Video Card/Monitor Concerns

[Platinum]

Trying to figure out if the problem is in my video card or just the fact my monitor is so large it won't scroll smoothly when playing myth. I have a brand new Core i7 Processor, with AMD Radeon 6670 Video card, and a 24" LED Monitor. When I am panning with camera in gameplay, anytime it rolls across the terrain, it is laggy. The FPS stays at around 60, but its not a smooth scroll. It is as if it is FPS lag, and instead of just moving like it would with a human eye, it shutters.

I thought I was getting a good video card with this computer, but I was informed that this particular video card is not very good. Any way I can pinpoint the problem being my video card and not an issue with the monitor versus the fact its an older game? I have my preferences/settings all the way up; resolution, multi core, etc.

[Melekor]

What operating system are you running?
What version and build of Myth are you running? Posting your myth_log.txt would help.
Are your graphics card drivers fully updated?
Which renderer are you using in Myth? Have you tried others?
Do you have vsync enabled or disabled? Have you tried both?
Do you have this problem in any other 3D games?

[Platinum]

Windows 7
1.7.2 Build 374
I guess they are updated? Computer is only a few months old.
OpenGL-All graphics options checkmarked except 3D Fog and Max FPS, 1920 x 1080 resolution.
Actually I haven't tried others, but I have the option for DirectX 10/11
This is the only game I play.




2012-04-17 10:40:22
Myth II Build 374 running under Modern Windows 6.010000 ----------------------------------------------
Loading poweruser.txt... not found.
Scanning for software devices...
Found 1 to use
Scanning for Direct3D devices...
Found 1 to use
Scanning for DirectX 11 devices...
Found adapter: AMD RADEON HD 6670
Found 1 to use
Scanning for 3Dfx devices...
Found 0 to use
Scanning for OpenGL devices...
Found 1 to use
AMD RADEON HD 6670 | ATI Technologies Inc. | OpenGL 4.1
Initialized for DirectSound3D using COM
INFO: set process affinity mask to 0x000000ff
Loading Patch Files...
Patch 1.2
Patch MariusNet
Patch 1.3
Patch 1.4
Patch 1.4 Interface
Patch 1.5
Patch 1.7 Templates
Loading Patch Files Succeeded
Closing Myth.

[Platinum]

Weird, today I have a few graphics lines that are following my mouse pointer around. Obviously something is going on... haven't restarted computer yet but still, that shouldn't be happening.

[Pyro]

To know if your graphics card drivers are up to date go to this site. On the side you select the specific catagories matching your card. If you are unsure, you can always try the automatically detect and install link somewhere in the middle of that page.

[Platinum]

Okay cool I will look into that. I didn't restart my computer, just had it idle for a while, came back, re-logged into my desktop, and the graphic lines around the mouse were gone.

Also, even if the drivers aren't updated, still doesn't explain the sub-par performance on myth... especially considering the game is so old... unless there is something else I'm failing to address with this issue? Processor is not an issue, 3.4Ghz core i7 2600cpu with... 8 GB memory. Certainly enough to prevent any fps lag/shuttering.

[Melekor]

Do make sure your drivers are fully updated. It can make a difference, buggy drivers can hold back even the most powerful hardware.

Since you have an AMD card, I would suggest trying DirectX10/11 as your renderer instead of OpenGL. AMD's OpenGL drivers tend to be subpar.

Since you are running windows 7 (assuming that Aero/Desktop Composition is on), an alternative to vsync is to run the game in windowed mode with vsync off, at your desktop resolution. It looks like fullscreen/vsync, but I find it to be a little smoother. To prevent it from running too fast, I like to set Max FPS at 2x my refresh rate.

[Platinum]

Okay updated all the drivers and it still was stuttering, so I switched it to DirectX and so far it has been smooth doing all of the same things.

[punkUser]

Not as much of a deal with ATI as NVIDIA, but also try checking "Use Multi-Core" in options. On some drivers/machines that smooths things out a little bit.

And just to confirm, in DX10/11 it is now smooth and working fine for you?

[Platinum]

Yeah I have had multi core checked, and so far with just a bit of testing DirectX has worked; OpenGL was the laggy one.

[Platinum]

Ok trying to understand how the Max FPS option works. I did NOT have it checkmarked before, so my FPS in game was a constant ~60FPS. I checkmarked it, and the maximum is 300, and I set it to that, and the game runs even smoother now, with ~300FPS in gameplay. Is this the best setting then?

[punkUser]

Ok trying to understand how the Max FPS option works. I did NOT have it checkmarked before, so my FPS in game was a constant ~60FPS. I checkmarked it, and the maximum is 300, and I set it to that, and the game runs even smoother now, with ~300FPS in gameplay. Is this the best setting then?

At 60 your game should appear pretty much totally smooth assuming you have an LCD monitor. If you want the FPS to be higher, simply disable V-sync (leave max FPS alone), but note that this will get you some "tearing" of the image where you may see a horizontal break in the screen especially when you're panning the camera.

My recommendation is always to enable V-sync and run at a smooth 60fps for regular gameplay, but if you want to "benchmark" how fast you're running, disable V-sync.

Max FPS is a bit special purpose - typically leave it off.