Stuttering Problem: Call of Duty 4

Hey all

Alright.. I've been having graphics problems for a while during game play. Now let me say I'm a complete newb when it comes to FPS. But from my gut feeling I don't think the problem I am experiencing is normal.

First of all let me say, I have the same problem with Halo Combat Evolved but during game play but in Call of Duty 4 it isn't as severe. (which is strange)

My Specs are:
8600m GS
2.4ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB RAM
Vista 32bit
Running in Max Power Mode
latest Nvidia Drivers
Temperature? I don't know but it happens right away during game play (guessing its not too hot)
Settings are on optimum for my Notebook.
my Vents are clean I'm sure of it

So what I'm experiencing so far is stuttering (definition of stuttering is a huge drop in FPS and sort of skips things). This happens during online and offline mode. It occurs most when there is a long draw distance and when I move fairly fast it just continues to skip and slowdown a bit. It's really bad in Halo but not so bad in Call of Duty 4.

I played with the settings in COD 4 and it's still pretty much the same.

I'm not really sure what the problem is and am worried it maybe my graphics card. I actually bought Call of Duty 4 just to confirm whether it was my graphics card or the fact that my old Halo game was incompatible with Vista.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Not sure if this is normal or not. I wish I could take a video and show you guys but I have no idea how to do that.

Thanks
Jimmy

 

this is Powermiser, it downclocks the GPU when it gets too hot.

 

Powermiser? I have no idea what that is?

I have batterymiser on my notebook and its set to HIGH

 

I'm going to assume powermizer is dropping your clocks midgame to avoid reaching high heat. To monitor your heat, override powermizer, and maybe even OC, Install Rivatuner. On the top customize, 4th button, is a monitor for your temps and clocks. Leave it running while you play COD, and come back to me with results.

 

sure I'll try that...
I'll post in a bit later with results.

 

okay I did it. I'm just not sure how to use the program very well.
Can anyone guide me as to what I'm actually doing?

My findings for my last play session for Call of Duty 4.

Weird how its actually playing a bit better with to me no stuttering.

I did use FRAPS to monitor my FPS.

So far it's been pretty good.

- FPS Min 40fps-90fps

- Stayed consistently average between 60fps-75fps

- dropped down to 50fps when I was in graphic intensive areas and large open space.

I'll fill you in on my further testing
Jimmy

 

BE WARNED, by disabling Powermiser you are exposing your GPU to higher temperatures, the 8 series do not like high temps and may get killed.

 

Click the 4th tab here, "hardware monitoring"



And you'll get something like this. Leave it open during 15 minutes of CoD4. A healthy temp will be under 80C, but even 90C shouldn't damage the card (although the 8600 series doesn't have the best history). The memory/shader/core clocks should remain the same while playing the game.

 

thanks for the advice guys.

Okay
I'm able to understand and go through the entire steps that you mentioned.

But what I'm having problems with is figuring out how to read and save the graph.

Do I click the "disk icon" name it and save it in the directory?

Assuming I've saved it correctly
I'm able to figure out what the time is along with knowing what my core temperature is.

But I don't understand what those big numbers mean for ROM Domain, Shader Domain and Memory Clock.

Also something to add. I've enabled Smooth Mouse and Frame Sync and that has helped with things greatly. (this only applies to COD 4 btw not Halo)

I really appreciate the help guys. Sorry for not being able to be more familiar with things :s

Jimmy

 

I could be wrong but I recall seeing somewhere that fiddling with Frame Sync and Dual Video Cards in the CoD4 settings helps with stuttering.

 

For me so far it's smooth mouse that is helping with the stuttering I don't know why. I'm assuming it helps smooth out the video?

 

you could use powermizer switch to turn that feature off. It is kind of annoying for graphic card to downclock when you are connected by power. Simply put powermizer switch in google, then u can find that program very small. However, if your laptop's GPU downclocks due to overheating problem, then don't do it.

 

Okay update on the situation

I've figured out how to use the program (at least I think I did) so the highest my GPU temperature maxes out at 71. So I'm assuming that is safe.

Fraps tell me that I get average 60fps on most of the maps I've played. Frame rate drops about 10fps when there are large areas and long draw distances and a lot of details.

Stuttering problem (at least I think it's a stuttering problem) is fixed with Smooth Mouse. When Smooth Mouse is turned off things get a bit choppy.

That's about it, Halo Combat Evolved is still horrible. I sometimes get Frames at 20-30fps at times during online play.

Can anyone explain why Smooth Mouse seems to be the fix?
Thanks all

Jimmy