Article update? Did they find the Intel hitch/pause problem?

[coolpurplefan]

During testing, the Intel systems would generate minimum frame rates in the 23~24fps range on a couple of runs and then jump to their current results on the others. We noticed this in game play also; the Intel systems would hitch and pause at times

Now that we have discussed the numbers, what about the game play experience? As we alluded to earlier, the Intel platforms had problems with minimum frame rates throughout testing - not just in the benchmarks, but also during game play in various levels and online. We have not nailed it down yet, but we have noticed this problem consistently. In contrast, the Phenom II X4 940 had rock solid frame rates and offered the smoothest game play experience. The problem is very likely driver related in some manner (as the man who helped to start DirectX once put it, "the drivers are always broken"), but nevertheless this is an issue on the two Intel platforms.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2715/9

Have they finally found the problem? Have new drivers corrected this? I came accross this article and found it a little spooky.

 

[Denithor]

Troll much?

That's a review from February 2009, comparing the old C2Q/i7 chips against PhII X4s. In 6 out of 7 games there were zero issues. In a single game they saw stuttering on the Intel systems.

Never seen mention of this problem since. Would guess it was a driver issue of some kind.

Also, if you're considering a purchase today, it's unlikely to be either a C2Q or an i7 from that generation of chips with Sandy Bridge out for a while now and Ivy Bridge around the corner.

 

[piesquared]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2715/9

Have they finally found the problem? Have new drivers corrected this? I came accross this article and found it a little spooky.

Doubt they'll care. As long as they can continue to pawn it off on the unaware that's exactly what they'll do. They'll rely on forum shills to handle it and you'll be considered a troll for pointing it out, but yes the 23.976 bug is still there.

 

[Barfo]

Has the FDIV bug been fixed yet?

 

[TuxDave]

Has the FDIV bug been fixed yet?

Oh crap I knew I forgot to do something....

 

[Nemesis 1]

Doubt they'll care. As long as they can continue to pawn it off on the unaware that's exactly what they'll do. They'll rely on forum shills to handle it and you'll be considered a troll for pointing it out, but yes the 23.976 bug is still there.

Speaking of chills and trolls I seen one!

 

[coolpurplefan]

Troll much?

I didn't ask for baiting and attacks.

I asked the question if they found the problem and fixed it. And this is because I Googled (yes, I actually searched) "Intel hitch pause" and did not find another article where they revealed it was a specific driver problem or whatever.

 

[VirtualLarry]

C2Q rigs have issues with NV drivers and DPC latency. Whether or not this affects games, i don't know.

 

[coolpurplefan]

C2Q rigs have issues with NV drivers and DPC latency. Whether or not this affects games, i don't know.

Is this what you mean by DPC latency? It appears one person found a solution by using a revised motherboard: http://www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/192283-dpc-latency-spikes-2.html

 

[DaveSimmons]

Are you planning to use a socket 775 system for gaming? Or are you asking if modern socket 1155 systems have DPC latency issues?

 

[coolpurplefan]

Are you planning to use a socket 775 system for gaming? Or are you asking if modern socket 1155 systems have DPC latency issues?

I'm asking about both. It would have been nice to see an update at the end of the article explaning if they did find something. Even if I have a brand new unused socket 775 motherboard, it's almost besides the point because I want to know in general if there are sometimes hitching and pausing on Intel chips. As for latency, I posted a link in my previous post to see if that was it because I'm not even sure what it is. It appears one person found a solution by getting a revised motherboard.

I'm not exactly sure why that happens when you ask a question in general and people want to assume there has to be a specific reason for the question in order to even bother with it. I want to know what the problems were or are and if they have been resolved. But, I can assume if no one here knows then they don't have a comment to make.

 

[Idontcare]

The only time I ran into DPC issues with my Socket775 rigs was with a particular POS netgear (or was it Dlink?) wireless card.

There is a DPC utility that will record the DPC latency, if you need it or can't find the link to it then let me know and I will dig around to find the link.

Other than the wireless card issue though, no hitching or whatnot was apparent to me.

 

[DaveSimmons]

it's almost besides the point because I want to know in general if there are sometimes hitching and pausing on Intel chips.

AFAIK it's never been a CPU problem. It was a problem for certain motherboards back in 2008 - 2009, then it stopped being a common problem with motherboard and BIOS updates.

If you search for "DPC" in the motherboards forum you can find a few threads on recent issues, such as using the Windows ATAPI disk driver and 6 Gbps SATA ports with DVD/BD drives:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2182486&highlight=dpc

 

[coolpurplefan]

OK, cool. But, what about NV drivers? I don't even know if anyone here has nailed the hitching and pausing issue, but my situation is kind of weird. The situation for me is I have an Asus M3A78-EM with a 5400+ and an Asus P5Q motherboard with nothing on it. I could buy a Phenom for the M3A78-EM or buy a CPU and RAM for the socket 775 motherboard. It's just strange. I mean I read some people had compatibility issues with XP programs with quad cores anyway. To complicate the situation, my motherboard lately started randomly crashing once every several days. I can have it on all day long without a problem most of the time though. And this may be due either to the fact that I did not re-do my BIOS settings when I flashed the BIOS to the latest version. Or, it may be due to the fact that I accidentaly hit my motherboard with a metal measuring tape while the computer was on. It was only after that that my motherboard started rebooting. So I don't know if it's worth it to buy a Phenom for it.

 

[DaveSimmons]

At this point you might be better off selling the 775 motherboard and putting the money towards an 1155 system. H61 motherboards start at $50, H67 at $60 and Z68 at $90 if you want to overclock a K chip.

My 775 E8400 is still humming along (with no DPC issues) but Sandy Bridge is much faster while using less power.

 

[coolpurplefan]

I still don't understand why Anandtech did not put an update on the article to explain the hitching and pausing.

And this has NOTHING to do with whether I was trying to make a decision which CPU to buy.

 

[Meghan54]

I still don't understand why Anandtech did not put an update on the article to explain the hitching and pausing.

Maybe because no one gives a crap almost 3 years after the fact on a platform that's woefully obsolete these days.

 

[coolpurplefan]

Maybe because no one gives a crap almost 3 years after the fact on a platform that's woefully obsolete these days.

There were Core i7 CPUs tested in that article.