*****Read me if you have framerate/connection issues*****

[legacy-Bouchehog]

*****This thread was written for UT2k3 and may or may not apply to UT2k4 or it's demo*****



Hey guys, there seem to be loads of issues with the game being 'laggy' - skipping frames, etc. and so I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread on solving them. Please don't spam this thread with "I too have a good system and cable modem and my connection is cr*p..." Only Tips. Don't make people read more than they have to.

The first point to make is that there seem to be two problems. Firstly some people are dropping frames dramatically at completely inexplicatble times (staring at the wall, etc.); secondly there are connection issues.






*** Please note that this thread is not really about people with poor frame rates. There are many threads about getting better performace, and this article ->here (http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=392)<- is fantastic.***







On to the first issue.
Firstly you need to establish which of the problems you have. I'm running a 1Ghz thunderbird, 512mb RAM and a GeForce Ti4400. With this spec I should be able to run the game at maxed out with reasonable fps and it should run very smoothly if I drop processor dependant stuff like 'world detail'. However, running in 1024x768 with the game maxed out I get benchmarks of 77fps (flyby) & 32fps (botmatch). These are upheld in both off- and on-line games. Please note that this isn't terribly good my processor is holding me back, but at the moment I can't afford to upgrade it and my system is not very optimised.

The Issue: At certain points the fps drops down to single figures for no apparent reason. This obviously caused the game to skip for half of a second and feels like lag. Please note that this is not simply a case of a badly set up machine. The problem occurrs regardless of the number of bots, size of the map, resolution, detail settings, etc. I can happily frag away with ten people in a huge room with no issues, then I step into a small corridor and stare at the floor and my framerate drops to single figures. :(

To figure out if this is happening to you firstly run a benchmark (there's a tool called 'benchmark' in the UT's system folder, select the resolution you would normally play in). If you then check the resulting text files in the 'benchmark' folder of the UT directory it will give you an indication of the range of fps. That is, the highest, lowest and average. This should show you what sort of figures you should aim for. Any average above 25fps should be fine.

Next, play an off-line single player game. As the game starts open the console (using either the tilde key '~' or the 'tab' key, depending on your computer) and type "stat fps". This should bring up a window in the right hand side of the screen. Next time the game jumps, check to see if the fps has dropped. Also check that you're generally running around at an fps of 30-35.:mad: :mad:

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Solutions
Solution that worked for me: Switch to OpenGL. Unfortunately the game was not actually designed to run around this, so you will drop a few frames on average, however this stopped the 'frame rate drop' for me. I would suggest that you look at the other tips because you're going to have to drop the detail to get your average fps up. :)

The best way to do this is to go to http://utbinder.cjb.net/ and download the UTbinder2003. This allows you to alter your settings and to switch to OpenGL nicely. :)

I know it sounds obvious, but make sure that your running the latest drivers, etc. for Ndivia users I've personally found that the new drivers 40.72 are far better that the traditional 30.82's. They've also solved several other graphical issues for people on this forum.

Make sure that you've removed all spyware from your computer as certain programs will send information about your internet use out. This is bad both whilst surfing (do you really want more spam and pop-ups?) and periodically eats the ping and CPU cycles during games. Downloading Ad-Aware by LavaSoft (http://www.lavasoftusa.com) will get rid of most spyware, although be warned that if you uninstall the Spyware your freeware software might complain and not work at all (e.g. if you persist in using Kazaar instead of Kazaar-lite).
(Thanks LaRoosTa )

Also be sure your machine is optimised and all your hardware working properly. Head on over to Techspot (http://www.techspot.com) , Tweak Section, and spend some time optimising your machine

If you've got reasonable fps (like me) yet the game occassionally drops frames massively (like me) I'm afraid that there's less I can help with. Check that the hard drive 'busy' light isn't on when the game drops frames (rhyme it baby!). If it is then you've got memory issues and the game is disk swapping. Try lowering your texture detail, closing any unused backgound applications (use ctrl-alt-del to see what's running) and failing that buy more RAM. You may have 256mb of RAM which the readme file says will only result in occassional swapping, but in reality a lot of this is eaten up by windows, etc. so you're actually only playing with less. 512mb should however be enough to avoid disk swapping.

If you are disk-swapping and have a second hard drive (not just a second partition) make sure your cache is located on the drive that UT isn't on.

Make sure you turn off anti-virus software. You really don't need it when playing as nothing nasty will be downloaded (make sure your firewall is still up though!)

If you're using a cable modem, make sure that it's connected via eithernet and not USB. USB uses far more resources, including processor time. You'll get a more stable ping and higher fps by switching.

If your running under XP make sure that you've upgraded to 'Service Pack 1'. Apparently it fixes several issues with Direct X.



To increase low average fps

Go visit this site ->here (http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=392)<- and follow thier performance guide. It'll save me doing a lot of typing! :D

I know it sounds obvious, but make sure that your running the latest drivers, etc.

If your fps is steady but low, you've simply set the video settings too high. Go lower them. If you've got a system limited by processor drop things like the physics and world detail. If you've got an old graphics card, drop most of the settings to the point that you get a fps in the mid-30's. (Sorry Voodoo 3 peops!) If you've got less than 512mb RAM, try lowering the texture details - the game is probably copying stuff to the hard drive (you can check if this is the case by checking the 'disk busy' light when the game drops fps.

If you're using a Nvidea card (and probably most of you are) try playing around with the settings - some of the buffers may be being overrun. The first thing to do is set Anti-Aliasing to off in the display properties; also try setting Vsync to off. Set the virtual pci mem to 150.

Make sure EAX sound is off. Software sound will actually give the best fps, strange as that may seem. :)

Try setting your "render xx frames ahead" to 0 in your display driver Direct3D settings. If you don't have it just download coolbits registry tweak then it will be there.

More tips to come. Hopefully a patch will sort this soon anyway.
:D

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Problem 2
Many people are also suffering from poor connections. You can check your ping (the time it takes for information to travel to the game server and back) by looking at the scoreboard. A much better way is to bring down the console again using either the tilde key '~' or the 'tab' key, depending on your computer and type "stat net". Alternativly you can bind it to a key for easy access by typing "set input f6 stat net"; then press F6 to bring it up.

Simply play online and check your ping every time you seem to lag. If the ping goes up, or if you get packet loss, you have issues.

On a good server you should be gettings ping times like this:
56k modem 200-350ms
Cable 128kb 150-250ms
Cable 512kb 100-200ms
Cable 1mb+ 45-95ms
I'm rather guessing, so please correct me if I'm wrong (although you won't get these figure at the moment due to the poor servers

Please note that a lot of these problems are the fault of the servers. Epic have only just released the server only package and as such many of the existing servers are very poorly set up. Also there appears to be issues with the new server pack 'bleeding memory', etc.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Solutions 2
There are problems with the UT2k3 servers at the moment. Firstly, many are trying to support the same number of people as they would in UT. The server demands have gone up (albeit in line with current technological progress). Many servers simply don't have the processor power to support as many people as they do. Don't complain too much - the servers will get much better. There are too few good ones for demand atm.


Netcode is TEH SUCK!!!
UT2003 server CPU usage is higher than UT because the server performs a significant amount more work per player, primarily in collision-checking and visibility-checking with the 100X higher polygon count geometry.

Steve Polge actually put a lot of effort into improving the server performance to the point where it is now, but since it's doing a lot more work than UT did, it's still higher.

Bear in mind that this makes UT2003's server CPU usage on today's PC's comparable to UT's CPU usage on the servers that were commonplace back in 1999. Then, servers were typically 400 MHz, now they're typically 1.2 GHz.

So, considering Moore's law, we're basically just breaking even on server performance (and rendering performance too) -- because we're dedicating the extra CPU cycles to having more detail in-game, rather than increasing server player capacity or average frame rate.

Regarding the netcode discussion, UT2003's netcode should be noticeably better than UT when playing on a server with a good ping and sufficient bandwidth available. "TEH SUCK" we're seeing this week is what happens every time we ship a game: it takes a few weeks for enough high-quality servers to come online to satisfy player demand. In the meantime, lots of people are running badly configured servers on cable modems, 16-player listen servers, and it can be hard to find a good one.

This should clear up in the next week as more high-quality servers come online. In the meantime, we're getting ready to release a freely-downloadable server-only version, to make upgrading easier for server admins.

-Tim Sweeney

There may also be an issue with servers 'bleeding clock cycles' over time, thus the longer the server is on, the worse it gets. If this is true, hopefully people will cotten on and reboot the servers periodically until a patch is released.

Check several things when entering a server. These are all listed in the details on the left-hand pane. Make sure that the server you join is:

Dedicated (N.B. You can eliminate servers that aren't in the filter screen. Thanks UT!)
Gives a reasonable ping over time. Re-ping it several times over the course of a minute.
Make sure that there are spaces left - you don't want a server at maximum capacity
Don't go for servers with large nnumbers of people (14+)
Ideally you'll find a server with a good ping over time; with only ten playes out of a possible 32. :)

If you're a broadband user try altering your netspeed. Don't use UT's drop down menu to select your connection, instead open the console (using either the tilde key '~' or the 'tab' key, depending on your computer) and type 'netspeed 4800'. If this doesn't help try playing aroud with the values. Generally as long as you don't get packet loss you can keep putting it up (the setting alters how much data UT send to the server in one go; setting it too high means that some of it gets lost - 'packet loss').

Update: In UT'99, the optimum netspeed value was 64 x refresh rate of resolution you are using. For most, who use the default 'optimum' adapter rate of 75Hz, netspeed should have been set at 4800 (providing they were on ISDN or better internet connection). As to whether this applies to UT2003, Ive yet to hear any official word on this.

If the issue is that you're ping is poor in the first instance, make sure that you're cable modem is connected via eithernet and not USB. Also make sure it's optimised. Try this site (http://www.speedguide.net/) for tips on how. With all connection optimisation, make sure that you go for the lowest stable ping and not just the lowest ping. Simply put, you can compensate for a poor but consistent connection, but not for an inconsistent one. Don't go too overboard.

ISDN users and modem peops should try one of the many optimisation guides out there. Try this one (http://ucguides.savagehelp.com/ConnectionFAQ/ConnectionFAQMap.htm). With all connection optimisation, make sure that you go for the lowest stable ping and not just the lowest ping. Simply put, you can compensate for a poor but consistent connection, but not for an inconsistent one. Don't go too overboard.




I really hope this helped. Hopefully I'll edit this post to include new tips as people suggest them. Hope splitting this into four doesn't count as spamming! :)
Happy Fraggin'!
-Bouchehog






*****If this thread helps please bump it!*****

[legacy-Silverrex]

how do u run a benchmark of flyby/botmatch demo?

[legacy-Bouchehog]

The Issue: At certain points the fps drops down to single figures. This obviously caused the game to skip for half of a second and feels like lag.


To figure out if this is happening to you firstly run a benchmark (there's a tool called 'benchmark' in the UT's system folder, select the resolution you would normally play in). If you then check the resulting text files in the 'benchmark' folder of the UT directory it will give you an indication of the range of fps. That is, the highest, lowest and average. This should show you what sort of figures you should aim for. Any average above 25fps should be fine.

:rolleyes:



Happy hunting mate! :D

[legacy-grogxz]

thx for the keybinding tip in the console(set intput f6 stat net). no need to open the u2003.ini for small changes anymore :D.

very good written. i agree with everything but one.

if everybody sets his netspeed to 20000 the bandwidth on some servers can collapse, making it unplayable for everybody.

my advise for broadbandusers is to experiment between netspeed 4000 and 8000 . on some adsl modems lower can be better for unknown reasons (what i know from the old ut).

[legacy-Virus{xPCG}]

In UT'99, the optimum netspeed value was 64*refresh rate of resolution you are using.
For most, who use the default 'optimum' adapter rate of 75Hz, netspeed should have been set at 4800 (providing they were on ISDN or better internet connection).
As to whether this applies to UT2003, Ive yet to hear any official word on this.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Please help bump this thread!

[legacy-Ice Machine]

:up: Good stuff! One question. You mentioned the game being able to filter so only dedicated servers are displayed. I see something called "standard servers". When I check this option, I still see non-dedicated servers in the list after refreshing. I don't see a "dedicated servers only" option. Am I missing something? Do I need to use the custom query (if so, what string)? Thanks for the excellent post, hopefully people will try these things and get down to the root of their individual problems.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Damn, no you're right. The point still stands, but you can't filter. There must be a custom string though. I'll look into it for ya.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Updated.

[legacy-ryanp]

Originally posted by Bouchehog
At certain points the fps drops down to single figures for no apparent reason. This obviously caused the game to skip for half of a second and feels like lag. That is exactly what happens to me, but on singleplayer as well as multiplayer. What the hell could cause my singleplayer fps to drop?

[legacy-Bouchehog]

If you read the rest of it you'll see. I think it's an issue with the D3D rendering. I solved it by switching to OpenGL. The problem is that the engine was not designed to run in Open GL and so it give terrible fps. However, I'd sooner drop the detail down to zero and play with consistent fps rather than have seconds of gayness.

[legacy-varIant]

Quote:
On a good server you should be getting ping times like this:
56k modem 90-150ms
Cable 128kb 40-120ms
Cable 512kb 30-100ms
Cable 1mb 20-70ms
/Quote

Ok well just to correct you on this... Not quite that good..

On the average/good server you'll be getting pings more along these lines:
56k Modem 200-350ms
Cable 128kb 150-250ms
Cable 512kb 100-200ms
Cable 1mb+ 45-95ms

Those specs are roughly more accurate than yours.. As for me I run 1.5MB ADSL and I get lag in the 400+ :weird: As I've mentioned on a couple other posts this isn't MY problem, nor is it the server's CONFIG problems. It's a bug, it must be because I've tried on a dozen servers ranging from personal 1.5mb up ones, to dedicated T3 lines. All the same result.

Now for those who think ping times of 350 and what not are what _create_ the jumpy..weird teleporting thing that you get.. you're only semi-correct. The jumpieness is due to predicition errors server side, now normally with good netcode (I'll use Quake III as an example) you would experience SOME jumpieness, but not enough to hinder the overall enjoyment of your online experience. The reason for that being is because your speed sends out your position just a bit slower than all the others and therefore it takes longer to predict where you're at, where your bullets should hit, etc. A ping time of 200 should be more than adequate for a _great_ online experience, but UT2k3 has some major flaws that EPIC/DE are neglecting to admit. I do believe however that the server only form will definitely benefit the users running the servers, but there are still problems that need to be adressed in the game. Hope this helps to clear up a couple things.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Thank you, sir. My calculations were purely the client-to-server speed (which you see in the scoreboard) rather than the complete trip (as seen in 'stat net'). Your figures will probably make more sense to people following this guide. :)

[legacy-KnightWinG-Z]

thank you very much Bouchehog, thanks to the few tweaks you gave Im gettin around 50 frames per second at the least... only at a few ctf maps it still drops.... i hope epic will resolve this.. but thanks anyway :)

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Bump

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by Bouchehog
Bump


Hmmm, a very good point...

[legacy-FPS]

I'm on isdn and I've found my best results range between 6000-8000 (higher to closer servers, lower for further) and I have one server in my list at games2.iol.ie that pings in a sweet 20-60 for me with no spiking at all. Interestingly enough I get the same ping to their cs server as well. So much for not comparing pings betweeen games eh :haha:

Most of my servers ping in from 60-150. Now my question is why am I getting worse performance on dual isdn, is it the gamecode?

[legacy-FPS]

I'm on isdn and I've found my best results range between 6000-8000 (higher to closer servers, lower for further) and I have one server in my list at games2.iol.ie that pings in a sweet 20-60 for me with no spiking at all. Interestingly enough I get the same ping to their cs server as well. So much for not comparing pings betweeen games eh :haha:

Most of my servers ping in from 60-150. Now my question is why am I getting worse performance on dual isdn? :confused:

[legacy-ryanp]

Bouchehog: What exactly is OpenGL?

[legacy-Bouchehog]

It's basically just a way of talking to the graphics card. SGI puts it far better than me. :)


The OpenGL® API is the premier environment for developing portable, interactive 2D and 3D graphics applications. A low-level, vendor-neutral software interface, the OpenGL API has often been called the "assembler language" of computer graphics. In addition to providing enormous flexibility and functionality, OpenGL applications enjoy the broadest platform accessibility in the industry. Applications in markets such as CAD, content creation, energy, entertainment, game development, manufacturing, medical, and VRML have benefited from the breadth of platform accessibility and depth of functionality of the OpenGL API.

Since SGI introduced the OpenGL API in 1992, it has grown into the industry's leading cross-platform 2D and 3D graphics API and its presence continues to grow every day. Every SGI® computer system leverages the OpenGL API to its fullest advantage, ensuring that the visual computing applications used exploit high-quality, high-performance OpenGL capabilities to the fullest. No one knows OpenGL better than its originators SGI.

[legacy-Wyder]

thanks for the help! *bump*

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Also note that Daniel Vogel (from Epic) has created an FAQ on lockups, etc so if you're having those sort of issues look into it:
http://www.planetunreal.com/ut2003/lockup/

[legacy-nite__mare57]

Thanks for the post hog, you set me out on the right direction to fix all of this...

One think I would like to add, that (at least for my system) simply turning off EAX was not as great of help as simply using "software sound" -- which increased my fps significantly. You would think that hardware sound would ease the tasks of the processor and video card...

I've been messing around with the Nvidia tweakers and such...nothing notable to report yet. I have loaded the 40.72 beta driver pak, set the CPU intensive stuff (world detail, physics) down, and I'm finally getting a decent fps for my new G4 ti 4400 220$ card...

One word of advice is you can tweak your way into oblivion with some of this stuff. Be careful, make sure what setting you are changing so you can undo it if you break your system.

=============
Athelon Thunderbird 1200 MHz
512 MB DDR RAM
MSI Nvidia GForce4 ti 4400
ASUS A7A-266 MB

[legacy-Big_Iron]

Bump ... Bump ... Nice post Bouchehog.

I will test your wisdom :) tormorrow morning and report back

b

[legacy-Bouchehog]

B...U...M...P...

[legacy-CKG_GOZ]

Well here's a question for the experts....I've run the demo on two pretty much identical computers except for the video card:

P4-1.7
40 GB HD

The difference is the two video cards:

1) GeForce 2 MX400
2) ATI Radeon 7500

The one with the radeon is running RDRAM and the one with the GeForce is running DDR RAM (both 256MB)

On the GeForce, the framerate sucks....it's choppy as hell (at 800x600)....on the Radeon, it's beautiful....1024x768....full detail on everything and the framerate is smooth as a baby's butt.

Any theories?...I haven't changed any settings on either.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

I assume that this is a piss take? Yes? No? I give up.

The Radeon is a decent card, the Ndivia MX series really sucks ass. (Pardon my expression.)

Tom's Hardware 3D Mark 2001 card comparison (http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/02q2/020418/images/image005.gif) clearly show the difference in the cards (the Radeon being twice as good).

If you want serious technical comparisons then look at the individual card specs:
RADEON 7500 (http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/02q1/020122/index.html) - 5222 3d marks
GeForce 2 MX400 (http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/01q2/010530/index.html) - 2869 3d marks


I hope this really was a joke. Or were you serious?

[legacy-leon mcnichols]

hey Guys NEW Gamer coming she has some issues Goes by the Name normally as Sasuke or Chembot , treat with some respect she goes thru lot of sh1t when it comes down to it. but Give her a big hand ya all !

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

I am currently using a Radeon 9700 Pro I just put into my system, and I cranked all the settings up in UT2K3. When I was getting FPS around 10-20, I dropped the resolution down to 640x480, put all texture details, etc. at minimal, and took off all special effects. The result? 10-20 FPS. Is there a problem with the video card or the drivers? I'm thinking about swapping for a GF4 TI4600...

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

Well everything is fixed - all I had to do was use software sound instead of hardware. Kinda odd, but if it works, so be it!!

[legacy-leon mcnichols]

Aza is that you?
Just Curious is all.

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

Nope - the name's Anton...

[legacy-Fa-QanDie]

Wow great post thanks man :up:

[legacy-GMan1138]

Hey all looking for some suggestions here.
System specs

Win 2K Sp2
P4 1.3 Ghz
256 MB RDRAM
ATI Radeon 8500 LE 128M

First of all I know that both memory and CPU could use an upgrade, and I'll probably be doing that soon. But I did just upgrade to that video card from a 32M GeForce2MX, assuming I should see some performance improvements and I really haven't. Very annoying.
Game is set 1024x768x32, all the details are set to NORMAL except for Texture Details which I've set to LOW based on some suggestions I've seen here. I'm still getting FPS on average in the single digits!!! Even on machines at this spec, I would hope with the addition of that card I'd be getting reasonable frame rates at what are below average video settings. The hard drive is just lit up a like a XMas tree. The thing doesn't stop spinning, with no other apps running and Anti-Virus disabled.
I'm wondering if someone out there with a comporable system can tell me what they're seeing for performance and what kind of settings they're running at. Also anyone have any tips for settings on that card in particular? Should I try Open GL? Anything else I should look at?
As far as upgrading any other components what should be the higher priority, memory or CPU?

Thanks

[legacy-GMan1138]

Hey just saw that post above about software vs. hardware sound making all the differnce. Has any one else seen that?
I'll have to give that a try tonight and see what I get.

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

It seems that it is best to try, in this order:

1) Install latest drivers for video card
2) Switch to OpenGL
3) Switch to software-based sound
4) Increase RAM to 256 or 512 (512 preferably)

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

It seems that it is best to try, in this order:

1) Install latest drivers for video card
2) Switch to OpenGL
3) Switch to software-based sound
4) Increase RAM to 256 or 512 (512 preferably)

[legacy-Big_Iron]

Questions then ...

1. Latest drivers for NVIDIA are 40's. I'm still running the 30.82's and really did not want to dump in the new ones based on EPIC's reposnses to that.

2. I switched to OpenGL for benchmarking and at 1024x768 i got:

120.985893 FlyBy
41.455307 BotMatch

compared to D3D at:
120.365433 FlyBy
41.428089 BotMatch

so i'm not seeing a huge difference there.

3. Already using software sound.

4. RAM is already 512.

Spec's are:
p4 1.7
p4t mobo
512 RAM
ti4600 - 128 memory
soundblaster audigy platinum

b

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

You're getting over 40 FPS - doesn't look like you're having any difficulties there. Does it slow down suddenly at points or is that framerate pretty steady?

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

BTW, I'm using the Radeon 9700 and my average framerates are around 40-50, usually around 45, and it's more than enough for me. Pretty gfx intensive game :)

[legacy-Big_Iron]

BlueDigiton: I agree the fps are good but it's a benchmark ... playing single player in some maps are brutal ... down to 20 up to 40. Playing online depending on the server can be 90+ (yesterday was like that ... best server i played on yet) to 25 - 32 on most others. I understand that the machines people are running servers on could be under powered and i never join a non-dedicated one.

It's just frustrating that we all have pretty good (& great) machines and UT crawls.

b

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by Big_Iron
1. Latest drivers for NVIDIA are 40's. I'm still running the 30.82's and really did not want to dump in the new ones based on EPIC's reposnses to that.

Ndivia suggest that you'll see big increases with the 40.72's. I've tried them and for me they were considerably better than both the 40.71's and the 30.82's. In my opinion they replace the 30.82's as the new standard, however see what you think. :)

P.S. They've also solved people's problems regarding graphical glitches.



2. I switched to OpenGL for benchmarking and at 1024x768 i got:

120.985893 FlyBy
41.455307 BotMatch

compared to D3D at:
120.365433 FlyBy
41.428089 BotMatch

so i'm not seeing a huge difference there.

If anything your fps should go down under OpenGL. The switch is purely a possible work around to the issue in this thread - that you normally get good fps, but on occassion and inexplicably they drop into single figures.

N.B. Some people actually report better fps under OpenGL, but in general you should see better results in D3D as the engine has been optimised around this protocol.



3. Already using software sound.

4. RAM is already 512.

Spec's are:
p4 1.7
p4t mobo
512 RAM
ti4600 - 128 memory
soundblaster audigy platinum

b


You don't explain what detail setting's you're running under, but 41 fps for a botmatch benchmark is pretty good for this system if you're using high-highest settings. Remember that this game is designed with future systems in mind and shouldn't run at top specs on all but the best system (which you're not massively far off).

If you want to squeze more fps out then check that everything is optimised - BIOS, OS & card - there are large numbers of guides on how to do this (look in google).

If you're getting normal fps of 41 in game, but then the fps inexplicably drops to single figures then read the part in 'solutions 2' but if you've tried everything then I'm out of suggestions. Wait for the upcoming patch! :(

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by Big_Iron
BlueDigiton: I agree the fps are good but it's a benchmark ... playing single player in some maps are brutal ... down to 20 up to 40. Playing online depending on the server can be 90+ (yesterday was like that ... best server i played on yet) to 25 - 32 on most others. I understand that the machines people are running servers on could be under powered and i never join a non-dedicated one.

It's just frustrating that we all have pretty good (& great) machines and UT crawls.

b



Missed this last bit, but as I said the game is designed with future systems in mind and shouldn't run at top specs on all but the best system (which you're not massively far off). 41 fps on top settings is perfectly playable so long as it never drops below 20, which you say it doesn't. I'd prefer that Epic released a game that will look better in time (i.e. with better systems). You can play on cr@p systems - people are playing on systems below GF2 with acceptable results.

The simple point is that technology marches on, if you want to keep up you have to have the latest and best. UT2k3 is scalable to a good degree and is playable on outdated systems like the GF2.

If you want better fps, then you have to pay for them. Epic can't make your system better and the only way to make it run smoothly on max settings on a worse system is to drop the complexity - fps and AI, etc. Personally I'm glad they didn't.

[legacy-Big_Iron]

Bouchehog,

Sorry about my lack of data ... the benchmark was run at high detail ... everything turned on. I ran through your checklist :) that you posted the other day.

I rebooted every time i ran the 'bench' and shutdown any 'apps' that were running in the tray.

I was just going through the paces of what you had suggested. Yesterday afternoon i tried online but turned all the eye-candy off to see if i could get some good fps out of UT ... i was able to get 90+ ... pinging 132 but i'm sure the server was close to me here in Ontario, Canada. The play was 'mucho' smoother with those figures than i have ever played on-line. I still get choppy play on some of the larger maps offline.

b

[legacy-Big_Iron]

btw ... i would have been nice if we could have an option for uploading our benchmarks to an EPIC database to compare all this data.

just a thought ...

b

[legacy-Big_Iron]

Bouchehog,

I would like to thank you again for your detailed posts and i'm sure we all appreciate your contributions ... i do.

b

[legacy-Bouchehog]

(See above - must have posted at the same time)

The point about uploading benchmarks is a good one, although Tom's Hardware (www.tomshardware.com) always has a good comparison and I'm sure it will adopt UT2k3 as the new standard. If you want to see how your system compares to other similar systems, then make sure you get Mad Onion's 3D Mark 2001 SE. Take the standard benchmarks with a pinch of salt however as most of the people who post their benches on this site tweak their systems to within an inch of their lives. :)

You probably don't need to close the backgroup apps with 512mb. Of course you should close any that eat clock cycles (Norton AV, etc.) and those that steal bandwidth, but then you probably know this. :)

You also probably know that you'll get better fps online because the server performs a great deal of processes that would otherwise by done by your CPU (bot AI, collision detection, etc.). Again, I'm sure you knew that.

This thread was more aimed at people who were suffering from this mysterious drop in fps, rather than at peops who just wanted more frames. :) As I stressed above, for this sort of thing you should really be looking at optimising you system rather than UT, or simply dropping stuff from UT.

I personally find it difficult to tell the difference between normal and highest when I'm jumping around online anyway. :)

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by leon mcnichols
hey Guys NEW Gamer coming she has some issues Goes by the Name normally as Sasuke or Chembot , treat with some respect she goes thru lot of sh1t when it comes down to it. but Give her a big hand ya all !


WTF?

[legacy-Big_Iron]

WTF x2 ...... doh ...guess he was not reading.

b

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

Interesting post - I'll be sure to give her some respect...yeah...

Anyways, I was getting those framerates between 40 and 50 steadily with OpenGL. I would get higher framerates with Direct3D, but I got too pissed off with the sudden drops in frames which I can only liken to watching a streaming 300k video with a 56k modem. Can't wait for a patch for this little issue.

However, despite all the complaining, it was worth it. The game is awesome :)

[legacy-shim]

how do i force OGL instead of D3D?

[legacy-Big_Iron]

You force ogl in the ut2003.ini in this section:

[Engine.Engine]
RenderDevice=D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice
;RenderDevice=Engine.NullRenderDevice
;RenderDevice=OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice

put a ; in RenderDevice=D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice
and take out the semi-colon in the RenderDevice=OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice like below:

[Engine.Engine]
;RenderDevice=D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice
;RenderDevice=Engine.NullRenderDevice
RenderDevice=OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice

b

[legacy-Railgunner]

how can i get online via HTTP proxy!?

[legacy-MSuomi]

Changing to OpenGL may improve your performance, mainly because (if I remember correctly) it won't render shadows (which DO eat up performance, a lot).
Changing the size of PCI-memory setting on NVidia's drivers wont do you any good, except if you are using a NVidia card which is in PCI-bus... How many of you are? You get the same effect by setting your AGP-aperture size at your BIOS, which doesn't matter anything (64MB is good, if you put it to 16, it may turn it off completely...).
About benchmarks, Botmatch alters itself depending on your CPU-power, so don't compare it at all. Use the Flyby for comparing, though the performance online will be a totally another thing...
What counts with UT2003 (as my opinion) isn't a simple thing, as all counts! But if you have a card in the GF3-range and a processor over 1 gig, then the biggest difference comes from the size of your memory. You CAN play it with 256MB (take some details down, how much you can actually see in online game? There just isn't time...) but I recommend 512MB. With GF3 I would propably take shadows down and use normal settings on everything.
My 2 cents:D

[legacy-Bones_CoA]

Bouchehog, I'd like to come back to the sudden drop in framrate you mentioned. I'm getting this also and is the single most aggrevating part of the game. However, I must make an admission. I started seeing this in UT as well. In started when I upgraded to WinXP. Are you by chance running winXP? I was using win2k before and did not seem to have this problem.

If you are running Winxp, I do have a theory on what could be causing this.

Dana F

[legacy-BlueDigiton]

Personally, I haven't been getting these drops in framerates anymore, but I'm running Win2K, so it might be XP-related.

[legacy-Silverrex]

Read this post if u have reboot problems or slow fps

http://www.ina-community.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=220850

[legacy-DireFog]

About the "frame rate drop":

One thing that really seemed to help (Radeon 8500, AMD761 northbridge) was switching from WinXP to Win2k. It might sound strange, but then again it might have to do with the 100MB more free memory advantage.

[legacy-ClubSi]

This thread: http://www.ina-community.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=220725 explains what I did that cured my dropped frame problem. Also, I ran the Benchmark.exe before and after the changes and even though I upped the texture detail a great deal after the changes, my FPS actualy went UP by over 5fps on Botmatch.

[legacy-GMan1138]

Software sound fixed the issue. I switched to software and framerates are now consistently in the 30+ with details cranked up to high in many cases. The only problem I'm having now is how long new maps take to load and some serious choppiness right at the start of a new game. Sometimes it's fine, but in general my system runs like crap for the first minute of play. In an online game this serioiusly blows.
My guess is doubling my system memory should take care of this (256 to 512 RDRAM). Anyone out there have any other cheaper/quicker suggestions?

[legacy-Bones_CoA]

Well, my system has 768 megs of ram and I'm still not happy. I opened task manager and UT2k3 seems to be using about 150 megs of ram. I think one you get to 512 or so, you should be ok.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by Bones_CoA
Bouchehog, I'd like to come back to the sudden drop in framrate you mentioned. I'm getting this also and is the single most aggrevating part of the game. However, I must make an admission. I started seeing this in UT as well. In started when I upgraded to WinXP. Are you by chance running winXP? I was using win2k before and did not seem to have this problem.

If you are running Winxp, I do have a theory on what could be causing this.

Dana F



Sorry it's taken so long to reply - getting on these forums is a nightmare. Yeah, I'm under XP, but as I reformatted two weeks ago I don't want to change back to 2k. :) Too much hassle.

After a re-install of my detonator drivers (40.72) and a re-install of UT, as well as following the above tips, I've actually got UT2k running at high detail @ 1025 with about 50 fps on my 1Ghz AMD, 512, Ti4400. It's actually behaving itself in D3D now as well, but I know that other peops are havinf these issues. :(

Basically for me a driver change, re-install and a few tweaks solved it in the long run, switching to OpenGL was fine in the short-term. :)

[legacy-Bones_CoA]

Actually, GMan1138 nailed it. I switched to software mode and the erratic frame rate drop went away. That is definatley a bug in UT2k3 that needs to be reported to Epic.

[legacy-onelin]

Originally posted by Big_Iron

2. I switched to OpenGL for benchmarking and at 1024x768 i got:

120.985893 FlyBy
41.455307 BotMatch

compared to D3D at:
120.365433 FlyBy
41.428089 BotMatch

so i'm not seeing a huge difference there.
b

How was this benched?
I just benched my system with lowest details then highest details and got the same results both times. conclusion? the Benchmark.exe file does not use the in-game settings AT ALL. By this logic, whether or not you have OpenGL set as your renderer in the .ini file or not doesn't matter...this also explains why your results are identical for both APIs. (there is no way they were coded to perform the same across both) ... for me, I think OpenGL may be slower since they probably put most of their effort into D3D, the default setting...but I can't test this with benchmarks unless there's a way other than benchmark.exe

[legacy-MSuomi]

Originally posted by ClubSi
This thread: http://www.ina-community.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=220725 explains what I did that cured my dropped frame problem. Also, I ran the Benchmark.exe before and after the changes and even though I upped the texture detail a great deal after the changes, my FPS actualy went UP by over 5fps on Botmatch.

Benchmark automatically sets the same settings everytime you run it. AND the outcome of botmatch is not reliable as it can change AI-settings depending of your processor power...

[legacy-ryanp]

Alright, I switched to OpenGL and will report the results when I notice them. My problem is as you described in your first post: I would experience laglike symptoms of very low FPS for half a second every so often. Let's hope this change clears that up.

And congratulations to Bouchehog for getting this thread stickied.

[legacy-ryanp]

That was horrible! After switching to OpenGL not only did the FPS drop in games but the menus even loaded slowly. Also, when I picked up weapons, the screen went completely insane with a pattern of weapon I picked up sporadicly placed over the whole display. It's hard to explain.

:down: Didn't work.

[legacy-zubzero]

I have big problems to...

My config is:
256 MB DDR 2,5cl Infineon
Abit KG/Raid
7200rpm Maxtor Diamondmax 40gb
1,4 TB c
MSI 4200 64 mb
on win 98

Very long loading times, constantly hdd-swapping and miserable Benchmarkresults (flyby 66/botmatch 25 @ 1024x768)

I use detos 30.82 and coolbitz. Prerenderlimit is by 0 ,verticalsync is off and antialliasing also.

I havn't any idea why myresults are so terrible...

[legacy-Big_Iron]

I do think the benchmark.exe has many flaws. I rebooted each time i ran it and sometimes it show values that are totally out of the world so I would reboot again and if they seemed reasonable i would note them.

I did find it strange that oGL had a slightly higher FPS than D3D.

b

[legacy-GoBolts!]

I didn't read through all these posts but here's what I did to solve my low fps scores - I had upgraded to a TI4200 from a Voodoo 3 3dfx and was able to play UT but I noticed my benchmark scores were quite low compared to others (in UT and 3DMark 2001). After trying every suggestion I could find on these forums (with no luck) I finally ran regedit and deleted every reference I could find to either 3dfx or voodoo. That did the trick...my 3DMark scores went from 5500 to 8500 and my UT benchmarks went up to to where they should be.

YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Hope this helps someone else.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by ryanp
That was horrible! After switching to OpenGL not only did the FPS drop in games but the menus even loaded slowly. Also, when I picked up weapons, the screen went completely insane with a pattern of weapon I picked up sporadicly placed over the whole display. It's hard to explain.

:down: Didn't work.


What card were you using? It may not have been OpenGL compatible.

zubzero, what detail settings are you using? What is your 3DMark2001se score?

[legacy-gate1968]

i have fast computer 2100+ athlon 768ddr ram and gainward 4200ti i get 3dmark of 11000 .i am runing latest beta drivers the game runs so well in singleplayer but really brings down the game is playing on the net because it seems not be lag but the reaction time of the game . do you think the patch will fix it because i have gone back to ut to play on net i know it is early days but it needs fixing

[legacy-Razoola]

I had this problem but found simply disabling the memory manager I had running in the background solved the issue (fps dropping every so often).

Raz

[legacy-zubzero]

Bouchehog, i must download the other bench, but for UT2003...its just whatever whitch settings you have onchecking. UT2003 bench adjust high detail on its self. You cant run the UT2003 bench with lowdetail....or??

[legacy-Sickscent]

Originally posted by GMan1138
Software sound fixed the issue. I switched to software and framerates are now consistently in the 30+ with details cranked up to high in many cases. The only problem I'm having now is how long new maps take to load and some serious choppiness right at the start of a new game. Sometimes it's fine, but in general my system runs like crap for the first minute of play. In an online game this serioiusly blows.
My guess is doubling my system memory should take care of this (256 to 512 RDRAM). Anyone out there have any other cheaper/quicker suggestions?

Yeah, I'm getting the same exact problem. I have Pent 4 2.4 GHZ with G4 but only 256 megs of RAM. But same exact problem, after waiting forever for a game to load online (I have Cable) I have a couple of minutes of generally CRAPPY play (low framerates of course, like everyone else who bought the game) then it starts getting better. Some maps are worse than others. But it was virtually unplayable until I switched to Open GL, lowered all sounds settings, and shut off all background programs (which was only Antivirus).

But this sucks, they need to hurry up and put out a patch to solve these problems. After rreading a crapload of threads on framerates, it seems to definitely be a bug in the game... HURRY UP AND GET THE PATCH OUT!

[legacy-zubzero]

My result on medonions 3d mark se in 1024 high detail isnt good :( 7480 points or something... it's normal ??

[legacy-ryanp]

Originally posted by Bouchehog
What card were you using? It may not have been OpenGL compatible.NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (Dell Mobile) 64 MB

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by zubzero
Bouchehog, i must download the other bench, but for UT2003...its just whatever whitch settings you have onchecking. UT2003 bench adjust high detail on its self. You cant run the UT2003 bench with lowdetail....or??

The UT benchmark utility uses it's own ini file, which I think you can alter, but you can get a better idea by opening the console (tab or ~) and typing "stat fps". The 3DMark2001se score of 7000+ is pretty good for your system unless you're overclocking. You will probably be able to tweak it up a little, but it should run UT2 well on high detail @ 1024.



Originally posted by gate1968
i have fast computer 2100+ athlon 768ddr ram and gainward 4200ti i get 3dmark of 11000 .i am runing latest beta drivers the game runs so well in singleplayer but really brings down the game is playing on the net because it seems not be lag but the reaction time of the game . do you think the patch will fix it because i have gone back to ut to play on net i know it is early days but it needs fixing

Not quite sure what you're refering to, but it might be mouse lag, which is covered well in a number of other threads, or it might just be your connection. Fps drop when online as they're tied into your netspeed - unless your running on cable you will see a significant drop. Hope tihs helped, if not give a few more details.


Originally posted by ryanp
NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (Dell Mobile) 64 MB

Hmmm, sorry about that. Maybe a driver issue, I assume that you're using the 40.72 dets? Try rolling back to something like the 30.82's. If if doesn't work, my apologies - computers are strange beasts. :(

[legacy-ElectricLegs]

A few helpful hints:

Set the AGP Aperature to at least 128 in the bios. 256 might help too.

Get the latest Via 4in1's, AMD, Intel, or other chipset drivers from the MFG. Reinstall the Vid driver afterwards making sure to remove any conflicting files from older vid drivers.
For Instance... My SIS chipset will run 25-35 FPS without the SIS AGP driver installed and 70-150 with it.

Make SURE your drives are running DMA. You will lag like heck and have super slow load times without it. Update the IDE Controller drivers and enable DMA in each HD's/CD's properties. Keep all CDroms off the same cable as the HD's!!

USB mice are more prone to lag than PS2 and be careful about those extra software programs like Logitech/etc that might interfere. Try to stick with a Mouse Driver only install here.

IRQ conflicts with the Vid card or even sound or lan. It sometimes helps to uninstall (physically), reboot, and reinstall the cards in different slots to separate irq's even in WinXP. Disable any unused Serial or other hardware in the Bios to free up the IRQ's then move the cards around. The card install order may get you where you want to be here too. -EL

[legacy-TRi-C0RE]

I need help, my framerate drops a lot, sometimes it drops below 15-20 :(

My specs:
- P3 1 Ghz
- 384Mb PC133
- GF4 Ti4200 (64Mb)
- Windows XP

Any suggestions on what I should try first? I tried turning down some graphics options (the ones in UT2003) but that made no difference in the framerate at all...Sometimes it's at about 100 FPS but it drops a lot, in quiet areas it would be about 50-60 but when there's some action it drops...

[legacy-TRi-C0RE]

It's running a bit better now, I turned the resolution up(!) from 800x600 to 1024x768 and it appears to run better...

[legacy-dowboy]

Originally posted by Sickscent
Yeah, I'm getting the same exact problem. I have Pent 4 2.4 GHZ with G4 but only 256 megs of RAM. But same exact problem, after waiting forever for a game to load online (I have Cable) I have a couple of minutes of generally CRAPPY play (low framerates of course, like everyone else who bought the game) then it starts getting better. Some maps are worse than others. But it was virtually unplayable until I switched to Open GL, lowered all sounds settings, and shut off all background programs (which was only Antivirus).

But this sucks, they need to hurry up and put out a patch to solve these problems. After rreading a crapload of threads on framerates, it seems to definitely be a bug in the game... HURRY UP AND GET THE PATCH OUT!

I'm experiencing the same exact problems....built a new system just for 2k3.

AMD 2000+
MSI KT333 Ultra 2 Mobo
256mb PC2700 DDR
Gainward Ti4600 2.8ns 128 mb DDR

Getting great scores on 3dmark..... all other games play perfect.
When I first start ut2k3 (online/instant action) really choppy fps 5-15 for a min or so. After that game works perfectly 60 -100 + fps.......urgggg....waiting on that patch!

[legacy-LaRoosTa]

I got a huge fps increase after applying these settings in UT2003.ini :

Find this line :

ReduceMouseLag

and set it to false, this is not for "mouse smoothing" as in menus, but I got an increase of 10fps+.

ReduceMouseLag=False

and also turn down textures to 16bit with this line and enable triple buffering.

Use16bitTextures=True

This almost halves the bandwidth use to your video card's memory.

UseTripleBuffering=True

If you have 256+ Ram, Increase the cachesize

CacheSizeMegs=64

Detailed textures is a big performance killer.

My AMD T/B 850 256MB SDRAM and Geforce 4 Ti I'm averaging
35-50fps.

[legacy-ryanp]

LaRoosTa: I made all the changes and will give feedback when I test it out. Thanks! :up:

[legacy-DanAkaPharao]

Originally posted by LaRoosTa
I got a huge fps increase after applying these settings in UT2003.ini :My AMD T/B 850 256MB SDRAM and Geforce 4 Ti I'm averaging 35-50fps. I have done all the tweaks in my ini file (there are more tweaks than You mentioned, forgot which post I found it in though). I have all the latest drivers both in XP, SB Live, 40.72 Nvidia, Intel-chipset accelerators etc.

I have OC my Nvidia Ti 200 64DDR from 175 to 220 in CPU clockfrq. and 400 to 450Mhz in memory frq. I have defragged my HD, I have closed down all other programs in the background.

Still, I have the FPS drop in the more complex maps, down to single digits. I score about 6 200 in 3dmarki 2001 SE (standard setting) and about 85/32 in bencmark UT2003 Demo.

I run a P4 1.8Ghz with <B>400</B>Mhz bus-speed and 133Mhz 256 SD-RAM. My score is way too low in 3dmark, still I should be able to play a decent game with all the tweaks I made, but no.

Any more suggestions?

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by TRi-C0RE
I need help, my framerate drops a lot, sometimes it drops below 15-20 :(

My specs:
- P3 1 Ghz
- 384Mb PC133
- GF4 Ti4200 (64Mb)
- Windows XP

Any suggestions on what I should try first? I tried turning down some graphics options (the ones in UT2003) but that made no difference in the framerate at all...Sometimes it's at about 100 FPS but it drops a lot, in quiet areas it would be about 50-60 but when there's some action it drops...

Sure, the CPU is limiting your system (although this is a slightly lame term) and thus you hsould look at turning down processor intensive things. Turn the sound to 'software', lower the world and physics details. You GPU should be able to handle everything you throw at it (within reason) and so you won't see too much difference between 600 and 1024 resolutions and high/low detail. But then I'm sure you've figured this out by now.

Generally speaking though, this thread was an attempt to solve the problem of randomly dropping fps. If you just have low fps there are better threads out there. :)

[legacy-DanAkaPharao]

Originally posted by Bouchehog
Generally speaking though, this thread was an attempt to solve the problem of randomly dropping fps. If you just have low fps there are better threads out there. :)
I guess that was intended for me?! :p If it was, I was unclear, though I score fairly poorly in 3dmark, I have the random drop, usually around bots, but no all the time, and this is regardless if I drop the resolution down to 800x600, it is something else, and the ini tweaks did help my performance a bit, but not all the way.

Anyhow, I'll leave it alone, seems like alot of rehasing for a problem that many ppl share. I'll just blame it on my lack and exp. of setting computers up, I only been doing this since 1994 and admin/setup about 120 Win PC's and about 10 servers. :rolleyes:

[legacy-beware]

In reference to the nvida windows set up you suggested that
set the virtual pci mem to 150.

What does this do ??

[legacy-LaRoosTa]

Originally posted by Bouchehog
Turn the sound to 'software', lower the world and physics details.

I would think that software 3D uses more CPU than hardware 3D(without EAX), because software mode uses your CPU to emulate hardware, for max compatibility. Wouldn't you think?

My 2c

[legacy-LaRoosTa]

Originally posted by DanAkaPharao
I have done all the tweaks in my ini file (there are more tweaks than You mentioned, forgot which post I found it in though). I have all the latest drivers both in XP, SB Live, 40.72 Nvidia, Intel-chipset accelerators etc.

I have OC my Nvidia Ti 200 64DDR from 175 to 220 in CPU clockfrq. and 400 to 450Mhz in memory frq. I have defragged my HD, I have closed down all other programs in the background.

Still, I have the FPS drop in the more complex maps, down to single digits. I score about 6 200 in 3dmarki 2001 SE (standard setting) and about 85/32 in bencmark UT2003 Demo.

I run a P4 1.8Ghz with <B>400</B>Mhz bus-speed and 133Mhz 256 SD-RAM. My score is way too low in 3dmark, still I should be able to play a decent game with all the tweaks I made, but no.

Any more suggestions?

Over Clocking has caused alot of problems for people running UT2k3, try setting them back to original setting. You can also try increase your AGP Appeture size in your BIOS to 128MB. Consult your M/B manual first though.

Another Issues is memory CAS latency setting.<I> I would not recommend you fiddle with this, unless you know what you are doing.</I>
<B>Please note you can cause your machince not to boot if you change this, so rather leave this if you are not sure</B>
If your CAS latency is on 2.5/3 put it down to 2.

Look for a couple of Windows XP services tweaks and disable the services you don't need or use. This can free up a whole lot of resources. Also try run a "freemem" program, free some memory and close the app, before running UT2K3.

Lastly : Upgrade those SDRAM to DDR ASAP -> I'm doing a full system upgrade this week to AMD 1800+ 256 DDR400 and I'll post my performance here.

PS These are my suggestions and I will not take any responsablity if you break your machine.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by LaRoosTa
I would think that software 3D uses more CPU than hardware 3D(without EAX), because software mode uses your CPU to emulate hardware, for max compatibility. Wouldn't you think?

My 2c

So you'd think, but actually the reverse is true. Try it! :p

You're points are good ones though. I'll update the original post with some general fps tips when I get time tomorrow. :)

[legacy-LaRoosTa]

Open your UT2003.ini

look for

[ALAudio.ALAudioSubsystem]
Channels=32

and change it to 16

Also try increasing your swap file to 1024MB max and min, and if you have another HDD move the swap file off your Windows HDD to the other. Note : Moving it to another partition on the same HDD does not make a difference.

[legacy-Sarge69]

Spent the whole goddam day tweakin and fiddlin about in territories unknown to me, cos what i told ya in another thread that I never saw decrease in the fps wasnt actually quite true, well it was til I began to have these problems myself, lol...

I have gone back and forth with the det drivers, set screen resolution from 800X600 to 1024X764, swapping the swap file, heheh, from drive to another (have 3 of em)...

Even went as far as took one of my 512 mem sticks out and still that same goddam jumpy behaviour... now I must say that I blame it on the game, lol...

No other online game behaves like this, I know what lag is and this aint it, lol... constantly have 50 to 100ms ping but even standin still my frames drop down under 20...

Argh, step out epic guys and solve this thing... we had a frag with the boys earlier and 85% of em had similar issues, lol... blamin me for a laggy server, hahah... which wasnt quite correct lookin at even the 2 56k players had pings around 250 !!!

Right, I'm off for tonight, have ripped the remaining hair outta my head durin this so I hope the guys at Epic will fix this with a patch or whateva causes it...

Laters all...

Sarge69 - And I still dont get no scores... not usin the match ID, nick, server.. nowt.. am i a goddam ghost, lol...

[legacy-mesostinky]

"In reference to the nvida windows set up you suggested that
set the virtual pci mem to 150.

What does this do ??"

That is another one of those wild goose chase tips that are so prevalent on this board. In truth its for when you are using a PCI not AGP graphics card, or your if AGP card is screwed up and it is running in PCI compatibility mode.

I truly am happy for people who find some tip that helps them here, but most of them are worthless.

I can't believe some of the posts I see. People are formatting their hard drives, going from NTFS to FAT32 etc, Turning off every system service.

Let me tell ya, I run Norton 2002, coolmon, palmsync, Jfax, Kerio and a bunch of other programs and get NO difference in any game benchmarks whether they are on or off. With a modern OS like XP that's just not necessary except on really old (P600 128) equipment.

The real fix for framerate issues is 1)wait on the patch, which from what I've seen doesn't actually address the performance problems yet. Maybe a future patch will. Or 2) get a minimum 2GHz, 768MB and at least a GF 4 4600, but really a ATI 9700 graphics card. That is the ONLY current solution that ACTUALLY works as opposed to the voodoo and outright guessing people are doing here.

I really do empathize with people who want to get this game to run its best, but if your PC runs every game you have great except for UT2003, guess what the real problem is?

[legacy-LaRoosTa]

Originally posted by mesostinky
"In reference to the nvida windows set up you suggested that
set the virtual pci mem to 150.

What does this do ??"

That is another one of those wild goose chase tips that are so prevalent on this board. In truth its for when you are using a PCI not AGP graphics card, or your if AGP card is screwed up and it is running in PCI compatibility mode.

I truly am happy for people who find some tip that helps them here, but most of them are worthless.

I can't believe some of the posts I see. People are formatting their hard drives, going from NTFS to FAT32 etc, Turning off every system service.

Let me tell ya, I run Norton 2002, coolmon, palmsync, Jfax, Kerio and a bunch of other programs and get NO difference in any game benchmarks whether they are on or off. With a modern OS like XP that's just not necessary except on really old (P600 128) equipment.

The real fix for framerate issues is 1)wait on the patch, which from what I've seen doesn't actually address the performance problems yet. Maybe a future patch will. Or 2) get a minimum 2GHz, 768MB and at least a GF 4 4600, but really a ATI 9700 graphics card. That is the ONLY current solution that ACTUALLY works as opposed to the voodoo and outright guessing people are doing here.

I really do empathize with people who want to get this game to run its best, but if your PC runs every game you have great except for UT2003, guess what the real problem is?

After a bit tweaking around, I got my machine to a decent/playable fps. I average 50-35fps, but the only maps where my fps drops to 20fps is phobos2 (from sniper tower) and the crappy plunge map (very open) while playing DM, but the rest run easily above 30fps. And that is purely due to my CPU struggeling to calculate all the other players in open maps.

IMHO, I though my machine would really struggle to play UT2k3.

I have:
AMD T/B 850
Gigabyte 7zx
Twinmos 256 SDRAM 133MHz
Leadtek Geforce 4 4400 ti 128MB
Soundblaster Live! Platinum (not 5.1)
Windows XP Pro

People do forget that the game pushes more polys than any other game(100-200x that of UT1) and has the highest textures(1024x1024) ever used in a game. So starring at a wall will give you 100+ fps (mine goes up to 400 sometimes) and staring at the whole of phobos2 will make it drop drastically. Karma also probably uses alot of cpu if there are alot of players online.

My point is you can tweak it to make it be at least playable on a low-end machine and suffer only on certain maps (blame that on the mappers and not the engine. As in any game for performance - simply upgrade your machince to at least double the minimum specs for UT2k3.

Funny thing is that people have always complained about the performance of games on their machine and always will... It's comes with the PC package. Only now with the internet growing can we share out knowledge and help each other. So quit your yapping and contribute a little.

[legacy-keysurfer]

My machine is

900Mhz Amd
756 Ram
64 sdr ati
sb live5.1
win xp home
with adsl 1.2

I get a great ping most the time

"below 100"

my only problem is i get disconnected alot from the server.... not sure what the problem is or how the fix..... anyone else getting this?

[legacy-Anaximander]

Bump :up:

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by Anaximander
Bump :up:

Thx mate, but it's been stickied for almost two weeks now, so it doesn't need to be bumped any more! :D

[legacy-Kaoh]

Interesting thread.

just some input so you all can compare etc:
- P4-2GHZ
- 512MB DDR pc2700 memory
- Gforce ti 4600
- asus P4B533-E mainboard
etc etc

It runs great at high at 1152 res in single player, and i assume online.
But i get really nasty drops when hosting a LAN non dedicated on my machine.
A friend of mine claims thats his (same machine but with p4-2.4ghz) he runs perfectly while hosting the lan at max.

My PIII-800 with an Gforce4 MX runs the game rather well on medium settings, no weird drops or anything.

My madonion benchmark gives me a 10650 points.

[legacy-majorscud]

my laptop is a compaq 900z with athlon 1800m 704mb ddr ram ati radeon 320m with 64mb shared ddr mem. In some maps im running in the 30's the whole time for fps in instant action, but in others I'll drop down into the 15's. I have everyting set to low, using software sound, and I'm at 640x480 w/16bit color. I'm using the newest drivers from compaq (the newest ati drivers raise the fps by 2 but cause all health powerups to have blue lines shoot at me) If i run benchmark I score
31flyby
18botmatch
I'm not positive, but with my specs I shouldnt be scoring so darn low, and I definately shouldnt be dropping to the teens, when my brother has a 750athlon with 256mb ddr ram and a geforce 2 and he's kicking my butt in benchmarks.
oh, and my system reboots if i try to run opengl, and the textures look horrible if I turn on detailed textures, they flash weirdly, oh and while I'm on the soap box, the sky looks weird and boxed (flashes) and I get the brownout/blackout problem in some maps (yes I've tried disabling vertex fog, and yes I've tried enabling table fog, no help)

[legacy-Mawler]

My Specs.

AMD XP 1800+ @ 333FSB (1660Mhz 1.75v)
Epox 8K3A
Corsair XMS3200 (Turbo In Bios & 1)
Sparkle Ti4200 with Samsung 4ns Ram @ 275core & 550mem.

Det 41.03's

When I first got it std Settings I was getting 10080.

Then FSB to 333Mhz got around 10500.

Then overclock .5 or a ratio more and the vid card to ti4400 std's and I got 11511 3DMarks 2001SE.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by Mawler
I got 11511 3DMarks 2001SE.

Very nice, I sincerely hope that you're not having any fps issues! ;)

(Although the whole original point of this thread was that you could have been experiencing random drops, but then I suspect that this was just a forum for bragging! :))

[legacy-Mawler]

Lol...

I've recently upgraded from a 3dmark2001 se score of 2300 approx so thats why i bragged i guess.. :)

Upgrade cost just over $1100AUS

[legacy-dgouthro]

If precache is OFF then when you play UT2003 and go to NEW places where new textures must be loaded, FPS will drop to 1 or less and the game will freeze for 0.5 to 2 seconds during uploading NEW textures into video card. This problem occurs in Windows XP only.

If you have GeForce2 or later with 128MB video memory, turn on precache. That will cause UT2003 to upload ALL textures for that map into video memory BEFORE start new map so you will not encounter any freeze during gameplay. This precache WILL fix Windows XP problem easily.

Do NOT use precache on original UT or UT Gold or Deus Ex (not UT but use UT engine for Deus Ex). Nvidia new driver 41.72 will automatically precache all OLD original UT textures since it use DirectX 7 method but will NOT precache any games that use DirectX 8 based so you must turn on precache on UT2003 since UT2003 use DirectX 8 based engine.

[legacy-RoYaL]

I too had a big issue with apparent lag. I have 600 K cable, 1.1gig athlon, 576Mb ram (and a miserly geforce mx video card). I had no problems with UT2003 until I applied the latest game patch as suggested by the news page. Symptoms were that my player seemed to jump around of own accord (mostly back by a large number of frames) and I couldn't see other players even though I could hear them. it became totally unplayable. This applied to standard maps as well as new ones.

Solution was a complete re-install of original version (I didn't do an un-install though as I wanted to keep as many game files etc as possible). Play is now as it should be. :)

[legacy-Mawler]

I noticed that the game since i applied the patch is slower to load.

AND.. Before I set the cachesizemegs to 64 over 32 it was a little jittery going in to the game.

now set at 64 it seems to get in there and is smooth with around 60-70fps all the time. Everything is on highest.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by dgouthro
If you have GeForce2 or later with 128MB video memory, turn on precache. Indeed you should do so with all cards - the game will only precache as much as possible anyway. With 128mb this simply means that it should never/very infrequently have to swap textures mid-game.


Originally posted by RoYaL
Solution was a complete re-install of original version (I didn't do an un-install though as I wanted to keep as many game files etc as possible). Play is now as it should be. :) Sounds very much like the patch corrupted your network code, I wouldn't suggest re-installing without un-installing usually though (you can still back up your saves).

[legacy-RoYaL]

Sounds like we have a start on solving the issue then. What we need is some feedback to Epic \ Atari from others via the forum. If it can be narrowed down to whether the problem is just with the Ver 2136 patch in "Play on Line" as it is for me or whether others experience troubles in the original (Ver 2107 in my case) release.

You suggest it is somehow messing up the network connectivity. I think this is possible but reckon looking at how it has changed on the video driver side is worth a look too.

I personally think it is a waste of time trying "this and that" change to god knows what .ini file line and the constant restarting of game and "play on line", - it takes an age to check each change and must be annoying to other on line gamers too. Furthermore it doesn't really get to the root of the issue. What we need is a game that will perform to a standard for the majority of users. If we can narrow down to the patch release then we have something for Epic to look at.

[legacy-Kaoh]

The problem is is that because iof the high load that this game puts on your machine every little problem your machine has becomes very clear.
Many people have bad installed or configured machines, not too mention the amount of not fully working hardware.

If we could make sure that people's machines where in perfect working condition, then they should post their specs and tell Epic that it is a bug, but as long as stability isnt garanteed it could be anything without Epic being able too fix it for you.

I suggest too start high performance benchmarks like http://www.madonion.com 3dmark2001 as a start, make sure that one works perfectly from start too finish before starting too complain.
If your problems only acure in OpenGL use benchmarks for that drivers etc etc.

First people should be very sure that their machine is working perfectly.

[legacy-NewZero]

Had the annoying 5 steps forward tens steps back "warping" problem... network games unplayable...

Installed w/o patch.. problem gone.. added patch again.. problem returns... looks like problem w/ patch and certain configs..

Gigiabyte 8IEXP
P4 2.53
512 PC2100
Radeon 9700
Win XP
Dlink 520+ Wireless e-net

[legacy-LaRoosTa]

Last night I was playing online when suddenly my ping raised above 999. I exited UT2k3 and found that my machine was sending/receiving alot of info over my intenet connection. CTRL-Del - And Guess what I found - Spyware running. Additional programs that get installed by certain freeware programs like KaZaa, DivX Pro 5.02 Go!Zilla etc etc. They send information over the internet without you even knowing about it. I End Task and voiala, back to 40 ping.

Solution :
Ad-Aware by LavaSoft (http://www.lavasoftusa.com)

But be warned if you uninstall the Spyware your freeware software might complain and not work at all.

Also be sure your machine is optimised and all your hardware working properly. Head on over to Techspot (http://www.techspot.com) , Tweak Section, and spend some time optimising your machine

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by Kaoh
The problem is is that because iof the high load that this game puts on your machine every little problem your machine has becomes very clear.
Many people have bad installed or configured machines, not too mention the amount of not fully working hardware.
...
I suggest too start high performance benchmarks like http://www.madonion.com 3dmark2001 as a start, make sure that one works perfectly from start too finish before starting too complain.
If your problems only acure in OpenGL use benchmarks for that drivers etc etc.

First people should be very sure that their machine is working perfectly.

A good point, but this is more likely to result in lockups due to incorrect data calculation than simple fps lagging. I should also point out that I can run 3Dmark2001se with my computer overclocked from 1Ghz to 1.4Ghz and it will run fine giving me a 9000ish mark. However at this overclock I can only run Prime95 for two-to-three seconds before getting a calculation error and UT2 locked up very quickly. (I've now dropped it to 1.2Ghz and optimised, no errors in Prime95)

UT2 simply stresses your computer far more than 3Dmark does and hence this proggie is no longer a viable means of determining stability (at least under UT2). I suggest downloading Prime95 (http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm) and running the torture test. If you can run it for a few hours then your system is fine. Alternatively, the best test for UT2 is to run UT2: if it locks up at all, then there's a problem with stability. :)

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by LaRoosTa
Solution :
Ad-Aware by LavaSoft (http://www.lavasoftusa.com)

But be warned if you uninstall the Spyware your freeware software might complain and not work at all.

Also be sure your machine is optimised and all your hardware working properly. Head on over to Techspot (http://www.techspot.com) , Tweak Section, and spend some time optimising your machine

Great point, I'll add it to the original page. Thx! :)

[legacy-NewZero]

Originally posted by Bouchehog
Alternatively, the best test for UT2 is to run UT2: if it locks up at all, then there's a problem with stability. :)

And everyone who had copy protection problems had stability issues? NoCD must do more than we thought ;)

Sure, some people may have "stability issues." But I've played 64 player Tribes2 games with maxed out video setting for hours and that's alot more stressfull on the CPU/ Memory/ Network than a 4 player UT2k3 CTF match. Yes, it may be more work for the graphics card, but with UT2k3 video settings cranked down I still see the problem.

Bottom line, problem didn't exist before the patch and doesn't happen without the patch.

[legacy-Kaoh]

I am not saying it this might be the issue in your case, just a genereal respond too the last paragraph of the post before mine.

YEs there are other problems as well, but nt as many.

BUt a highstreesed video card also stresses the AGP port etc etc, so on several points a device is now streesed that wasnt before.

[legacy-RoYaL]

This is third person including myself I have seen to say this. How many others think there is an issue with the patch.



Originally posted by NewZero
Bottom line, problem didn't exist before the patch and doesn't happen without the patch.

I for one am not willing to waste hours messing around with my video and ini file settings just because there is a patch issue. Anyone else out there willing to give an opinion on the patch stability/function issue?

[legacy-Bouchehog]

I don't personally have any problems, but as with all patches they create new bugs and this affects new users. :(

The patch is network/backwards compatible, so I suggest that if you don't mind missing out on in-game IRC, wildcard searching and a host of minor fixes (stereo sound, etc.) then don't worry for the moment. That is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You won't be missing out online as the server controls most of the game and that will be patched.

[legacy-retts1]

Your ATI card had a chipset that is made for its Direct 3D rendering and your nvidia card has always been the people with chipsets directly made Open GL, there chipset that is made mostly for OpenGl is the famous Geforce chipset.
In a recent post Bouchhog had said something about the games engine has some problems with OpenGL for some reason and Infogames is just hiding that there was a problem.

My 2 cents: I think that Nvidia makes a much better card, although when you see the word MX at the end of the name of a card this denotes that Nvidia made an awesome card which when it went to market was very expensive so what they do is take some of its awesome features and lower them a bit, like the ramdac and core clock speed, then they put that card on store shelves make it cheaper and call it the MX

I might be wrong about this stuff so dont get me wrong but i have been buying videocards since they had 256k of ram on them.

Right now I run a Geforce 4 TI 4600 with 128 or DDR ram and it rocks normally get 65 FPS Ave, I am hoping that Infogames will fix there OpenGL problems and i will get higher FPs

[legacy-[SKS]Kitty]

Originally posted by LaRoosTa
Last night I was playing online when suddenly my ping raised above 999. I exited UT2k3 and found that my machine was sending/receiving alot of info over my intenet connection. CTRL-Del - And Guess what I found - Spyware running. Additional programs that get installed by certain freeware programs like KaZaa, DivX Pro 5.02 Go!Zilla etc etc. They send information over the internet without you even knowing about it. I End Task and voiala, back to 40 ping.

Solution :
Ad-Aware by LavaSoft (http://www.lavasoftusa.com)

But be warned if you uninstall the Spyware your freeware software might complain and not work at all.

Also be sure your machine is optimised and all your hardware working properly. Head on over to Techspot (http://www.techspot.com) , Tweak Section, and spend some time optimising your machine

Ran the Ad-Aware, it found a couple of active connections and removed them, now thing work fine. Darn Spyware.

Thanks LaRoosTa

Kitty:D

[legacy-LaRoosTa]

Kitty - Glad to be of assistance :)

======================================

I've recently upgraded my machine to:

ASUS A7S333 M/B
AMD 1800+ XP
256MB DDR333
Geforce 4 Ti 4400
SBLive! Plantinum
WinXP

I was playing around in my BIOS to optimise my machine. I found a little setting in the my ASUS BIOS. All I can remember was the UC / WSUC options (or something like that) with UC my 3dMark was correct with 9032 3dpoints, but with WSUC for some weird reason the fps in 3dMark would not go over 64fps thus lowering my final score. The funny thing however is that with UC, UT2k3 stuttered randomly, even though displaying 50-70fps, but WSUC it was fine.

Conclusion
Look for these settings in your BIOS and make sure it's set to WSUC for playing UT2K3. This didn't seem to affect any other games.

Also make sure your Video BIOS Caching is set to OFF!

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by retts1
...In a recent post Bouchhog had said something about the games engine has some problems with OpenGL for some reason and Infogames is just hiding that there was a problem.

... I think that Nvidia makes a much better card, although when you see the word MX ...take some of its awesome features and lower them a bit...

...I am hoping that Infogames will fix there OpenGL problems and i will get higher FPs

To be honest I think that the number of people with OpenGL specific problems is pretty low and I don't think that the issue is being hidden! The problem with PC's is that there are so many combinations of hardware/software and it makes coding a nightmare. Thus some bugs are bound to slip through. I personally think that the initial release was pretty solid, even though I encountered this fps issue. :)

I'd certainly agree that Nvidia make better cards, but I would principally point at the quality of their drivers and the fact that they leak the beta's. At the moment the Ti4600 is not the quickest card on the market, although I'm sure that the new generation card will re-capture the crown! ;)

Also you should note that the MX models are actually based on an entirely different architecture. The GF4 MX is far closer to a GF2 in both performance and design. (Not having a go BTW! :))

As regards OpenGL/D3D, you really shouldn't see too much difference. Some people actually report getting better frames under D3D, although I suspect for the most part that these are people who have optimised their D3D settings and not their OpenGL settings (i.e. under windows). UT2 should run slightly better under OpenGL purely because it was designed with this in mind; however this is no guarentee that this will be the case. :p

-Ben

[legacy-Kaoh]

to bad the ued3 only works with D3D
forces me kindda in using that

[legacy-[Raven]The-Monk]

Ever since I have been playing the game I have been getting very strange FPS readings in the game. Sometimes it would go as high as around 70 FPS then i would get drastic drops to about 20 or less. I thought it was my graphics card to start off with (Gforce 4 Ti 4200 64Mb) so i decided to buy the new Radeon 9700 Pro as i read reviews and its a good performer. Tried the Radeon and FPS arnt much better which leads me to belive its a game fault.

My System
Pentium 4 1600Mhz
512Mb ram
40Gb HD
Radeon 9700 Pro 128Mb (used to be Gf4 Ti 4200)

Any ideas what could be causing the problem apart from the game being buggy?

Or do i need a new computer system altogether to play this game...!!!!

Im very annoyed with the whole situation to be honest!!!

[legacy-Kaoh]

exacly what problem do you have?
It sounds more like you enter a busy area or lots going on, FPS drops are supposed too happen then.

PLease explain the problem more detailed

[legacy-[Raven]The-Monk]

Hmm FPS drops are supposed to get as low as 12 on my system. thats what i was getting on the ctf map lost faith about an hour ago online. I play at 1024x768 and details to normal (because anything higher and the game would probably be a hell of a lot worse) The thing that gets me is the game seems to get too slow even on my system which i consider to be pretty good. Is there anyway i can improve the frames because at the moment the game is just unplayable.

[legacy-Kaoh]

Well I have basicly the same system but with a P4 2GHZ and a Gforce 4 ti 4600 and i also get as low as 20.
Single player all is well, but when i host a match and it gets busy it evens jiggers a bit every now and then.
What erally helped me was setting my sound too software instead of EAX hardware (audigy card inside my comp), I dont hear a difference in sound but it did increase my performance just enough too keep the jitters away.

BTW I play at 1152x864 all set too high except sound
It runs smooth this way

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by [Raven]The-Monk
Ever since I have been playing the game I have been getting very strange FPS readings in the game. Sometimes it would go as high as around 70 FPS then i would get drastic drops to about 20 or less.

Have you read the first post? That's exactly what this topic is about (or at least it sounds like you have these issues...). The first post has been edited with all the material info that others have added throughout this thread. Go read it!

(Apologies if you didn't, but it rather sounds like you jumped to the last page! Also, why the hell did you buy a new GPU!?! Didn't you think that it might be the game and check the card out under a different one? Even if other games had issues it could be the BIOS settings, windows settings, drivers, conflicts, overheating, etc.)

[legacy-Kaoh]

I dont think he has the framedrop while staring at walls doing nothing, it sounds more like just in the busy moments in game.
He should be able too play it at high settings though, maybey even highest with his resolution.

Make sure you close all programs like virusscanners and outlook etc etc etc before starting your game

[legacy-Mawler]

Hrmm thats really strange.

When I play UT i set my comp to 1750mhz with a 333FSB, and almost turbo in the bios with the 8k3A with cheap generic ram for now until my corsair gets back from warranty.

In 3dmark2001se with the stock speeds on my GF4 128meg Ti4200 i get around the 10800.

The lowest i get is 50fps average around 70.

Drop the cpu down to 1660mhz with a 333mhz fsb and the lowest is around 40fps. with an average of around 60.

Overclock the vid card.. who knows.. I know in 3dmark it picks up another 1000 3dmarks but i'm not sure what difference it makes in UT as i havn't had to yet as everything is on high and it doesn't get choppy.

One thing i noticed that did made an improvement is changing the cachesizemegs from 32 to 64. The patch also made things a little worse. That is what i have noticed when the comp is not overclocked. overclocked and i don't notice it.

[legacy-[Raven]The-Monk]

Well i can go whole levels and i wont get FPS over 30 sometimes and other times it will run a little better with around 50-20 FPS. But like i said most of the time its around 20 or lower and that makes me think there is actualy something wrong with the game as my other games run super smooth on my system. Unless of course there is a secret setting in UT2003 that says tick me to get super smooth FPS in game... but i havnt seen one of them.

Oh and BTW i have tried all the tweaks at the start of the post for tweaking XP and UT but that doesnt help at all still have the same problem of extream choppyness.

[legacy-ryanp]

Well, I found out what my problem is. My video card, NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (for Dell notebook computers), uses older drivers and is incompatible with UT 2003. Basically, because so few people use this video card, Epic didn't test the game on it nor does NVIDIA keep it updated.

Solution: Never use a notebook computer for gaming!

[legacy-Kaoh]

or update your driver ??
it says very clear during install or first start that you should have at least the drivers that are supplied with the game on the 3th cd.

All Detonaters work on all cards.

[legacy-[Raven]The-Monk]

OMG OMG OMG I have fixed the problem (although it indicates the game still has a bug which i suspected) Basicaly i was talking to a m8 in my clan he plays the game on win ME and has a lower sysgem then me but can play UT2003 fine. He suggested I change the Processor priority of the game to HIGH by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL while I have loaded the game (he has used XP before so knows about the processes menu) then right click on the UT2003 Proccess and set priority to HIGH. I went into the game and played a round on Face 3 (normaly i would get average of 25-15 FPS. After the changes I was gob smacked I got an average of 75-55 FPS now thats more like it from the Radeon 9700 Pro. This indicates to me there is a bug with the game under win XP and the procesor isnt being used properly!!! FIX IT DEVS as its only a short term solution for me as u have to set priority every time you load the game (annoying).

[legacy-[Raven]The-Monk]

Bah looks like a false alarm. I played a couple more maps and my FPS hit rock bottom again. getting lows of 10FPS and highs of about 30... :mad: Its really annoying me that i cant play this game as the FPS are unplayable. Looks like Im stuck with UT until UT2003 is fixed:down:

[legacy-Kaoh]

I still cant imagine how people keep blaming Epic for making a heavy game, buy a better system, tune it, make it work good, the problem is probably in our installtion not the game.
Jesus responses like this will make it so that game builders will be afraid too make a cool game cause your system might not be able too run as well as an 3 year old game.
Have fun playing Doom3 when it comes, the leaked beta has 10-15 avg fps on 2ghz and radeon machines. Damn ID bad programmers

[legacy-Gwyrgyn]

We know that using Hardward sound and EAX is a killer to the frame rate, but this also seems to happen in a lot of other games. I hate to ask this, but aren't cards like the SBLive! and Audigy supposed to handle doing the EAX onboard so the CPU doesn't have to do this stuff? If that's so, why does it slow stuff down so much?

-GB

[legacy-Kaoh]

They also use processor too handle the eax right, not just the card.

[legacy-DaC00ler]

I've done everything in this thread (I think) but still... I can't play even 640*480 with everything off and 16bit without dropping down to 10 or less from time to time. Mostly happens during intense fighting, but happens also seemingly random.
I have:
1.5GHz P4
GF3 64mb ram
256 RDRAM
(makes just under 7000 on 3dmark2001)

This takes away much of the fun....5 on5 CTF is very hard to play with this choppying...I guess they should revise the recommended spec :P
sometimes the FPS is in red a while after I respawned and just stand still...very strange.

[legacy-Kaoh]

I think you have some major performance issues on your system, your specs are good enough too play at least medium at 1024 settings.

the 7000 3dmark is a bit low also for your specs i think.
DO you have enough hdd free?

[legacy-code_kev]

system...

2100xp (2200 cooler so i doubt its overheating and the g card has a HUGE fan on it)
soltek mo bo
256 ddr
xfx geforce 4 ti 4200 (64 mb) using latest nvidia dets (40.72s)
80 gig ibm deskstar hdd (7200)
sb live 5.1 (latest sb drivers)
win xp pro
cable internet conection (just stating so no one points the finger at lag)
i get a 3d mark 2001 score of 9600 to 9900 depending if my system is in a bad mood

benchmarks- both at 1024 max settings with various progs running in the back ground

open gl 100.2 on flyby and 40.28 bot match

d3d 111.48 flyby and 40.64 on bot match

All settings at max (hell i could un the demo at max). I might be being optimistic but my pc should be good enough to run this game at max! The fps when i play is high, but i get random jerks in game play, "lag", even though i may not be online. I have noticed that the hdd light goes on when the "lag" comes up. I have also tweaked my system followin tweaktowns xp instructions. sigh, still getting choppyness, tried both d3d and open gl, changing sound settings, and graphical settings. I can turn the detail etc down and it improves at bit...but...ya know, i didnt buy a fast pc to run everything at low detail!!! lol.

while we are on the subject, i use a logitech optial mouse which enjoys going nuts and spinng at random times..a BIT annoying :(


well hope you can help, thanken you good sir

[legacy-Kaoh]

Sounds like the game is using your swap file at some point. Personally looking at your specs i wonder why you didnt get more memory, fast processor, good vedeo card etc but a bit low on memory.
Look at memory uses during the game and chech how much is actually used by UT and how much by other stuff.
ALso make usre too close Outlook and stuff before gaming, that program can use a lot of processor power when checking for new mail.

[legacy-Omario]

umm well i dunno about you folks here but i get very unusual ping readings :bulb: . I only have 64K ISDN yet connecting to servers i get pings averaging 65 yet there is no lag and it feels... well what can i say... (Besides i have a Granny GFX card) this seems to be more of an issue than a problem you guys get strange ping readings?

Look at the attachment to see the ... craziness :confused:

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Originally posted by code_kev
...256 ddr...All settings at max (hell i could un the demo at max)....hdd light goes on when the "lag" comes up...

As Kaoh says (and the tip on the first page), it's simply the case that you don't have enough memory for the settings you're running under. If you could play the demo on max, then I suggest that you drop the textures back down to the demo's levels - that is, high for everything - and work up from there to see how high you can get things. To be honest though, with a decent system like that you should consider putting in another 256mb of RAM. It'll speed up every game you have, as well as being useful if you do any serious graphics/database/spreadsheet stuff. Plus it's pretty cheap! :D

[legacy-LaRoosTa]

Originally posted by code_kev
All settings at max (hell i could un the demo at max). I might be being optimistic but my pc should be good enough to run this game at max! The fps when i play is high, but i get random jerks in game play, "lag", even though i may not be online. I have noticed that the hdd light goes on when the "lag" comes up. I have also tweaked my system followin tweaktowns xp instructions. sigh, still getting choppyness, tried both d3d and open gl, changing sound settings, and graphical settings. I can turn the detail etc down and it improves at bit...but...ya know, i didnt buy a fast pc to run everything at low detail!!! lo

First of all the demo only had 1/2 the texture size/resolution of the final retail. - The demo setting only had up to "normal", unless your thought by changing it in the .ini files that it would miraculously install the other 1/2 of texture size/resolution.

Secondly your machine is not fit enough to run everything on MAX. You biggest problem is memory and since you are running XP Pro with most probably everything set to max aswell, UT2k3 can't load all its very High textures (1024x1024) into the tiny 256mb memory module causing it to swap from you harddrive. And to prove my point, when these jitters occur, your little HDD light on the front of your box is probably well lit up.

Solution: Tune down the textures and disable detailed textures OR buy a another 256mb of RAM. Running at 16bit can also help things with your 64mb graphics card. RAM is always one of the best upgrades.

You must understand that the game was created for the super computers of today so that it has a longer shelf life, but can be tweaked to be playable on older machines of 3 years ago.

[legacy-DaC00ler]

Done some more testing and found out that if I don't patch, I get better FPS ... :P
But I still get theese "hangups" from time to time...gonna buy 256 more RIMM to prevent swapping and hope it goes away (think that swapping is the issue for me, since the HDD lamp is rather active from time to time)

[legacy-code_kev]

thanks for the responses, i plan on upping my mem too 512 :), i can get mem really cheap, hell i may stick a gig in hehe >:). overkill?? hahaha :D

[legacy-Bouchehog]

If you can do it cheaply, why not?

You're processor will keep you going for a good long time - they're rather topping out at the moment as AMD/Intel switch to different architectures more based around general system speed. Basically it's harder to utilise additional CPU power (karma, AI, etc are very complex) whereas adding poly's on screen to use additional GPU power is far easier.

The Ti4200 should be fine for a while at least (although if you want to keep on top you should upgrade to whatever comes after the GF FX).

You're system is severely bottlenecked by the RAM, and if you're future proofing, going higher than 512 is not a bad idea. 512 is fast becoming the standard. :( I'll certainly be putting 700+mb next time I build myself a system.

[legacy-Farting Bob]

Hi,

Question .... I got a USB-ADSL modem, 512k connection .... average downloadspeed is 50-60 kb/s .... is the fact that it's USB a factor of me getting poor response from servers, since I don't have that issue with games like UT and BF1942? You mentioned about USB-Cable, not sure of that goes for ADSL as well. Anyone else have a USB-ADSL modem that doesn't have problems?

Marco

[legacy-Bouchehog]

Ah, the point was not about connection issues I'm afraid. USB modems steal more resources and CPU cycles than connecting them via ethernet. Thus if you have the choice you should always connect your modem via ethernet - otherwise you might find that you get periodic dips in performance (fps) as the processor is otherwise engaged. It's not really a massive issue though, so don't worry about it if you have to use USB. :)


As regards the laggy connection to servers, make sure that UT2k3 is set up correctly in terms of netspeed (either via the command line or via the in-game menu). Also make sure that you modem is set up for optimal gaming. There are many programs out there that optimise your settings to get maximum speed (i.e. for downloading) but for gaming the consistency of the connection is more important and you should make sure that you're not sacrificing this when optimising.

Two good site on optimising (from the fron page) are this site (http://www.speedguide.net/) for tips via cable modems; and ISDN users and modem peops should trythis one (http://ucguides.savagehelp.com/ConnectionFAQ/ConnectionFAQMap.htm).



P.S. Hope that flatulence clears up! ;)

[legacy-h3LLscOrpiOn]

well when i try to play UT2003 online its REALLY strange

well my PC spes are:
Pentium 4 2,66 Ghz
Ge Force 4 4200
256 MB
and i use Windows XP

to go online i use AOL with DSL

Ok heres wat happens when i try to play it :
when i see the servers they have pings like 100-120
and everything looks ok but when i join a game my ping goes to 999 n i lag like shyt :eek:

well mayb u can help me out in this

lataz scOrpiOn;)

[legacy-Rand13]

I seem to have a strange problem where my fps is outstanding (150+) when hosting a listen server (ie. "instant action"), but when connecting to a dedicated server or any other server as a client, my fps is always capped at about 93, whether i am looking at a wall, or in a fight. Places where i'd normally get almost 200fps on my own server by say looking at a wall, i'd still get only 93 as a client on another server, no matter if its on LAN or online.. I've already tried disabling vSync in the ini's and display driver properties to no avail.. I tried fooling with "netspeed" to no avail. I've fished through all the ini values and found nothing that might seem to cause this "cap" only while playing as a client.

[legacy-Bouchehog]

h3LLscOrpiOn, I'm afraid you don't give me a great deal of info to work with here. AOL is known to be terrible (in almost every way) but shouldn't be doing that to you. Ditto with your RAM - you really should add another 256mb, especially under XP. Your shortage is really lagging your system. I suggest following one of the guides in my above post to see if that help, maybe try a re-install of UT2. Check what speed you get when downloading by finding a largish file online (5-10mb) and seeing what the changes in speed are when you download it.



Rand13: when connecting to a dedicated server or any other server as a client, my fps is always capped at about 93All I can do is confirm what you suspect - fps is limited by netspeed and even if you set the netspeed to stupid numbers you're always going to be limited. However the limit is quite high and what on earth do you need more than 93fps for anyway? Anything above 30 is playable, 40 is smooth and anything above 60fps and you're going to have difficulties seeing visual improvement. Turn up the resolution man - enjoy the smooth goodness. :D

[legacy-Another User]

Thanx

[legacy-rad_007]

ATI's just posted Catalyst 2.5 so I have to try it tonight.

As far as my framerates dropping to single digits, I've had this happen on Bifrost and Skyline playing with bots. The max seems to be 16 on Bifrost and 12 on Skyline before my system screws up. Even with only 12 bots, though, my framerates go wacky when I teleport up to the uppermost platforms of the center tower in Skyline where the LG ammo are.

I don't even have the detail levels all the way up anymore and this is p**sin' me off. This shouldn't happen when you're running a 2.4 P4 rig w/512 DDR, 9700 Pro and an Audigy.

How many of you guys having this problem have Raid 0 arrays?

[legacy-Kaoh]

In use?
or just a raid controller in there?
Cause I do have a RAID controller installed, but dont use it, and i dont have those problems

[legacy-Bouchehog]

That's the first I've heard of Raid issues as it's usually pretty good. But then Murphey's law would dictate that sh1t happen. :)

[legacy-rad_007]

I finally realized what was causing the framerate problems on my system and would like to know if you guys see it too or if it's just me.

I was playing on BR Skyline in Instant action with 13 bots, and my framerate is 60+ until the "ball" winds up someplace the bots can't get to (usually the topmost platforms of the central tower), at which time my framerate drops to 9 and under unless I get the ball myself or it resets.

This tells me that this is a problem that Epic needs to fix and not a videocard issue.

I'll test the other maps for the same indicators. I've seen it happen in other BR maps and in CTF maps where the flag can fall off a clliff or some such area.

[legacy-SpareParts]

Also guys - the 64 mb Nvidia ti 4200 will give higher frame rates than the 128 mb Nvidia ti 4200 card. You can also over clock this card to higher than 4400 ti and just below 4600ti settings with it running stable. Look on the back of the box - it even has a comparison chart and shows it to be much more favorable the frame rate speed is versus the 128mb. If you have one of these cards, go to the Nvidia website, and do a search on "overclocking" I have my 64 mb ti 4200 set to 285/600 and have had no problems.

Mike

[legacy-DryXCell]

I also have the same problem with my connection ( the 999 ping issue). I have updated all my drivers and windows patches as well as the UT2K3 patches. I have a cable connection to the internet with a 256k cap, I used to ping around 70 to 110 on every server, now any server I enter I automaticly get a 999 ping no matter what netspeed I use. I know its not just me that is having this problem as I have seen another post with about 18 others have the exact identical problem as me. I don't run any other software in the background that monitors my connection either. I have aslo tried to reinstall the game twice, with no luck. Also, when I play other online games such as Q3, BF1942, and HL my ping is still under 100. Here are my PC's stats. Any response on this problem would be VERY helpful.

Windows XP Pro
Amd Athlon XP 1900+
512mb DDR 2700 Ram
GeForce4 TI 4200 64mb
ECS K7S5A Mobo

[legacy-norm_jar]

Hiya, I get TERRIBLE framerates when playing ut2k3. They're usually around 10-20 fps in single/multi play. Can someone please list everything that I SHOULD do help fix this. I've read through this entire forum and tried most things, so you can be brief as I should know what u are talking about.

specs:
p4 2ghz
256megs RDRAM
GeForce3 Ti500
80Gig HD
SB!Live 5.1
Latest GeForce Drivers
Patched UT2k3
WinXP Home Edition

thx for ur help!

[legacy-Kaoh]

start by telling on what settings you run UT2003.

[legacy-SnarE]

Sorry about the strange tone this message will take, but it is a compilation of 4 or so of my posts on another forum, but it says exactly what needs to be said here.

Message 1.

I am having grave difficulty in playing UT2K3 at present, as when i try to run the game and connect to a server, everything is perfect, right up to the last second of loading (where upon i can hear the game, but not quite see it) but when the game tries to display the actual visuals and entirity of the game, my connection seems to drop.

I ran 'stat all' and all i could notice that was abnormal was the ping. Zero.
It claimed to be still transferring data too the server, but i could not see, or partake in the game.
I was able to fly around the server, as a ghost, and all players who were happily playing before i attempted my connection, were just running into walls.
I could not press [Fire] to join the game, i could not affect the server.

Upon typing reconnect in the server, everything was 100% normal, with nothing messed up at all.
I was just wondering if anyone had a fix for this, or had just even heard of it.
It is quite a pain.

Kind regards,
SnarE.

Message 2.

I've just done a complete refresh install with clean User and UT2003 .ini files, and still i get the same problem.

My mate who's currently lanning with me, thought we should try it on LAN, so he created a game, and when i tried to connect, it claimed we had "Incompatible Files" so i thought I'd try running UT again, and exited back to desktop.
After running it again, i went to connect to his server, and i had a complete crash to Desktop.

Woe is me :(

Message 3.

Clown - I'm pretty sure it's at 2166, but I'll re-download and re-install it again. Thanks for your help.

Wolf -
My Specs:
AMD 1800+
256mb PC2700 Kingmax
Albatron Ti4200p Turbo (128mb)
Epox 8K3A+

It's a legit version Wolf, we both bought the game a couple of days ago, in fact from Myer, on Boxing Day, for $77. Go stocktake sales ;)

I've heard the latest DirectX (v9) is not so great, but i'll give anything a try I'm so desperate.

Regarding the latest drivers for my video card.
Seeing as it's an nVidia chipset, that'd be 42.xx which has been shunned by Epic. I've just reverted back for 40.xx back to 31.40. It seems to have picked up performance a little, which is always a good sign.

The only thing that I've done recently to alter my specs is to take down my 4200 from 4600 speeds, and I only did this as a result of my UT2K3 problems, ie. Yesterday :)


Message 4.

I'm on Cable.
The usual.

Here's a bit more detail than you asked for ;)
http://forums.sgl.org.au/attachment.php?s=&postid=164356


Once again, i apologise for how strange this message must sound.
Thanks for any help any of you can offer me.

SnarE.

[legacy-norm_jar]

hiya, I have all settings maxed out, except for textures which are set to "high", two less than max. I did this because I thought because of my low ram that there might be a lot of writing to my HD, so I wanted to speed it up. The sound is set to software. When I set all the settings to their lowest I noticed still only about a 5-8 or so diffence in fps. I'm going back to s'more tinkering right now, thx for u help!

[legacy-Kaoh]

norm_jar: Run a Benchmark. Post the result here.

[legacy-norm_jar]

before winXP tweak guide: 3968 3D Marks
after winXP tweak guide: 8140 3D Marks

after I ran the winXP tweak guide link from the UT2003 Tweak guide, I more than doubled the benchmark points! There were a few registry things I left out from the guide tho, and I didn't "convert c: /fs:ntfs", cause I didn't want to risk losing any data. Hopefully they don't make that big of a difference anyways. Besides, I think my HD is already set to NTFS. :D

[legacy-Kaoh]

That sounds good enough.
Do you have a virus scanner running while playing ut2003?

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

I have a major problem:( When i start Unreal my FPs go down way down too single digits look here:

Main Menu-48 avg Fps:)
Settings-26 avg Fps:weird:
SIngle Player-25avg Fps:weird:
PLaying Game 7-9 avg FPS:cry:

why is this happen i been tweaking and stuff, also my benchmark dont work, kep getting this error to delete UT2003.ini(which i did but still error:sour: !) I can't load UrealED b/c my graphics card only have 16 bit and 24 bit.

my spec is
Intel(r) 82810E Graphics COntroller
Intel Celeron 902mhz
126mb ram
(dont know if u need this)Page File: 89mb used, 1831 avaiable(wuts Page File)
Petuim lll
8.12Gb used and 10.5 GB free

do u think i need to add more memory or wut help me pleaze.

[legacy-Kaoh]

Well these items are a bit below specs IMHO:

- Video card
- Memory
- Processor

So running UT2003 at lowest settings might help a lot there.
If you allready do, I think the video card and memory are the major bottlenecks here.
Get a Gforce 4 mx if your low on cash and something like 512mb memory.

I ran as second machine a PIII-800mhz with 512mb mem and a Gforce4mx and it runs ut2003 rather well at low-medium settings.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

yea i guess that may help my pc is gateway could u still trade in ur old pc for a new one,mines a last year module

[legacy-Kaoh]

Age doesnt say much, a year old machine can still be 2 year old tech.
But you dont need too trade it in (well if you can) but a Gforce MX video card isnt that expensive (50 euros here) and some extra memory can go in stages, get 128 extra now (least you need) and 256 later on (check space and compatibility first).

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

ok I went to bestbuy.com and found:
128mb DIm memory- $49.99(us) the price is lower doh
eVGA.com e-GeForce2 MX 200 32MB SDRAM PCI Graphics Card-$59.99(us)
is this good there real cheap

[legacy-Kaoh]

What are the prices for a Gforce 4 mx??

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

I have no idea but i found a really good price for:
256 DIMM memory-46.99
RADEON 7000 Graphics Card AGP 64MB DDR -76.99
how is it eh?
well it help my system to play Unreal2k3 really good

SPec:
Intel(r) 82810E Graphics COntroller
Intel Celeron 902mhz
126mb ram
Petuim lll
8.12Gb used and 10.5 GB free

i jus hope i dont got to change my proccesor that to much money to spend on

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

when i connect to intertnet i use AOl or Netzero. Which should i use is best? when i put my Unreal TOurnament on I get booted off the internet wut should i do any help anybody

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

IS this a good processor AMD Athlon XP 1700 1.47GHz Desktop Processor for $99.88 is that a good price b/c i dont want to get a Pentium 4 which is about 300 bucks.

DO u think this a good price a 256 DIMM Memory for $46.99 and RADEON 7000 Graphics Card AGP 64MB DDR for $76.99

[legacy-Kaoh]

The problem with changing your processor is that you probably also need too change your mainboard.

The radeon and extra memory should be enough too play the game ok. Too play it really good you need way more then that.

Cant advise you on your internet sorry, I dont live in the US and dont know those providers. General rule, use the fastest/cheapest one ;).

[legacy-norm_jar]

no my antivirus software is turned off (Norton 2002).

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

oh Kaoh umm wut else do i need more and u said i nee dto change my mainboard too. Lik wut in the mainborab/c the Radeon well be only in a chip. well give me some more info pleaze

[legacy-Kaoh]

and you still have <20 fps constant? or only when it gets busy?

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

no man i didn't get it yet jus sayin when i get the um proccesor do i have to change the main board lik u told me before that alls.
Well im goin to play madden -1-
* getting 15 bucks a week to get my upgrades*
plus B-day coming up

[legacy-norm_jar]

the most I can seem to get is 30 fps very rarely. I average around 17-20 fps. oh ya, I run at 800x600, on face3 always for tests, with around 16 bots. lol, geez i just realized these numbers seem high, plus I know face3 is a memory-intensive map! Right now I'm playing around with UTBinder lots, experiment with OpenGL/Direct3D, all the settings such as Triple Buffering and such, and a few options make it run a bit faster with less detail, but I still have no idea what I'm a doing. thx for all ur help so far Kaoh!:D

...on my way to test out smaller maps and less bots

[legacy-norm_jar]

I just tried the map "chrome", I think it's called, with 6 bots, and I averaged 28-30 fps... no much of an improvement :( . I wonder what the problem could be...

[legacy-Kaoh]

Norm_jar: I think those numbers are rather ok. Your benchmark returns a good number and your fps are within acceptable range for your system. Sure it could get some higher with tweaking and stuff. Does it really bother you during gameplay?

D|R|E|A|D|D: That post crossed yours and was directed at norm.
What i mean about the mainboard:
Your cards and processor and memory are all conected too eachother by a mainboard. The type of mainboard dictates what cards, memory and processor you can use.
Well since you told me you have a celeron processor, I dont expect problems with the cards and memory (since they are still available for those boards and compatible with newer designs) but the processor will not be so easy changed. On a celeron board no other processor can be mounted then another celeron. If you have a PIII board (that is possible since they can host celerons also) you can change it with a PIII. But an AMD is not compatible anymore with these boards. Also the supported clockspeeds are important, even though there are faster celerons for sale, doesnt mean your board supports them, it can be, but it is not granted.

For changing to a new grpahics card, it will probably fit into it, but when you buy a latest or high end card it will probably not be used too full extend. So a Gforce4 Ti might not be a good idea, and the radeon 9700 sure is not. But older/lower models will work just fine without changing mainboards.
So a Gforce 4 mx or a Radeon 7000 will probably run fine.

The only way too know for sure before buying them is having the specs.
If you know model and manufacturer i can look it up for you. But since it is an Gateway i quess they dont tell ya what it exactly is.
Please give me as much of info you have about your system, then i can tell you what you should be aware of before you go and buy new components.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

I have a P111 and my computer is a last year model.


My spec:
Intel(r) 82810E Graphics COntroller
Intel Celeron 902mhz
Bus Speed i think 133mhz
126mb ram
Pentium lll
8.12Gb used and 10.5 GB free
Windows Me

Its a Flex Case GAteway PC.

Well else u need to know about my pc. If u need more info or proper info then tell me when to locate it in my pc.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Well I found great newz. For those of who need to go back to dial connection.Also you can even use your dsl or cable just go to Netzero (http://www.netzero.com) for more information. Use the internet for 10 hours straight. If you want they said you can swtich your service provider and change it to their service for 10 bucks a month, check it out. If you used Netzero free and run out of hours just go to Juno (http://www.juno.com) same kind of company but their stupid so its free 20 hours for a month i will probably search for more Free internet providers for dial-up and dsl/cable user.

(note: You can switch your provider to one of these and pay 10 bucks a month check it out if you lik)

*It best to used these providers jus in case u have AOL:down:
like me:cry: to play Unreal 2k3*

Post some internet providers down if you have others then the one I posted up.
-I hope this gets bump- lol
--Also I used it and found out a loooong time ago just taught it will be a good idea to help da newbies and other, for a need backup connection if your usually one good down---

[legacy-Kaoh]

Originally posted by D|R|E|A|D|D
I have a P111 and my computer is a last year model.

My spec:
Intel Celeron 902mhz
Pentium lll

Contradiction there, its either a celeron or a PIII.

I need the manufacturers name and model of the mainbaord.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Originally posted by Kaoh
Contradiction there, its either a celeron or a PIII.

I need the manufacturers name and model of the mainbaord.

Now, where to find that out, i might know but give me a little bit more info pleaze

[legacy-Kaoh]

hmmm, maybey its in the documentation you got with it.
To find out what processor you actually have, use the properties of the "my computer" icon or in the control panel "system".

Do you have an exact model number and name of the Gateway?
It might be on their site.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

THis wut i got of where you told me to go and where can i find to check out :
Sys. Me
Registered to Valued GAteway Cliet
Gateway
52782-000-0000025-15664

manufactured and supported:
GenuineIntel Intel(r) Celeron(tm) processor
127.0MB RAM

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

opss wrong # you wanted the model jus found it

modey #:
0024341275

[legacy-Kaoh]

Ok based on that number you need to be aware of:

Memory:
Two 168-pin dual inline memory module (DIMM) sockets
Support for up to 512-megabytes (MB) of 100-megahertz (MHz) or 133-MHz, non-ECC, unbuffered synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM)

Meaning you can only add ONE memory module. Make it count, get a 256MB and replace the 128 with a 256 also. Beware of that the mem type should be: 100MHZ SDRAM.

Processor:
Intel Celeron™ processor in a 370-pin PPGA socket with 66/100-MHz host bus speed

The PPGA supports PIII also. You can upgrade too a processor as long as it is a Celeron/PIII with 100MHZ front side bus speed or 66MHZ. The multiplyer is not specified, But much higher then what you now have you cant go without replacing this board also (something i DONT recoment in a Gateway)

Video:
Its an integrated cars, most of the times you can disable these, but not always. You can always add another however, but this can cause you some trouble, unless it is fully supported by the bios version you have.
It also does not list any AGP slots in the list. I am afraid that would mean you need too get a PCI card for a new video card.
Not sure if any good cards are available for PCI.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

ok thanzx for helping me out now wut do you recommend i get for memory and Video and processor

[legacy-Kaoh]

depending on your budget I would get 1 or 2 256MB memory modules.
The video card i dont know, I havent seen or checked out PCI cards for some time now.
Try too find a affordable Gforce 3 or 4 for PCI.

[legacy-norm_jar]

hmmm... the 30 fps by itself wouldn't be so bad, but it seems so "jerky" all the time, maybe cause by constant writing to the HD. I'm not sure, any ideas? thx :D

[legacy-Kaoh]

Norm: Well does your HDD led light up a lot while playing? Check and see if the game jerks the HDD light is also lit.
256MB is a bit on the low side if you want it too run smooth.
Even 512MB isnt all that in UT2003.

[legacy-norm_jar]

just checked, and during the horrible slow-downs (or TERRIBLE jerkiness), my HD light is going crazy! But for the constant and unpredictable (shorter) "jerkiness", it varies. Sometimes it sort of "flashes" (does a couple of flickers and then stops), and other times it doesn't light up at all.

...thx again Kaoh for all ur help! :D

[legacy-Kaoh]

the big ones will probably be reduced big when you add more memory into the macvhine.

The short ones sound like a other process.
press ctrl+alt+del and watch the Performance Tab. see if you have a spike problem.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Originally posted by Kaoh
depending on your budget I would get 1 or 2 256MB memory modules.
The video card i dont know, I havent seen or checked out PCI cards for some time now.
Try too find a affordable Gforce 3 or 4 for PCI.

Ok I got that 256mb checked for $40 and Im goin to find the Pci video card you can help to if u want. Also wut about my processor P111 should i change it to wut or i should just keep it

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

well i found a pci card for my pc i saw a couple but a 1 that i reconize which i think is good RADEON 7000 Graphics Card PCI 64MB DDR for 79.00 looking for more doh aand cheaper

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Well i found good graphics PCI for good prices and i wan tyou to pick which one is best for me:

Verto™ GeForce4™ MX420 Video Card, PCI, 64MB : 99.00

ATI Technologies Radeon 7000 Video Card, PCI, 64MB DDR :69.00

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

here a good one For Geforce :

BFG Technologies Asylum GeForce4 MX 440 SE 64MB DDR PCI Graphics Card — ASLM440PCI
(64MB DDR memory; 256-bit graphics accelerator; 5.3GB/sec. memory bandwidth; 2048 x 1536 resolution; PCI interface; SVGA and TV-out connectors)

$ 99.00 at bestbuy

is the Graphics card i can use on my pc tell me pleaze

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

I found price for this Dimm memory card at bestbuy

Mushkin 512MB PC133 SDRAM DIMM Memory for $69.00
:up: wow!

is for my pc rite can i add into that one slot

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Welll i found a good processor for sale and wonder is it good to i know u got alot of post to reply when you reply use quotes and here it is:

AMD Duron™ Processor 1.3GHz for 69.00

PRODUCT FEATURES
1.3GHz processor speed

200MHz frontside system bus for a powerful CPU-to-memory connection

192KB total on-chip cache memory for efficient system processing

Superscalar floating point unit for outstanding number-crunching ability

AMD 3DNow!™ Professional multimedia technology for enhanced performance in graphics-intensive applications

Compatible with Microsoft Windows XP, as well as earlier versions of Windows

AMD, AMD Duron, AMD 3DNow! and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.


PRODUCT DETAILS
D1300BOX

Processor Speed
1.3GHz

Slot Type
Socket A

Cache
192KB Level 1 (L1) cache

System Requirements
Compatible with Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME and XP

Warranty Term — Parts
3 years limited

well there it is im done for now but these hardware and stuff i followed Unreal2k3 recommended devices hope you pick the best one for me

[legacy-Kaoh]

Get the 512MB memory module (hoping your mainboard can support it in one module) you will have too remove the 128MB module, since 512MB is max what your system can.

The radeon 7000 and Geforece 4 are both good cards, dunno what is best though, i prefer the gforce myself.

You cannot use a AMD processor.
An upgrade of processor is not gonna give you noticable improvemnt i estimate, so i suggest you dont, and buy the best video card your budget allows.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

know should i upgrade my pc to XP or keep it ME which is better.

[legacy-Kaoh]

I prefer XP. ME is the worst OS microsft ever made, go back too 98 or go too XP.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Y u say ME is crap I heard dat from alot of people . Wutz wrong wit it.

[legacy-Kaoh]

The problem with winME is that it is basicly win98 with some extra support and graphical enhances. What happenend was that windows2000 was supposed to become the first windows version that was designed for both home and business use. They failed in doing that so that gamers and media users could not use win2000 at all times. So they decided at the last moment too release win2000 for business and make a enhanched win98 for the home users. I think they didnt have enough time too fully work on this and just grabbed some stuff they designed for win2000 and threw it in.
It all resulted in a very unstable and slow OS.
I have never seen so many Blue screen of deaths on any windows version then the winME edition.

XP is now the version that is the same for the home and business market. Sure the Home version lacks some stuff, but the engine is the same. It cost a bit more resources then 98 did, but adds stability and support.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

AYo i have AOL help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Unreal start i get booted off my connection i have dial-up:cry: so i need help

[legacy-Kaoh]

describe your problem more detailed please.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Know u sai dfor my system dat i can only use Radeon 7000? CAn my systen handle Radeon 9000. Well if it can't go higher wut bout Geforce4

[legacy-Kaoh]

Well it all depends on if you can find yourself a PCI version of them.
But even then the radeon 9700 and the gforce4 ti serie will sleep on your system. The Gforce 4 mx series will be a good choice i think.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

ok i begging u to do some research and da best and cheap soutible graphics card for my pc, since u know more about my pc then i do

[legacy-Kaoh]

could be, but i am not in the states so i dont know any good resources for there.
But your in luck, working on a map at the moment, building it for testing takes 20 minutes, so i have a LOT of dead time on my hands ;)

Ill try too find you something.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

thankz u and try to find something under at least $100.00

[legacy-Kaoh]

Something like this would be good:
http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11189111&m=488&cat=521&scat=522

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

By the looks of the crowd im goin to get A Geforce 4 ok ur side won, but i will hope i can play better if i get this and 512mb memory upgrade.
DID u find any other cheaper Geforce 4 mx card?

[legacy-Kaoh]

nope, sorry.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Well wut i choose will help my pc rite

[legacy-Kaoh]

95% sure i am ;)
you will never know for 100% till you open it.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

GeForce4 MX440; 64MB DDR; PCI w/TV-Out ; W/DVD SOFTWARE; RETAIL ; 1 year package is dat good for mah pc its 75.00

[legacy-Kaoh]

yes

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Now if I wanted to upgrade my processor can I use this product
Pentium 4 1.4GHz 256K cache 400Mhz FSB Socket 423 for $110.00
I jus found my Cpu is a Celeron ~900mhz.

SO i wonder can i use it

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

and also is it the only manufacter i can upgrade to..b/c i will lik to upgrade to AMD Athlon

[legacy-Kaoh]

You cant do both.
Too upgrade too a P4 you need a new mainboard.
To upgrade too a AMD you need a new mainboard.

If you gonna chnage your mainboard the picture changes entirely.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

in mainboard u mean motherbaord and also......wut can i upgrade too then

[legacy-Kaoh]

Yes, motherboaord. what else, sound?

nah too too incrase speed.
If your really ready too spend money...
Changing a mainboard in a brand computer is always tricky.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

so i can't upgrade to any processor

[legacy-Kaoh]

not without lots more work and money.

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

wut processor can i upgrade too

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

do u think i should get a


Low Density 512MB SDRAM for 59.00 or get High Density 512MB PC133 SDRAM (Free Shipping) for 37.00

wut is the difference between Low Density and High Density... can my computer handle high density

also the site had said for high Density 512... No compatible with most PII and PII motherboards. See low density SDRAM. is my pc compatible

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

can i change my modem to a ISDN?.....is a ISDN same as ADSL...

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

If a memory say add Heatsink to memory for 10.00
should i add wut is it

[legacy-DryXCell]

Why are you posting what kind of PC parts you should buy in this thread, this thread is for help not PC shopping. Make another thread and ask these questions, some people actually need help and ask real questions. And you seem like you need an awful lot of help if you don't even know what a heatsink is...

[legacy-Kaoh]

I guess you are not the helping type of person are you?

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

well..foget dat guy besides why would i go to a new person dis guy knows more about my pc and u has help me to the fullest....anywas kaoh can u read all the last couple of threads i posted up ...can quote all of them it will be a big help thankz u

[legacy-SkunkBoy]

http://members.aol.com/wutupm8/argh.jpg

Can anyone explain to me what this is? I took this shot in CTF-Face3 and it happens to me in certain parts of maps. It is making this game unplayable...

[legacy-Doc Pox]

I would guess you are using some sort of ATI / Radeon card Skunkboy..... If so it is a known problem called brownout and it happens on this map (and a few other I think)

I used to get it but I bought a gforce.

There are other threads here on how to solve it and I have read them but I forget now..... I think you had to enable fog table emulation or update your drivers but there was definately a post about it, you might have to check back a bit.

Good luck

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

A Kaoh can u help me on My question and come bac to the forumm pleaze

[legacy-Kaoh]

Originally posted by D|R|E|A|D|D
wut processor can i upgrade too
Only a slightly faster PIII, dont do it, waste of money


Originally posted by D|R|E|A|D|D
Low Density 512MB SDRAM for 59.00 or get High Density 512MB PC133 SDRAM (Free Shipping) for 37.00

wut is the difference between Low Density and High Density... can my computer handle high density

also the site had said for high Density 512... No compatible with most PII and PII motherboards. See low density SDRAM. is my pc compatible
I posted the type you needed a bit back up, cant remember now, read it back.


Originally posted by D|R|E|A|D|D
can i change my modem to a ISDN?.....is a ISDN same as ADSL... You can change but it is not the same as ADSL, ISDN goes no faster then 128K and ADSL can go up to 2M.
But you can change, it depends on your provider though, call them ask them if they support ISDN dailup.


Originally posted by D|R|E|A|D|D
If a memory say add Heatsink to memory for 10.00
should i add wut is it Its extra cooling for memory, unless your gonna do some heavy overclocking you dont need it.

This is the last help though. I by now gave you all advise a man can give about computers i think ;)

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

Now SISoftware Sandra told me Mah pc has 2 memory slots
and Maxium installable 512mb and Maxium module size is 256mb
does it mean i can buy a 512mb memory only get two 256mb?

well here wut it told me and should i do wut the tips told me an external video card here look:::


SiSoftware Sandra

Entire System
Manufacturer : Gateway
Model : Brookings
Serial Number : 0024341275
Unique ID : FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF

System Chassis
Manufacturer : Gateway
Case Type : Desktop
Can be locked : No
Serial Number : 0024341275
Boot-up State : Safe
Power State : Safe
Thermal State : Safe
Security State : External Interface Locked-out

System Mainboard
Manufacturer : Gateway
MP Support : No
Model : Brookings
BIOS ID : 63-0100-009999-00101111-041901-WHITNEY

On-board Devices
Unknown : Unknown
Unknown : Unknown

Memory Controller
Error Detection Method : 64-bit ECC
Error Correction Capability : 1-bit
Supported/Current Memory Interleave : 1-way / 1-way
Number of Memory Slots : 2
Maximum Installable Memory : 512MB
Maximum Module Size : 256MB
Supported SDRAM Speeds : PC100, PC133+
Supported Memory Types : DIMM, SDRAM
Supported Memory Voltages : 3.3V

Physical/BIOS Memory Banks
DIMM1 (RASL-0 RASL-1) : 128MB DIMM SDRAM single-bank
DIMM2 : Empty

System Chipset
Model : Intel Corporation 82810e 810e Chipset Host Bridge and Memory Controller Hub
Bus(es) : PCI USB BMB/i2o SMBus/i2c
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz data rate)
Max FSB Speed / Max Memory Speed : 1x 133MHz / 1x 133MHz
In Order Queue Depth : 4 req(s)

Chipset Hub Interface
Type : HubInterface
Version : 1.00
No. Ports : 1
Width : 8-bit
Full Duplex : Yes
Multiplier : 1x

Logical/Chipset Memory Banks
Bank 0 Setting : 128MB SDRAM 7-1-1-1R 5-1-1-1W 2-2-2CL
Shared Memory : 1MB
Refresh Rate : 15.60µs
Power Down Mode : No
Fixed Hole Present : No

Memory Modules
Memory Module 1 : Siemens HYS64V16300GU-75 010B6B53 128MB 8x(16Mx8) SDRAM PC133U-333-542 (CL3 upto 133MHz) (CL2 upto 100MHz)

PCI Bus(es)
Version : 2.10
No Bridges : 1
PCI Bus 0 : 32-bit PCI (33MHz)
PCI Bus 1 : 32-bit PCI (33MHz)
Multiplier : 1/3x

LPC Hub Controller 1
Model : Intel Corporation 82801AA 8xx Chipset LPC Interface Bridge
ACPI PM Enabled : Yes
Random Number Generator Enabled : No
Random Number Generator Support : Yes

USB Controller 1
Model : Intel Corporation 82801AA 8xx Chipset USB Controllers
Version : 1.10
UHCI Interface : Yes
Channels : 2
Speed : 48MHz
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

System SMBus Controller 1
Model : Intel 801xx SMBus
Version : 0.02
Speed : 16kHz

Expansion Slot(s)
PCI1 (1h) : PCI 32-bit 3.3V PME FullLength Available (Gateway 2000 82810e 810e Chipset Graphics Controller)
PCI2 (2h) : PCI 32-bit 3.3V PME FullLength Available

Port Connector(s)
USB1 - USB : USB - None / USB
JGUSB1 - USB : USB - None / USB
CPU FAN - CPUFAN : None - None / None
IR1 - IR1 : None - None / None
AUD1 - AUDIO : Audio Port - None / Mini-jack
JVGA1 - VGA : Video Port - None / None
FDD - FDD : None - Floppy / None
IDE1 - 00h : None - ATA / None
IDE2 - 00h : None - ATA / None
MC700 - MODEM : Modem Port - None / RJ-11
JTAD1 - MODEM_IN : Audio Port - CD-ROM Sound Input / None
VIDEO1 - VIDEO_IN : Audio Port - CD-ROM Sound Input / None
CD1 - CD_IN : Audio Port - CD-ROM Sound Input / None

Performance Tips
Notice N224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Warning W2507 : Mainboard has too few memory slots. Upgrading the memory may be difficult or expensive.
Tip T2511 : Some memory slots are free so the memory can be easily upgraded.
Warning W2544 : System/Video shared memory greatly reduces performance. Use external video card.
Tip T2 : For more information about tips, press F1 and scroll to the Tips section.

[legacy-Kaoh]

soprry the maximum was not mentioned on the Gateway site.
Yes it means you can only buy 2 256MB modulkes
You should get the
256MB SDRAM memory

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

When i get my memory upgrade should i get a 256 Meg 133Mhz 168-pin DIMM Memory Module Name Brand (Mircon,Nec,Fujitsu,Toshiba,Samsung) without ECC or a 256 Meg ECC 133Mhz 168-pin DIMM Memory Module Name Brand (Mircon,Nec,Fujitsu,Toshiba,Ibm with ECC

the one without it is $35.00!(i can get that now) and with EC50
$50.00( got to wait 3 weeks)

also should i get Inno3D GeForce4 MX 440 SE 128MB SDR W heatsink cooling fan/ TV Out PCI for $88.00 or Jaton GeForce4 MX440; 64MB DDR; PCI w/TV-Out ; W/DVD SOFTWARE; RETAIL ; 1 year package for $66.00

[legacy-D|R|E|A|D|D]

ahh should i get genric or a brand type

[legacy-Kaoh]

Originally posted by Kaoh
Memory:
Two 168-pin dual inline memory module (DIMM) sockets
Support for up to 512-megabytes (MB) of 100-megahertz (MHz) or 133-MHz, non-ECC, unbuffered synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM)
Will do the job:
256 Meg 133Mhz 168-pin DIMM Memory Module Name Brand (Mircon,Nec,Fujitsu,Toshiba,Samsung) without ECC

get 2 if ya have the money

I dotn know both brands of video cards, but since they bode use exactly the same chips the difference will be in the drivers.. but the the detonator drivers amde by Nvidia will work always on both, so the:
Jaton GeForce4 MX440; 64MB DDR; PCI w/TV-Out ; W/DVD SOFTWARE; RETAIL ; 1 year package for $66.00

Will do just fine

email me for sorther help

[legacy-Booya2020]

Is it normal to get an average 20fps on the benchmark with my pc? 1.3ghz, geforce4 ti4200, 512mb pc-133. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[legacy-SpeedFreek]

Hi there!

I'm not sure if I have a problem or not here, but I havent seen any mention of this issue in this thread...

I get anything between 50 and over 150 fps when playing singleplayer, depending on what's happening on screen at the time. But in multiplayer I can't get more than 40fps whatever I do. Ive tried reducing all graphics details, resolution, software audio etc and it refuses to go above 40 fps. Is this a feature? I've tried 2 different servers in case it was the server, but it was still the same. Also, there are no IRQ conflicts, and I get full fps if I play singleplayer with the modem connected to the internet. Other online games work fine.

Now, this isnt a BIG problem because it never drops below an average 38 fps or so, and 40 fps is perfectly playable, but if it should go above 40 fps I would like to find out why my system seems pegged at that figure.

My system specs are
Win98se DirectX8.1
P4 2.4ghz with 512MB DDR 333 ram
Gigabyte GA-8SR533 mobo @ 100 fsb
GF4 Ti4200 128MB running at default speeds
Nvidia detonator 41.09 drivers
Creative Audigy Soundcard
SupraExpress 56e pro external modem

UT2003 patched to version 2166

3Dmark2001se benchmark 10022
UT2003 benchmark @ 1024x768
Flyby 126.616859
Botmatch 51.590923

I know my system is pretty good, but I would hate to think I was missing out on some FPS in multiplayer!

Thanks for listening, hope you can help
:)