system for.ur vid card fails from the gitgo...do more research on what ur gonna be doing with the card.catlyst drivers are the worst known to man.and remember...all ur hardware needs to be able to actually work together. dont buy hardware based on peoples opinions on what they got.take the comment by mtthecat "the ATI 4870 blows the 260 out the water in most benchmarks " this fails as well.exampleSpecs:ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION Any GeForce 8800gtx and up (remember core processes dont outweigh vid ram)any ram that matches ur board (dual channel)PSU at least 700+ wattswhat you'll have is total pwnage....ggkthnx

Sorry to get off track here, but we need to establish fact from fiction. AMD is the cheap (businiess) buy out way. Intel is so much faster in every way. My Q6700 quad processor is faster than any AMD processor out to date. Every overclocking benchmark is set by Intel, not AMD. AMD has better hyperthreading technology, but for benchmarking and gaming wise, it doesn't even come close to the Intel x48 or p45 chipsets.http://www.maximumpc.com/article/amd_s_new_x4_quad_coreIf you're looking for performance comparisons vs the Geforce and the ATI, look here.http://www.techspot.com/review/109-geforce-gtx-260-280-versus-radeon-4850-4870/page4.html

Thats odd. From the looks of it, you do have a high end gaming rig. I'm running an FSB of around 1000MHz, perhaps try aiming towards that if you can by overclocking. I'm also using the new Geforce 260 model, which blows any single core ATI card out the window when it comes to performance. One thing to look is to figure out how many programs you have running in the background. Here's a good Windows XP site that will help you optimize. Perhaps you have too many unwanted services running in your background.http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htmAlso, you may have a virus. I would try using Avira from download.com. It's free, light on your resources, and its the best rated for the past couple months. Also download Adaware from download.com. Shoot back with your results. You also might want to download the free trial of 3DMark and run a test. See how well your computer runs on different games.

Hmm....Generally, the ATI 4870 blows the 260 out the water in most benchmarks I have seen but lets not bicker about who has the best gaming card.I am not a complete noob with PC's and I know not to have 20 other applications running in the background when I game. I get a 3dMark06 score of around 15'000. I can run bascially every other game for PC MAXED to the hilt with no problems. My honest opinions is that Witcher is just another very poorly optimised buggy as hell RPG game and now that people have the hardware to run it at full pelt, the lag/stutter whatever you want to call it is being exposed as if the FRAPS counter is showing 60 and the game is still jumping around all over the place, then it has got to be a software problem.This is a shame as the immersive story line of the Witcher has me hooked and is like no other I have ever come across in PC gaming. However, I feel I am on the verge of packing the game in and taking it back to store before I lose my statutory right to return it.

Without overclocking my rig, I get maybe half that on my score. It could be something so stupid as slow memory, or maybe the ATI cards just aren't cutting it? I don't have much experience with ATI cards. Maybe it's the XP64. I don't know. Try that tweaking website first and see it helps. It wont hurt to try it. You really only need 30 FPS to have it run smoothly.Another idea I just read about in PC Maxium magazine is that it can also depend on your monitor. If you using a cheap end flat screen, it might not be able to process the graphics at your current resolution. Try lowering the resolution a bit and see if that helps.

 

[bad213boy]

Double post.

 

[matthecat]

Nah...all my equipment is top notch...Every other game works fine...or did until I installed the Witcher...then they are bloody jumping around to some extent at least...I had to uninstall drivers and delete registery entries and do a fresh install to get my system back to normal.Nope, I have decided that The Witcher is a faulty product and I am taking it back to the store for an exchange on another game. Not only does it not run properly, it bloody brakes my computer. Such a shame as I was really bloody enjoying this game.......such an immersive storyline.Thanks to those who have replied and Atari who didnt bother to reply.MatTheCatP.S. I only get 15000 with V-Synch disabled. With V-Synch turned on....I get around 13000. And these are 3dMark06 scores.....NOT 3dMarkVantage!

 

[yesterday]

Ok. i'll tell u what i tell everyone. if u wanna play games use AMD...if u wanna do office work buy intel.exampleSpecs:ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION Any GeForce 8800gtx and up (remember core processes dont outweigh vid ram)any ram that matches ur board (dual channel)PSU at least 700+ wattswhat you'll have is total pwnage....ggkthnx

DId you move to Mars sometime in 2006?MATTHECAT,What resolution were you trying to play this on? The truth is, this game DOES require some pretty hefty specs to get an "acceptable" performance/quality balance, more than most of us are used to. I concluded that I could just tone down some things and live with it. Some people, like yourself, come to the equally valid conclusion that the devs have specced this too high compared to the rest of the games out there, and give up. I'm hoping it will get tweaked a bit for the EE

 

[matthecat]

MATTHECAT,What resolution were you trying to play this on? The truth is, this game DOES require some pretty hefty specs to get an "acceptable" performance/quality balance, more than most of us are used to. I concluded that I could just tone down some things and live with it. Some people, like yourself, come to the equally valid conclusion that the devs have specced this too high compared to the rest of the games out there, and give up. I'm hoping it will get tweaked a bit for the EE

I game at 1650 *1080.But this is fine. Like I have said many many times before. I get a solid 60FPS most of the time except when an area is loading. The little stammers that occur when an area is loading I can handle. but the constant stutter I cannot handle. Especially when my hardware is cleary doing its very best. See what I am saying? There is nothing I need to turn down, its just that comething in the games engine is bugged and just installing the game caused similar problems in all my other games. (problems in other games which are now gone due to me re-installing all drivers).In 2 hours time or so, The Witcher will no longer be a concern of mine as I am taking it back to the shop.

 

[Licaon_Kter]

do keep it on topic guys

I game at 1650 *1080.But this is fine. Like I have said many many times before. I get a solid 60FPS most of the time except when an area is loading. The little stammers that occur when an area is loading I can handle. but the constant stutter I cannot handle.

it's not fine when it's doing this

There is nothing I need to turn down, its just that comething in the games engine is bugged and just installing the game caused similar problems in all my other games. (problems in other games which are now gone due to me re-installing all drivers).

what? this is not possible BTW, if the drivers reinstall fixed everything, then it was the drives fault anyway

 

[matthecat]

do keep it on topic guys

I game at 1650 *1080.But this is fine. Like I have said many many times before. I get a solid 60FPS most of the time except when an area is loading. The little stammers that occur when an area is loading I can handle. but the constant stutter I cannot handle.

it's not fine when it's doing this

There is nothing I need to turn down, its just that comething in the games engine is bugged and just installing the game caused similar problems in all my other games. (problems in other games which are now gone due to me re-installing all drivers).

what? this is not possible BTW, if the drivers reinstall fixed everything, then it was the drives fault anyway

No.The Witcher does not run ok. Everything else does...but no the Witcher...There are clearly no answers out there neither from community or the devs.......Game would have been exhcanged today but it was a bank holiday here.....Game goes back to store 2moro.

 

[TheSilver]

When playing at 1650x1080 stutters will always be there. Personally I play at 1280x1024 with no Problems.Did you change stuff in your drivers? I remember I had changed something in my drivers once (back in the days) and my copy of Oblivion jsut didn't want to run.I'd also wouldn't run Fraps in the background. For finding out what the FPS it is fine, however it does take quite a lot of performance away.

 

[dyrestraits]

I can attest to the fact that running FRAPS in the background will definitely cause some problems. I use it all the time for when I want to 1: See FPS, or 2. Capture a Game Video.