Need a little pc help

Ok so here it goes... I did something that most pc experts will say was not the smartest maybe but I was eager to experiment and maybe save some money.

I have a cyberpower pc that I had built in 2010 that was decent in most ways for the game but I wanted to upgrade the gfx card so I did. That one works fine. Next my wife decides she wants to play so I have a really old desktop and a freshly removed gtx 460 card. Game ran perfectly in b4 and scored around a 5k on desktop high on the benchmark. For the past few days however she gets like this invisible wall where she can't run any farther and then suddenly the grass loads and people appear and I guess it catches up or something. Also when she goes to accept a quest or whatever the npcs take forever to load.

I have turned everything down to as low as it will go but I'm perplexed. It doesn't do it all the time and on my computer which is on the same network everything is fine. 1 time she got blue screen and the pc crashed. Maybe 3-5 times she got "Final Fantasy XIV has stopped working" which might be because of all the alt tabbing/graphics adjusting. I have monitored the temperatures through razer game booster as it clearly shows them there and the cpu/gfx card never even get out of the 50c range. I installed an extra case fan to make sure there would be no over heating issues.

So heres the stats on it as well as I can remember since I don't have it in front of me.

Windows 7
Foxconn RS780M03G1-8EKRS2HMOD (No BIOS update ever performed as that is a bit beyond my knowledge)
600gb 5400 HDD
gtx 460
4gb of ddr2 (Elpida GU342G0ALEPR692C6CE)
amd Athlon dual core 2.85 ghz
500w corsair psu (I put this in to meet the standard power requirements for the gpu)

Windows is updated, I have tried NVidia drivers 314.22, 320.18, 320.49 (current). Tried all manner of settings. I just don't get why it would perform so well in b4 and so bad in EA. Also as it stands I have invested a total of $50 (psu) and $7 (case fan) into this project so if it isn't gonna work that's ok as I'm pretty good at turning a buck on ebay. If there are some cheap parts I need to make it work that would be great. Any help is much appreciated and thanks in advance.

I am by no means an expert in computer hardware... but this sounds like an internet latency issue. I assume you both are playing off the same connection. Are one or both of you wired to internet, or all wireless?

We are both wireless. She does however have an older usb wireless receiver (D-Link Wireless N-150 Mbps USB Wi-Fi Network Adapter (DWA-125)). We are about 25-30 feet away from the router with 1 wall between us and it. The router is Airport Extreme 802.11N (5TH GEN).

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Originally Posted by cypherx

We are both wireless. She does however have an older usb wireless receiver (D-Link Wireless N-150 Mbps USB Wi-Fi Network Adapter (DWA-125)). We are about 25-30 feet away from the router with 1 wall between us and it. The router is Airport Extreme 802.11N (5TH GEN).

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That could be the issue then. Try having here plug in or get a new wifi reciever to see if that makes a difference.

Ok thanks I will try that. In the mean time any other suggestions or is everyone too busy sharpening their pitchforks outside Yoshi P's house? ;P

Shameless Bump

Sounds entirely network related to me, I've never seen bad hardware do things like that. Try to plug the laptop in manually to the ethernet and tell us if the issues persist.

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Originally Posted by PsychicKoala

Sounds entirely network related to me, I've never seen bad hardware do things like that. Try to plug the laptop in manually to the ethernet and tell us if the issues persist.

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Well I'm home now and I managed to get on for about 30 mins and play with the settings. Its a desktop so I unplugged the d-link usb wireless card and am running the game through ics via a macbook pro. It says my connection is excellent now where it only said good before so you guys may have been on to something.

Now as for how shitty the game runs even though it scored decently on the benchmark. What do I need to improve to give it the little extra it needs?

Also sound is badly out of sync.

It's VERY CPU hungry at the moment because of the DirectX 9 (a lot of stuff gets emulated in anything newer than Windows XP), and memory bandwidth can have an impact. Even on the XP Pro box I tested with (generally runs DX8/9 stuff well), I saw a directly proportional change in performance just by changing the core bus speed. No tweaking to the GPU, and PCI-E stayed the same speed. Just ramping up the core bus speed to change my dual core from 3GHz to 4GHz garnered a near flat 25% increase.

So, if you feel up to it, could try to score a deal on a better CPU if your motherboard can support something higher. You can try a slight overclock to see if you notice an impact. Sometimes even just a 5% increase in the bus speed can have a noticeable effect. If it does, then you could look into a CPU upgrade.

Thanks for the reply. This motherboard only supports socket am2 so I'm pretty screwed in that regard. I would be interested in a little overclocking but I'm unsure of where to start. Can you point me in the right direction?

I am also experiencing these issues and would very much like some assistance.

I have been suffering from NPC and player load lag. This can last up to over a minute before the NPC, perhaps with a quest, will load and I can interact with it. Also, enemies spawned for quests. On more than one occasion I have summoned an enemy for a quest only to have it beat on my while invisible and untargetable because it hasn't fully loaded.

Additionally I have been suffering from issues with the music being out of sync and or just straight up cutting out.

And finally, every once in a while the game just crashes, giving me a C++ run time error R6025. I haven't noticed anything in particular that has caused this as it has happened mid-fight, during a teleport, and also just running through Ul'dah.

I am using a wireless connection for the time being, and my comp specs are as follows, in case this has anything to do with it (though, from what the above poster is saying it sounds like no):

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer System manufacturer
Model P5Q DELUXE
Total amount of system memory 8.00 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 932 GB
Disk partition (C:) 812 GB Free (932 GB Total)
Media drive (D:) CD/DVD

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
Total available graphics memory 4096 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 1024 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 3072 MB
Display adapter driver version 9.18.13.2049
Primary monitor resolution 1280x1024
DirectX version DirectX 10

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter TP-LINK 300Mbps Wireless N Adapter
Network Adapter Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Oh also I have a macbook pro that runs the game far better than the desktop in question. I do have a large cooling pad for it and temps are not an issue but I worry about the long term effects of playing this game a lot on it. Thoughts on that?

Bumpity. Hopefully we can get a resolution to this. =/

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Originally Posted by Vivinori

I am also experiencing these issues and would very much like some assistance.

I have been suffering from NPC and player load lag. This can last up to over a minute before the NPC, perhaps with a quest, will load and I can interact with it. Also, enemies spawned for quests. On more than one occasion I have summoned an enemy for a quest only to have it beat on my while invisible and untargetable because it hasn't fully loaded.

Additionally I have been suffering from issues with the music being out of sync and or just straight up cutting out.

And finally, every once in a while the game just crashes, giving me a C++ run time error R6025. I haven't noticed anything in particular that has caused this as it has happened mid-fight, during a teleport, and also just running through Ul'dah.

I am using a wireless connection for the time being, and my comp specs are as follows, in case this has anything to do with it (though, from what the above poster is saying it sounds like no):

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer System manufacturer
Model P5Q DELUXE
Total amount of system memory 8.00 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 932 GB
Disk partition (C:) 812 GB Free (932 GB Total)
Media drive (D:) CD/DVD

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
Total available graphics memory 4096 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 1024 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 3072 MB
Display adapter driver version 9.18.13.2049
Primary monitor resolution 1280x1024
DirectX version DirectX 10

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter TP-LINK 300Mbps Wireless N Adapter
Network Adapter Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller

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that C++ error is more or less a call to a program element that was not found.

My first instinct, considering the level of your hardware, is to suspect it's more of a connectivity/latency issue. There's been a lot of congestion issues on their side, and if you are having fragmentation or anything else wonky on your end, it could just be compounding the issue. As mentioned already, try to run a wired connection to your router. If you have multiple users, it might be a good idea to test with the least number of users possible on your local network.

It runs just fine on my jalopy of a desktop system...granted, I use a trimmed out graphics profile for it. I loaded the standard desktop profile, disabled cascading shadows and glare points, hid all shadows, and used 1024 for the shadow resolution, running Full Screen 1920/1080 with v-synch disabled. Otherwise, I have a solid connection to them via the web (I found the IP of my server via netstat, and my pings are consistently under 90 ms...even with my laptop on Wi-Fi, and that's on CABLE, known for higher latency issues). So... I'd make sure you've got a GOOD connection to your internet to try ruling that out. Run a test at speedguide.net and pay attention to your graph as the test progresses. You can select from several servers in the Montreal area (where the NA data center is). If you see a lot of spikes/dips... there's something going on with your internet.

Just for hardware comparison, I was getting up to 60 FPS, with occasional dips in heavy traffic areas like fates and such (but generally above 50) on an XP Pro (x86) system:

Intel C2D E8400 (overclocked to 4GHz)
4GB DDR2 RAM (overclocked as well, based on the FSB, unsure of actual clock, but it's G-Skill, rated PC-8800, CL5)
Sapphire ATI HD4870 512MB PCIE vid card (moderate clock speeds, not a heavy overclock, just forget the speeds)
Asus Xonar Dx soundcard (PCI-E)
1 TB Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 hard drive (7200 RPM, 32MB cache)
Gigabyte EP45-UDP3 motherboard, using it's built-in Gigabit Lan (Realtek I think)

Cat-5 connection to a Netgear WGR614 router (Walmart cheapie), across Time Warner Basic Cable internet (tested up to 16M/1M in our market, streams 9-11Mbit consistently in US, 3-6Mbit to JP servers).

And no, that wasn't a guess at the FPS or a fraps number--the ATI Tools I use to manage my card and control it's fans has an overlay feature I can use to put things like GPU temp, Fan Speed, FPS on screen--the card rarely broke 56 degrees(C), and it's been in the 90's here. Sometimes that corner of the room would hit 82 because that beast generates a lot of heat. So, it isn't really pushing the vid card a lot compared to other games, but the RAM and CPU are hammered big time, but you guys appear to be at a decent enough level for reasonable play, if you are using a lower profile also.

Oh yeah, afterthought.... just in case, see how it fairs at full screen if you are running windowed. Like XI, XIV's got a habit of having issues when run in Windows.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cypherx

Thanks for the reply. This motherboard only supports socket am2 so I'm pretty screwed in that regard. I would be interested in a little overclocking but I'm unsure of where to start. Can you point me in the right direction?

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Actual directions are hard to give, as the specifics can vary by system. You'll need to go through your motherboard's documentation, not only to see if it has a guide for what to look for, but also to make sure you have and understand the process for resetting it to defaults if you set something too far out of spec and can't boot. Some have a button combo you press at power up, some require moving a jumper for a few seconds and then moving it back.

Ultimately, you will likely need to get in your BIOS and look for entries to control clock speed for the Front Side Bus (FSB) (some systems have simple jumper settings, like a Turbo that just boosts it a flat 3 MHz). Sometimes the BIOS settings are locked until you tick a box to get it off of auto-config. Notch it up a little(2 or 3 MHz is usually safe) and you'll see it recalculate your CPU and Memory speeds and such. The key is to do it in small steps so you don't over do it. Most often, F10 pulls up a prompt to save and exit the BIOS, which causes a reboot... cross the fingers you didn't overdo it and run a benchmark to see how it fares compared to before.

(note this is a simple overclock, there are more advanced ways to do it, but you have to tweak voltages, RAM timings... a lot to learn. Not often you break 20-25% increase without a LOT of tweaking).

Once you reach a new clock speed with noticeable results you like, run it through it's paces for a while to see if it stays stable. If it holds up and you think you want more... try again if you like. If you reach a point it becomes unstable, back off the settings and enjoy your free "upgrade"... lol.

Sweet. Thanks a lot guys. Ill look into overclocking and see what I come up with. The ethernet cable trick solved some of my issues soprogress has been made .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raist

that C++ error is more or less a call to a program element that was not found.

My first instinct, considering the level of your hardware, is to suspect it's more of a connectivity/latency issue. There's been a lot of congestion issues on their side, and if you are having fragmentation or anything else wonky on your end, it could just be compounding the issue. As mentioned already, try to run a wired connection to your router. If you have multiple users, it might be a good idea to test with the least number of users possible on your local network.

It runs just fine on my jalopy of a desktop system...granted, I use a trimmed out graphics profile for it. I loaded the standard desktop profile, disabled cascading shadows and glare points, hid all shadows, and used 1024 for the shadow resolution, running Full Screen 1920/1080 with v-synch disabled. Otherwise, I have a solid connection to them via the web (I found the IP of my server via netstat, and my pings are consistently under 90 ms...even with my laptop on Wi-Fi, and that's on CABLE, known for higher latency issues). So... I'd make sure you've got a GOOD connection to your internet to try ruling that out. Run a test at speedguide.net and pay attention to your graph as the test progresses. You can select from several servers in the Montreal area (where the NA data center is). If you see a lot of spikes/dips... there's something going on with your internet.

Just for hardware comparison, I was getting up to 60 FPS, with occasional dips in heavy traffic areas like fates and such (but generally above 50) on an XP Pro (x86) system:

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See, I'm getting fine FPS, the system configuration menu says anywhere between 45 and 60 FPS when out and about and can down to around 30 when in the city. which I am generally okay with. But anyway, you think I should do a speed test? or which test should I do? the only mirror I am seeing for the speed test is in Ottowa, which would totally work, but it errored when I tried to use it. xD

In case this is the issue the wireless card I am using is a TP-LINK 300Mbps Wireless N Adapter. Also of note, there is only one other user, but she uses the internet infrequently and unfortunately I do not have the ability to test an ethernet cable at this time. I will definitely keep that in mind for when I have one available though.

In any case, thank you so much for the reply! =D Very helpful!

oops... brainfart. meant to recommend speedtest.net . can click/drag the map around and move the zoom slider to find different servers. can also drag the radar box on the world view to move around the globe faster, it will recenter the map where you put the green box on the world map.

Hmm, it seems to have fared well.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/2928765518.png