Dual Core Gaming Fix Guide

Hey guys, I've been reading this thread since i came upon it a few
months back. I'm pretty sure the issue i have deals with the dual core
I have.

First here are my specs

Asus A8n5x mobo (socket 939)
1 gig corsair value ram
Amd X2 3800+
Nvidia 7900gt (Not oced)
Audigy 2 ZS

Now here is the problem, in games (Doom 3 and fear to name a couple)
anytime i would do something new like break a board, shoot, or go into
a new area (go through a door in doom/fear or even around the corner
of a building in fear) my computer would begin loading like crazy thus
slowing the game down. This load would be temporary and my fps would
shoot back up (Windows XP: With the dual core optimizer and new amd
driver installed)

However recently i installed windows vista, and in hopes of things
being fixed i decided to run fear again, this time the loadings were
much more frequent thus making the game totally unplayable as it was
basically loading every 15 seconds.

Now I've tried overclocking the video card in xp to see if that might
help anything and my fps in UT 2004 weren't affected at all. This
leads me to believe that maybe something is bottlenecking the system,
of course i'm not positive on this and I'm open to any suggestions you
guys have.

I would also like to point out that my friends rig (Amd 3400+ (slot
754), Ati X800 pro, 2 x 512 kingston ram) actually pulls out higher
and more stable fps in ut2004. During deathmatches i average roughly
somewhere in the 80's while my friend is well in the hundreds. In
onslaught my fps would nose dive (to the mid 30's) whenever it
encountered any type of real action, while my friend would still be in
the lower 50's.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, i know its not the software
cause I've reinstalled windows xp numerous times and I've also tried
it on Vista. I think i can rule out the video card with the reason i
stated earlier.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me,

DarkEclipseGSX
 
Are you sure you're using the right chipset drivers from Nvidia?

Your friend's CPU is technically "faster" when you're using a game optimized for 1 core since it is 2.2Ghz with 1mb cache vs. 2.0Ghz with 512k. Obviously on dual core optimized games you would be in much better shape. Yes, you should be able to pull better framerates than he does with your setup, but it depends on a lot of things like resolution, etc. He could be running one notch lower than you and get much better framerates.

Your problem doesn't sound like a dual core issue that this thread was meant to address. I haven't seen anything like that before. What do you mean by "loading"? Do you mean hard drive activity?
 
We both run games at 1024 X 768, and in UT2004 we both run the game maxed out.

The loading I'm referring to is hard drive loading. I'm pretty sure that I am using the right chipset drivers as I installed the version that came with my motherboard.

If you want any other information just let me know.

Thanks for the help

DarkEclipseGSX
 
It sounds like possibly a hard drive controller or swap file issue.
 
Ok, i sort of fixed the problem but when i did it brought up another problem lol. I'm guessing my low fps in ut2004 is due to drivers or something.

I have 3 hard drives in my rig, 1 sata and 2 ides they're all seagates. The sata is partitioned with one holding the os (vista) and the other holding my games. I went into my rig and completely disconnected the ide hard drives. Then when i booted into to windows and loaded up fear and SUCCESS! The loading lag was completely gone. I was able to play it maxed out :p . So i'm guessing this problem has to do with the hard drive controller? If so, how the hell do i fix it? Asus hasn't updated for this mother board in a while. Raid controls are disabled in the bios. As you can tell i'm more or less a noob when it comes to anything with the motherboard.

Thanks a bunch for everything man,
Oh and sorry about posting in this forum and not just starting up a new topic as i was first under the impression of this being a dual core issue.

Another thing for those wondering about vista and the dual cores, it seems to be all fixed, as i wasn't getting an stuttering in need for speed most wanted like i was with xp.

DarkEclipseGSX
 
Well, I'm not sure what the drives are set as, but you could make sure that the jumpers are set correctly on the drives. That might cause some issues.

Maybe the Nvidia IDE Software driver is installed. That driver caused me all kinds of problems with my IDE channels in WinXP. The basic microsoft one is much better.

I'd download the latest chipset drivers from Nvidia and see if that fixes any of your problems.
 
Can I use these fixes with my new E6600 too ??..or only AMD.

Hans.
 
It looks like it :(

First I had this:
Processor AMD Athlon OPTERON 170 dual/core - DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra D - 2048 MB (2x1024 MB) Crucial Ballistix Tracer Kit DDR500 CL3 (3-4-4-8) RAM - Asus EN7900GTX 512 MB - Audigy 2 - Seagate 200 GB, Seagate 80GB..On the 200GB I have my swapfile and all other stuff...80GB only for Race-Games.
ViewSonic VX912 - Enermax 600 Watt - Windows XP Home Edition.

Now a E6600 with a 8800GTX....old OPTERON clocked stable at 3.2 and I have my E6600 stable clocked at 3.4 no problems, temp. are fine too also Videocard.
Forgot...SEE MY SIG.

I like to play GTR2 (Race-Game) I used the same game/settings and I only have 20FPS more :confused:

Must be more..I hope :) ....which drivers did you use ??
3Dmark 06, I got around 11000 points.

Hans.
 
I did, even did a new Windows install.

How did you do your clean install ??...which chipdrivers for instance ??

Hans.
 
Lickman said:
I took the advice from this thread, removed the /usepmtimer, modified the registry enty for the MS hotfix and turned that off.
Click to expand...

I only installed the X2 driver and Dual Core Optimizer util from AMD the 2nd time around doing a reinstall after i went to SATA. Only strange thing i noticed is that the 1st time around with the MS hotfix installed my idle temps and load temps both stayed pegged like the CPU was maxed out all the time. And no i did NOT have CnQ enabled at that time either! :rolleyes:
 
kirbyrj said:
Have you had any gaming problems in Vista? I would have hoped that Microsoft would have fixed issues on their end with the release of Vista.
Click to expand...

I decided to format my drive clean and install vista 32 bit. BF2 ran smooth then I noticed a little jerkiness to which could have been lag. I played for a while longer and it ran smooth. I decided to just install the dual core optimizer just for the hell of it and it runs perfect now.
 
Regular Daddy said:
I decided to format my drive clean and install vista 32 bit. BF2 ran smooth then I noticed a little jerkiness to which could have been lag. I played for a while longer and it ran smooth. I decided to just install the dual core optimizer just for the hell of it and it runs perfect now.
Click to expand...

Specific dual core optimizer for Vista? Or does it just work because it's 32-bit?
 
kirbyrj said:
Specific dual core optimizer for Vista? Or does it just work because it's 32-bit?
Click to expand...

honestly, now that I think about it. I probably didn't need the dc optimizer. I was just getting stuttering from BF2 loading textures at the map starts.
 
Is this optimizer recommened for Vista64 ? Or does V64 have stuff already built into it to help DualCore ?
 
Zorachus said:
Is this optimizer recommened for Vista64 ? Or does V64 have stuff already built into it to help DualCore ?
Click to expand...

Do you have problems with Vista64? If you don't have problems, I wouldn't install anything.
 
So is there any reason not to install dual core optimizer and/or mshotfix? Is this needed for windows 64bit professional too?
 
hey guys,


Good to see people like kirbyrj still posting around. Initially i had a stuttering/lagging problem where steam would play fine for the first 40 seconds then lag like hell. By lagging, this isn't the internet problem- more like it would run fine for 3 seconds, then lag 3 seconds.

I initially fixed this problem by using an old graphics card driver... although that would mean i couldn't alt tab out of steam otherwise there's an error. But since it played fine, i ddint complain too much.

Another problem i had was with warcraft 3, where after about 40 mins, it would also lag like hell and the cursor will go crazy. To combat that problem, i've had to use a program that would force war3 to only run on 1 cpu.

But all of that changed when i realized what the problem was- it was motherboard related. I have the Asus A8R32N had an old version of the bios- and just by upgrading it to the new one (flashing it) the problem is fixed. I didnt even need to do the hot fix or driver- it worked fine for me. (I had the dual core optimizer installed previously though, so i cannot vouch for that)


So the moral of the story is- don't singularly look at the problem being a dual core problem. it could be something as simple as flashing a bios.


I noticed guys like Dark Eclipse with similiar mobos as me would benefit from flashing it. Its actually quite easy, ASUS even does one over the internet without going to the dos and doing all that complicated stuff there, involving a floppy drive. (I say complicated because i didnt even bother connecting my floppy drive up)

So there you go, hope you guys will get something of this post. I've yet to try more games, but in all likelihood, its going to work perfectly. Its a happily ever after for me.

Kirbyrj, special mention to you as you've been posting ever since page 1. Everyone thank him for his hard work and contribution- he should get paid more than the tech helpdesks around...
 
fx-60 cpu. to install or not to install?

Past few says i reformatted installed a fresh copy of winxp sp2. I used the guide posted on page one. Games i mostly play are W0W & CS Source. I really didn't see a huge boost in performance. FPS were kind of low for the system i have. Decided to give vista ultimate a try. Here is the freaky thing. Installed the AMD optimizer only. Rebooted, loaded up some CS Source. Game ran off the charts..FPS was at least 50 higher than XP.

After a day i noticed that World of Warcraft was freezing at random times. Decided to take out the Optimizer. Uninstalled it, system went wacky, indexing errors, blue screens, explorer errors.

Formatted (not the quick one, all my formats are the long painful one). Installed windows XP sp2 again. Warcraft runs just like it used to, CS Source will not get the FPS like i had with Vista.

Questions? Comments?

Thanks for your time.
 
Did you download and run the latest chipset drivers for your motherboard (from Nvidia, not DFI).

What happens when you install just the hotfix?

Just the optimizer?
 
[F8];1030689723 said:
So is there any reason not to install dual core optimizer and/or mshotfix? Is this needed for windows 64bit professional too?
Click to expand...

AFAIK, these aren't needed for XP64, but I've never tried it, so YMMV (post back and let me know if you have a problem). The problems I've seen and described in the OP are from XP 32-bit, and have XP 32-bit fixes. Newer games seem to address a lot of the issues right away and don't have as many problems as ones from 2-3 years ago.

Some people (myself included) don't like to install things that aren't needed. I almost always suggest not installing either the optimizer or the hotfix unless you feel it's needed based on your symptoms.
 
kirbyrj said:
Did you download and run the latest chipset drivers for your motherboard (from Nvidia, not DFI).

What happens when you install just the hotfix?

Just the optimizer?
Click to expand...

Yes using the newest Nvidia chipset drivers.

at work atm..

I guess i can try to install them and see..I just hate to go through what i did last few days. If i do a system restore. Then install them one by one. Will restore make it like they were never installed?
 
I just realized I had done all of this stuff but I've since swapped out my mobo and cpu (ultra-d and X2 3800+) for a C2D setup (see sig) and everything has been working wonderfully...

Does anyone think it would be advantageous to take off the /usepmtimer switch in my boot.ini now? ...or should I just leave it alone if it works fine.

I've uninstalled all the drivers and such but the switch remains.

One of these days I'll reinstall windows from scratch...I just haven't felt like it in almost a year.


EDIT: Nevermind...I just read what the pmtimer does...I should be fine
 
dolphumous said:
I just realized I had done all of this stuff but I've since swapped out my mobo and cpu (ultra-d and X2 3800+) for a C2D setup (see sig) and everything has been working wonderfully...

Does anyone think it would be advantageous to take off the /usepmtimer switch in my boot.ini now? ...or should I just leave it alone if it works fine.

I've uninstalled all the drivers and such but the switch remains.

One of these days I'll reinstall windows from scratch...I just haven't felt like it in almost a year.
Click to expand...

You swapped major components and didnt reformat? Good Luck to You.

I reinstalled windows xp to vista to xp to vista like 15 times just this month..
 
shagvirus said:
You swapped major components and didnt reformat? Good Luck to You.

I reinstalled windows xp to vista to xp to vista like 15 times just this month..
Click to expand...

I've done it a number of times.
  • Install the new components drivers before the swap
  • Swap the parts
  • Uninstall the drivers from the old hardware

Not a single glitch. Not even a repair...just loaded the desktop again...and that was a few months ago.
 
shagvirus said:
Yes using the newest Nvidia chipset drivers.

at work atm..

I guess i can try to install them and see..I just hate to go through what i did last few days. If i do a system restore. Then install them one by one. Will restore make it like they were never installed?
Click to expand...

I think so...I never looked into the finer points of the system restore (I don't even have it enabled). If you set a restore point before you start installing the different "fixes" then restore back to that point you should be fine.
 
installed the amd driver first, rebooted..installed the hotfix next..then edited the registry, then installed the optimizer...frames in CS source are still the same as before.

will test around a bit more.
 
Has anyone had any problems playing STALKER? Check out my sig for my machine. I'm running with the v1.001 patch on medium to high (but not maximum) settings for everything at 1400 x 900 resolution and have lots of stuttering and then some smooth playing as well (sounds kind of like the "Benny Hill" effect described on the first page).

I have not had to use any of the "fixes" listed on the first page of this thread so far and would like to keep it that way if possible, but was wondering if anyone else has had issues with the game? What did you do to resolve it? Also, will installing the AMD Dual Core patch (#1 on the first page) cause any problems in any other games? Can I uninstall it if it does not make a difference for STALKER? I really don't want to install something that is going to cause other games to run poorly just so I can run one good if possible...

Thanks!
 
Well, I just tried running it again, only this time I turned down the lighting from "full dynamic" to "object dynamic" and it seemed to run much smoother. However, I watched my CPU Usage on my other monitor and it is very obvious that the game is only using 1 core because one is maxed out while the other one is at approximately 0 percent. Any suggestions? I'm running version 1.0001.

Thanks!
 
kirbyrj said:
If the game optimized for dual core?
Click to expand...

Yes; directly from the game's README:

"S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl should utilize your dual and quad core processor natively and automatically. Running a dual or quad core processor is one of the best ways to improve performance."

Sounds like it should to me, even without getting any sort of fixes. Or am I missing something?
 
dbaldus said:
Yes; directly from the game's README:

"S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl should utilize your dual and quad core processor natively and automatically. Running a dual or quad core processor is one of the best ways to improve performance."

Sounds like it should to me, even without getting any sort of fixes. Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Well, you could benchmark on one CPU (disable it in the set affinity) and then run it "normally" and see if there's any difference (or at least a noticable difference) to see if you're getting any boost from dual core.
 
kirbyrj said:
Well, you could benchmark on one CPU (disable it in the set affinity) and then run it "normally" and see if there's any difference (or at least a noticable difference) to see if you're getting any boost from dual core.
Click to expand...

Okay, this is an interesting thing...

I tried running it by setting the affinity manually and running only on one core. It seemed to run smoother and I was getting much higher framerates (approximately 10 fps higher, plus it was smooth). I then switched the affinity back to normal (both cores on), went back into the game, and it played about the same as with one core on. However, after resetting the affinity to use two cores again, I noticed that both cores were actually being used (looking at the CPU usage in the task manager). This is what should be happening.

However, whenever I reboot into the game and don't mess with the affinity at all, it only uses 100% of one core and then next to nothing of the other (the problem I was having before). I have rebooted into the game three times now, and each time this happens. The only time it works correctly (using both cores), is when I manually set the affinity to one core then set it back to two...

What the hell is going on?
 
So, just in general, if a game is actually "using" both cores, what will the CPU Usage look like in the Task Manager? One core maxed, the other one at or near zero? Both cores around 50%?

I'm wondering because Company of Heroes and Quake 4 (who are both supposed to take advantage of dual core procs) both show the CPU Usage at 50% for each core. However, STALKER and FEAR, who also are supposed to take advantage of dual cores, show one CPU at 100% and the other around 0. The games run okay, but I'm wondering if it is just because my proc is at 2.7Ghz with 2 gigs of RAM and not because it is actually using both cores...
 
When I installed the optimizer and double-clicked the icon from the programs folder, nothing happened. They state in the readme that there's supposed to be an AMD logo in the system tray to toggle game mode "on/off". I don't get that at all. Double-clicking the icon does nothing. I don't have the MS hotfix installed, just the AMD driver set (dated July 2006) and this optimizer.
The only game I'm concerned with is CS:S. I'm getting what most posters are describing as 'slowdowns' and choppy moving bots across the screen. Putting less bots in the game doesn't help and even setting the affinity to only use CPU 0 doesn't help much either.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I only be using ONE fix and not two?

System specs:

ASUS A8V-Deluxe
AMD opteron dual core 180
1GB Corsair PC3200XL 2-2-2-5
ATI X1600XT
WD Raptor 74GB set at RAID 0

I'm not OC'ing any hardware component and I have the most updated drivers for my BIOS, (no beta, just official release) video card (latest post is March 28th).

Any help would be appreciated.....Sorry in advance if I left something out.
 
I just upgraded to vista ultimate on my dual core machine. Are there fixes needed to optimize dual core in Windows Vista?
 
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