Lagging Problems

[Jedi Master ZLL]

I recently got Medieval 2 Total War, to be able to run it I got a new graphics card (GeForce 9500 1gb). From what Ive read the graphics card should be more than enough, but in large battles, 3000-4000 men, the game will lag. I tried to change the graphics options but at maxed out high graphics and minimum low graphics it acts the same. Is this a processor problem?

I have 2gbs ram and a pentium 4 at 3.2ghz.

[PoleCat]

Originally Posted by Jedi Master ZLL

I recently got Medieval 2 Total War, to be able to run it I got a new graphics card (GeForce 9500 1gb). From what Ive read the graphics card should be more than enough, but in large battles, 3000-4000 men, the game will lag. I tried to change the graphics options but at maxed out high graphics and minimum low graphics it acts the same. Is this a processor problem?

I have 2gbs ram and a pentium 4 at 3.2ghz.

What OS are you running on? In fact it might help to have your full DxDiag log just in case - this smells like a lack of memory addresses to me. That 1 GB card is nice but not all games and systems will work well with it.

[gigantus]

Does it lag in all battles or just siege battles?
Reflections and other special effects take a toll on the processor (only one is being used).

[irishron]

There is another thread in here dealing with a 1gig card.

1gig cards are the future. This game uses at the most 200mb of that at any one time from what I have seen checking usage on campaign map. Battles will use more for things like forests and cities but I have yet to see this game even make full use of a 512mb card and I now have one.

My experience from RTW 1.0 vanilla before RTR was born is because of the way this game is programmed to utilize memory that the game spends more time filling your card than drawing to screen and that is causing your lag and many others.

[Jedi Master ZLL]

Im using XP, ill hav to get the dxdiag tommorrow, im workin off my laptop at the moment.
And y dont some systems not work well with a 1gb card?

It lags in all large battles and i have bloom and reflection off most of the time anyway, and like i said before with all special effects off and all graphics low it still lags.

It will run perfectly till it gets to a certain number of men in the battle, same way backwards, it will lag till enough men die and it starts running smooth again.

[Totalheadache]

think it might be time to upgrade gpu. the total wars are pretty tough to run even on a killer setup.

i take off bloom/shadows/reflections. these are a big hit and dont really improve the game for me.

re the sieges i dont think these were coded to well as even using a card like a 285 i would get lag...i think it was some kind of a.i pathing issue. non siege battles i never had an issue with really.

re upgrade gpu's generally depends on your res. i would say your pent d could use an upgrade as well. here's a few guidelines

1920x1200 or similar res 5850/285/5870/295 (24inch)
1680x1050 5850/260/4890/5770/250/4870 (22inch)
1360x768 again something like a 250/4870/5770/260 (19inch). lowest i would use would be a 9800gt.

[Jedi Master ZLL]

Here's a summary of the dxdiag:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/28/2009, 18:19:09
Machine name: DONALD
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.090804-1435)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP Pavilion 061
System Model: EL470AA-ABA a1340n
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 774MB used, 2558MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 9500 GT
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0640&SUBSYS_0643196E&REV_A1
Display Memory: 1024.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Default Monitor

The whole dxdiag should show up as an attachment.

[irishron]

Honestly, it's the game's fault, not your computer's. This game was not optimized for the hardware around at its release.

[Jedi Master ZLL]

I thought the 9500 came out afterwards?

So what would I need to run it without lagging?

That's y i asked about the processor, cause ill (eventually) buy a gaming pc, and i dont want to spend too much upgrading this one.

[irishron]

Unfortunately, you're not.
I have a 9800gt and it will lag if I leave the mouse pointer on the campaign and go scrolling into mountains and forests.
Like I said, it's the game, not you.

[Jedi Master ZLL]

Oh, well I havent actually checked out Empire Total War yet, but do RTW and ETW have the same problem?

And so even...maybe like a top of the line alienware, it would still lag? Or just my current cpu?

[irishron]

RTW and M2TW are written on the same basic engine. Neither are optimized for multicore cpus. Neither are optimized to take advantage of all the pipes in an old 128bit card so it won't be any better in the new ones with more pipes.

Maybe this analogy will make sense. It's from what I grew up around before the internet was born or a man walked on the moon and computers were still tubes.
Think of Medieval2 as a 4-cylinder engine.
Think of your pc as a 1967 Cadillac.
Now with that combination, how far are you going and how fast? Cadillacs in 1967 were guaranteed to do 140mph off the truck with a stock V-8 engine.

Empire is now "optimized" for multicore cpus. How well is up for debate. They still haven't figured out SLI or Crossfire.

[Jedi Master ZLL]

Oh, ok, good analogy. Thanks, makes sense now. That was something i was wondering about when i was browsing cpu's, how many games are made to take advantage of a modern computer?

[irishron]

I'm afraid not many. I think the hardware technology is outrunning the software and hardware is getting the blame.

[Jedi Master ZLL]

Figured, well thanks for the help.

[irishron]

You're welcome.

[Taiji]

Hey Jedi, try checking HP's site for updates for your drivers but also for an updated system bios. Could be that your mainboard can handle newer hardware better with an updated bios and drivers.

Also, if you had a ATI card beforethe upgrade then download and use Driver Cleaner to remove any remaining ATI stuff.

Sometimes an upgrade turns out to be an excellent way to detect an existing problem so try disabling any background software when you run m2tw. Disconnect yourself from the net and disable all your security stuff too. If any of them turn out to be causing problems just uninstalling and reinstalling with updated versions will often fix the issue.

Also try reinstalling m2tw/kingdoms, maybe it will reset the way the game tries to deal with the card. That would be my last resort because to me it takes forever.

[Jedi Master ZLL]

I checked for bios update and they didnt hav one, there were a few driver updates but nothing that would really affect performance.

Did disable a few things in the background, most was disabled to begin with. Did a disk cleanup, might help my cpu in general but idt it was enough to help the game.

I might try reinstalling it in the future but for now its ok, the cpu has to have trouble keeping up with all those units at some point and its only large battles.

Probably just the game not being optimised for the cpu.

[Taiji]

Originally Posted by Jedi Master ZLL

I tried to change the graphics options but at maxed out high graphics and minimum low graphics it acts the same.

This is odd. It could indicate a graphics card running with a CPU bottleneck.

It also begs the question: Did you try settings in between highest and lowest? No I don't mean 'medium' , I mean did changing any of the advanced video options have any effect?

[Jedi Master ZLL]

Which advanced video options do you mean? I tried to set everything to its lowest setting, turning off would could be turned off.

And if it is the bottleneck what could the solution be?