very choppy gameplay

this started happening last night (11/4/11). when i log in, everything is fine. after about 2-3 minutes, everything starts getting very choppy. it starts with minor lagging, then it gets so bad, its like watching a bad stop motion animation movie. the game is unplayable like this. even when standing still, the background, for example, the water near the piers in limsa lominsa, also is verry choppy. i have no idea what to do, ive been playing this game since CE launch, and this has never happened before. i'm on istory if that means anything. logging out and logging back in fixes it for a few minutes, but thats it.

Anyone I know to have this issues, has issues with their PC usually. (It is possible to have files damaged.)
The most likely cause is spyware/viruses running in the background.
Usually after a restart, your computer runs fine for a short while, but as you play, it gets worse.
Next up is general damage to the PC as it gets old.
Did you have your graphics at the "Teetering point?"
Like did you put it as HIGH as you could go, just barely shy of getting lag?
Most likely you over heated your GPU or did some damage somewhere, putting so much stress on your PC.
Allot of ppl run this game way higher than they should. (are you getting 30 FpS or are you getting 60+?)
Next up, are you on a laptop?
If so, do you have cooling vents under it?
If PC, is the fan broken or slowing down? Heat can drastically slow down the game, as the GPU heats up after a few mins of play.

My suggestion, put the game on MUCH MUCH lower graphic settings, and test the gam eout, for the same duration of time. if the lag isn't present, this is most likely the problem.

If the lag is there, most likely spyware/virus.

i have it set to low resolution, and when you log in, everything starts at 60 fps. after a few minutes, when you do something like, crafting for example, when you execute a command, and the success/fail result pops up, it drops to 40-ish fps. then, as you continue, it starts dropping from 60 to 25-30. and if you get up and star running through town, it drops to 20-15 fps. now, if you log out, and log back on, it starts ar 60 fps again, and will start the cycle over again. now, nothing has changed. it was working thursday night last time i played, came home from work friday night, and this started. nothing has changes while i was at work, i have no idea whats causing this. thank you for your help, i appreciate it.

This sounds like a video card issue.

I've observed this problem happening before as a result of me forgetting to turn the GPU's fan to the highest possible setting. As a result the card was overheating and began delivering sub-par performance.

If you have a program like MSI Afterburner, I'd recommend turning that on to monitor your GPU temperature while the game is running.

I'd bet that once your card exceeds the 80°C mark, you'll see some slow downs.

Also something else you could try, is setting the fps limiter in the in-game configuration menu down from 60 fps to 30 fps (If you're running on a laptop this is especially helpful).

If you provide your system specs we may be able to determine the problem faster than just using simple guesswork. =P

i copy and pasted this from the system information tab in ffxiv config. is this what you meant? i'm not very technical, sorry lol. and its an alienware computer i bought about 3 years ago and played ffxi on. thanks again for the help.

-=-=-=-=-=-=- System Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-

Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition Service Pack 2 64bit (build 6002)
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz
Number of Processors Logical Core Count 8 Physical Core Count 4
BIOS BIOS Date: 12/05/08 12:33:11 Ver: 08.00.15
Language English (Regional Setting: English)
Physical Memory 3062.301MB
Virtual Memory 2047.875MB
Page File 6345.156MB
Storage C:\ Hard Disk Drive Total Disk Space 217.178GB Free Disk Space 133.475GB
DirectX Version DirectX 11
Graphic Device(s) NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
+Device \\.\DISPLAY4
+Chip GeForce 9800 GT
+Maker NVIDIA
+Video Memory 497.938 MB
+Shared Video Memory 1275.555 MB
+DAC Type Integrated RAMDAC
+Display Mode 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
+Driver nvd3dumx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2umx.dll, nvwgf2um
+Driver Version 7.15.0011.7813
+Driver Date 9/17/2008 7:55:00 AM
+Driver Language English
+Vertex Shader 3.0
+Pixel Shader 3.0
+Vertex Texture Supported
Sound Device(s) Speakers (Logitech G35 Headset)
+Device ID {19A44AF6-D4EB-4293-B466-C86142EDEB36}
+Device Name USBAUDIO.sys
+Driver Version 6.00.6002.18005
+Driver Language English
+Driver Date 4/10/2009 9:39:36 PM
Sound Device(s) SPDIF Interface (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
+Device ID {7D514642-AA65-451B-8950-62EF3DC16553}
+Device Name ADIHdAud.sys
+Driver Version 6.10.0002.6520
+Driver Language English
+Driver Date 7/9/2008 9:01:46 PM
Sound Device(s) Speakers (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
+Device ID {D4BEFE70-1241-4E2A-B969-C1ACD0792852}
+Device Name ADIHdAud.sys
+Driver Version 6.10.0002.6520
+Driver Language English
+Driver Date 7/9/2008 9:01:46 PM
Sound Device(s) Digital Output (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
+Device ID {EC9202F0-E77E-4032-A2E5-EE70CD64F84B}
+Device Name ADIHdAud.sys
+Driver Version 6.10.0002.6520
+Driver Language English
+Driver Date 7/9/2008 9:01:46 PM
Input Device(s) {6F1D2B60-D5A0-11CF-BFC7444553540000}
+Name Mouse
+Notes Axis 3 Button 8 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {6F1D2B61-D5A0-11CF-BFC7444553540000}
+Name Keyboard
+Notes Axis 0 Button 128 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {3BCC8A90-F50F-11E0-8001444553540000}
+Name Logitech G35 Headset
+Notes Axis 0 Button 5 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {E93372E0-00B1-11E1-8001444553540000}
+Name Gamepad F310 (Controller)
+Notes Axis 5 Button 10 Field of View 1
Input Device(s) {1EEF22F0-F4A3-11E0-8001444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 652 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF25740-F4A3-11E0-8002444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 652 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF53D70-F4A3-11E0-8003444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 3 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF56480-F4A3-11E0-8004444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 3 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF58B90-F4A3-11E0-8005444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 0 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF5B2A0-F4A3-11E0-8006444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 0 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF5D9B0-F4A3-11E0-8007444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 0 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF600C0-F4A3-11E0-8008444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 0 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF627D0-F4A3-11E0-8009444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 0 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF64EE0-F4A3-11E0-800A444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 0 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF675F0-F4A3-11E0-800B444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 0 Field of View 0
Input Device(s) {1EF69D00-F4A3-11E0-800C444553540000}
+Name USB Receiver
+Notes Axis 0 Button 0 Field of View 0


-=-=-=-=-=-=- Application Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-

FINAL FANTASY XIV, The Lodestone - Windows Internet Explorer
very choppy gameplay - Windows Internet Explorer


-=-=-=-=-=-=- Install Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-

Adobe Reader 9
AlienRespawn v2.0
Amazon MP3 Downloader 1.0.12
Apple Application Support
Apple Software Update
CleanUp!
DivX Setup
FINAL FANTASY XIV
Fraps
Host OpenAL (ADI)
Hotfix for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (KB953595)
Hotfix for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (KB958484)
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB936181)
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB941833)
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB954430)
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB973688)
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware version 1.51.2.1300
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.4148
NVIDIA PhysX v8.09.04
Nero 7 Essentials
QuickTime
RealNetworks - Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Runtime
RealPlayer
RealUpgrade 1.1
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (KB2416473)
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (KB2478663)
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (KB2518870)
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (KB2539636)
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (KB2572078)
SoundMAX
Spybot - Search & Destroy
StartNow Toolbar
The Weather Channel Desktop 6
Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (KB963707)
Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (KB2468871)
Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (KB2533523)
VC80CRTRedist - 8.0.50727.6195
WinRAR 4.01 (32-bit)
avast! Free Antivirus
iKnowPS


-=-=-=-=-=-=- Proccess Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-

C:\Program Files (x86)\Analog Devices\Core\smax4pnp.exe 00000C50
C:\Program Files (x86)\Analog Devices\SoundMAX\SoundMAX.exe 000009F8
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe 00000734
C:\Program Files (x86)\Real\RealPlayer\update\realsched.exe 000008EC
C:\Program Files (x86)\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe 00000B90
C:\Program Files (x86)\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XIV\ffxivconfig.exe 000026BC
C:\Program Files (x86)\iKnowPS\iKnowPS.exe 00000C74
C:\Users\steve\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe 00001350
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil11c_ActiveX.exe 00001DA4

Things I noted about your system:

-You are running Vista Home Premium SP2 64bit

-Your Physical Memory is 3GBs
-Virtual Memory is 2GBs
-Page File is 6.3GB

-Your Hard Drive is either 230GB or 250GB

-The video card is a Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT
-It's driver version is 178.13

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis:

As you said, your system was built by Alienware 3 years ago.

Judging by your video drivers and listed hardware, you have not updated your machine since you bought it.

Windows Vista 64bit is a very memory hungry operating system.
The recommended memory for the OS alone is 2GBs.
You have 3GBs, which is just fine for running the OS and some low memory cost programs.

Your Hard Drive is likely a Western Digital Velociraptor with 230GBs capacity running at 10,000 RPM.

Your video card drivers are almost as old as the card itself, and a number of driver updates have been released that support the 9800 GT.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
There's quite a few possible fixes for your problem.

The simplest would be to buy a lot of new Hardware for your system.
What you have is still good by today's standards, but it's sadly lacking a lot to run FFXIV at optimal speed. =\

I won't go into what you could buy to speed things up, since you probably don't want to spend a lot on hardware just to get a terribly optimized game to run properly...

Instead, I'll give you some suggestions that may help... and may not, but it's worth trying.

First, while your video card is adequate enough to run FFXIV at just below standard settings, it is at the minimum recommended hardware requirements to run the game.

The game has gone through a lot of updates recently that effect how your video card drivers manage it, I'd recommend updating. That alone may fix your problem, but there may be other causes.

While your video card should last a good 10 years under regular use, FFXIV is a video card KILLER. I actually own a 9800 GT myself, and it ran the Beta and a good few months of the actual release of the game before it burned out and I had to buy a new card.

Hopefully this isn't what you're experiencing and the driver update will work.

If it doesn't, there's still other things that I noticed that may be effecting your performance.



You noticed that I mentioned Vista 64bit is a memory hog right?
Well while you can run Vista and some games with no problems, FFXIV is a memory hog itself. I'm not even sure 3GB of memory is adequate for running the game.

Luckily, you have Virtual Memory of 2GBs. What this does is use a portion of your Hard Drive, that you've set aside, as RAM. Basicly, whenever you go over your memory limit, your hard drive takes over managing the memory overflow.
This is good and bad, you have a very fast Hard Drive, so it can probably handle the overflow, but it's not the same as having real memory. Also, hard drives become fragmented over time as you use them, slowing their performance.
I'd recommend using a program to defragment your drive, which may improve your performance.

It may also be that your Hard Drive is beginning to fail... Looking at your system, it is approaching 4 years of age, and the performance of all Hard Drives declines with time.

It could also be that the most recent updates to FFXIV have introduced you to a problem that some people encounter at different times and patches.

When I first started FFXIV, I had the game installed on a regular Hard Drive running at 7200 RPM and had no choppy gameplay whatsoever. However, after patch 1.16 I started experiencing almost exactly the same problem you're describing, but only in the cities.

I found that the problem was related to loading times from my Hard Drive.
I bought a cheap 40GB Solid State Drive, installed the game on it, and the problem went completely away.

Reading through the forums, it seems other people with the same problem also used an SSD or higher RPM drive to fix the issue.


In summary:

-Update your video card drivers.

-Defragment your Hard Drive.

(If these don't work, you may have to start spending money. Recommended hardware updates below.)

-If possible, increase your memory, at least to 4GBs and if possible 6GBs.

-Buy a new Video Card. Good Budget cards that will run FFXIV well are the GTX 550 Ti
and Radeon HD 6850.

-Install FFXIV on a Solid State Drive. This is typically expensive, but you may be able to find a good deal on one. I use a 40GB SSD, but seeing as the game is expanding in the next couple years, I'd recommend 60GB+.

I hope one of these suggestions helps you with your problem, sorry for the wall of text.

i did order a new video card in anticipation, lol, an HD6870, and an additonal 12 GB's of memory. i'll defragment my drive in the meantime and see if the card and memory do anything for me. thank you for the help, the wall of text is exactly what i need to clearly spell out what i need to do, lol.

also, i saw this posted on another post here : Turn off Ambient Occlusion and Depth of Field. This will cause killer framedrops in FFXIV since FFXIV isn't properly optimized for PCs.

how do i go about doing this?

Using the FFXIV Config application from which you copied the System information.

Once started, click General then go to the Graphics panel and you will have the option to enable or disable those features, oh, and in case Hardware Mouse is not enabled, do so.

ok, new video card and much more memory, and everything is awesome! thank you for all the help!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kittra

I'm not even sure 3GB of memory is adequate for running the game.

---

It's definitely enough. I run it just fine with only 2GB, though on XP. Loading times are long but it shouldn't affect frame rates.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kittra

Windows Vista 64bit is a very memory hungry operating system.

---

A very famous myth actually. Vista loads files you often access into RAM for faster access, thus "blocking" your RAM. However, once your PC needs more RAM, that data is "dropped" (the virtual link points to the HDD instead of RAM again) and you can use that memory.

Windows 7 is using the same technology, the only reason why 7 seems to be less of a hog and faster than Vista is because of a very simple trick; Vista loaded the UI only after all the functions of it are finished loading, while 7 does the opposite.

That said, Vista and 7 are perfectly usable with 2GB RAM, I've been using them for years and updated to 4GB about a year ago, with no difference in performance. It was before I started playing FFXIV though, so I can't really say if 2GB is enough for OS + FFXIV

Most likely, the issue here was the GPU, not the RAM though.