Of all things...is my SOUND CARD the bottleneck?? Or something else?

2007-08-02 17:24:34

#1

[QXJZ]Capt_Kefra: Alright, you're good to go!; +124|6726|Honolulu, HI

Ok here's the deal, whenever I play BF2 these days since getting my new computer, it's horribly, unplayably jittery. Doesn't matter if I just restarted, if I exit all other apps and end all other processes before playing, it's still laggy as hell. I'm at my wit's end with this problem and I don't know if I should switch back to my old box, trade the nice graphics for BF2 that's actually playable...

The thing is, whenever my hard drive access light blinks on, the action on screen stops. When the light is blinking on and off, that means the action gets choppy and stutters...and if the hard drive light is solid on, as it seems to be for the first 3 minutes of each map, then forget it, I'm stuck. I can't even move.

I'm wondering what the hell is causing this problem? My specs are:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300/1.8 GHz
GeForce 8600 GTS/256MB
320gb SATA II hard drive
2GB PC5200 DDR2 RAM
Windows Vista Home Professional 32-bit

I tried disabling my virtual memory page file, hoping that would lessen the computer's accessing the hard drive while I play BF2. I tried clearing my temp files. Nothing has done a damn thing so far.

I can see only two potential bottlenecks that could be causing my horrendous jitter. Either I need a sound card (using onboard sound right now), OR this is Vista's fault. I'm more inclined to blame Vista because it's more satisfying, plus I save money by not having to get a sound card. But what do you guys think?

Any help, suggestions etc. are much appreciated. Thanks.

2007-08-02 17:44:18

#2

Hurricane: Banned; +1,153|6628|Washington, DC

1) When'd you buy that drive? It might be going bad... if you hear loud clicks, backup essential data and get a new drive ASAP

2) When'd you install Vista? I'm inclined to say it's just a case of the 'oldies'... a fresh install of Windows is often a quick, easy solution to any unexplainable problems.

3) I'm inclined to say it's the hard drive, simply because you say that when the drive access light goes on, the game freezes.

2007-08-02 17:48:46

#3

Cheez: Herman is a warmaphrodite; +1,027|6436|King Of The Islands

Hurricane wrote:
3) I'm inclined to say it's the hard drive, simply because you say that when the drive access light goes on, the game freezes.

One thing he could test is using lower graphic settings (like 800x600 at shitness). It will all load into his 2GB of RAM and not use the HDD. If that works, the HDD would be the problem.

My state was founded by Batman. Your opinion is invalid.

2007-08-02 17:53:32

#4

DjDave: Member; +1|6687

Make sure EAX is not ticked in the audio options lol I had the same problem

2007-08-02 17:58:36

#5

weerdfoo1: Banned; +26|6162|California

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300/1.8 GHz

With a 1.8 GHz Processor and a bad Sound Card will cause CPU clock cycles to go down causing the game to lag.

I personally think it's the sound card

Last edited by weerdfoo1 (2007-08-02 17:59:05)

2007-08-02 18:05:48

#6

DjDave: Member; +1|6687

I had a problem like this make sure EAX isnt turned on in the audio menu worked for me I had the same problem

2007-08-02 18:33:12

#7

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6195|Winland

Yes, EAX is a definite no-no for int. soundcards. You should check the HDD too, if it's been dropped or anything, it's propably broken. Take it out and cheeck for any physical damage, and check teh SATA cable. SATA cables often pop a little gap, and it sometimes causes problems like this. And check if you've got an Asrock/Via motherboard, they tend to have disk issues with SATA drives. I have one, and it has physically destroyed two HDD's. I don't know how.

I'll subscribe to this.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2007-08-02 19:17:21

#8

KnifeyBoy: Member; +5|6113

i had it worse with eax on but i turned it off and now its only there for a few seconds when i start

2007-08-02 19:21:20

#9

[QXJZ]Capt_Kefra: Alright, you're good to go!; +124|6726|Honolulu, HI

Thank you very much for your comments thus far. I'm not sure if my EAX is turned on, I will check right now.

As for the hard drive and Vista, they came stock with the rest of the computer (an HP). The only aftermarket parts I've put in are a 450w power supply (HP shipped it with a 250, I'm surprised it'd even boot up with that thing) and the video card (the stock power supply does NOT have a 6-pin connector to accomodate PCI-e cards, despite the mobo having a PCI-e x16 slot. Go figure). I did a fresh install of everything--BF2 and Vista--about 2 months ago due to a BSoD.

Again, thank you all for your suggestions. I will try them out and report back.

2007-08-02 19:23:36

#10

KnifeyBoy: Member; +5|6113

also try using software sound helped me a little

2007-08-02 22:41:58

#11

unnamednewbie13: Moderator; +2,053|6769|PNW

Well, you get what you pay for. I hope they didn't charge you premium price.

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2007-08-02 22:42:19)

2007-08-03 05:22:30

#12

loubot: O' HAL naw!; +470|6576|Columbus, OH

When BF2 gets jittery for me it usually means the video cards are getting hot. Next time you play, take the side panel off and if you have a room fan....aim it towards the open side of your tower. If this solves your problem, then you have a cooling problem.

2007-08-03 05:37:46

#13

Bertster7: Confused Pothead; +1,101|6579|SE London

A 6300 can easily cope with running BF2 with EAX, whether with a soundcard or not.

I find it very hard to believe that the sound card is responsible.

Suggesting that a sound card is a system bottleneck is simply ludicrous. Bottlenecking is a term used far to often by people who don't understand what it means. It's usage in this case in wrong, plain and simple.

Last edited by Bertster7 (2007-08-03 05:39:14)

2007-08-03 06:01:03

#14

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|6714

RAM is a bit slow in my opinion, that's the only bottleneck I see. I would also get a new hard drive...

https://cache.www.gametracker.com/server_info/203.46.105.23:21300/b_350_20_692108_381007_FFFFFF_000000.png

2007-08-03 06:02:24

#15

Bertster7: Confused Pothead; +1,101|6579|SE London

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
RAM is a bit slow in my opinion, that's the only bottleneck I see. I would also get a new hard drive...

The RAM is not a bottleneck either.

2007-08-03 10:10:27

#16

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6195|Winland

RAM is not the problem. BF2 can run perfectly good on DDR266, or even 100MHz SDRAM. (Yes, I've tried it).

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2007-08-03 13:23:56

#17

vpyroman: Aeon Supreme commander; +16|6614|UCF

How about ye defrag thee HDD? Also, the external power source for 3D cards doesn't come with the PSU, it comes with the card(or all 3 of them came with my 7 series cards.)

2007-08-03 14:22:07

#18

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6195|Winland

vpyroman wrote:
How about ye defrag thee HDD? Also, the external power source for 3D cards doesn't come with the PSU, it comes with the card(or all 3 of them came with my 7 series cards.)

External power source? For a 8600? Are you joking? Even 8800GTX' run on internal power. They just have two PCIe power inlets. If I remember right, it's just the 7950GX2 that requires an external power source.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2007-08-05 03:44:34

#19

[QXJZ]Capt_Kefra: Alright, you're good to go!; +124|6726|Honolulu, HI

Although I could have done without the snarky, snobbish tone of a few of the posters, by and large your advice was helpful. I traced the problem to my video settings; I remember reading somewhere that Vista and antialiasing don't play well together so on a hunch I disabled my 4xAA. The difference was night and day.

I don't usually bother taking the piss out of posters, but Bertster7, thank you for making my day. "Bottlenecking is a term used by far to many people" is funny enough, but "It's usage in this case in wrong, plain and simple" is the most ironic sentence I've ever seen. Bravo.

Anyway, back to the point. The problem has been fixed, but I still thank those of you who took the time to spare me your opinions. Repeat, the issue has been solved and this thread can be safely closed.

Thanks again.

BF2S Forums Of all things...is my SOUND CARD the bottleneck?? Or something else?

Hurricane wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

vpyroman wrote:

Board footer