Low fps in 3D applications when PC not shutdown for several days

[jtr1962]

I've had this problem ever since I built my last machine. I'm not sure whether it also existed with my previous video card but it definitely exists with my present one (EVGA Geforce 6200). When the PC is freshly rebooted, I'll get decent frame rates in Train Simulator, often up to the maximum 60 fps in lower detail areas. When my PC runs for several days straight, the maximum drops to either 32, 16, or even 8, even in areas with just grass and tracks. This occurs not just is MSTS, but also other 3D applications like BVE (Boso View Express-a Japanese freeware train simulator). Rebooting cures the problem, but for the last year and a half I've been unable to find anything which might be causing it. It would be nice to be able to have a fix not involving rebooting since the machine is otherwise stable, even when running for weeks. Note that it's not a hardware problem. When I go into hibernate, turn the machine off, and restart it the problem persists. Only a fresh reboot cures it. I've hesitated to even ask about this problem because it's minor as things go, and probably one for which a real cure might not exist.

Any help or tips are appreciated.

 

[P5-133XL]

It sounds like you have a memory leak somewhere (application or driver).

 

[ddrueding]

It sounds like you have a memory leak somewhere (application or driver).

Agreed. Not much you can do as far as a solution. Open Task Manager and go to the "processes" tab. Check the "all users" box at the bottom. Then go to "View" and choose "Select Columns". Add the CPU Time and "Peak Memory Usage" items. After a reboot, take note of the items that use the most of either, then compare those to the list after the machine is experiencing problems.

 

[paugie]

It sounds like you have a memory leak somewhere (application or driver).

how does this happen? and why can one not do much about it?

 

[P5-133XL]

It happens, when an application or driver requests memory, from the OS, when needed and then does not release the RAM when not needed. What happens over time, is that all your ram gets allocated by that one application/driver leaving nothing for anything else. Eventually, everything is running off the page file, rather than RAM, causing severe slowdowns.

If you can identify the specific application or driver causing the problem, then see if there is an upgrade (it may fix the bug) or find an alternative choice for that application/driver.

 

[jtr1962]

Thanks for the answers so far. I was really hoping someone had seen something like this once and had a fix.

I'm guessing it's a driver problem of some sort but I haven't been able to pin it down. It's definitely not page file related-I have 3GB RAM and have completely disabled the page file from day one. Even when the problem occurs, CPU usage when I'm not doing anything is close to zero, and commit charge is in the 300 MB area, not much more than after a fresh reboot. The computer is still as speedy as ever for anything except 3D applications. It's almost as if the video card goes into a mode where it's frame-rate limited.

 

[udaman]

I've had this problem ever since I built my last machine. I'm not sure whether it also existed with my previous video card but it definitely exists with my present one (EVGA Geforce 6200). When the PC is freshly rebooted, I'll get decent frame rates in Train Simulator, often up to the maximum 60 fps in lower detail areas. When my PC runs for several days straight, the maximum drops to either 32, 16, or even 8, even in areas with just grass and tracks. This occurs not just is MSTS, but also other 3D applications like BVE (Boso View Express-a Japanese freeware train simulator). Rebooting cures the problem, but for the last year and a half I've been unable to find anything which might be causing it. It would be nice to be able to have a fix not involving rebooting since the machine is otherwise stable, even when running for weeks. Note that it's not a hardware problem. When I go into hibernate, turn the machine off, and restart it the problem persists. Only a fresh reboot cures it. I've hesitated to even ask about this problem because it's minor as things go, and probably one for which a real cure might not exist.

Any help or tips are appreciated.

When this happens, do you run any frame rate benchmark tests? Have you tried turning off sound (sound driver incompatibility perhaps), to see if there is a substantial jump in fps? Have you tried lowering the resolution, and seeing if you ever get this happening at lower res (or are you limited to certain resoutions?).

Maybe some of the things mentioned in this thread from 2 years ago (almost an eternity in computer performance) might help (uninstalling all older drivers, updating to latest drivers for this now ancient/low performance GPU )

http://forums.battlegroundeurope.com/showthread.php?t=73542

The GeForce 6200 TurboCache uses system memory that has much lower bandwidth than dedicated video memory on card. Simply put it is not a good card for gaming.

(not sure if that's true, but could be something to think about)

Do a Google search on terms: "Geforce 6200 low fps 3d"


Suggest if you ask on other gaming forums, you do a full system detail. If you are still on AGP, then options for upgrades are more limited/expensive as Nvidia is Pci-e only these days. Pci-e allows you to upgrade to inexpensive NV8000 series.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+1069609639&name=AGP+4X/8X

Perhaps you can afford to upgrade (since you planned to run the next version of MSTS when it comes out on Vista?) now to an inexpensive ($40-90 range) of slightly higher performance, supports newer graphics standards (DirectX 10,etc) you might be required to have in that next gen MSTS...maybe even Merc has a spare sitting around he could send you?

You would have to do some research though, decide if you will ever need dual link dvi outputs, support for HDCP, etc, ---I forget which sites do a good job of comparisons as I don't have a desktop that I use, don't do 3d sims/gams---to figure out what will give you the most bang for the buck in terms of newer/stable-reliable/lower priced GPU's that are compatible w/your MB.

 

[Fushigi]

Try creating a page file. Sounds odd, but make one & limit it to something small like 512MB.

 

[ddrueding]

Try creating a page file. Sounds odd, but make one & limit it to something small like 512MB.

Good idea. Windows (and some programs) don't like not having a page file, regardless of how much RAM you have.

 

[jtr1962]

Have you tried turning off sound (sound driver incompatibility perhaps), to see if there is a substantial jump in fps?

No, but that's a thought. I rebooted yesterday so it'll probably be a week or so before the problem reoccurs. I'll try that when it does.

Have you tried lowering the resolution, and seeing if you ever get this happening at lower res (or are you limited to certain resoutions?).

Same thing in lower resolutions. Besides, when I run MSTS in my native LCD resolution I can cut down the antialiasing while still getting a decent picture. At lower resolutions I can't without having it look like crap, so I get pretty much the same rates either way. I did try upgrading the driver a while back but the problem didn't go away. It didn't get any worse, either.

Perhaps you can afford to upgrade (since you planned to run the next version of MSTS when it comes out on Vista?) now to an inexpensive ($40-90 range) of slightly higher performance, supports newer graphics standards (DirectX 10,etc) you might be required to have in that next gen MSTS...maybe even Merc has a spare sitting around he could send you?

MSTS-X won't be out until early 2009 (probably even later the way these things work) so I'll hold off any upgrades until then. The plan is to get a 64-bit dual or quad core processor/MB, Vista 64-bit, whatever amount of RAM I can for ~$100, and a decent PCI-E x16 video card. This system is plenty fast for MSTS, BVE, and Kuju Rail Simulator, at least when the frame rates don't slow down for mysterious reasons. BTW, the card I have has 128 MB onboard RAM. It doesn't use system RAM. It was pretty much close to the best I could get for an AGP 4X/8X slot when I bought it last year. Recent checks of Newegg don't show anything a whole lot better for a reasonable price range. Fanless was a criteria when I bought it so long as performance was adequate for MSTS, which it is. 95% of what I do is 2D, and I wanted a quiet system most of the time.

Try creating a page file. Sounds odd, but make one & limit it to something small like 512MB.

I may try that also although I still don't think this is a memory leak or page file problem of any kind. It just seems like the card goes into a mode where the number of fps is clamped. The system is still responsive in 2D applications. Maybe it's hardware related? Perhaps the card requires a hard reset periodically. If so then there's obviously no cure short of a new card.

 

[blakerwry]

I wouldn't think a memory leak would be responsible either. Low memory would lead to choppy, stuttering type problems whereby the hard drive would show activity while things are loaded in and out of memory.

The reasons for low FPS would be slow processor, slow memory, or slow graphics card.

Given that the FPS changes from a normal rate to a much slower rate over time, I wonder if the clockrate of something is being lowered (perhaps upon hibernation, temperature, power mode, etc.

Do you have any utilities installed to monitor your graphics card clock rate and memory speed (riva tuner?), what about CPU/RAM clock rate (cpu-z)?

Also, do you have any power saving or cooling apps installed that may be adjusting the clock rate of your processor(I forget what CPU you have and if it supports these features)?

 

[blakerwry]

sysoft sandra may also be used for comparison to determine if the CPU or memory bandwidth has decreased. Running upon a fresh boot and then re-running when you notice the game problems.

 

[Bozo]

The Gigabyte motherboard I have has an option to throttle the CPU back when not being used for much. Maybe yours has something similar and it doesn't recover when needed.

Bozo :joker:

 

[jtr1962]

Next time it happens I'll see what's going on with the clock rate. I'm reasonably certain the processor isn't throttling down or everything would be much slower. It's entirely possible the video card might be going into some sort of energy saving or safe mode for some arcane reason. The weird thing when this happens is that frame rates are always locked at either 32, 16, or 8 fps, depending upon how bad the problem gets.