Fix: Performance sucking on Dual Core and HT CPUs
Sleepycat:
Quote from: Argon on 2007 March 18, 04:29:26
I don't remember exactly how I came across this, but I was wondering why my Core Duo 2 laptop was lagging so much when playing TS2. Since doing this I've noticed a significant increase in performance in the game (and booting up my computer actually). Here's why performance is so low:
1) On Dual Core/HT systems Windows XP needs a hotfix that Windows Update does not give you (KB896256)
2) OEMs do no install this hotfix (except a few rare ones)
3) The Sims 2 has sync issues with multiprocessor systems causing its performance to suck (choppy graphics, slow response time etc.)
Affected systems:
Intel - Pentium 4 w/ HT, Pentium D, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo, Dual Core Xeon
AMD - Athlon 64 X2, Turion X2, Dual Core Opteron
Resolution:
Install KB896256 (for both Intel and AMD)(AMD only!) Install KB924441 and AMD CPU DriverOpen boot.ini in notepad and add the /usepmtimer switch
Quote
FYI: The /usepmtimer in the BOOT.ini is a "switch" that forces the system to use a steady clock in place of the CPU frequency... for certain timing functions. Thats as basic as you can explain it.
Download ForceCore and copy ForceCore.exe to C:\Windows\System32 OR the TSBin folder for whatever expansion pack you have (it's easier to use it from the System32 folder)Create a shortcut to Sims2EPx.exe (for whatever EP or SP you have) and modify the Target to read: (modify as needed)Code:
ForceCore.exe 2 "C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 EP\TSBin\Sims2EPx.exe"
This tells Windows to open the game using the second core/cpu, you can add any of the normal game switches after the quotes (like -1024x768 or -w etc.). For HT systems I'd recommend using 1 instead of 2 since it's only one processor anyway, -1 tells it to use any random processor that you have. Details and picture guide for easier understanding here.
Info yoinked from: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=60416
ok I have
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 4000+ Processor with HyperTransport Technology
should I install the KB924441 hotfix and AMD CPU Driver?
if so then should I also download that ForceCore thing? I never use a shortcut to the game, just pop in the cd and let it load and then I remove the cd and then play...
*is all confused*
Paperbladder:
Athons have Hyper-Threading? I thought that was just an Intel thing.
I have no idea if this is still a problem, but nVidia had horrible support for Vista especially with the 8800. I personally think buying a card just because it supports DX10 right now is pointless since even Avalon1 runs DX9.1 and it'll be a while for games to use DX10. Since you were forced to SLI the things there probably wasn't any choice between a DX9 and a DX10 card.
TS2 runs about the same speed in Vista as it did in XP but that might be because Intel's Vista drivers don't suck completely. I also seem to be really lucky when it comes to these kinds of things though since I also don't have problems with either of my nVidia cards (Geforce 4 MX and Geforce 6100) even when using the latest drivers.
What AV are you using? It seems kind of odd that an antivirus would alert you about something that doesn't require your intervention.
According to that thread, these multi-core gimpers are still in Vista. I don't see what the OEMs are trying to accomplish by doing this.
Footnotes
1Vista API. Like AIGLX/XGL(Linux) or Quartz(OSX) it's 3D accelerated so it can do many things that would bring XP to a crawl. Aero and Live Thumbnails are examples. Annoyances such as the screen of an application like SimPE turning completely white when freezing is a thing of the past since the window doesn't need to be completely redrawn. For more information, clicky.
Venusy:
Quote from: Pseudonymous on 2007 March 24, 07:21:16
Vista API. Like AIGLX/XGL(Linux) or Quartz(OSX) it's 3D accelerated so it can do many things that would bring XP to a crawl. Aero and Live Thumbnails are examples. Annoyances such as the screen of an application like SimPE turning completely white when freezing is a thing of the past since the window doesn't need to be completely redrawn.
Really? This may be an excuse for me to upgrade my new system to Vista Home Premium instead of "downgrading" it to XP Pro SP2 when it arrives on Monday, as this has always irritated me when Firefox freezes like this.
amjoie:
You said,"I personally think buying a card just because it supports DX10 right now is pointless since even Avalon1 runs DX9.1 and it'll be a while for games to use DX10."
Well, now that all depends. I'm not a young thing, and although I am still learning and still willing to learn, I am not looking for a new vocation. I have no desire to become a programmer, and no desire to start building computers from an empty box to completetion.
I cut my computer teeth on a Mac, way back in 1984. I am used to cutting edge technology, and not having to worry what is under the hood, because it just runs. You don't mess with a Mac box. You happily use it until it is time to upgrade. So swapping out cards is not something I am accustomed to doing.
I got involved with PCs around the time Windows 95 was running. But that was on Virtual PC. It wasn't until a few months before Sims 2 first came out that I got my first PC box, primarily to play Sims 2, since I have and will always do most of my computing on the Mac.
So, as a subconscious expectation, I still think the PC will run and keep running without much intervention on my part. I was rather horrified to find out I practically needed to become a programmer to understand how to simply protect the silly computer from attacks. The existence of Winrot was another shocker. But I learned, sometimes the hard way. So now I know what I am doing in that area.
However, unlike most savy PCers, I do not quickly and easily crack open the box, for the sheer joy of messing with its innards. Instead, I would prefer to have a well built box, stable and steady, that I can pretty much ignore for the expected life of the PC. So it is important that whatever card comes with the box will still be a valid and useable card until it is time to buy a new PC. And since my daughter bought this for me, it needs to last for years not months. She bought me the latest greatest Dell, which didn't come cheap. I can't ask her to do that every year.
Also, because of the way Vista handles graphics, etc, eventually everyone will be moving over to it. That may be a couple years off, but I will still have this new computer at that time. It is a comfort for me to know that my grahics card was actually built to take advantage of the Vista capability, because the card won't be outdated as soon as programmers catch up to the changes in Vista. And I won't have to face changing out a card, and not being sure if my power supply, cooling system, motherboard, etc can handle the load that the new graphics card demands. In short, I probably won't need to learn how to build a box, just to stay current with the Sims 3.
NVidia is putting out new drivers for Vista 8800 practically every month. Improvements have been made, on a regular basis. They'll get it right, eventually, probably about the time I am ready to switch to Vista. [If I live that long.] So that doesn't concern me, at the moment. All I really care about right now is that Sims 2 runs well on XP, and I have read only good things about that. Nothing negative on the 8800 and Sims 2 on XP, so far.
My AV is Norton, which may be invasive and unwieldy (as well as being annoying, at times) but I know how to use it; and my computer has been safe since installing it. I could not say the same with the previous AV. So for now, I'll stay with Norton. And Ad Watch, and Adaware, and Defender, and Wintasks -- and my long in the tooth XP pro.
Wow, that sure was a long and windy way of saying I disagree with your statement. LOL
I think I should probably go finish configuring a new copy of Starry Nights on my beautiful 24" iMac (Orion should be peeping over the horizon right about now), before starting up the Sims 2 on the PC .... that should keep me out of trouble for a while. :D
dizzy:
You should know that in my experience Norton is about as useful against viruses as putting fairy wings on a freight train. I've personally been infected a few times (and I have very strict policies on web browsing and keeping my firewall settings straight), and I've witnessed others becoming infected as well. YMMV, but I'd find a product that actually gets the job done (or better yet, just unplug from the internet as I do now when using Windows).
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