VIsta + Gaming = O_O

I

ivan_gromov

Gawd
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
973
Well, I have built me a new rig last night, and was estatic about playing some games. Let me just share my experiences.

Installing all of the drivers was a breeze, it was a bith, however, to get my sound card working (Audiguy 2zs Platinum). I found some half-assed drivers via Creative's site, which work ok, I am quite unhappy with those still though.

First game I decided to install STALKER, which gave me no problems and it runs well for the first 10 minutes or so, then it starts artifacting, even though my temps are just fine.

I then installed MOH:A that I have purchased. I did not get to play it much, due to me wanting to check out other things. The game looked terrific and ran great, except for the fact that I still can't figure out WHY THE PUNKBUSTER CHECKBOX IN SERVER BROWSER IS GREYED OUT, need solutions :). Once though, when I exited the game it pretty much made my video go away, making me restart.

Then came COD2, oh man, a disaster :mad:. I got it installed just fine, but everytime I start the game it freezes for 5 minutes pror to getting to the main menu. And don't even think about using EAX 3.0 sound, because creative drivers are so shitty, they do not even support it for Vista, GG. I ended up giving up on the game, was only able to play for 4 mins.

Bioshock, looked and ran great, but made my PC restart 30 mins in :(

I hate Vista thus far, and yes I know it's vista due to shitty driver support and me not having ANY issues on XP, but I really want to have DX10 :(
 
sorry to hear that. I haven't had any problems with Vista in gaming. Sure something else might not be clicking? Try uninstalling yoru soundcard since creative drivers are crap for vista currently. Don't understand your reboot problem though.
 
Spontaneous reboot during gaming is a sign of a sup-par power supply. I run Vista Ultimate 64-bit and have for several month now, and the only game I ever had issues with is Stalker, and I play a lot of games.
 
My phone rings almost once a night with a friend trying to install or run something on their Vista gaming rig. I'm finding it really annoying already. I'm fine with Vista because I like tinkering but most of my friends are finding it a pain in the arse to do something very simple like.. install and run a game.

99.9% of the time Vista issues are solved by
1) right clicking the game.exe > compatibility > check 'run as administrator'
2) right click and properties the game folder, edit the security and make sure the security settings for every user have full access to the folder.
 
The problem with EAX on Vista is that MS changed up the way sound is handled in the operating system, and it's incompatible with EAX. Now, the workaround is for you to BUY :)() Creative's OpenAL drivers for your Audigy 2. If you had a X-Fi card then it would be free. I believe it's $10 to get those drivers.
 
Can't be my PSU. I have a 650W BFG SLI Ready PSU.

Drivers for Creative? They work ok at least? Where can I buy them?

COD2 ran fine up until I attemped to change sound settings, now it takes 5 mins to load even through safe mode. So, I am sorry, was just upset, I think most of my problems are coming via my sound card.
 
You have an unstable rig. what psu are you using? Also you are running 4gigs of ram. What os are you using.? 4 1gig sticks or 2 2gig sticks. have you run prime 95,orthos and memtest? Don't blame vista until you confirm you have at least a stable rig.
 
from what i understand Punkbuster now runs as a seperate task/process all-togeather. Do you have PB even installed?
 
purefun65 said:
You have an unstable rig. what psu are you using? Also you are running 4gigs of ram. What os are you using.? 4 1gig sticks or 2 2gig sticks. have you run prime 95,orthos and memtest? Don't blame vista until you confirm you have at least a stable rig.
Click to expand...

I am running 2x1gb sticks right now, the other two are still being shipped. I am sorry, I think I have software issues with my Sound card, that is what drivers me nuts. I will run some tests tonight, didnt have much time, since I got home late, put everthing together around 11pm. COD2 started up just fine the first few times, I began having issues when I have attemped to use EAX 3.0 sound support, even when I attempt to run in safe mode, same thing happens.

Anybody has anymore information on those drivers? In terms of where to get them and how well they work? I am really getting irratated with shitty sound.
At work right now by the way.
 
133 said:
from what i understand Punkbuster now runs as a seperate task/process all-togeather. Do you have PB even installed?
Click to expand...

Really? No, I do not. Do I need to install it manually in order to get it enabled in MOH:A?
 
And if you're running 4gigs of ram, are you using Vista 64 edition?

I've never had a hickup with Vista 64, and I've run everything you labelled off just fine. I'd go back and check all of the drivers you've installed, peeling them off one at a time and reinstalling them.
 
Saloma Teale said:
And if you're running 4gigs of ram, are you using Vista 64 edition?

I've never had a hickup with Vista 64, and I've run everything you labelled off just fine. I'd go back and check all of the drivers you've installed, peeling them off one at a time and reinstalling them.
Click to expand...

I am debating if I shall buy x64, I think I need to once my ram arrives. I am running x86 right now, It came with my laptop, heh. I know I can fix most of my issues, and seems as if ther eis a fix for a soundcard, WOOO. But what about MOH? Do I need to install PB seperatly? Or am I missing an option somewhere? I googled, can't find anything on such issue.
 
If you just built an entirely new rig, why are you immediately blaming Vista? Not sure artifacting and random reboots should be blamed on the OS.

Vista has worked great for me. Although Creative sound in a few older games can get a little messed up.
 
PoweredBySoy said:
If you just built an entirely new rig, why are you immediately blaming Vista? Not sure artifacting and random reboots should be blamed on the OS.

Vista has worked great for me. Although Creative sound in a few older games can get a little messed up.
Click to expand...

That's the thing, my first post was towards Vista becasue i was tired, and did not look into it. Now that I think about it more, I think it is more of a software issue.
 
ivan_gromov said:
I am debating if I shall buy x64, I think I need to once my ram arrives. I am running x86 right now, It came with my laptop, heh. I know I can fix most of my issues, and seems as if ther eis a fix for a soundcard, WOOO. But what about MOH? Do I need to install PB seperatly? Or am I missing an option somewhere? I googled, can't find anything on such issue.
Click to expand...

Won't the normal x86 version work with 4GB of RAM?
Whenever I see Vista issues with gaming, they always seem to be with the x64 versions...so that's why I bring it up.
 
Domingo said:
Won't the normal x86 version work with 4GB of RAM?
Whenever I see Vista issues with gaming, they always seem to be with the x64 versions...so that's why I bring it up.
Click to expand...

I thought that if I have 32 bit not more than 2gb of ram can be utilized, I could be wrong though. Since I hear that 64bit has higher virtual memory.
 
Run memtest86, with the random artifacting and rebooting, it could possibly be dodgy ram. Similar things happened to me when i first built this rig on XP, i ended up having bad ram and had to RMA it.
 
even tho I sympathize ...seeing things like this still wont get me to upgrade for along time yet. fuck the games and ms
 
tskiller said:
Run memtest86, with the random artifacting and rebooting, it could possibly be dodgy ram. Similar things happened to me when i first built this rig on XP, i ended up having bad ram and had to RMA it.
Click to expand...

Will do when I get off work. Any solutions for Medal Of Honor though?
 
This sounds like hardware issues, not software. Vista sucks, yes, but I would imagine you'd see the same problems on an XP installation.
 
I find it hard to believe it's *just* Vista's fault, as I run an OC'ed rig with Vista Home Premium and every game you've listed in the OP runs perfectly for me.

Like someone else mentioned, with MoH, it will ask you during the install if you want to install Punkbuster, and you MUST do it to get on the servers, according to the install. You'll probably have to reinstall MoH:A.
 
Roufuss said:
I find it hard to believe it's *just* Vista's fault, as I run an OC'ed rig with Vista Home Premium and every game you've listed in the OP runs perfectly for me.

Like someone else mentioned, with MoH, it will ask you during the install if you want to install Punkbuster, and you MUST do it to get on the servers, according to the install. You'll probably have to reinstall MoH:A.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks, will check that one out. As I mentioned, I will run Mem Test, I think you are right, most of my problems are with sound driers, the restarts, only happened twice, and I think it was due to something else.
 
ivan_gromov said:
Bioshock, looked and ran great, but made my PC restart 30 mins in :(
Click to expand...

If such a high requirement game made your PC restart in the middle of game play, but your other games run fine, I'd think it was more likely your PSU needs to be upgraded because your CPU and Video card should run that just fine.
 
EternityZX9 said:
If such a high requirement game made your PC restart in the middle of game play, but your other games run fine, I'd think it was more likely your PSU needs to be upgraded because your CPU and Video card should run that just fine.
Click to expand...

We shall see what happens tonight when I check everything out one more time.It is a very nice PSU though, quite new too.
 
You definately need to be running CPU, memory and video card stress tests and looking for problems, especially with artifacts and crashing.
 
Frosteh said:
You definately need to be running CPU, memory and video card stress tests and looking for problems, especially with artifacts and crashing.
Click to expand...
Any recommendations on what I could run? I was thinking of 3dmark06/06 memtest

Also, it only happens in Stalker, happened once in Bioshock, but I think it was due to something else.
 
Prime 95 torture tests, run one instance for each core on your CPU, use the large memory test for it and keep that going overnight or something, if all is ok when you wake up then that's fine.

I'd run 3dMark06 in high settings, see if you get any visual artifacting.
 
Frosteh said:
Prime 95 torture tests, run one instance for each core on your CPU, use the large memory test for it and keep that going overnight or something, if all is ok when you wake up then that's fine.

I'd run 3dMark06 in high settings, see if you get any visual artifacting.
Click to expand...

Thank you, will do. What score do ya'll think would be reasonable under my setup?
 
Sorry to hear about your problems.:( I've recently installed Vista on a pc that previously ran xp fine, and the only issues I've had are with my nvidia drivers and dualview for 2 monitor setup; games have been trouble free for me. You would think that buying a new computer things would just work.
 
Have you installed the Creative ALchemy drivers for Vista?
Creative ALchemy (Audigy Edition)
$9.99 USD
Product description:
In Windows Vista, Microsoft removed the Vendor Extension mechanism from Vista's DirectSound implementation. With previous Windows Operating Systems, the Vendor Extension enabled the Sound Blaster Audigy to provide accelerated audio for DirectSound3D games.

Without Creative ALchemy,most DirectSound games running in Vista will be reduced to stereo output without any EAX effects.

Creative ALchemy (Audigy Edition) restores your Sound Blaster Audigy's ability to process EAX effects, 3D surround sound, sampling rate conversion and hardware audio mixing for DirectSound3D games in Windows Vista.
Click to expand...
 
When I built my new vista gaming rig I left my creative soundcard in the old machine (an x-fi). Decided to use the MB's HD Audio instead. To be honest I havent had a single problem with Vista and the following games :

BF2
BF2142
BioShock
JediKnight II Outcast
Quake4
Fear
C&C3
MOH Airborne

No sound issues either, and you know what.. I seriously cant say Ive ever thought to myself "Jesus, wish I had installed that creative sound card and those crappy drivers!"


I also cannot believe that people would seriously pay $10 for a set of Vista Creative drivers !!!! Would you also pay that for printer drivers for Vista or graphics card drivers ? Imagine Nvidia giving a basic driver for all 7XXX series cards, but charging them if they wanted AA or AF! Holy Scam Batman!
 
lewchenko said:
I also cannot believe that people would seriously pay $10 for a set of Vista Creative drivers !!!! Would you also pay that for printer drivers for Vista or graphics card drivers ? Imagine Nvidia giving a basic driver for all 7XXX series cards, but charging them if they wanted AA or AF! Holy Scam Batman!
Click to expand...

I thought this as well! At first when I saw the post in this forum I thought it was a typo. I investigated to find that it was someone's idea of a sick joke. I think this is very poor IMO.
 
Creative drivers for my X-Fi=free. Runs all my games fine and I love the surround sound I get.

I agree that they should have offered them free to Audigy users, but they didn't.
 
lewchenko said:
When I built my new vista gaming rig I left my creative soundcard in the old machine (an x-fi). Decided to use the MB's HD Audio instead. To be honest I havent had a single problem with Vista and the following games :

BF2
BF2142
BioShock
JediKnight II Outcast
Quake4
Fear
C&C3
MOH Airborne

No sound issues either, and you know what.. I seriously cant say Ive ever thought to myself "Jesus, wish I had installed that creative sound card and those crappy drivers!"


I also cannot believe that people would seriously pay $10 for a set of Vista Creative drivers !!!! Would you also pay that for printer drivers for Vista or graphics card drivers ? Imagine Nvidia giving a basic driver for all 7XXX series cards, but charging them if they wanted AA or AF! Holy Scam Batman!
Click to expand...

Idle, vista eats up 40% of my 2gb of ram, I am having 2 more gb's shipped to me this weekend. MOH runs well in SP, there are some areas that I get lower FPS, but always jumps back up. LOTRO, maxed out, stutters a little, but I think it is due to it eating up ALL my ram :(. I bought those drivers, really help in games like COD2, it is jsut 10 bucks, no biggie.

I ran 3dmark06 and scored around 12k, not to shabby I guess :) About to get the VIsta 64 on here, since by Tuesday my ram will double.
 
x86 Vista can address 4GB of RAM, but you won't get to use all of it.

Depending on what hardware you have installed you might actually see as much as 3.12GB of this, but it can be lower. If, for example, you are running a pair of 512MB video cards, you'll see less than 3GB available.

More details in this knowledge base article.

As for how much memory Vista is using "Idle", the caching strategies employed for various cachable entities is very different in Vista compared to XP, so comparing idle memory usage isn't useful.

Most of that 40% you're seeing used is just cached data that will get dropped the second an explicit request for more memory than remains occurs. So if you're ordering more memory on a 32-bit (x86) Vista install just because of the "idle" usage, don't expect to see much, if any, performance difference.

Edit: Just saw that you're about to go to x64, so the more memory the merrier. Be aware that Vista may well STILL use 40% of your 4GB when "idle" though ... and again it's just cached data that will be discarded when a real memory request needs the extra physical RAM.
 
Torq said:
x86 Vista can address 4GB of RAM, but you won't get to use all of it.

Depending on what hardware you have installed you might actually see as much as 3.12GB of this, but it can be lower. If, for example, you are running a pair of 512MB video cards, you'll see less than 3GB available.

More details in this knowledge base article.

As for how much memory Vista is using "Idle", the caching strategies employed for various cachable entities is very different in Vista compared to XP, so comparing idle memory usage isn't useful.

Most of that 40% you're seeing used is just cached data that will get dropped the second an explicit request for more memory than remains occurs. So if you're ordering more memory on a 32-bit (x86) Vista install just because of the "idle" usage, don't expect to see much, if any, performance difference.

Edit: Just saw that you're about to go to x64, so the more memory the merrier. Be aware that Vista may well STILL use 40% of your 4GB when "idle" though ... and again it's just cached data that will be discarded when a real memory request needs the extra physical RAM.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Just installed X64, installing drivers as we speak. I do not really care much about how much ram is used when it is idle, I am worried about the fact that in LOTRO, for example, my memory usage is at 100%, and I do notice some lag in texture intensive areas.

I understand that Vista x86 MAY see all of my 4gb of ram, however, as you said, it will not utilize anything over 2gb, and i will not notice performance increase.

I am hoping that even if my IDLE usege in x64 is still at 40%, which is not a big deal, that when I do game, I will see performance increase.
 
Opie said:
I cannot believe they are charging for DRIVERS. What a bunch of vultures!
Click to expand...

They suck too by the way. I installed x64 yesterday, had some MOH:A problems, went badck to XP for now, going to dual boot later. Anyway, that are actually not the drivers. You download regular drivers via their shitty site and then install this add-on in order to get support for EAX in games such as COD, you actually have to manually adjust the game list. Well, even though it says that they support Vista 32 and 64 bit, they really don't work too well in x64. When you attempt to instal them, you get an error message, oh joy! Something along the lines of "You have previously installed drivers without res"tarting" I have not installed shit, and restarting my PC does not solve an issue :(
 
pretty sure you can just d/l the X-Fi ALchemy drivers and use them for the Audigy...
 
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