XP 64 and game performance (HELP)

I'm having a very strange issue playing games after installing Windows XP 64 bit, and I'm hoping someone will have heard of this problem and know how to solve it.

I'm running:

3.2ghz AMD dual core
3 gigs of DDR2 @ 800mhz
2 x Nvidia 7950 GTs
Asus Crosshair motherboard

The performance of this machine in games has always been fantastic. I usually keep the settings around medium because I like the smooth feeling and lack of lag.

After installing XP 64 though, I'm getting a weird choppiness and stuttering issue that doesn't seem to affect my frame rates.

The FPS numbers are still the same, but the effect is hard to describe. It's very similar to the "loading lag" you get right before you round a corner in an FPS - where everything stops and starts and stops and stutters for sometimes what's almost imperceptible fractions of a second, and then immediately smooths out again. The problem I'm having is that it smooths out, but then starts again right away.

This issue continues regardless of settings and configuration. I know something is configured wrong (it has to be!) I just can't figure out what it is.


So far, I've tried:

Reinstalling Nvidia's drivers (the 64 bit versions)
Toggling SLI mode
Turning the settings all the way down
Running Prime95 (64 bit edition) to test my system out, and actually this is why I have 3 gigs of ram now, one of the sticks tested bad!
Overclocking / underclocking using the motherboard's utilities
Reinstalling chipset drivers for the motherboard
Trying third party optimization programs, including "nHancer", and even AMD's new "Fusion" program.
Running down my process list and ending every conceivable thing that is not windows related


Nothing has worked. Nothing has even had an *effect* on it. The problem is most noticeable while playing Left 4 Dead, but it occurs in other games too, Space Siege, City of Heroes, and Supreme Commander although much, much less noticeably, simply because supcom is plagued by those little laggy spikes anyway.

I like running a 64 bit OS, and really taking advantage of the (supposed to be) 4 gigs of RAM I have as well as the full capability of the system. Honestly though, if I can't clear this up I'll just reinstall XP 32 again.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

--Locane

I think I have somewhat the same problem. Stuttering that makes computer games unusable.

System specs are:
Intel Core 2 Duo - 2.4 GHz
1 x Nvidia Geforce 8800 GTX
ASUS P5N32-SE SLI Deluxe
8gb of Corsair ram

I got the newest beta drivers and still massive performance drops at times. I don't have any idea but you are running 3 gig ram now and that hasn't affected the gaming?

My computer suffered from the complete same issue in Vista 64bit and I have a feeling that it hasn't been fixed in 64bit Windows 7 but can't say since I haven't used it.

Does rebooting your computer fix this issue temporarily? It does for me.

I suspect that going back to XP32 is the best choice for the moment being if you want to enjoy your system.

Getting a new motherboard/CPU cooler during the week and I will check if I find that it affects this strange 64bit Lag.

Mind if I ask what your temperatures on the CPU/Motherboard is? Trying to figure out a pattern here.

Hey. I'm pretty sure the new motherboard I bought solved this issue, but don't quote me just yet. I'm also back to running 32 bit XP, which was still stuttering while on my last board. I have plans to reinstall 64, but I'm waiting to see if I need to RMA this mobo or not.

The board I bought is an AMD north / southbridge chipset, and that's coming from the Crosshair which is an nForce chipset. I (apparently) mistakenly assumed that my SLI Nvidia video cards would work on a board with an onboard ATI video card. Yeah, I know. Shut up.

I mentioned this because it's still remotely possible that there's some kind of conflict between the nForce chipset and an AMD proc, or NVidia video cards.

I'll post back here after I've RMAed the mobo if I can't get it to recognize SLI.

My CPU ran below 55c, all the time in the problem board. It would idle at 46, and the highest I ever saw it get while running the BOINC manager for Seti @ Home was after an 18 hour session and it had peaked at 55. I'm not trying to brag, I'm saying that your cpu shouldn't run above that, because what you're describing sounds like bad RAM or a heat issue. If it clears up for a bit after a restart, that's the first thing I would look at.

I would download the 64 bit prime 95 and see if you can get it to error out. The bad stick of RAM I had would consistently throw an error after the first 10 - 20 seconds. My stuttering issue continued even after I yanked the bad stick, but I figured I'd mention it here for the sake of consistency.



No, the stuttering issue I was seeing was not occurring during anything but games, and most apparently while playing L4D.