Please help reclaim graphics performance!

Hi everyone,

I have a 2.2GHz Santa Rosa Macbook Pro with a 128MB 8600M GT GPU.

I have a problem for a long time now with gaming performance under XP, using Boot Camp of course. It is extremely poor. For example:
• Spore only runs well at 1440x900 on all low, especially when on planets in the space stage
• CNC3 also only runs well on low at 1440x900. When on Medium, a nuke on the screen drops the framerate down to 3-4 fps.
• Framerates start out bad, and seem to get slowly worse while playing a game.

I used to play CNC3 on Ultra High minus FSAA at 1440x900, and still keep reasonable framerates.

So far, I have tried formatting and reinstalling XP (more than once) and upgrading graphics drivers. I'm presently using 180.48 from laptopvideo2go.

I am also reasonably confident that it is not a problem with the graphics card, as it continues to perform like a champ in OSX. Over 25,500 in GioFX OpenMark, if anyone knows it.

I'm not all that familiar with XP, so it is possible I'm doing something stupid, but I'm pretty sure I'm not.

So, can anyone help me get my graphics performance back? Please?

 

My first guess is to install a software temp monitor. Typically with the nvidia 8.xx Mobile series GPU's when graphics performance tails off usually it's a sign the GPU is beginning to run hot so it throttles back.

The only things I can suggest after you boot into Windows XP is to bring up task manager. (right click on the task bar)

You'll need to see how many processes are running. My other suggestion might be to either do a fresh Windows XP install or go back to the original drivers you were using when you were getting good performance.

Lastly make sure in Windows XP that you are not running any type of anti virus or spyware software as that can cause performance issues.

 

Im not sure but maybe its the cpu thats the bottleneck, try opening task manager when gaming and look at how much cpu the games are using.

 

OK, now I'm confused. I tried running task manager and the nvidia nTune monitor thing in the background. I don't think it's a temperature thing, it seems to be pretty stable at about 70˚C. I've gotten it hotter than that under OSX. Other than that, Spore and CNC3 is now working quite well for some reason, even on high. Not buttery smooth, but playable. Except when there's water in the shots, which seems to be a universal caning.

Test Drive Unlimited, on the other hand (if anyone has it) seems to be severely limited by the CPU. CNC3 also seems to sometimes be CPU limited, maybe, but it's hard to tell. I think it might be saturating one core.

So, question one is why most of the time stuff runs terribly, but sometimes it works OK. The second question is why any game should be CPU limited on my 2.2GHz MBP. That makes no sense to me.

I might see what Crysis says in a bit.

 

That's really weird. I'm really clueless.

There are games that will definitely be limited by a 2.2GHz CPU though, such as RTS games and Source games. Left 4 Dead maxes out my 2.4GHz processor.

 

If this problem is recent, would you check something for me? Would you go into the Nvidia Control Panel, opening up System Information and telling me what is listed under BUS? It should start with "PCI-EXPRESS" followed by a number. What is the number?

 

Unfortunately I can't find exactly what you want, but something strange is here too. The reference clock is 16.14 MHz, with fsb and memory buses double this at 32.28. However sometimes it reports these as 392 and 795 MHz which is more like I would expect, except it then reports my CPU speed as double what it should be! My cpu multoplier seems a little whacky too, changing from 130 to 11 with the CPU speed change. Both AGP and PCI buses are unreported.

 

Those are some VERY odd clocks.

While gaming, clocks on my 8600M GT in my MBP are
GPU Core: 470 MHz, Memory: 635 MHz, Shader: 940 MHz.
When idle, clocks are
GPU Core: 169 MHz, Memory: 100 MHz, Shader: Unreported.

CPU speed on my 2.4 GHz MBP fluctuates between 1197.0 MHz when idle and 2394 MHz when a load is applied. Multiplier fluctuates between x6.0 and x12.0 respectively.

Another attempt at getting the PCI-EXPRESS lane width? Get into your Nvidia control panel, which should be either in your XP control panel or possibly you can reach it by right clicking on your desktop and selecting 'Nvidia Control Panel'. Click Help > System Information. The components pane on the left should say 8600M GT, there should be a details pane on the right. Scroll down to the bottom of the right pane and see if there is a BUS detail, what does it say?

Alternatively, boot into Mac and in the system profiler, go to Hardware -> Graphics/Displays. Copy/Paste what your values are, it should look like this:

GeForce 8600M GT:

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0407
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3175
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No display connected

 

I think I owe you a virtual pat on the back. It says x1, not x16, both in XP and in osx. PCI link width and PCIe lane width in system profiler under PCI and graphics respectively. So, if this is the problem, for a virtual beer, how do I fix it?

 

Try playing on a lower resolution. 1280x800. Remember the 8600M GT only has 128-bit bandwidth, not to mention you only have 128MB of VRAM.

 

How amusing StormEffect that you seem to have the same obscure problem as I do, and we posted about it on the same day! Unfortunately removing my external hard disk, a western digital 160gb has no effect. Oh well, at least I know what the problem is. Let me know if there is a fix!
Clearly I found your thread.

 

Try starting with all your peripherals connected, shut down, and then unplug EVERYTHING, including power. Then turn on the system and see what happens. Using this method I have only been able to get back to x8, when it should be x16, the only other person on the internet (besides you) who I have found who discovered that the PCI-E lane width was the problem ended up going to a Genius bar and getting the motherboard replaced. He actually had to remove and reinsert a RAM stick to get the system to go up to x8 though, I was lucky with the peripherals.

It is possible this is somehow tied into the inherent hardware failure in all 8600M videocards, it just so happens that our failures manifest as some sort of lane degradation instead of artifacting or blank screens.

 

that doesn't really make sense.

(the bulk of it does, but the conclusion doesn't)

try resetting the pram and that other thing (someone will know)

i'm pretty sure there are two hardware resets. one is the pram. the other i don't remember. do them both.

edit: actually maybe it does make sense. i guess its POSSIBLE that the card was blown to hell from heat, and the hardware was smart enough to just shut down the damaged area and keep the rest operational. shot in the dark though.

 

I considered resetting the PRAM and NVRAM, but information from another thread seems to indicate that was ineffective, maybe I'll try it anyway. My theory is that maybe a certain section of the chip (maybe just a small section near or including the bus) has failed first. That doesn't bode very well, considering it means the rest of the chip will fail in just a matter of time.

Anyway, I'll give the PRAM and NVRAM resets a shot...see if it helps. Otherwise I need to go give Apple a visit.

 

That's a negative on resetting PRAM. It said x8 when I read your post, I then reset the PRAM, and it now says x1 again. My poor computer is in pain. Oh well, I'm gonna go and play CNC3 anyway. Maybe I can get it to work at x8 again, and get to play on high!

 

Technically 8x is all you need to get the majority of the performance out of your 8600M, the only real reason you want 16x back is because that means the problem is "fixed".

 

Annoyingly, for the last few days my PCI lane has been reading x16. I assume it is because I haven't used my external hard disk for a while. Running the hardware diagnostic still shows an error though.