Are slowdowns a Processor problem or a graphics card problem?

PALACE1

PALACE1

Championship patch maker
Joined
24 November 2006
Like many people i experience alot of slowdowns whilst playing pes

I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the exact cause of this. It is obvious that i need to upgrade something but I am not sure whether to invest in a new graphics card or to get a brand new CPU processor.

I have Intel Pentium 4 processor 3.20 GHZ and a Radeon x800 pro graphics card, I play on medium graphics settings.
 
I don't think its the processors fault since the reccomended processor is intel pentium 4 or higher.

Cos I have intel pentium 4 processor with Ati Xpress 200 graphic card interestingly my game doesn't have slow downs, infact its very fast like players running in an ice hockey.

When I installed kitserver 7.0 that fixed problems. Another thing that fixes slow down is if you use PES 2008 no dvd patch that way you will not need to insert the CD rom again. cos often when the CD/DVD rom driver reads from the cd whilst playing games it contributes to slow downs and small pauses. No dvd patches fix that as it doesn't need the CD being read constantly its all in the PC.
But from what ive heard so far from numerous amount of people the graphic card is really a factor. New graphic card will solve the problems with slow downs. Cos ive had people in here complaining from laggy replays but when they bought a new graphic card it fixed the problem completely, so sure its not the processor its the graphic card.
 
GoLdEnFiSh said:
I don't think its the processors fault since the reccomended processor is intel pentium 4 or higher.

Cos I have intel pentium 4 processor with Ati Xpress 200 graphic card interestingly my game doesn't have slow downs, infact its very fast like players running in an ice hockey.

When I installed kitserver 7.0 that fixed problems. Another thing that fixes slow down is if you use PES 2008 no dvd patch that way you will not need to insert the CD rom again. cos often when the CD/DVD rom driver reads from the cd whilst playing games it contributes to slow downs and small pauses. No dvd patches fix that as it doesn't need the CD being read constantly its all in the PC.
But from what ive heard so far from numerous amount of people the graphic card is really a factor. New graphic card will solve the problems with slow downs. Cos ive had people in here complaining from laggy replays but when they bought a new graphic card it fixed the problem completely, so sure its not the processor its the graphic card.
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You are a bit off target with the whole DVD-ROM theory. The game reads the DVD once, before it boots to satisfy the Securom DVD Protection. All the game files are on the HDD and do not need to be read from the DVD when in game, or a no-CD fix would cause reduced compatibility.

Now, as for slowdowns, the CPU, GPU and RAM are all contributing factors. If the game is experiencing slowdown consistently, then it is often a GPU problem, whilst choppy gameplay is the spawn of RAM and CPU, depending on may factors such as processor speed, running processes, and now with Vista, your operating system. To conclude (damn I sound stupid)... there is no deciding factor, but multiple factors affecting the frame rate in the game.
 
yeah your right, ram is a factor.
The DVD is needed just once for PES but for FIFA its not like that if u insert the cd and remove it the game will stop and it will tell you please insert the original dvd rom and restart application.
I had experiences with Diablo 2 which does have slowdowns with the CD rom as it creates pauses. but no dvd did fix it though.
But its quite individual I have 2 cpu proccesors running pentium 4 but I don't experience slowdowns. I got 1024 MB RAM, 3.06 ghz.
Graphic Card is really a factor. Ram and graphic cards are extremely important to run the games smooth. and also pixel shaders is very important if u don't have for example enough pixel shaders you can't even run the game it will crash.
 
I am pretty sure a decent amount of RAM and a quality GPU are more important than a processor, Of course the processor should fit the game's requirements. Both RAM, a decent GPU and even the HD is crucial to avoid stuttering and slowdowns. Read this, it explains a lot about how certain components of the pc are used in gaming:

http://www.tweakguides.com/Graphics_2.html
 
A good processor is just as important as graphics. Any pentium 4 with a modern graphics card acts as a bottleneck and will slow the graphical power down. If you have a Pentium 4 now, you will need a new motherboard to upgrade your processor to a dual or quad core, and possibly a new graphics card then because the X800 is ageing.
 
RAM is important to the extend that you have more ram than the game needs when running on full load. If you hit ctrl-alt-del while in game and goto the processes ram you can see that amount of ram the whole game needs. I've yet to see a game that goes over 1gb. PES2008 uses no more than 250MB. If the computer has less or near that ram then you will probably get swapping (use of hdd as ram) during the game=slowdowns. If your computer has enough ram to accomodate the game, you might game longer loadtimes (or slowdowns during the first minutes of gameplay) depending on your ram usage.

Either way, PES2008 should run fine on a 1gb PC, even on a 512MB PC for that matter (during gameplay , with very high probability of increased loading times, or even a few sound chops here and there depedning on how the game engine loads sound content)

CPU does two things. It does the whole physics/AI thing but is also responsible for "coordinating" sound and graphics, by feeding them the data the need to produce content. In simple terms it goes like this. CPU gets player input, calculates AI/ball, physics etc. Determines what sound is played next and what should be displayed next and sends data to sound/video processor. It then either waits for an ok from the gfx processor or goes on depending on the how the programmer has written the game. Either way it goes on to produce new frames when the gfx board has finished processing the last one.

If the game is CPU intensive there is the possibility of the GFX card finishing it's task before the CPU requests for a new frame (CPU bottleneck) and vice versa.

For example I bought an 8800GT and a new dual core pentium. The 8800gt came before the cpu so i replaced my 7600gt on my 3200+ athlon xp. It went like this (on high details):

1.athlon xp 3200+ / nvidia 7600GT = around 40fps/ choppy on replays
2.athlon xp 3200+ / nvidia 8800GT = 60fps in games /hoppy on replays
3.E6750 core 2 duo/nvidia 8800GT = 60 fps constant all over
4.E6750 core 2 duo/nvidia 7600GT (for testing)= same as setup 1.

which means that in setup 1 the CPU was to push the 7600gt to its limits,which is apparent by setup 4 as the 7600gt could not do any better even with the powerfull dual core. In setup 2 however the 8800gt was bottlenecked by the older CPU.

Hope this helped clarify a few things. PES2008 is very CPU and GPU hungry piece of software (very poorly done i'm afraid). If you want to experience smooth gameplay on modern flat panel resolutions you need no less than a mid-range dual core cpu and 8800gt range gpu. As for ram, 1gb will do, any more would might just buy you faster load times.
 
Isn't it quite amazing that pes 6 takes lower system specs yet its more exciting and enjoyable than pes 2008. Im quite surprized that pes 2008 takes so much higher specs than pes 6 yet most people hate it, its strange cos u would expect a high spec game to be more fun but it turns out wrongly.

Now I just bought fifa 08 and although it takes less system specs yet I find it more fun to play then pes 2008. Its been the worst pes game in history. I think that pes 2009 must return back to what pes 6 is but just alittle tweaks of improvements. pes 2008 is completely 360 degrees opposite to what pes 6 is and its kinda getting closer to fifa, but goal keepers are incredibly weak unlike in fifa 08. in fifa 08 you can set the goalkeepers difficulty level such as ameuter, semi pro, professional, world class and even legendary if you unlock it.
Playing pes online with players running literally like ice skaters is rediculous. I might as well as buy and play NHL 2008 then playing pes 2008 lol
 
GoLdEnFiSh said:
Isn't it quite amazing that pes 6 takes lower system specs yet its more exciting and enjoyable than pes 2008. Im quite surprized that pes 2008 takes so much higher specs than pes 6 yet most people hate it, its strange cos u would expect a high spec game to be more fun but it turns out wrongly.


goldenfish, that's what I thought. But if you are fortunate enough to play PES2008 without any lag, it is actually better than PES2006. Recently I discovered to my amazement that the game performed better on a widescreen monitor(strange). I have tried it on a 19" inch BENQ screen recently using the ratio of 4:3 (NVIDIA 7600GS card). The game runs slow at 16:9 even though it is has been suggested for widescreen. The players looks merely stocky and a bit compressed at 4:3 but the game runs faster than on a normal screen. I experienced some occassional lags but it is still playable at Medium detail. I used to play at Low details with no fans and no field patterns, no lags. You can score a goal with relative ease even at Top player.There is really no challenge, a far cry from PES6. Believe me, the game runs a lot more differently at medium level. At the medium level, it is almost similar to PES6 if not better. If you can't run the game at the medium level, try playing the game at the training pitch 11 vs 11 (medium level) for the real PES2008 experience.
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I've an Amd64 3000+, 1GB RAm and Geforce 6600GT.

The game plays very well on 1024x768 medium detail, but only if the other PC in my LAN (my sister's pc) is turned off... i dont know why. So, i only can play it when she isnt there using her PC.

Geforce 6600gt is and old car but seems enough to play this game.. so i don't understand why people on europe or usa (where most of u have better pcs) can't play it offline without lag.
 
It has something to do with refresh rates, because at 85+hz is more choppy than on 60hz (big problem if you have a CRT).
 
Actually I am managing to run the game very smoothly on medium. The trouble is that during online play players run twice as fast as when I play it offline with just vs the computer.

At low detail it runs smoother but again players are running very fast but it is also very crappy because you just shoot and score there's not a lot of concentration and thinking needed when playing on low its as if there is no goal keeper its that easy to score. Free kicks are as easy as taking a penalty. So really where's the fun it that?
Pes 6 has a new problem it disconnects all the time at half time and there is lag with the chat system which causes disconnection.
Pes 2008 no disconnection but crappy gameplay, no tournaments and no leagues its like playing the internet reversi and checkers online that we have got it installed with our PCs. There's no real challenge to it its like playing an opponent who you do not know. No talent involved scoring must have difficulty and not score with ease, its like playing snake and ladders too much luck :(
I don't know why people are even bothering to upgrade their PCs just for that pes 2008 its WASTE of money!! Better wait for pes 2009 and then buy Nvidia Geforce 9000 GTX which will be better than the 8800 GTX.
 
ok guys these are my settings:

win vista x86 ultimate
1gb ram ddr2 667mhz
athlon 64 x2 4000+ but overclocked to 2600ghz both processors
built-in nvidia 6100 and a radeon x300 pcie (i'm using one at a time)
when i'm using built-in card and using kitserver 7, the slow down are evident in high settings and in mid too. the cause for this is i'm using shared memory from ram and all we know this is like to add more delay and in fact more slowdown.
when im using x300 with 64mb in ram pcie i can play in mid settings without any apparent slowdown even in replays and full scenes. so the fact is i think processor and memory speed are a must in order to play pes2008 in combination with a decent graphic card. if you look at my little card is a very low range card, but i can play with it... what if i can buy another card with at least 512mb ddr3? what could happens? i'm tweaking my settings all the time in order to discover what can we do to solve slowdown problems... i'm buyng two more diferent card to test and come back to results

see ya then
 
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