Having an issue running a game

wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
Okay, I know I am asking this crappy laptop to do a heck of a lot, but I am running a game on it and it is not working out so well.

Game: Warzone 2100
Requirements: From what I am seeing, it doesn't ask for much. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=16590&tab=sysreqs.

System:
Athlon II x2 P340 (2.2GHz iirc)
4GB DDR3 1066
HD4250 GPU
Windows XP OS
Plugged in (rules out issues of downclocking due to battery)
X-Fi Go Pro! sound card

rest don't really affect gaming performance, so not an issue.

Symptoms: Started out trying to run it at medium (well about half way settings on all settings) with 1366*768 resolution, and got about 5FPS. But that is not why I am assuming there is an issue. I am not bottlenecked. GPU use never climed anywhere near 100% (averaged 15% usage), CPU usage was around 45% on one core and 5% on the second core. memory usage never peaked 2GB, Temps on CPU and GPU never reached anywhere above 75*, which is cool for a low end laptop.

So, I guess what I am asking here, is if there is some kind of setting that would cause it to not use the system to its full ability? I mean, I am not expecting miracles, but I do expect 30FPS+ considering that compared to the system requirements this is a super computer.
 
This is odd because I used to run Warzone 2100 on absolutely terrible specs just fine (1 GHz Athlon CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 64 MB ATI Radeon) and got around 30 FPS iirc.

The only thing I can think of in the OS that could cause this is CPU limiting options in power settings, but if you're plugged in and the profile is always on or whatever the high performance profile is in XP you should be fine.

There might also be some CPU limiting options in the BIOS.

Have you tried turning all the video settings (except resolution, maybe) down all the way in the WZ graphics settings?

And if Chrome is open closing it may help as well, I've noticed on lower-end systems having it open affects performance.
 
I have ran it fine on less also and never had an issue.

BIOS settings are pretty limited, but none of them seem to have anything to do with performance. Really the only options I have control over are Boot order, Time, and ACHI/IDE mode. Other than that, it is locked.

The only thing running other than the game was the SPU control center, and that is necessary to force the game out the sound card rather than the integrated, non functional chip.

It works fine on both desktops too, so it is not an issue with windows XP, or the 4GB of RAM, so I am assuming it is something with this laptop.
 
Considering it's a laptop, check your current power mode. Anything less than High Performance will throttle the GPU and possibly the CPU. If you are on High Performance, go into the Advanced Power Settings and make sure that both of those aren't still being held back.

Yes, I know you said it's plugged in, but that's no reason for me to assume that the power mode is properly configured.
 
okay, found power management and it is set to desktop mode.

also just tried lowering all settings (including resolution) to the lowest possible settings, and it did not help. The framerate stayed the same, but CPU and GPU use dropped quite a bit.
 
Is vsync enabled in graphics settings? I've had odd issues with some games going choppy when vsync was enabled, even though it's supposed to limit FPS to the refresh rate of your screen.
 
no, vsync is off, as I know there is absolutely no way it could ever get 60FPS on this system. It don't even get that maxxed with a 4870 (averages around 50FPS with it)
 
wolfeking said:
no, vsync is off, as I know there is absolutely no way it could ever get 60FPS on this system. It don't even get that maxxed with a 4870 (averages around 50FPS with it)
Click to expand...

Yeah but sometimes V Sync can cause some really weird issues that don't make much sense.
 
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