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Massive Sacred 2 framerate problem (win 7 64bit)


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It's time for me to come seeking help for a technical problem.

 

Recently Sacred 2 Gold (the GOG version) has been acting up. It runs flawlessly for the first few minutes but then it starts to really chug. Like massive constant framedrops to the point the game is barely playable if I run it for more than half an hour. (It doesn't crash, however).

 

I have tried all the tricks mentioned in the Steamcommunity guide as well as running Memory Cleaner, and while I can detect a little improvement in the initial menu load screens it does nothing for the framedrop problem. Given that you cannot achieve a whole lot in Sacred 2 in a few minutes (with the travel distances and all that) this is seriously putting a damper on things.

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Sounds like it could be either a memory leak or a rundown GPU. It's worth checking what kind of software you have running in the background, as well as the age and condition of your GPU. Maybe even update video drivers with a complete clean up (I.e. install the drivers from scratch).

 

Let us know how that worked out.

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I'm somewhat convinced this might be a heat issue. What kind of temperatures should a GPU be at when running at a relatively light load (watching Youtube videos, playing mid 90's games)?

My GPU is at 48 degrees c just when browsing the interwebs.

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It depends on your GPU but idle temperatures don't really matter in that respect, only temperatures under load.

 

Try running FurMark if you think it may be a GPU problem. That will stress test it.

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Don't know if this will help but when I was playing Grim Dawn a while back I started noticing slowdown/lag occurring more frequently, to the point the game would crash.

 

I finally decided to clean out everything....My gfx card is almost completely enclosed in plastic. I had to open up the entire thing. Must of had 25-30 screws to undo. Inside were mounds of dust which basically meant the fan wasn't circulating any air across the card. Once I cleaned all that out everything was fine

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Sorry for the late reply, real life and all that. ;)

 

I think you've found the problem Little Faith, your GPU is running way too hot! I mean, my old GTX260 which could run Sacred 2 at 1280x1024 sans AA or anything else turned on never reached such temps. During gameplay it would always top out under 80 degrees, and only when putting FurMark to work with AA and MSAA turned on would it reach near 90 degrees. Please remember that you're running a stress test with a low resolution and no filters turned on, it spikes to 100 (which is the standard threshold) and it shuts off the test which is normal. What isn't normal is that it's spiking like that to 100, that shouldn't really happen.

 

Your best bet is to clean your GPU and/or your PC case, since the airflow may be blocked in one or the two. Blow some compressed air through the fan while holding it in place, and if afterwards it still heats up like crazy you should consider having its thermal paste changed.

 

Believe me, a few months make a PC case very dirty so you can imagine what a few years might do. Plus, dust is the main enemy when it comes to high temps. Give it a try and report back. ;)

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Ha ha, sort of. :D

 

Usually there's a fail-safe on computer hardware regarding temps, like, if your CPU starts heating too much you'll get automatic reboots or shutdowns because your mobo brings it down (again there are standard threshold temps that regulate this). So you don't actually risk burning it down immediately, though you risk causing permanent heating damage that may cause instability and bad conductivity even after being cleaned or having new thermal paste.

 

Bottom line is, clean your PC at the very least once a year. Twice if you notice it has a lot of dust over that period. Just bear in mind that you shouldn't pump compressed air with too much pressure, just enough to feel it in the palm of your hand when blowing from 25-30 cms away, and you also shouldn't force fans with the compressed air so you really need to keep them steady and avoid the rapid spinning caused by the blowing of air.

Edited by Androdion
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A long time ago I used to have a cheaper model graphics card. The fan actually melted from the heat. So it wouldn't spin and cool the card, which melted it even more. I was lucky there wasn't a fire or something. Compressed air to clean things out is a godsend.

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Don't know if this will help but when I was playing Grim Dawn a while back I started noticing slowdown/lag occurring more frequently, to the point the game would crash.

 

I finally decided to clean out everything....My gfx card is almost completely enclosed in plastic. I had to open up the entire thing. Must of had 25-30 screws to undo. Inside were mounds of dust which basically meant the fan wasn't circulating any air across the card. Once I cleaned all that out everything was fine

 

Why do manufacturers insist on doing this? Couldn't they at least make it easy to pull off the outermost covering without having to disassemble everything?

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Same reason they are making mobos shielded. It has to do with making them more airtight and more stylish. Also, the fact that they're shielded will probably make most regular users decide to buy new hardware in case serious problems arise.

 

It's a matter of engineering vs marketing really.

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Bit of an update. I cleaned out my Graphics card as suggested and gave it a new coat of thermal paste and now it doesn't overheat quite as much, but it still gets sort of hot when playing Sacred 2. Were talking temps above 80, sometimes above 90. It seems mainly to be a problem when going underground for some reason.

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How about FurMark? What are the temps if you do a stress test? Does that only happen with Sacred 2 or with other programs/games too?

 

Also, what manufacturer is your card from? Because some models with the same GPU tend to heat more than others.

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Bit of an update. I cleaned out my Graphics card as suggested and gave it a new coat of thermal paste and now it doesn't overheat quite as much, but it still gets sort of hot when playing Sacred 2. Were talking temps above 80, sometimes above 90. It seems mainly to be a problem when going underground for some reason.

That's so cool that a new coat works so well like that... I'm not really playing as much video games as before, and I'd rather not have to spend so much on a card just yet... Diablo 3 would actually cause my entire game to cease when it was running, and I knew the game was cooking the card...but if I can get results like yours with a cleaning, it looks tempting ^^

 

:)

 

gogo

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years ago I melted a SLI system of two 8800GTS with Sacred2. the game was working hard against your system from the beginning. I remember a sentence from the tech forum of Sacred "that Crysis run on your system, doesn't necessarly means that Sacred 2 will also run!" :D.

But the GTX 570 should handle this without getting that hot.

 

@all: time to think about dust filter in front of your fans! :D

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Agreed on both accounts Dorimil; a good case with dust filters and a decent airflow is indispensable for newer PCs, and like I said from the beginning a GTX570 shouldn't really run that hot.

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