Processor Problems? (maybe?) ~ NP8662

Hey guys,

The specs for my pc are in the sig.

I noticed when I was tabbed down out of the game Mass Effect that it was using 100% of my processor (according to Windows 7's lil gadget).

Just seemed kind of odd that a 2 year old game would hog resources like that...
and my framerate dropped below 30 when using fraps.

Dont get my wrong, I love the hell out of this laptop...
but, I was under the impression this beast could handle things like this and record no probs.

When the game is running the only other processes (besides the ones Win7 has running) are Steam, Avira AntiVir, and Windows Messenger.
Does this sound about right?
If so, then no prob I suppose.. but I just wanted to know if I need to look into something being wrong here.

 

Lucky you, I can't play mass effect on xp cuz of the realtek audio driver.

If your really worried, try a 3dmark and see how it compares to others.

 

I basically have the exact same machine as you mate, if you can wait acouple of hours for the power to return ill throw in masseffect and see what fps i am getting and how much processor is being used.

 

ok mate so i ran mass effect for you and was getting a minimum FPS in the 40's thats with max settings at native resolution im sorry i couldn't take a screen shot i use xfire for my screenshots and it has never worked correctly in this game.
the cpu was using about 75% that was while in game with nokia one touch access, HWmonitor, xfire and avast running in the background, here is a screen shot for you.





i have heard that fraps is a bit f a resource hog so that may account for processor usage but im not sure why you are getting such low fps, maybe fraps again but im not sure, what drivers are you using im currently using 186.03 and find they give great in game performance.

 

a note on the processor usage: regardless of specs, most game engines are designed to use as much processor time as possible (the game engine is continually updating itself), so seeing it use 100% is not a problem at all.

In regards to the performance... it seems alright. In comparison my setup can barely squeeze 30 frames out on the aging Source engine (Left4Dead) with maximum settings (the one difference being I am running a P8700).

 

With the P9600, I get 100% usage on both cores in Left 4 Dead at max settings. But it gives me 60 fps average and no lag so I'm happy. Kinda wished I've gotten the quad tho. I wouldn't worry about the cpu usage, more about the fps.

 

I know that the only place I get down to 30 fps is if running around on the Citadel. FRAPS should only have an effect on your framerate if you're taking screenshots, or recording. Just using the fps monitor doesn't cause lower framerates. The game is CPU intensive though, even on my T9800.

Are you using PhysX?

 

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I meant that my fps drops like crazy when USING fraps, not just with it in the background.
I don't have any problems with FPS usually.. just wanted to be sure all this CPU usage was normal.

Anyone have tips on how to get fraps to run a bit more smooth?

Also, whats PhysX? =p

 

Speaking as a looong time fraps user, I can say for sure that fraps really shines when you are recording to a different harddrive than the one that your game resides on.

 

I did a quick run of Mass Effect on my gaming laptop that has the Q9000 and I logged 91-97% usage on all cores at some points in the game. At other times it was about 47-67% usage on all cores.

 

Forgive my ignorance, but does that mean mine is doing fine or needs looked at?

Really? Never thought about that... thanks for the tip. =]

 

Seems to be fine to me.....i checked again today and also had the cpu's in the 90% range at certain points in the game....so now worries, enjoy it.

 

Chendawg > Check out http://www.viper.dk/wow/fraps/fraps_setup.htm

Might be helpful, eventho its pretty basic stuff

 

PhysX is NVIDIA's attempt at amalgamating the GPU and AGEIA's pioneered PPU concept into a single unit. Basically the PhysX drivers off-load some intensive physics calculations (collisions, liquid motion, fire, etc) of the game engine from the CPU to the GPU. more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhysX

 

Thanks a ton for all the tips and info everyone. =]

 

I would say it is to be expected and quite normal, especially with a dual core. Mass Effect seems to use up a lot of CPU, much more than I expected.