GameAmp: Issue w/ everquest 2

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Monkeymumba

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Joined: 12/31/1969
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Issue w/ everquest 2

Hey guys.

I'm having this issue w/ everquest 2 where my cpu speed will keep throttling from 1.6ghz to .8ghz. I have no idea what's going on... My cpu speed is 1.6ghz, and I have the settings on power control to use 100% processing power. But for some reason when I play everquest 2 it overrides this.

This makes the game very awkward to play... For example i'll be walking around, running the game fine, but then all of the sudden im goin in slow-mo... then after a few seconds im normal again and the process repeats.

Any help guys?

03/23/08 19:43

lani

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RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Uhm, that's a new one for me.

What model laptop?

03/23/08 20:32

Monkeymumba

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Joined: 12/31/1969
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RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Its an Everex XT5000T

Specs listed below.

Processor: AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-50 (2 CPU's), ~1.6GHz
Memory: 2GB
DirectX Version: DirectX 10

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600
Aprox. Memory: 520 MB

03/23/08 20:43

lani

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Joined: 09/08/2005
Credibility: 28 pts

RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Everex StepNote XT5000T

CPU	AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual Core TL-50 @ 1600mhz per core
OS	Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
RAM	1 GB of 533mhz DDR2 occupying a single slot, leaving 1 slot available
Display	17” WXGA+ 1440x900 Diamond Brite screen
Graphics	Nvidia Geforce Go 7600 with 256MB DDR2 dedicated
Audio	Realtek ALC885 High-Definition Audio Codec
Hard Drive	100GB (5400RPM) with a slot for a second hard drive also available
Optical Drive	8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer
I/O Ports	3 x USB 1 x DVI 1 x TV-out (S-video) 1 x Mic-in 1 x Headphone in 1 x Infrared – IrDA 1 x Modem – RJ-11 1 x RJ-45 LAN 1 x Express Card 1 x Firewire – 1394 4-in-1 Card Reader for SD, MMC, MS, and MS Pro
Communications	· 10/100/1000 Ethernet · 802.11b/g
Dimensions/Weight	· 15.7” x 11.8” x 1.3 -1.6” (L x W x H) · 8.45 lbs
Battery/Power	· 6-cell, 2.5 – 3 hours

Ok, you start here.
Should have all the latest drivers there. It's amazing how often that helps.
I'll be looking at that user manual linked on the page to see if there's a way you can set the scaling down on by accident and what the terminology used for that is. So I can Google more efficiently. But as it's almost 3 am here, i think I'll take a nap first if you don't mind :-)

P.s. that 1 GB of memory is effectively 745 as 255MB of that is being dedicated to your graphics chipset. If at all possible, upgrade it to 2GB for better performance. Memory is always under-appreciated, especially on laptops. Odd really as it's one of the few upgrades possible to a laptop that doesn't add to the sense of your family jewels being roasted.

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

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03/23/08 20:56

Monkeymumba

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Joined: 12/31/1969
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RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Woah, wasn't expecting that much help, thanks!

Oh and I already added another 1GB of ram, thats why I said 2GB in my post above :]

In the meantime, ill just download some of those drivers while you get some rest ;]

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

03/23/08 21:08

lani

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Joined: 09/08/2005
Credibility: 28 pts

RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

QUOTE

Heh, oops. Missed the 2Gb mention. Sorry :-)

The manual isn't proving so helpful for now (go figure).
It looks like your BIOS has no settings for controlling the stepping down of the CPU. How are you configuring it?
Screenie would be ideal :-) (You can upload pics to the site through your Profile and link them in the forums)

But for now I'm down to WAGging my way through this issue, and I'm thinking insufficient power supply.
Thing is, EQ-2 is capable of pulling quite some UMPH! from your system, especially the graphics-card. Now, the manual kindly mentions the wattage of your CPU, but omits similar information on your GFX chipset. Very helpful.

Thing is, what happens if you put a GFX card in a desktop system with an insufficient power-supply, specifically one that just manages to supply enough power for desktop usage? It'll reboot mid-game.
Now, a laptop with power control in that situation has another option, scale down the CPU.

It's a guess, but see if you can shut down some power sucking peripherals like Bluetooth and Wireless LAN. My old Altitude 500 has BIOS settings to disable those by default so they won't be scanning the ether in the background even when you're not actively using them. Modern laptops seem to have more faith in the longevity of their batteries though and often don't have those, meaning you have to disable them in the OS. There's a difference between not using them and disabling them. Not using them means they're still active and sucking power.

Btw, if you actually use wireless, you might want to keep it on, but kill Bluetooth whenever not actively using it. For gaming I'd not recommend wireless though.

Something else you may want to try is toning down your GFX options in-game. If memory serves, the main boards have a listing of performance tweaks you could follow. This should not remedy the problem completely, but at least reduce the frequency of it happening.

Now, all this power stuff is a Wild Assed Guess on my part. If my recommendations work, yay! if not you might want to check in with Everex or SOE tech-support. Yes, I include SOE there :-) Believe it or not their Tech support people posting on the SOE forums know a thing or two. The trick is getting them to take an interest in your case. But given that your laptop isn't marketed specifically as a gaming laptop makes me suspect it's power-supply may not be up to "full guns blazing" so to speak.

Ok, long post full of ifs and maybes. Sorry about that.
Good luck though!

03/24/08 06:19

Monkeymumba

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Joined: 12/31/1969
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RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Ok, to answer your first question I provided a pic which is listed below...

The red bubble highlights the area I used to tell my CPU speed to stay a constant 100%( 1.6GHz ) Which has no effect on Everquest 2.

Yes its true, i cannot control anything cpu related in my BIOS, but i did come across something called BIOS raid in the driver list you told me about last night. Would this let me control my BIOS?

I'll try what you suggested on the power supply, I'll get back to you soon. Thanks! = )

P.S. Oh, and I dont think the drivers helped : [ It seems I was already up to date on most of the drivers...

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

03/24/08 09:13

lani

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Joined: 09/08/2005
Credibility: 28 pts

RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Better not touch the Raid option unless you know exactly what you're doing.

RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Devices, with which they mean Hard-disks, not Laptops :-)

Darn, I've so far managed to avoid Vista, so I don't know if it's possible to turn the whole thing off. Power control, not Vista. I know how to turn that off :-)

I think looking for power-saving options will be your best bet, along with some toning down of gfx effects in EQ-2. Specular lighting in particular is a drain on performance, and thereby power.

Scary thought: I may have been right on the power-supply not cutting it. A Desktop reboots, a Laptop switches to battery and scales down CPU mode...

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

03/24/08 09:22

Monkeymumba

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Joined: 12/31/1969
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RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Ok, here's the lowdown...

I disabled a program that was running on my computer called Live Update and started playing Everquest 2.

It seemed that my game was actually running normal for about 15-20 min, but then the throttling started to kick in again... This sucks cause I got my hopes up that I would actually be able to play and enjoy it = )

So I think your right about the power, the thing is I really dont know what to disable... Im afraid I might disable something my computer needs, and then be back to square 1.

Another thing I've noticed, when it starts throttling in game, even when I turn the game off my computer keeps throttling for about 5-10 min. So it must be the power, as you said?

Also, do you think moving my laptop to a diffrent power outlet might help?

Anyways, just want to thank you again for sticking with me in this situation = )

Thanks!

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

03/24/08 10:15

lani

GameAmp Staff
Posts: 514
Joined: 09/08/2005
Credibility: 28 pts

RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Switching power outlet might help, if it's one that's known to have issues delivering power. Otherwise not.
I'm still more inclined to blame your power supply. Your Laptop pulling 210 Watt at max usage, with the supply generating 200 then dropping to battery-mode rather than rebooting.
You might try confirming that. The little icon you circled on the bottom right should show up differently (like a battery in fact) if your laptop switches to that configuration.
Running EQ-2 in windowed mode a bit could help.
If it does, switch to battery, you know it's something with the power-supply. Either it is faulty or your laptop can pull more than it can handle. Either way it's the manufacturer's booboo.

There's some hardware modules, like Bluetooth and Wireless which you could disable to safe power. But if you're not very pc-savvy you might hurt yourself in the long run (figuratively) if you just randomly kill processes. I'm pretty sure having the laptop for 30 minutes would have me disabling some unnessescaries (sp?). DOing the same through a forum hasn't worked for me so far :-)
I might recommend looking for a computer-savvy friend or co-worker who ought to be able to help out with that.

03/25/08 08:15

Monkeymumba

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Joined: 12/31/1969
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RE: Issue w/ everquest 2

Thanks for all your advice, I'll make sure to try out all you have suggested and get back to you = )

03/26/08 08:05

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