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Why Game Lag?

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  • Lag
  • Games
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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August 14, 2013 3:33:14 AM

Hello, I would like an opinion on the issue that my friend encountered with his PC while gaming.
First of all I apologize for my English and for the lack of specific data as it is not my PC so it will have to do with this..
CPU C2Duo E 8400 not Ovk; GPU Nvidia 8600 GTS; some medium performance 775 Mobo, RAM 4G, PSU 500W, HDD 500G, 19” Led Monitor 1366x768; Win 7 x64.
He almost exclusively plays FIFA 13 online which has recommended specs within his current configuration. Lately the game shows some lag on the buttons response and some FPS lag that did not appear some 2-3 months ago. In game FPS monitored with FRAPS shows about 60fps with some drops on cinematics and other loading screens switch.
The CPU load temp 46°C as showed in Aida 64.

Also he observed that the ALT+TAB shifting between desktop and game has a high time response and the CPU stays at 100% while doing this or playing ( monitored with the Win 7 Gadget that I don’t know how reliable it is ).
What we did and had no changes:
- fresh Win install
-update video drivers
- switched a few controllers for button lag
- switched GPU card with my HD 6770 .. the FPS remained 60fps as with the 8600 GTS but with finer aspect and no drops bellow 60fps. The in game lag and button response remained the same
- switched the monitor for a 32” Samsung Led TV

The GPU switch showed that the fps are somehow limited by the CPU and not the video card. My hd 6770 with my i5 3470 plays Fifa with over 220fps. But the C2D E8400 at 3.0GHz should be enough for the game requirements. Should he do an OVK?
Would an SSD improve the performance?
What else?

More about : game lag

August 14, 2013 4:44:26 AM

seems like a cpu bottlneck.. core 2 duo is really old & imho u need a min a quad or atleast a i3. try reducing the resoluton & the settings
August 14, 2013 5:01:51 AM

your fps is limited by vsync and your monitors Hz. 60hz/60fps. and there is nothing wrong with 60fps constant, its pretty much the aim for all gamers. I dont know what you expect? 220fps? if you think 220fps is good, you are dumb, your fps is limited to your monitors refresh rate, any more or less and you will get screen tearing. just leave vsync on. The only thing that is wrong is input lag it seems, try turning off vsync, see if your input lag is less. Other than that, maybe its the cpu....
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August 14, 2013 5:53:54 AM

caj said:
seems like a cpu bottlneck.. core 2 duo is really old & imho u need a min a quad or atleast a i3. try reducing the resoluton & the settings


I’m aware that the system’s old and should be upgraded but the mystery is why lag now? 2 months ago on the same settings it worked just fine.
August 14, 2013 6:08:40 AM

iam2thecrowe said:
your fps is limited by vsync and your monitors Hz. 60hz/60fps. and there is nothing wrong with 60fps constant, its pretty much the aim for all gamers. I dont know what you expect? 220fps? if you think 220fps is good, you are dumb, your fps is limited to your monitors refresh rate, any more or less and you will get screen tearing. just leave vsync on. The only thing that is wrong is input lag it seems, try turning off vsync, see if your input lag is less. Other than that, maybe its the cpu....


We’ll try to change the vsync setting and see if is any improvement.
I did not say is not good with 60 fps.. as a matter of fact the fifa settings menu has an option to block the frames to 30/60 or no limit. Should we also try to limit it to 30 for example an see if there still is input lag and image scattering?
The 220 fps on my computer are the minimum that I get in fifa. BTW I have an old 17” 1280x1024 Acer monitor ) .. so yes is not ideal. I was trying to highlight the fact that the fps on his system is not bottlenecked by either GPU.

I have no idea of my or his monitor settings other than the resolution. I’m pretty sure the other settings are on default. Any idea on what could we change (if possible) to improve?
!