where's the bottleneck?

[andrex]

I'm running a game (Ground Control) on a 500 MHz P-III with 128 MB RAM and an Nvidia TNT2 M64 video card with 32 MB video RAM. There comes a point in the game with lots of action where suddenly the game slows down dramatically and most of my keyboard input is lost. It makes the game much less fun.

How can I figure out where the bottleneck is? I don't want to guess, and it's not convenient for me to switch out CPUs and video cards. What I want is a software diagnostic that will help me figure out which component is maxed out. Any ideas?

[Paleo Pete]

First, check the game manufacturer's website for a troubleshooting link or FAQ. They might have info there. Maybe a patch, this might e a known issue.

Second, I've been noticing a number of problems with Nvidia cards. Might not be related, but then again...look for their site, see if they have any info posted.

Third, look into the game's options and slow down the video, pull the resolution a bit lower, or lower the detail level (which is basically reducing the refresh rate...) Use a smaller screen if it has that option.

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[andyb]

TNT M64 chip is not the newest but should still work OK. There are some new(ish) Detonator drivers from NVidia that will work with any NVidia based card - I've installed them on one of my work stations with a Viper770 and they appear to have upped the performance and has definatly helped iron out some annoying glitches I had while playing X and X-tension.

[andrex]

Thanks for the information. But my question really is: how can I tell whether it's the video card or the CPU that's at fault?

Maybe Paleo Pete's suggestions are one way to get at this-- reduce the demand on the video card and see if it makes a difference.

I was thinking of some kind of software diagnostic that can log how busy the CPU and video processors are. Now that I think of it, I do have such a tool for the CPU, so I can look at that record. That's a partial answer. But if the CPU is fully loaded, maybe the video chip is too-- has anyone seen something like a load meter for the video chip?

[Rossgr]

What is your hard drive doing during these slow downs? I have seen things like this being caused by periods of intense hard drive activity. Perhaps Winblows is resizing the swap file. I do not have any idea about the existance of the diagnostics you are talking about. You can bet I would be interested in it, if it exists.

BTW: I run a very similar systme to yours P3 450/ TNT2 M64 I have similar slow downs in various games but it alway seems to be tied to HD activity.

[andrex]

Good point, it's something to watch for. I'm not aware of any HD activity but will keep an eye on that too.