OC'd CPU's and 'micro-stuttering' in BBC2...

[looper]

How many OC their CPU's and run BBC2 w/ no problems?

Way back, when many of us first got BBC2, my E8400 Intel 3.0ghz CPU was OC'd to 3.6ghz. As I began playing BC2, I was getting annihilated without realizing it was for 3 reasons, and not 2.

First, obviously I'm older now & slower, and second, BC2 is a hard game to get used to playing. But, besides those 2 reasons, it turns out that for some people BC2 does NOT like OC'd CPU's. Something called
'micro-stuttering' takes place. It's very much like the typical lag that we all experience occasionally. Because of that happening to me, I actually stopped playing BC2 for the first 6 weeks that we had the game.

I then started researching this issue on the web. Turns out it's quite a common situation. So, I changed my computer setup (went back to 'stock' speed on the CPU)... as soon as I did that, the game ran GREAT...

I'm hoping BC2 will not do the same thing to me when I OC this new rig I'm now building...

Thoughts?

 

[Lonbjerg]

You OC'ed to much and something throttled....what's new?

 

[looper]

I don't think going from stock 3.0ghz to OC'ing to 3.6ghz on the duo core Intel E8400 is much, do you?

And my question is, will this happen on my new rig I'm building right now... will I get that same problem again in BC2...that micro-stuttering was so bad it rendered the game unplayable in multiplayer online.

New rig....i7-2600k on an Asus P8P67-D MB... 47x to @ 4.6ghz or so....I'm waiting for my cpu cooler and new warranty replacement SSD...

 

[Lonbjerg]

I don't think going from stock 3.0ghz to OC'ing to 3.6ghz on the duo core Intel E8400 is much, do you?

And my question is, will this happen on my new rig I'm building right now... will I get that same problem again in BC2...that micro-stuttering was so bad it rendered the game unplayable in multiplayer online.

New rig....i7-2600k on an Asus P8P67-D MB... 47x to @ 4.6ghz or so....I'm waiting for my cpu cooler and new warranty replacement SSD...

Every single chip is different...you cannot expect anything out of stock.

OC is an added bonus...not a sure thing.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I've played BC2 on an overclocked Q9450 (2.67GHz @ 3.4GHz), an overclocked i7 930 (2.8GHz @ 4GHz), and an overclocked i7 2600k (3.4GHz @ 4.8GHz)

never had a problem with what you're describing outside of GPU microstutter caused by my GTX470s in SLI whenever the frame rate drops well below my refresh rate (on my 120Hz LCD, this is around 80fps or so - which is usually only cause by graphics rendering anomalies such as running through the "caves" on Hill 137 in Vietnam - and the microstutter makes it feel like its half that) otherwise I'm usually over 120fps and everything is baby-butt smooth.

As long as the overclock is stable, you really shouldn't be getting problems from any game or software.

If you were seeing performance degradation with the E8400 my bet is it was due to the CPU being dualcore, BC2 really loves a quad core, and I've been lucky enough to really only play it on quads. I have played it on a 3GHz C2D rig but the frame rate was just too low for me to enjoy the experience after being spoiled by the quadcore rigs named previously.

 

[Lonbjerg]

I've played BC2 on an overclocked Q9450 (2.67GHz @ 3.4GHz), an overclocked i7 930 (2.8GHz @ 4GHz), and an overclocked i7 2600k (3.4GHz @ 4.8GHz)

never had a problem with what you're describing outside of GPU microstutter caused by my GTX470s in SLI whenever the frame rate drops well below my refresh rate (on my 120Hz LCD, this is around 80fps or so - which is usually only cause by graphics rendering anomalies such as running through the "caves" on Hill 137 in Vietnam - and the microstutter makes it feel like its half that) otherwise I'm usually over 120fps and everything is baby-butt smooth.

As long as the overclock is stable, you really shouldn't be getting problems from any game or software.

If you were seeing performance degradation with the E8400 my bet is it was due to the CPU being dualcore, BC2 really loves a quad core, and I've been lucky enough to really only play it on quads. I have played it on a 3GHz C2D rig but the frame rate was just too low for me to enjoy the experience after being spoiled by the quadcore rigs named previously.

You didn't read the OP?
After he went BACK to stock speed the issue dissapered.

Not because of core count...

 

[bunnyfubbles]

You didn't read the OP?
After he went BACK to stock speed the issue dissapered.

Not because of core count...

no offense to you or the OP but I don't inherently trust the testimony of everyone, particularly when it comes to hardware and gaming

if his CPU was stable @ 3.6GHz the "fix" of putting it back to stock he perceived as a success could have been placebo

As long as there's even the most modest of aftermarket cooling, and as long as its adequate, seeing an E8400 that flat out fails to achieve a stable 3.6GHz is an extreme rarity. If there is an instability with the overclock I'd wager its somewhere else such as the motherboard or RAM.

 

[Lonbjerg]

no offense to you or the OP but I don't inherently trust the testimony of everyone, particularly when it comes to hardware and gaming

if his CPU was stable @ 3.6GHz the "fix" of putting it back to stock he perceived as a success could have been placebo

As long as there's even the most modest of aftermarket cooling, and as long as its adequate, seeing an E8400 that flat out fails to achieve a stable 3.6GHz is an extreme rarity. If there is an instability with the overclock I'd wager its somewhere else such as the motherboard or RAM.

I don't trust your words...

 

[looper]

The OC was fine. I had no problems with the rig, other than with BBC2 when the CPU was OC'd. I don't know how I missed that info all over the web that BC2 struggled with dual core cpu's...DOH...

Just took that comp apart and building new one as we speak... but with the original rig back to stock 3.0ghz, I got @ 48-55 FPS in BBC2 at 1920x1200 resolution and most graphics in-game on 'medium'. That comp is the one listed in my 'sig'.

The new one: Asus P8P67-D / i7 2600k / Corsair Vengeance / Corsair 600T case... other components switched over...

 

[morkman100]

What wattage is your power supply? I was having nothing but problems running BC2 with my E8400 at stock and a ATI 4850... crashing every 10 minutes. Every other game runs fine. Power outage in my area seems to kill my power supply (used PS tester and showed faults but still works, so I figured it operating at less than 100&#37, so I replaced with new 500W power supply and now I'm able to run fine now.

Maybe your power supply is dying and lowering the OC reduced the power draw enough to let your PS provide enough power to your components? Shot in the dark....

 

[themodernlife]

i can chime in on this hopefully. I have an e8600 overclocked and i get some stuttering in certain situations/levels. I recently got to play on my buddies 2600k @ 5ghz we put together and let me tell you the new architecture DOES NOT STUTTER AT ALL. It's absolutely breathaking to see games in perfectly smooth transitions with no minor stutter ever and completely 100% fluid gameplay. I can't say if the previos i7 series was the same but GOD DAMN ITS NICE TO BE 2500/2600k.

 

[looper]

What wattage is your power supply? I was having nothing but problems running BC2 with my E8400 at stock and a ATI 4850... crashing every 10 minutes. Every other game runs fine. Power outage in my area seems to kill my power supply (used PS tester and showed faults but still works, so I figured it operating at less than 100%), so I replaced with new 500W power supply and now I'm able to run fine now.

Maybe your power supply is dying and lowering the OC reduced the power draw enough to let your PS provide enough power to your components? Shot in the dark....

My power supply is listed in my 'sig'..... Corsair HX850... 70 amps.... overkill...

 

[looper]

i can chime in on this hopefully. I have an e8600 overclocked and i get some stuttering in certain situations/levels. I recently got to play on my buddies 2600k @ 5ghz we put together and let me tell you the new architecture DOES NOT STUTTER AT ALL. It's absolutely breathaking to see games in perfectly smooth transitions with no minor stutter ever and completely 100% fluid gameplay. I can't say if the previos i7 series was the same but GOD DAMN ITS NICE TO BE 2500/2600k.

I have the new rig 90% assembled on dining room table...
Corsair 600T case/Asus P8P67-D MB/i7 2600k/8GB Corsair Vengeance, with rest of stuff in my 'sig' switching over to new one...

It's 3:13pm-EST Wednesday, and I'm still waiting for my warranty-replaced SSD and new Antec-Kuhler liquid CPU cooler to arrive....both due TODAY... install that stuff (20 minutes) then I'm ready to load the OS...

I'm thinking Microsoft might hassle me when I install/activate my existing Win 7-64 bit DVD....what do you think?

Oh, BTW, how does one post pictures in posts here...can I use my existing Photobucket app?

 

[destrekor]

Uh, it actually kind of makes sense.

I don't get that with my OC'd C2D. But I don't have my CPU at the max stable OC, because when it's warm outside I can't keep my room cool enough, so the cooling isn't as effective because the ambient air in the system is far warmer than ideal. So I backed it down (can't even remember what it's at right now).

I have a feeling the microstuttering is probably a symptom of the dual-core architecture being pushed to it's absolute breaking point on the C2D platform. BC2 already absolutely saturates the dual-cores with calculations, utilizing basically every non-system clock operation. You overclock that, and it probably causes a few chokepoints where a specific part of the architecture cannot keep running at optimum as well as the majority of the chip, so there is a loss of sync.

 

[zerocool84]

Like has said, every chip is different so lower your clocks to a stable level and you'll be fine. I have a mild overclock on my C2Q and everything runs fine.

 

[minmaster]

my q6600 is at 3.0 and i have none of those stuttering problems.