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Author Topic: SOLVED: Windows 7 slow game speed  (Read 1314 times)

mf_hansen

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SOLVED: Windows 7 slow game speed
« on: December 16, 2013, 05:51:30 PM »
Problem: Suddenly today, on logging into PotM or any other NwN server, offline or online, the game speed has fallen to 1/3 of its normal speed. My framerate is just fine, about 200 fps, but my character moves and animates very slowly in the OOC area.

Elaboration: The character carries 115 out of 156 or so lbs of items, so I am quite sure this is a technical issue since it also happens if I load up another character in a singleplayer Pretty Good Character module. Game speed was just fine the day before, and I do not remember altering NwN or graphics settings inbetween. So has anyone else encountered something similar?

Suggestion: I've tried setting Client CPU Affinity=2 in nwnplayer.ini (to force nwmain.exe onto only core 3 of my four CPU cores) instead of the default -1 or -2, and I tried removing OpenGL32.dll (from the GLIntercept workaround for GeForce 500 series cards such as mine). I've updated Nvidia graphics drivers to version 331.82 and hopefully this is enough and will fix the issue after I try again tomorrow. If not I will try forcing Threaded Optimization off for nwmain.exe and nwn.exe in the Nvidia control panel.

Conclusion: Of course I should have tried restarting/updating graphics drivers first; I doubt it changes anything but keep my fingers crossed and leave this post for anyone who might experience the same problem of good fps but slow game speed. The issue must be related to multicore rendering or processing, but what the exact solution is I don't know just yet. Feel free to chime in if you have other suggestions to try for people in this situation.

CPU: Intel Core i5-750 at 2.67GHz
RAM: 8,00 GB
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti (1,00 GB dedicated GDDR5 VRAM)
MB: ASUS P7P55D
HD0: 128 GB Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series (holds Win7 and programs)
HD1: 1,00 TB Western Digital Caviar Green (holds games and NwN)
« Last Edit: December 17, 2013, 11:49:15 AM by mf_hansen »
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mf_hansen

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Re: Windows 7 slow game speed
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2013, 01:55:44 AM »
Update: After upgrading Nvidia drivers and disabling/enabling threaded optimization, antialiasing and other values in Nvidia control panel for nwn.exe and nwmain.exe, the game still moves slowly. Also tried getting rid of Windows XP Service Pack 3 compatibility mode and Run as Administrator, and forced game to native fullscreen resolution (I normally run in a 1600x900 window).

What's most frustrating is it seemingly happened overnight. Will try removing and reinstalling default Win7 audio drivers next, but I doubt it changes anything. Running out of ideas.
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Bluebomber4evr

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Re: Windows 7 slow game speed
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2013, 02:21:35 AM »
try disabling shiny water if you haven't already done so

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swbf2lord

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Re: Windows 7 slow game speed
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2013, 02:28:59 AM »
Vsync was causing some wierd issues for me. Using the adaptive Vsync from the control panel helps, as well as, potentially, limiting the framerate to 58 FPS for NWN in by using the Nvidia Inspector tool.

mf_hansen

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Re: SOLVED: Windows 7 slow game speed
« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2013, 11:54:21 AM »
Fixed!: I booted up PotM again this evening and game speed was back to normal again. I changed nothing, so the only explanation I have currently is that my reinstall of audio drivers (or two restarts after Nvidia drivers) somehow fixed the issue. Excellent suggestions regarding Enable Vsync=1 and ShinyWater=0 in nwn.ini though, especially Adaptive Vsync in Nvidia control panel. Ahh, the wonders of PC gaming.

What would be even cooler is if GLIntercept somehow had its own FPS limiter, so it also keeps framerate below 60 while converting OpenGL calls into Direct3D. Perhaps NWShader can do this (along with its FX tweaks). Vsync often tends to slow down user input handling, so I usually prefer a built-in framerate limiter instead, where you can customize the max framerate as desired.

I would experiment further to find an explanation to my original game speed issue, but on the other hand maybe I should not look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth, and instead just enjoy the game working as intended again. If the issue somehow returns on a later date I always have this forum thread and a Raise Dead scroll handy.

Thanks all - Issue resolved.

EDIT: After some more restarts I now know the true cause for the game speed slowdown; I believe the CPU temperature sensor triggers an underclock to avoid overheating. Possibly because my CPU heatsink is not properly mounted with fresh thermal paste. Laying the case down so gravity keeps the heatsink connected to the CPU has reduced how often the underclocking slowdown occurs.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2014, 12:50:01 PM by mf_hansen »
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