8800 GTS runs Medieval 2 at only 25-30fps?

[ibex333]

I just got a new 700w OCZ PSU and 8800GTS 640mb.

Installed everything, and tried playing Medieval 2 at 1280x1024 with everything on high + 8x AA and 16x Anisotropic... Only getting 25-30fps in fraps with these settings... The campaign map even seems to be lagging! The battles seem to be more or less smooth.

Any idea what's up? I spoke to many people prior to buying the g80, and most replies were "your CPU wont bottleneck much". Which was good enough for me.

Anyway, I'd like someone to explain why I'm getting such low fps.. Mabe Medieval 2 is too much even for the g80?

 

[Gstanfor]

I can see two reasons in your sig. 1 gig of memory and the 3200+.

 

[40sTheme]

Yeah, 1GB RAM isn't going to cut it for that massive world game. Also, AA is VERY detrimental to performance do to the insane amount of objects on screen at any time. Cut it down, you will see a huge difference.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

3 things I see so far:

you need a faster CPU
2 GB of Ram
turn AA down to 4x or 2x

I would upgrade your CPU to a X2 3800 and OC it to 2.5-2.8 ghz as well as get a 2GB (2x 1GB) ram kit

 

[gamepad]

Set the graphics to the lowest setting possible (low texture, 800x600, etc). If you get the same fps, it's definitely a CPU or memory bottleneck.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

I only played the demo on a 7600GS (gasp!). 1024x768 and a little trial and error with the settings (low-med). Ran at like 15FPS during battles. With the camera zoomed out a fair distance, I would say it was playable. How much are you gaining by going from 8xAA to no AA?

I still stick with Rome: Total War with this humble machine when I want a quick epic-gaming fix.

 

[ibex333]

I was getting 25-30 fps with low settings on my old 6600GT. I couldnt even run the game smoothly at my monitor's native res which is 1280x1024.

I'll tune the settings down and post the results. (oh and I'll upgrade the CPU and ram as soon as i get the dough)

The upgrade was still worth it cause i do see some differences. C&C3 demo runs smooth as butter on max settings for example.


EDIT: How peculiar... Apparently I am bottlenecked. I checked C&C3 with fraps and I'm only getting 27-30fps. That's at the highest settings though. But then I lower the settings, I'm getting the same fps!!!

Same in Medieval 2. Low settings 22-30fps, High settigns 22-30fps.... Off course I couldnt get anywhere near 30fps with everything on high with my 6600GT but this is still very uncool.

Oh well good thing I have $500 saved up for a mobo/CPU/RAM upgrade.

One question: is is necessary for me to get BOTH the CPU and the extra 1gig RAM, or I can do away with just a better CPU?

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: ibex333
I just got a new 700w OCZ PSU and 8800GTS 640mb.

Installed everything, and tried playing Medieval 2 at 1280x1024 with everything on high + 8x AA and 16x Anisotropic... Only getting 25-30fps in fraps with these settings... The campaign map even seems to be lagging! The battles seem to be more or less smooth.

Any idea what's up? I spoke to many people prior to buying the g80, and most replies were "your CPU wont bottleneck much". Which was good enough for me.

Anyway, I'd like someone to explain why I'm getting such low fps.. Mabe Medieval 2 is too much even for the g80?

I wish I could post this thread in big giant letters and sticky it. People argue with me all the time. They always say....and I quote......."just turn the resolution up and the eyecandy, it will make the gpu the bottleneck". Total bullsh!t. If your cpu only pushes a game at 25fps at 800x600 with a 7800gt, it will only push the same game 25fps at 1280x1024 with all the eye candy turned up with a high end video card. In most cases of coarse.

 

[cubby1223]

You can always bring up the task manager then enter the game and play around a bit. Exit out and see if the cpu usage reached 100% often, and also what the maximum page file usage was.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: gersson
3 things I see so far:

you need a faster CPU
2 GB of Ram
turn AA down to 4x or 2x

I would upgrade your CPU to a X2 3800 and OC it to 2.5-2.8 ghz as well as get a 2GB (2x 1GB) ram kit

This guy knows what he talking about!:thumbsup:

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: happy medium

Originally posted by: gersson
3 things I see so far:

you need a faster CPU
2 GB of Ram
turn AA down to 4x or 2x

I would upgrade your CPU to a X2 3800 and OC it to 2.5-2.8 ghz as well as get a 2GB (2x 1GB) ram kit

This guy knows what he talking about!:thumbsup:

Are the newer games coded to take advantage of the 2-core procs finally?

 

[Spike]

Something seems off. I don't know my FPS (is there a console command to show this?) but I play smoothly at 1680x1050 everything maxed EXCEPT no AA. Dunno why I have never tried the AA, I just figure if it looks good without it why turn it on...

Specs:
Opty 165 @ 2.52
2GB OCZ 2-3-2-5
7800GT factory OC
yadda yadda

I guess I am a little worried as I'm not sure how much more powerful the opteron is than your cpu. I was hoping to stick with this core rig and get a 8800 GTS sometime in the next few months but if it's going to have a serious bottleneck then I'm not so sure.

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: ibex333
One question: is is necessary for me to get BOTH the CPU and the extra 1gig RAM, or I can do away with just a better CPU?

Preferably get both, but if push came to shove I'd get the ram. M:TW is a memory glutton above all else.

You could always try overclocking your CPU and see how it goes, but socket 939 CPU's up to 4800+ aren't a problem to find (you just can't go any higher) and they are reasonably cheap too.

 

[Cookie Monster]

What AA mode you using? dont try to use 8xQ especially in a game where theres MANY things running around. You should be looking at 8xAA, or just 16xAA. (Non Q modes).

If not, 4xAA wont be that bad.

 

[CloE]

pretty sure CPU and Ram limit. you need faster chip like opteron then OC to 2.7-3ghz, another gig of ram. the one thing is you got enough WATTS to power the 8800gts

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: Budarow
Are the newer games coded to take advantage of the 2-core procs finally?

Some newer games are, but Medieval2 is based on the RTW engine, which is single-threaded. Very CPU-RAM intensive (for all those individual solder stats and interactions), but single-threaded.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: ibex333

Any idea what's up? I spoke to many people prior to buying the g80, and most replies were "your CPU wont bottleneck much". Which was good enough for me.

By that I think they assumed that anyone who could afford an 8800GTS probably upgrades regularly (i.e. not 3-ish year old processor). That, and they are probably clueless FPS only players.

I myself have a 3200+ (stock) and run Medieval 2 very smoothly at optimized 1024x768 settings on a 7600gts. RTS games, ESPECIALLY Medieval 2, with thousands of units onscreen at once are usually more CPU bottlenecked than GPU. That and more Ram could help.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Originally posted by: ibex333
EDIT: How peculiar... Apparently I am bottlenecked. I checked C&C3 with fraps and I'm only getting 27-30fps. That's at the highest settings though. But then I lower the settings, I'm getting the same fps!!!

As far as I know, C&C3 is capped at 30fps. So, upgrade all you want, you won't see any higher.

As for you being bottlenecked by your GTS... the bottlenecking equation is more than just a comparison of your CPU vs. GPU power. Specific game titles and what resolution/settings they are played on figure HEAVILY into the equation. RTS games are well-known to pound CPUs moreso than GPUs. And your 1280x1024 resolution is also one which CPU speed can still greatly affect framerate (again, depending on which game).

 

[postmortemIA]

Medieval II needs fast CPU because excessive computation in battles involving thousands unique and detailed soldiers.

 

[Shamrock]

I had a 3200+ with 1 GB of Patriot memory on a 7900GT, 1280 x 1024 2xAA 4xAF and it ran above 70FPS. (used medium for most settings)

But last week I upgraded to a 4800+ x2.

Only thing I know to do is turn off VSync.