GeForce 9800 GTX+ issues.

Daekin · **GeForce 9800 GTX+ issues. -** 05-21-2012, 13:20 | posts: 11

I have been having this issue since I first had my computer built.

What happens is when I get to a somewhat graphic intensive area, everything goes in slow motion. That persists for a short while, depending how long the graphics are serious for. Then it will all of a sudden go in super fast motion, like fast foreward. Once it "catches up" it goes normal and real smooth for a short while, then back to slow motion/fast-motion.

I first noticed it while playing one of the Need for Speeds, and PS2 emulator. But this issue has now made Diablo 3 nearly unplayable.

Here are some of my specs, let me know if you need more info or have any idea what might be the issue.

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3
2.20 gigahertz AMD Phenom 9550 Quad-Core

EDIT: Added Processor spec

nhlkoho · 05-21-2012, 13:35 | posts: 3,867 | Location: Washington DC

What graphics settings are you using for Diablo? The 9800GTX+ is a fairly old card. It still should be able to handle that game though.

Daekin · 05-21-2012, 13:57 | posts: 11

I put everything on low or off, and I still get the slow down even on single player. Not to mention if I go online with 3 other people. It's brutal. I have been reading other peoples experience with Diablo 3 and the 9800 GTX and none are having it as unplayable.

nhlkoho · 05-21-2012, 15:36 | posts: 3,867 | Location: Washington DC

Download and run Furmark. See if it freezes during that test. I had an old 8800GT before I bought my first 9800GTX+ that was doing the same thing. Turns out the fan was screwed up and it was overheating.
You might be able to take it out and clean the fan real good.

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 03:19 | posts: 11

I use compressed air, the "Dust Off" stuff to clean out my computer on a semi-regular basis, so I don't think it is anything like that. But I am going to try it for sure to make absolute certain.

I've just had this issue for so long, and I can never find anyone with the same issue. No response from NVidia forums besides some French guy in broken English telling me to lower memory clock and shader. Which I tried and had no benefit from at all. I don't even get any benefit from overclocking.

Any other help would be much appreciated. I will edit this on whether or the video card fan was having any issues.

EDIT: I ran FurMark. No shutdown.

SCORE:765 points (12 FPS, 60000 ms)
Max GPU Temp: 94°C
Resolution: 1680x1050 (W) - AA:0 samples
FPS: min:12, max:14, avg:12 - OPTIONS: DynBkg

But only 12-14FPS. Dunno if that is a high temp, but it didn't sound like my fan kicked on when it was that high either. Any ideas?

2nd Edit: So upon discovery of the high temp, I decided to pull out my video card to check it out. Boy was I surprised at how caked on the dust was to the fan. I had thought I checked it for sure during my cleanings.

So, I have cleaned out the fan and intend to do some testing. Will post more info soon.

3rd Edit: With the fan cleaned out and working properly I logged a much better temp, only 71°C. But I still only hit 13 FPS average. I'll check in-game. Does a card throttle performance if the fan isn't working properly?

engr_alas27 · 05-22-2012, 04:19 | posts: 180 | Location: Philippines

Try to upgrade your OS to Windows 7... then try it again

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 05:01 | posts: 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by engr_alas27

Try to upgrade your OS to Windows 7... then try it again

I would love nothing better. I unfortunately don't quite have the funds right now. How much is Windows 7 costing now? But, why would I get better performance from a different OS? At most i'll just get my full 4GB of RAM instead of 3.5 I figured. Which isn't really much of a big deal. I don't think my memory is the issue, is it?

Edit: With the fan clean, performance seems better. But I still get the same slow-down/speed-up effect. Which seems to be unique. I can never find anyone that gets the speed-up, most people only get a slow down, then normal performance with lag.

Either way I don't think I should be lagging single player on the lowest graphics. I am over the min requirements for D3.

kakik09 · 05-22-2012, 05:15 | posts: 83 | Location: The Philippines

Who's the manufacturer of your 9800 GTX+? I have the same problem with my GTS 250 and they're technically the same card. What I found out was that the card maybe getting too hot so it throttles down from 100% GPU usage to 50% every moment or so. Play a game like BF3, see if the problem persists then alt-tab to MSI afterburner and see the load monitor. The solution I found was to underclock the card so it becomes stable at 100% GPU usage. Sure it runs at a lower clock speed, but at least it utilizes the GPU 100%.

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 05:28 | posts: 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by kakik09

Who's the manufacturer of your 9800 GTX+? I have the same problem with my GTS 250 and they're technically the same card. What I found out was that the card maybe getting too hot so it throttles down from 100% GPU usage to 50% every moment or so. Play a game like BF3, see if the problem persists then alt-tab to MSI afterburner and see the load monitor. The solution I found was to underclock the card so it becomes stable at 100% GPU usage. Sure it runs at a lower clock speed, but at least it utilizes the GPU 100%.

What settings do I downclock? And how much around? I don't have BF3 or Crysis, so I can't do any tests with those. I will just try D3 and check load whenever I get a slow-down/speed-up.

Thanks for the help and suggestions so far.(To everyone)

Edit: I ran Diablo3, and I am still getting the slow/fast. My GPU usage drops to zero all of a sudden, and only ever gets as high as 50%.

Looking at Afterburner, my framerate drops when my GPU usage drops. I am not even reaching 100%. Max is 59% then it drops almost right down to zero.

kakik09 · 05-22-2012, 06:18 | posts: 83 | Location: The Philippines

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daekin

What settings do I downclock? And how much around? I don't have BF3 or Crysis, so I can't do any tests with those. I will just try D3 and check load whenever I get a slow-down/speed-up.

Thanks for the help and suggestions so far.(To everyone)

Edit: I ran Diablo3, and I am still getting the slow/fast. My GPU usage drops to zero all of a sudden, and only ever gets as high as 50%.

Looking at Afterburner, my framerate drops when my GPU usage drops. I am not even reaching 100%. Max is 59% then it drops almost right down to zero.

Just keep downclocking until it stays stable at 100% although it really didn't work for me after all even if I set it to the lowest EVGA Precision could get me to which was 505 mhz. It's natural to drop to 0% when you switch to the dektop suddenly. Like the one above us said, you should clean out the card to lower temps. I even reapplied thermal paste because at one point it reached 115 degrees C.

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 06:33 | posts: 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by kakik09

Just keep downclocking until it stays stable at 100% although it really didn't work for me after all even if I set it to the lowest EVGA Precision could get me to which was 505 mhz. It's natural to drop to 0% when you switch to the desktop suddenly. Like the one above us said, you should clean out the card to lower temps. I even reapplied thermal paste because at one point it reached 115 degrees C.

It's not even going to 100% right now 62% is my Max so far. If I downclock it it will go up to 100% eventually? As for the natural to drop when you go to desktop. This is not what I am talking about. This is while I am in-game. My GPU usage drops to 2-3%, and my framerate drops accordingly simultaneously.

I noticed it because I checked where I noticed the slow-down in the log when I alt-tabbed. I know it's normal for it to drop AFTER I alt-tab.

As for the lower temps, after cleaning out the cards fan, everything is kept at a cool 50-60 degrees. Stress test only going up to 71 degrees. So i'm sure my temp is fine now.

I just basically need to know what is making my GPU usage spike so bad while in game.

smashly · *Last edited by smashly; 05-22-2012 at 07:12.*

Have you installed AMD cpu fix for XP?
Not sure but I think it was called AMD optimizer.
I had a similar problem with XP x 86, X2 6000+ cpu 8800 GTS 320MB or 9800 GTX+ in some games and watching certain movie formats in media player.

One example in Postal 2 (Unreal Engine) the game would slow down to a crawl and then speed up. It would happen randomly, in other words it would not just happen at one spot in a game.
One time in an area I could be seeing 80fps and everything would be moving faster like being in turbo, but another time it could be 15fps and looking like playing in slow motion.
In general the game wouldn't feel smooth even when running above 60 fps.
Yet on lesser hardware I owned prior to that the same game ran smooth.

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 07:22 | posts: 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by smashly

Have you installed AMD cpu fix for XP?
Not sure but I think it was called AMD optimizer.

This fix seems to be for dual core. I am running a quad core. Does this matter?

EpicLoss · 05-22-2012, 07:34 | posts: 827 | Location: Midlands/UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daekin

This fix seems to be for dual core. I am running a quad core. Does this matter?

yes it helps all multicore AMD cpu's under win xp

Crash · 05-22-2012, 07:35 | posts: 57 | Location: Asia Pacific

i use to own a Gigabyte 9800GTX+,never had any issue. Did u experience this since you bought the card? what driver version are u using? the temperature before u clean it, is abnormal,maybe the gpu heatsink is loose?try to unseat and replace the thermal paste.

EpicLoss · 05-22-2012, 07:39 | posts: 827 | Location: Midlands/UK

install msi afterburner and use the program to set fan profiles you can have it running 100% when it hits certain temps

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 07:50 | posts: 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlcapwN

install msi afterburner and use the program to set fan profiles you can have it running 100% when it hits certain temps

All temp issues are solved. Thanks though.

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 07:56 | posts: 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crash

i use to own a Gigabyte 9800GTX+,never had any issue. Did u experience this since you bought the card? what driver version are u using? the temperature before u clean it, is abnormal,maybe the gpu heatsink is loose?try to unseat and replace the thermal paste.

I've had this issue as long as I can remember. I always chalked it up as "Meh, it's not an amazing set-up. A little lag is fine. Like back in my WoW days I would get the same thing in 25-mans. Slow-mo/turbo speeds. Always slow, then turbo. Never one without the other, and never in a different order.

I have used the newest Nvidia driver, then the newest Forcewear beta, I am now using the 296.10 forcewear, as I had heard it gave the best performance on this card.

My heat is fine now. It stays steady at 50 degrees with the fan only at ~5% so I think that'll be fine.

Edit: The dual-core fix did not resolve the issue. Downclocking produces no noticeable difference in the frequency or severity of the issue. Nor does overclocking.

My GPU usage never reaches anywhere near 100%, even on the lowest clock settings. 62% is the highest I have seen. The low framrates coincide with GPU usage dropping. They both happen simultaneously. Is there anything that could be throttling my GPU?

snowdweller · 05-22-2012, 08:23 | posts: 492 | Location: Sydney

What Mobo have you got? I had an Asus A8N5X and the north bridge heat sink eventually fell off and I didn't notice it! It kept working but I was getting intermittent lock ups and low FPS. I didn't have another MB to test and I ended up getting a whole new rig anyways but while your playing a game or Furmarking hold your finger on the north bridge heat sink and see how hot it is. Other wise I don't know

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 08:38 | posts: 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowdweller

What Mobo have you got? I had an Asus A8N5X and the north bridge heat sink eventually fell off and I didn't notice it! It kept working but I was getting intermittent lock ups and low FPS. I didn't have another MB to test and I ended up getting a whole new rig anyways but while your playing a game or Furmarking hold your finger on the north bridge heat sink and see how hot it is. Other wise I don't know

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD...M3A78EMH_HDMI/

That is the mother board I have.

engr_alas27 · 05-22-2012, 08:51 | posts: 180 | Location: Philippines

i dont know but i think it's affordable now even the windows 7 SP1 home premium at $96.00 on Amazon.com... worth the upgrade.. godspeed!

snowdweller · 05-22-2012, 08:59 | posts: 492 | Location: Sydney

Where it has the Asus logo on the metal below the CPU make sure that is solidly on the mobo and that its not super hot when your running D3.

Daekin · 05-22-2012, 09:05 | posts: 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowdweller

Where it has the Asus logo on the metal below the CPU make sure that is solidly on the mobo and that its not super hot when your running D3.

I have a monster heat sink that seems to be working properly. I will check the one that says Asus while I play in a moment.

EDIT:Asus heat sink working fine. Heats up, but not very hot at all. Seems to be well attached.