Thief 2X vicious lag - TTLG Forums

Hunter Duck on 7/11/2009 at 14:44

Hi,

I've read all the technical details about Thief 2 but didn't find a faq about my problem. When I play Thief 2 or 2X (happens a lot more with 2X), whenever I look at particles from a fountain or lamp post my fps drops to 15-20 and when I look away it returns to 60 fps. This means that every time I run past these objects I need to look to the ground to prevent my fps from dropping. I'm running the game on a Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26 GHz), ATI Mobility Radeon HD3470, 2 GB RAM, Win XP laptop. I've used the permanent fix with the dual core issue and have tried ddfix and the widescreen utlities but using the visual utilities decreases performance dramatically (constant 10fps basically).

Does anyone have the same issue and maybe a probable fix for it?

Any help would be appreciated and thank you in advance.

Greetings,
Hunter

bikerdude on 7/11/2009 at 19:18

Quote Posted by Hunter Duck

ATI Mobility Radeon HD3470,

The problem is the gfx, its low end. Its gonna start to struggle with modern FMs eg T2X, but you can improve the situation by doing the following:

1. get the right version of driver for your card - I suggest ni higher then cat 9.5.
2. apply the following settings in the catalyst control panel.

AntiAliasing = 0
Anisotropic = 2/4
Catalyst Ai = off
Mipmap level - performance
Vertical refresh = forced
AntiAliasingMode = performance

Hunter Duck on 7/11/2009 at 21:33

Thanks Bikerdude,

I tried that with cat 9-5 but it did not work. Then rolled back to 9-4 and still no hope. I disabled ddfix and the widescreen fix but that didn't help either. I'll try different drivers, but I'll have to do it later on since I don't want to take a chance to screw my laptop up, I need it for a project demo in a week and don't have time to fix it before then.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

p.s. It would seem I posted in the wrong section, I apologize.

bikerdude on 7/11/2009 at 21:52

Quote Posted by Hunter Duck

I need it for a project demo in a week and don't have time to fix it before then.

Ok, then try the following settings in the catalyst control panel as this wont effrct the driver or your laptop -

AntiAliasing = 0
Anisotropic = 2/4
Catalyst Ai = off
Mipmap level - performance
Vertical refresh = forced
AntiAliasingMode = performance

KoHaN69 on 8/11/2009 at 03:48

Actually, it's not the fault that the graphics card is low-end.

It's the fault that the graphics card is new.

These slowdowns are experienced by any ATI graphics card since the HD 2xxx series, including my 4870, and surely a 5870.

While reducing some quality settings may reduce the problem, don't expect it to go away.

bikerdude on 8/11/2009 at 12:23

Quote Posted by KoHaN69

* it's not that the graphics card is low-end It's the fault that the graphics card is new.
* These slowdowns are experienced by any ATI graphics card since the HD 2xxx series, including my 4870, and surely a 5870.
* While reducing some quality settings may reduce the problem, don't expect it to go away.

* yes and no.
* yes, but this was fixed in later drivers.
* I agree

fyi - HD3470 comparison and benchmark - (http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-3470.9594.0.html)

mudi on 8/11/2009 at 16:44

fyi, my HD4550 (low-mid-range card) does not experience these slowdowns. I'm running Win7 x64, and the resolution is 1920x1080. I am using ddfix, if that makes a difference.

KoHaN69 on 8/11/2009 at 19:49

Quote Posted by Bikerdude

fyi - HD3470 comparison and benchmark - (http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-3470.9594.0.html)

Well, it's comparable to an X800, and Thief w/ ddfix runs butter-smooth on an X800

Quote Posted by Bikerdude

yes, but this was fixed in later drivers.

WHICH?!?!?! :wot: :wot: :wot:

Quote Posted by mudi

fyi, my HD4550 (low-mid-range card) does not experience these slowdowns. I'm running Win7 x64, and the resolution is 1920x1080. I am using ddfix, if that makes a difference.

I'm yet to install Win7, if these issue are gone in the new API, i'll be uite pleased.

But this is/was my issue:
(http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33927065)

It was consistent on 3870, 4850 and now 4870. Ranging from Catalyst 8.x to 9.2 Drivers

bikerdude on 9/11/2009 at 07:51

Quote Posted by KoHaN69

WHICH?!?!?! :wot: :wot: :wot:

I believe 9.5 and onwards..

Hunter Duck on 9/11/2009 at 17:47

Thanks for all the replies and remarks. I'll try them out as soon as I can and reply if I fix it.

Greetings,
Hunter