Please Help, Massive lag issue

[Dkean]

Hey all, please help me i dont know what to do.
My PC specs are
Pentium 4 3.34 ghz
Gainwaid Geforce 6800 GT (AGP)
1 GB Ram

I just bought and starting playing and i was so excited to play this.
But then i get into the game and get this huge lag probably 3 - 5 fps in the first town. I did all i can to fix this, i lower the resolution did no change, put graphics to max in config still no change. FPS was the same in anysetting. But when i go out of the city i goes a little bit better.

I also did virus scans and spyware scans and still no fix.

I can play other good games like.
BF2 -High
Doom 3- Ultra High
Cod 2 -High

basically any other game.

Any help would be appreciated
thanks.

[Feba]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

Possibly an issue with your sound card/drivers. FFXI uses odd music files.

[Dkean]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

I did the official benchmark 2 test for FFXI and scored 3600 around there, but when it was doing it i didnt notice much lag at all. But the game is lagging so much worse lag i ever seen on my pc.


I dont have a sound card. I just use my motherboard

[Ellipses]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

If you have sound, you have a sound card. Even if it's built-in on your motherboard. If it is built-in on your motherboard, it's probably a crappy sound card that needs software mixing. Getting a SoundBlaster or other card that can do hardware mixing might help.

Do you have virus scanners or anything like that running while you play?

[Dkean]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

No nothing runs while i play. Other than Zboard

and my sound device is
Realtek AC97 Audio

[Ellipses]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

Yeah, that's software mixing. I won't guarantee the sound is the problem (I have onboard Realtek sound and my system doesn't lag that badly even with a 1.7 ghz Celeron), but it's something to look into if you can. Your specs otherwise should be more than enough to handle the game.

Does it stay at 3-5 FPS the whole time you're in the town? Or is it just for a bit after you enter/log on?

[Dkean]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

It lags everywhere, maybe ill get about 10-15 fps outside the city.
But its weird the benchmark ran perfectly prettymuch. in some parts like tunnels in the city and runs good but not where u see people.

I just download, lastest sound drivers and ill give it a go again.







Nope that failed to.

[Ellipses]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

Yeah, first step would probably be updating all your drivers and making sure your network is okay (try googling some download/upload speed tests or something). There's also a setting for number of character models displayed (Config > Misc I think). Try turning that down and see if it improves your FPS.

[Dkean]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

Heres some more info on my system, but i dont know if it will help.


I just did what you said , but sadly it did nothing at all.

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 6/23/2006, 13:41:24
Machine name: MARK-TJGWMTNUN2
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: INTELR
System Model: AWRDACPI
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz
Memory: 1016MB RAM
Page File: 368MB used, 1304MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

Double Post Edited:
I guess theres nothing i can do
Anyone else got sugestions cause i really dont want to waste money on a new system, when the system i got is only a half year old.

Maybe ill try Reformating and starting over by reinstally XP. But i dont think it will make a difference but its worth a shot.

[Icemage]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

To isolate your problem and see if it is a sound card issue try this:

Open the FFXI Configuration Tool via Start > Program Files > PlayOnline > Final Fantasy XI > Final Fantasy XI Config.

Click on the Sound tab.

Uncheck the box that says "Enable Sound".

Start FFXI and see if you're still lagging. If you are, then it's not your sound drivers. If you aren't, then it is.

If it is your sound drivers, there's probably some incompatibility with your on-board sound card. I'd recommend buying an (inexpensive) sound card in the $20-$30 range (make sure it has its own dedicated hardware, and doesn't just use your system resources the same way your onboard card does - don't drop below $15 or you run the risk of duplicating this problem).


Icemage

[Ellipses]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

Sorry, those are the only suggestions I've got. FFXI is very quirky with the graphics and such; being a port of a PS2 game, it doesn't use the graphics card the way most 3-D games do. Nothing in your setup screams "I'm the problem."

[Dkean]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

Turning of Sound did nothing, when i was hoping is was.
Thanks for all your help btw.

But its weird, why did the benchmark go so well compared to when i playing it.

[Ellipses]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

Benchmarks in general aren't perfect. There's a lot that goes on in the game that doesn't in the benchmark, like downloading a ton of data and displaying a larger variety of models and textures.

[Feba]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

out of curiousity...are you playing on dial up? If it's related to the amount of things on your screen...


Other than that, all I can think of would be graphics drivers...

[Dkean]

Re: Please Help, Massive lag issue

LOL me on dial up ah no
hell no i hate dail up,

im in a 3mb connection and i live in new zealand.

Im about to reinstall XP, I think its my only choice.

If that not work then i dont know.

Btw im using the latest Nvidia Drivers, i even tried an older version.
Maybe my drivers are not working properly so maybe am xp reinstall an only option.

Is it possible to copy FFXI files so when i install it again, i can copy the files with copyed version and replace the new installed files so i can not wait 3 hours for the update to finish?